Thats a nice color $runner you got there, JD......looks vary familiar.....

 

That it sucks when you leave the cargo cover in a parking lot. Then when you go to the dealer to buy a new one they tell you it's gonna be close to 1k. Good thing i have a tarp!

 

One of the bolt for the top is also a ground. When you remove your top replace this bolt and it will not light the dash up and your rear window will work.

 

A LOT WRONG..........but in the process of............. REVIVING THE BEAST WHICH EATS MONEY!............the 4runner I swear is walking death I can throw it in the grave but it will crawl back out!,,,,it wants to.......LIVE!!!!........ and It has 9-LIVES....so I'm working on her with great PATIENCE!!!!!!!! and trying to love this Toyota
Dwayne

 

Adding to original 4-5 year old list.

Rear Axle Seals Suck!

 

volt meter moves to the beat of the turn signal at stoplights

 

I assume you realize that it should. Not much, voltage wise, but enough to detect even with a good battery and charger working properly.

 

Adults should never attempt to gain entry to the back seat of a 1st gen, unless coming from the back...
embarrassing as hell to get stuck between the seat and the frame.

buy the bag of zip ties... you'll get PO'd and break those lame little plastic clips on the grill the first time you replace a headlight...

buy earmuffs for the kids... you'll swear a lot.

and I haven't even started playing with it yet...

 

I found out i miss my truck. Anybody wanna trade?

 

amen to that ... gosh i miss that 690 dollars to get it fixed
*found out the 3.4L sounds amazing with a high flow cat and a flowmaster exhaust
*and even though im broke i still rustle money together to work on my runner.... what a sickness
*i also found out my jeep buddies want runners now... hmm weird

 

this thing is a million times easier to work on then my civic even tho the drivetrain is twice as complicated.

 

- The bar code sticker on the bottom of the engine says 1992. The VIN sticker inside the driver's door says 1995. Sucks. So at least some of my truck might actually have the 156,xxx showing on the odometer, whereas the engine definitely does not. (See "After one year" below.)

- When the Autozone air freshener liberally applied by the previous owner fades away, the truck smells strongly of a popular non-tobacco smoke. This was also true of my other two 4Runners. Coincidence?

- Attractive men with good jobs and cool Toyotas check me out when I drive an old 4Runner, as opposed to insecure teenage boys and carjackers when I drive my husband's Acura RSX type S.

- My son can see out the windows of the 4Runner. In the Acura he can see tan plastic and tan leather.

After one year...

- Most of the interior was replaced shortly before I bought it, which explains why the whole truck seemed way too nice to be true.

- Also the cheap front bumper, which didn't come from the same Korean aftermarket parts emporium as the back bumper.

- Also the mirrors on both sides.

- When you take off the front door panels, you see that everything mechanical inside both front doors is skewed or bent.

- That nice shiny paint is starting to look suspiciously like a respray.

- This truck seems to A) have been in a catastrophic collision, B) be made out of several different trucks plus cheap aftermarket body parts, or C) all of the above.

- It goes 42 miles per hour up the west side of Los Alamos canyon.

- Attractive men with good jobs and cool Toyotas are jealous of my old 4Runner.

- It is still the best vehicle I have ever owned.

 

-How rusty the undercarriage is
-Didnt come with a spare tire
-How little maintenance she needs
-How hot the heater can really get (bought it during summer)
-The cool vent controls in the back
-How many other toyota trucks and 4runners are on the road

 

-The new inspection sticker is actually just an emissions sticker (in a county where emmisions isn't required)
-The pleasure of working on a rust free southern Toyota
-If I only have the moonroof open, it sounds like a helicopter is landing on my roof
-IT has a working emergency vehicle siren installed in it.
-The reality behind the term 3.slow
-The spare is a 31/10.5/15. The other 4 tires are 235/75/15s

 

if you enter and exit w/the fob (disarm - arm) from other than the drivers door, the HL's stay on till the battery dies



crack the back window ~2" and youll get a nice flow through.

 

I figured that out pretty quick. IMO, it's the only way to drive it......feels like a convertible. Do all the Runners do that? No other vehicle I've had with a moonroof ever made that sound.

 

I found out that the inside of the back window is hard to clean on 2nd gen 4runners. For those that don't know, you have to roll the back window down in order to drop the tailgate down. So you have to enter thru the front, climb over the seat (or fold it down) to get to the cargo area to clean it. I have two boxers so i'm always cleaning it!!

 

You are half right. You can clean the top half from the back.

I know the problem, as I have two Great Danes... although I must say that they don't bother the rear window... just the side windows.

 

i wired a switch on the rear tail gate that taps into the key switch... great for when i camping and sleep in the 4runner, i can vent the rear windows without having to get up and turn the truck to acc... also helpful for washing the inside window, open the tailgate, get in, close it, roll the window up, wash, roll the window down. one of the ~$5 mods that are TOTALLY worth every penny.

 

I also spliced in a switch that acts like the key switch outside the tailgate, but on the inside of the truck. Is so handy whenever I'm back there and want it up or down! I mounted it inside the side compartment to protect it since I sometimes load up the back of my rig.


In the process of installing that switch I found out that if you try to close the window when the tailgate isn't fully closed that the control box beeps at you!