Hey all, someone recommended this place on another car forum because I was asking about 4Runners, plus I think I had heard about it once before.

I've had several vehicles in the past few years; three Mustangs, two Jeeps, and now my 528i I'm getting ready to sell. I'm going to be looking for a truck/suv to replace it, that is reliable, won't kill me on insurance, and that I can plan to have for a while because I'm sick of swapping cars almost every year. So, naturally, I began looking for Toyota's.

I'm looking for a 4Runner(probably 2nd-Gen), or a Pickup/Tacoma. My price range is arbitrary at this point, but will probably need to be somewhere in the $3-$4k range. Will definately be 4x4 but I'm pretty opened to anything else. Is either the auto or 5-speed known for any repeated problems I should try to look out for or do you recommend one or the other? I was looking for a 22RE I-4 to save some gas but I've heard they are annoyingly slow, but I also wanted to avoid the whole head gasket fiasco.

Can anyone help me try and point myself in a more specific direction?

 

'84-'89 Truck (2nd gen.) or 4Runner (1st gen.)... '84 & '85 4Runner SFA('84 Carb., '85 EFI)... '86+ is IFS

 

an '89-95 pickup sounds like it'd fit the bill nicely. the 4cyl/5 speed combo is very reliable, and isn't that slow as long as the engine hasn't been beaten on all of its life. my suggestion -- look for one that came with 31" tires from the factory, usually an SR5 model. they had deeper gears that'll let you wind the engine up a little easier.