If I can find a buyer I will probably go ahead and sell...right now I'm debating the best way to sell it...just word of mouth, local paper, or what? Also whether to keep everything on it as is or if I should take some stuff off. The ARB will probably have to stay on cause the stock bumper that I have is a little bent. I could take the roof rack and lights off I guess...but I'm not sure why that would matter much.

Fink

 

You might try selling it on e-bay as is. You could put a reserve on it for what you are willing to settle for and see what happens. It is a nice runner for sure. Good luck with it.

 

Thats probably what I will end up doing, I'm hoping to get atleast about 7500 for it...we'll see.

Fink

 

QUITTER!

 

so, you sell it for $8k at best and buy a prelude and then put mod money into it... you're still at $8k, and the one thing about the 94-95 preludes is that they REQUIRE premium fuel. another thing that you're not considering is that your insurance premium will go through the roof. plan on at LEAST a 50% increase for the same coverage.

also, my wife's Si w/ auto only got about 24 MPG. considering that the cost is ~10% more for premium, then the adjusted MPG is only 21.5-22 MPG when comparing to your truck on 87 octane.

now, if you regear, it will cost you about $500-$800, and you can keep the runner and get about 18 MPG.

so, selling the prelude will cost you nearly what you will get for your runner, require you to buy more expensive gas, pay higher insurance rates, and only get you about 4 MPG better than if you just regeared...

think about that before you consider selling it. you might want to pass that along to the parentals as well...

 

It would take years for the mileage improvement to make up the cost in gears and that's assuming the mileage problem is purely from the big tires.

Fink, I know you posted about your mileage problem before, but I don't know if this has been brought up. Are you calculating your mileage by compensating for the larger tires?

 

12 MPG to 18 MPG is a 50% increase in MPG's and therefore a 50% decrease in the fuel bill. That wouldn't take long to make up $500-$800 if he's driving a lot.

360 miles a week @ 12 MPG = 30 gallons. 30 gallons @ $2.20/gal = $66/week

360 miles a week @ 18 MPG = 20 gallons. 20 gallons @ $2.20/gal = $44/week

$22/week difference. if he drives that much 50 weeks out of the year, then that's an $1100 difference.

now let's say that it's not all becasue of the big tires and he actually only get the mileage up to 16 MPG instead of 18 MPG. that's still a $977 savings over the course of a year, EASILY paying for a gear change.

now, let's take that even farther and say that he only averages 200 miles per week at 16 MPG's. the savings is STILL $543 over the course of a year...

those estimates are also counting a low fuel price of $2.20/gallon. most experts agree that it will be much higher than that for an extended period, making the gear change pay off even faster since the price per gallon goes up.

gears are ~$300 and install is another ~$300. add ~$200 if you want new bearings front and rear via master install kits...

or, get them used already installed in the diff/third for maybe $500 total or less.

 

There is no way he's going from 12mpg to 18mpg or even 16mpg by changing gears. I have had 3 different gear ratios (4.88,5.29,5.71) on my truck all with 33" tires and the mileage stayed the same with each change. I have recorded my mpg at every fill up since the truck was new in 1993.

 

then he's got other issues to be getting 12 MPG...

 

Exactly my point.

 

wow...that was quick with tons of posts. I just wanted to know cause I was interested in the tires and arb if you are going to sell. I can switch you with my stock bumper and some cash plus I'm down here in little rock. Maybe we'll have enough time we can hit up lunch or something while you're down here or I'm up there. Sorry, the runner's going, but do what you've got to do man. Before I got my 4runner, I bought an old acura when I first moved back here to get me around cause I knew at some point gas would eat me alive. Let me know what you're thinkin.

 

it easily could. depends on driving style, if he likes to take off a little hard like most kids myself included, it will make a world of difference. if his is bogging enough to have to dip in the throttle on the freeway, it will make a big difference. my buddy has a lifted ranger and he went from 28-31 tires mpg went from 17 to 12

 

The bad mileage isnt just due to the tires and lift...I was getting really bad mileage before all of that. Right now opn average I'm getting ~12.37 mpg with the conversion for the 33's. Before I was getting 13.89-14.4 depending on driving conditions (i.e., A/C on or off, trailering, heavy loads in the back, etc...)

