im new to 4-runners just purchased a 98 sr-5 4wd. has 218,500 miles right now. i asked the guy i purchased from had timming belt been done? he said no and he had owned since new. should i be concerned? i pland to replace it but not for a month or 2. the price was right the thing runs great gets 20 mpg on hwy. tis is my 4th toyota so i wasnt scared of the miles. has always used full synthetic oil. the thing dont even drip in my garage

 

i would, along with other stuff he should have done but didnt... high mileage is only good if it has been taken care of, not ignored.

I would look at changing front/rear diffs, transfer case, coolant, and flushing the transmission (this means either having flushed, or doing it yourself the hard way (not by draining 2 qts and filling back up, but by actually flushing it))

Ask him for any other service records he may or may not have... and thoroughly check over anything and/or everything else that may have been ignored the last 200,000 miles of scheduled intervals

 

I would NOT flush a trans w/ 218k miles on it. Since you don't know the exact trans maintenance history I'd drain it, refill, run for 10k miles or so and do it again. Flushing a transmission with that many miles is a disaster waiting to happen. You can have the pan dropped and the filter changed as well.

 

that is a good point, I guess I am not sure why exactly that is true, but I have heard that also, not flushing if it already toast... I just flushed mine completely because there was a leak in my radiator, and coolant in the tranny, I'll see in 5-10k how that ends up I guess ...

 

I totally agree...
Why?
THe guy NEVER changed the Timing belt at 218K miles.......?
The Bottom Line:
I get the feeling that if you flush the trans, that unfortunatly you'll be putting a new trans, in about 2 weeks...

The smart move: Simply "Drain a fill" with about 3-4 qts of "Toyota ATF" every 5 to 10 K ....Ease it into the new fluid yet don't force it, as your tran will/may slip...$$$
BTW Check the Trans dip stick while the engine is hot and DO NOT "underfill" or "OVER fill" your trans
over and out

 

Get that timing belt done ASAP. 218k is a lot of miles on an original belt.

 

a complete flush on a tranny that is waaaay overdue for one can dislodge
a few bits of crud or metal, and those bits may not make it out with the old fluid.

there is a good chance those bits will move around and then clog up or stick somewhere and -then- you have a problem where none existed.

so if the thing has not been serviced in ages, better to gravity drain then replace 3 or 4 quarts instead of all 15. then do it again in a few months.

I think that is the basic logic to not power flushing old (really old) fluid.

 

You need to get that work done.

Timing belt
Waterpump
T stat
DRAIN ALL THE FLUIDS!
--Brakes
--Oil
--Coolant
--PS
--Trans (good advice above, that's what I did)

Filters (oil, trans, and air)

If he didn't change the TIMING BELT, you cannot trust that this guy changed anything else

 

I did a flush on my tranny last week, however, because my return lines from the radiator were not coming off, I just did a flush using the flush and fill method. Yeah I used up some fluid I probably didn't need to but I got it all red again so thats what counts.

I drained and filled, drove around the block, drain and filled, drove around the block...etc. for about a total of 7 times until what I was draining out was what I was putting in. Checked it a few hours later after driving it a bit, topped it off as needed and everything was ruby red. Granted, I didn't do the filter and everything...the job wasn't as thorough as it could have been... but its better than nothing and it shifts 10x better. I have 140k miles on it with no prior knowledge of whether it was changed.

I just wanted to share since it was an easy thing to do and didn't cost much. Although, in your case, I'd probably suggest dropping the pan and cleaning the filter and all since you have almost twice the miles I do. I plan on doing mine next time, I took one learning experience at a time. Haha.

Timing belt is a must at this point, ASAP. Like the others said, if he didn't change it, lord knows what else he neglected because in my book thats a big must for the 3.4 at the proper interval (90k to 120k max). Although, he got it to 218k miles, he must have been doing something right...but...it is a Toyota so who knows...

Good luck with the new endeavor!

 

i would agree with that.. i would drop the pan and replace the filter and clean the magnets though.. clean magnets will help capture particles floating around... BUT have you checked the ATF yet??? if the color is dark red, pink or cherry red its not trashed so a full flush would be appropriate.. if its dark, nasty burnt smell then i would take the advice above that E posted

 

i would have driven around for a week or a atleast a few days before doing the drain and fills.. imo 20 miles isnt mixing much..i could be wrong though

btw what does it take to disconnect the cooling return line to the tranny?

 

he hasnt even checked the ATF yet??? lets not jump to conclusions just yet. i agree with waht you said but i wouldnt start thinking about what i am gonna do until i KNOW for a fact what the atf looks and smells like

 

a screwdriver and/or pliers depending on type of clamp, it can be removed from radiator by squeeze clamp, or above front crossmember, same clamp... also will need sockets to remove skidplate

 

I had 190,000+ on my truck with the original T-Belt when I bought it. When I had it replaced it still looked in decent shape. The guy that had the truck before me did a huge amount of long distance highway miles, still had the original clutch in it as well.

Just be carefull and check everything very well and you'll be fine.


Which engine? the 3.4 isn't one that will be destroyed if the t-belt brakes....but the 3.0 will if I remember correctly.

 

thanks for all the info. the ATF is not that horrible still red. he said he had never pulled anything with it. however i do plan to drop the pan and filter. are all of those A.T. dipsitcks a pain to get back in?

I think most all the miles are hwy. b/c i greased u-joints and that the is super clean underneith. he told me A.T. had been serviced when and where i have no clue. i dont know of a shop around here i'd trust to do timing belt so thinking of doing myself (good or bad?) this truck drives and runs really good i think he took good care of it he had a 97' limited 07' sport also 4-runner fan.

 

yes the transmission dipstick is a pain to get back in. Just keep grabbing it right aboove the tube and feed it in. Seems odd that he would go out of his way to use synthetic but neglect everything else.

 

Sorry for the highjack, but its related.

Quick question, isn't it more likely for the t-belt to break upon startup rather than driving?

I have 246,xxx on mine and don't know when it was replaced last. i assume it has been replaced though. (but i know what happens when we assume). The guy i bought it from took care of it, i have a lot of receipts but cannot find anything about the timing belt.

I have had a fire in the engine compartment, and nothing up towards the radiator really got burnt, i have put over 6000 miles on it since. What would you guys recommend? I think i might just replace the t-belt, and water pump at around 250,000.

 

besides the belt and pump, do the thermostat, cam and crank seals, idler pulley, tensioner pulley and drive belts

 

Thanks, drive belts only have 6,000 on them, and i just replaced the T-stat last and radiator last weekend. Thanks

 

Don't forget the radiator hoses too.