Looking at buying a 97 4runner. auto. got the 3.4 liter v6.
timing belt was changed 120 000 miles ago. It currently has 233 000 miles on it.
He says it's never burned or leaked oil.
He's owned it for three years never had a problem.
Am i right to think the timing belt has to be changed pretty much right away? And should I be thinking head gasket?
Are these big jobs?

Thanks for any help.

 

Depends on your experience working on them / your willingness to spend on repairs later on..

Test drive and try to get a complete history on other vital parts like the trans, catalytic converter, drivetrain, accident, maintenance, and so on.

Its due for a new timing belt, but they can run past their intervals as long as there's no concerning symptoms...do a search on the tell tale signs of failure and give it a test drive.

Same with head gasket or anything else
. Good luck.

 

They are non interference motors.
If the belt breaks there will not be any damage to the motor.

Might be inconvenient.