If I were going to keep the Runner then I would put a new engine in it, this brings up other problems, being without a car for a long time while in school, not having a place around here that would I really trust to do a swap, much less throw a 3.4 in it, not even sure where I could get one of those around here for a reasonable price.

Another plus with the 3rd gens is that they are newer so overall the maintenance costs will be considerably less, there are more mods for them later on down the road and a big one is they are better for trailering...now granted its not going to be a huge difference but my Runner as of now has a hard time even trailering my trailer with my two 4-wheelers and dirt bike on it with some gear (overall weight ~2000lbs)

Its still in the air, I havent advertised it anywhere except around campus and to my friends and family...so nothing is concrete yet. I still have to find a 3rd gen that I like, test drive it, check history and get it inspected...theres a lot of stuff yet to do.

As for the stuff about going with the Prelude, that was more Plan B...first plan as of now is to sell the 2nd gen, get a 3rd gen, keep it stock for a while except for a stereo and then supercharge it next. Plan B would be get another car along with the Runner but as a lot of people have said and I've calculated the insurance cost will go WAY up and will probably be the most financially sound idea.

I'm just not sure guys...it pains me to think of getting rid of the 2nd gen, but for some reason it seems like the best idea to me.

Fink

 

You're young, you can get another one when you have a job. Do whatever you think is right.

 

I know how you feel about the gas mileage...mine is pretty bad too. I have a 94 4runner SR5 Auto, downey HDs, 32x11.5s, factory 4.88s...but I believe the bad milegage is a combination of the auto tranny and an inefficient motor. I've got 145,000 on mine, and Ive taken good care of it. Dont get me wrong, the 3.0 isnt a bad motor, but for some circumstances its definitely not up to far. I wouldnt trade it for anything else when it comes to off road, the low end torque is great and of course they are very reliable.
You've got a tough decision...maybe you should look into a 3.4 swap. Research it, figure out costs and see if its worth it in your case. If you can find some buddies to help you do it yourself then I would go that route then put a S/C on...seems like you'll take a large hit on your truck if you try to sell it as is.

 

I am intrested in the roof rack and lights if you decide to part it out. Tires and wheels too.

 

fink, if you haven't seen this already, it may be of interest to you. +4 mpg with a new 02 sensor... https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f16/replaced-front-o2-4-mpg-55646/

 

If you need to cruise the highway, why don't you just return the thing to more stock form? I run my 95 back and forth to the lake all summer. It is 185 miles each way and it cruises fine at 75 mph. I get reasonably good mileage on the highway as well - close to 20. I am running stock 31X10.5 tires. It would be cheaper to swap tires than the whole vehicle. If you have a friend with a similar truck, borrow his wheels and tires and see if it makes a difference.

 

I have already replaced the 02 sensor, it helped at the time but after that, everything that I've tried hasn't done much.

I was going to ask those of you with a 2nd gen how much the end cost was when you did a 3.4 swap including everything except labor. It may be cheaper to just set aside a few grand and keep this 4Runner and put the 3.4 and supercharge on it than to get rid of it, get a completely stock 3rd gen and then have to put all the blood, sweat and tears into it that I did to this one...man, decisions...decisions!

Another thing to keep in mind is that if I am going to be spending this much money on a car, whether its renewing this one or getting another 3rd gen its going to have to last me a good 4-5 years since I will end up putting a good 5-6 grand into whatever I chose.

Fink

 

Fink, you need to give Auto-Rx a shot and see how much that helps your mileage. There's some pretty good testimonials on their site. I've ran one bottle through and mine runs smoother and is getting better mileage. I've got my intake off now so that's hurting my mileage a little but I'm still getting 15-16 around town and I'm geared for 28" tires. It's worth a shot for under $50.

http://www.auto-rx.com/

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