Uh, note the "quarter century of driving"? The 1971 Chevy 3/4 ton 2wd I got when I was 16. I had it 3 weeks and got hit head on. Had the '64 through high school until I let someone drive it around to see if he wanted to buy it. Whatever he d!cked with on the test drive, the next time I drove it it caught on fire. Had the '78 for years. Had it in the air twice. Once by accident and once on purpose. Had the '83 after college. Nice truck. Too nice. I was afraid to take it anywhere. It was full of Downey parts and I made the mistake of having some paint touched up on it. Stupid. I've never done any paint work on a truck since. For me, trucks are trucks and IMO it's just plain damn stupid to make them "all purty". Sold it to get a truck to beat on and bought the 79 Ford. Did I say 428CJ? WOOF!! First time I decided to see what that truck really had in it I smoked the tires and shot across the parking lot so quick I about crapped myself and that was on 32x12.50s with a posi rearend. My adult brain kicked in and I sold that one before I wound up losing my license. Bought the CJ, but injured my leg during ownership and had a hard time driving it so it had to go. All that led up to the relative bliss of my '85 4Runner.
I bought the 2nd gen after having owned a 4Runner for over a decade and had the assumption that another 4Runner would be a good thing to own. Plus, I don't feel the need to own a fleet of vehicles. If I can have one good rig that's fine for me. Even if it means having a 4x4 as a DD.
I'm just not convinced now that I've had it a while and took it on one camping trip and a tiny bit of rough road that a 2nd gen makes for decent solo vehicle.

 

Ah, the pens of the literati quake at such witty rejoinder

 

We can all go on about how we like our 2nd gens, but you need to like your ride for reasons that make you happy. If you don't like it sell it.

 

Every person can like or dislike a car, and it won't follow the trend necessarily. It doesn't really matter why we like our 2nd gens though, because ultimately you don't like yours. I recommend you go with a nicer 1st gen if thats what you liked, I'd get a solid axle and rig it up if thats what I liked.

Did you test drive it before you bought it and it seemed different, or how'd you go about buying it when you don't really like it?

 

I happen to think 2nd gen 4Runners are hardly car-like at all. They have a fully boxed frame, tough suspension, and rock-solid drivetrain. However, they are still fairly comfortable. I think they are one the best SUVs out there.

 

Do you have any pics of your rig with the ARB?

 

I'll post them as soon as it's done. It's all waiting to go on after Downey sends the rest of my exhaust. Probably be another month before it's done since it's getting custom paint and all. I will definately put pics out there when I am finsihed. Search the forums for ARB Bull Bar and you will find a couple of pics that look fantastic.

 

My younger brother made a comment a couple years ago that I've really taken to heart. "Form Follows Function". No one dictates what I drive. It has to do what "I" want it to do, or it's not worth owning.

 

Did this link work for anybody ? It works for me -but I may be
special.

Just wondering

 

Hey Doc, you must be special! Or you're the owner of the page, because it tells me I can't get in because I'm not the owner.

 

I am special but I'll see what I am doing wrong. I may not have it marked as a share file. Let me see !

 

Exactly! You'll have to pry my 4runner's steering wheel away from my cold, dead hands before Id ever give her up, just like my guns!! I love my '90!! Only 5 more years till I can put an antique plate on it!!

 

Bert,

Try this one and let me know if you can access it.

http://community.webshots.com/user/docs4runner

Doc

 

That worked. You're in business!

 

Cool

Thanks for checking it for me.

 

Love my gen II...let me count the ways...
Not only is it easily modable but these two things are what set it apart and are my favorite:
- T O Y O T A on the grill, not that newer symbol.
- Rear tire carrier
- No plastic parts on the outside, just steel.

I have owned for 5 years now and it's still goin strong.

 

I am with Farenheit 451...I think this is just a bad designed truck....I bought mine on a whim and being a toyota owner over the years just assumed it was a good truck...I do like the looks but let me tell ya this a very uncomfortable truck for a 6 foot guy. And the motor is the most inefficient hog I have owned...at least my gas guzzling V8's produced big power...this thing just sucks gas and the power is no where near what I think a toyota should have. Gas milage is way worse then 2 of my old trucks with V8's and high lobe cams.....I made a mistake on this one..

 

Maybe this will help:
I bought my 90 4Runner in 1995 with 92K on it & I lived in Westminster Colorado at the time. It was a daily driver. On weekends, we loaded it with camping gear and headed to the hills. At the time it had 235/75 15's and was stock all the way. We did all the usual trails & went all kinds of places with it. Sometimes it took a little momentum or some planning because of tire size and open diffs. Even made the 5 hour drive to Moab & did a few trails with it.
It always brought us home from wherever we ended up and then faced the daily commute.
We finally put an ARB in the rear, Tru-trac in the front, 4:88's and 32" tires. It then saw more difficult trails and still was a daily driver.

Drove it from Colorado to Fla 5 years ago and until last year it was my only vehicle. It mainly sees weekend warrior stuff now, but it has 250K on it and still goes when I need it. Most recently it proved itself when we drove to Atlanta (600 miles one way) and back to evacuate for hurricane Frances. It made it fine.

It's not been a flawless 10 years for parts; Headgasket and top end of the engine was done by Toyota at 125K. Alternator, brake line, clutch pedal plate, brake fluid sensor, speedometer cable, & other things have decided to quit. But it's only left me stranded once & that was when the clutch pedal plate broke.
That's my Toyota story
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

 

Me Luv me 2nd Generation..

 

I have had mine for 10 years now and still love it. I always get asked if it is brand new. Paint is still as good as new. It starts every time I ask it to and after changing the shocks, rear coils, and steering stabilizer handles as good as anything else out there except for luxury cars. It is a truck by the way. As for the motor, yea its slow and bad on gas, but I trust it no matter where I want to go. Could you say the same thing about a 12 year old Ford or Chevy.