Sup! I'm a newbie and not that great with cars but it seems like I found the right spot to get some advice. I have a 99 4Runner SR5 with almost 100k and I'm thinking of trading in for an 06/07 b/c of the recent maintenance bills are beginning to scare me.

What kind of maintenance items did you guys experience at this momentus occasion?

This is what I've done so far:
Timing belt & water pump - $800ish
Starter - $400
Battery - $70
Brakes - under $60
Tires (at 60k) - $600
Normal fluid changes

 

any particular reason for the starter? I didn't know that was a maintenence item. I know you can replace the contact for 10$.

 

Yeah, shoulda clarified that...the car wouldn't start any more - it just died on the driveway. I replaced the battery but that didn't help. The car would only click. From reading other posts in this site and from the T4R.org site, it seemed like that was the solution.
Now that I have replaced it, the car doesn't seem to run as well as it used to, it is generating more exhaust fumes than before and the seems like it wants to stahl while in "P".
I'm concerned she's going down.

 

800 for the t-belt water pump....robery! i paid $550

seafoam her
change the plugs (after seafoam)
clean the MAF
check the air filter

changing the starter has no impact on the way she's running

 

You might want to take it to a shop and have them plug their diagnostic computer into your OBD-II port and see what problem codes they come up with. I'm not 100%, but I think some places will do this for you for free. Also, I don't think the starter replacement would effect how the car runs after being started.

 

Low-M,

Don't sell your truck! Hang out here, you will learn a lot and save a ton of money, the knowlege base here is amazing.

For instance, my starter did the exact same thing. The dealer wanted to sell me a $280 starter and charge me (rape me, actually) another $200 to install it !! After a few minutes of research on this website, I bought a $14 set of contacts and installed them in one hour.

Do the math, keep your truck.

Also, I'm willing to bet a new MAF and oxygen sensor along with a set of plugs would make her run like new. Only go to your dealer for parts. You can install these parts yourself and save megabucks.

 

Hell, 100K miles on a Yota is just barely broken in. Every Yota I've had (I'm on my 5th) has ran well past 200K with only preventive maintenance and an occasional minor repair. It's a lot cheaper to get your problems properly diagnosed and fixed then to pay whatever a monthly payment would be for however many months/years... All the money you mentioned that you spent is equivalent to what, about 3 car payments?

My '00 has 118K and I consider it a low mileage vehicle...

 

Well you have about 2 grand listed there. Now I will make the assumption that your 99 is paid off. So you go out and buy a brand new truck for 30k because sinking 2k into what you have seems like a lot of money. I guess that makes sense, just not to me.

 

stop worrying. your rig will survive. gotta talk to her right from time to time. just try to do it all yourself, clean the MAF before you buy a new one cause they arent cheap. you can get 02 sensors for 90 from URD's site.
has your gas milleage gone down?
a can of MAF cleaner, plugs (gap em right) injector cleaner, seafoam. i would venture to say you'll be smiling from ear to ear.

Where is your idle at when in park or where your having the prob? could also be your TPS needs adjustment

 

100K on the odometer is nothing. if you perform regular maint you will "easily" get over 200K miles. i've had a toyota pickup that got over 500K miles and several that have gotten over 300K miles. the question is (depending on your driving habits), are willing to keep your rig for that long?

 

02 w/ >120k and ive only done the last 3 listed
maintenance will be required on anything w/wheels that you buy

 

The $2k did scare me a bit but having regular car payments again scares me as well.
My resolve is to keep her as long as I can, she's done me well in the past.

Thanks for everyones' input! I'm off to look up "seafoam" and "MAF"