... Well not exactly, I recently obtained a 1998 4Runner which I have always wanted since high school and this one seemed like a great find it was represented to have only 113000 miles on it which is nearly unbeliveable for this year... but when I got home my heart sunk when I was actually able to log on to the Carfax (i tried to when i was there but was unsuccessful) only to find that it actually has atleast 290,000 miles on it.

But I must say that I have to vouch for toyotas durability because the truck runs and drives like it has 113k or less miles on it.

well I guess I just wanted to introduce myself again (I previously had a 81 pickup) and vent a little. I hope you all dont mind

 

nice truck and thanks for posting. i love my third gen...

post some pics

 

and because I know you guys are photo-whores...

 

if it has 290K on it, they were gentle...if you can verify that the odometer was swapped and the sellor failed to disclose that in some states that is a crime...in oregon the seller has to state the mileage on the title as being true...

 

yea the whole thing is a real headache ... im doing the legal rodeo with the seller now (fingers crossed I get money for mods lol) but from everything I saw on the carfax it has been well taken care of serviced at the same dealer reguarly until ~290k miles (until it got into the hands of the dbag that decided to change the cluster and sell it with lower miles ofcourse) I wish I could say his name on here so you guys and friends ect could steer clear but I dont want to jeopardise my legal case in any way

 

and also the dbag did the old smoke and mirrors on me taking the paperwork back when I was collecting my belongings out of my car and Xing the box reading odometer is in excess of actual miles when i wasnt looking hopefully I covered my butt with this contract I had the piece of mind to write up and have him sign before we parted ways ...

 

Nice Runner, hope you nail that dbag. thats just messed up.

 

Good looking 4 runner. Trying to be optimistic...but maybe it has a rebuild and they changed the cluster???

Any way nice truck. Is that the limited with Gold emblems?

 

This is why you do the carfax before buying the car.

The truck looks to be in good condition, i know of one locally with over 350k miles on it and not a single problem besides normal wear items.

 

does anyone know if the limited came with "wood" trim and if that trim is just stuck on top of the standard trim trying to sort out if this is how it came or if it was one of those cheesy kits.
Thanks

 

Im really not sure because it has an SR5 emblem on the back and I thought the limited had a "Limited" emblem

as far as the gauge cluster/rebuild question ... yes that would be believeable if it wasnt the very last thing that is on the carfax

 

That sucks man. It's a very nice runner either way!

 

and
THAT is the reason I will NEVER let my friends go buy a vehicle by themselves. I am sorry man. At least it is not a COMPLETE HEAP. Sorry you got screwed. I hate DBags. Last year I paid a guy 1100$ on paypal for parts. he never sent my parts and came up with all kinds of excuses. And told paypal he sent it all. I never got my stuff... or a dime from paypal.

Be happy you at least got SOMETHING outta yer money. And I hope you win your legal dilemma!!

 

The tan limited came with a faux wood trim. Some tan SR5's came with a real wood trim; it is real wood fascia under a thick clear coating. The clear coating often delaminates a bit.

Your J-shifter knob looks like it doesn't have the 4WD button on it. All the LTD's have the 4WD button. In 98, I think all LTD's had a straight shifter (3 position) with the 4WD button, not a J-shifter. Looks like you got yourself an SR5.

BTW, here's a good link on the TC/Tranny differences so you can see for yourself.
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-ge...tml#post669885

 

Yea I thought it was an SR5. Regardless of if the wood trim that was on it came from toyota or not I decided to rip it off today (i thought the stuff looked horrible) and imo it looks alot better now ... noticed that both passenger side windows dont work (but all else do)

 

oh yea thank you for the link Nelsonmd it was very informative yea mine is deff an SR5 but thats not such a bad thing in that aspect i like my J shifter (reminds me of my '81) I have never really been crazy about push-button 4wds

 

and a couple pics of that '81 I keep talking about



wish I could put the cool yellow tags on my runner

 

That's a beast!

 

Congrats Doug18 - that thing looks sweet! One of my buddies just flew across the country (East Coast to West Coast) to buy one and he is stoked.

 

push button AWD started in 99 on the limiteds with the multimode transfer case.