Forgive the newbiness of this question, but I want to steer my little brother right.

He is looking at a 1991 4runner, its got 150,000 miles on it. I am not positive on what engine it has

I would just like to know what are the typical problems/quirks to look for and expect when purchasing this particular generation of 4runner.

Sorry for being clueless, but I am a vw guy (i know :rolleyes: )and dont have any experience with these beasts.

TIA for any help anyone can provide

 

First thing i'd do is write down the VIN# and take it to a Toyota Dealership and have them look up if it's had the head gasket replaced (it was a toyota recall). As far as the engine goes, i'm 99% sure it's a V6 3.0L I have NEVER seen a 2nd Gen (1990-1995) 4Runner with a 4 Cylinder, but I could be wrong. Another thing you might want to check out is when/if the timing chain was replaced, I remember reading somewhere that it's a common thing on 2nd Gens.

I drive a '91 4Runner, and I bought it with about 140,000 miles on it, and it now has about 165,000. My HG was replaced in '97 or '98 if I remember right. And my Timing Chain has been replaced (don't remember when off hand, there should be a sticker somewhere in the engine bay that says when it was replaced). I've had my 4Runner for a little over a year, and I've had no major problems, except that my power steering gearbox was leaking uncontrolablly so I had to get that replaced, but that's happened on almost every car i've had (hmmmmm makes me wonder if I'm a little hard on my power steering ). And i've never regreted buying my 4Runner, even at 165,000 miles it's still running strong, and if they're properly maintained they'll last even longer (My uncle had a toyota truck that had a little over 300,000 miles on it before it died.)

So other than the HG and Timing Chain, I can't really think of any other things to check out besides the obvious things (no accidents, brakes, shocks, tires, clean running engine, etc...)

Good luck with it, and Welcome to the forums

-Braden

 

Welcome to the forums grilledpickle.

Yes, there are also 2nd gens with the 22RE engine in them.
They are the ones with timing chains, where as the V6 has a timing belt.

Big difference.
If a timing chain breaks, it can destroy the whole engine in a worse case scenario.
It is called an "Interference" engine.

A timing belt if it breaks will cause no harm, then engine just shuts down.
It is called a "non interference" engine.

Other than the head gasket issue that Braden mentioned, they are a very reliable rig.

Just don't expect neck snapping warp speed from the rig.
The V6 is torquy for off road and climbing hills, but around town and on freeways, it won't win speed races.
But it was not designed for that either.

I have a '91 and I'm very pleased with it.

 

Big HEY to the picklemon!!!

If its the v6, have it compression checked and leak down tested to make sure that a valve may not be going out. Seems that I read about several in the 130k mile range (mine was one of them) that had a valve warp. It may not really be common, but its just that mine messed up, and I researched it and read that others had a problem with valves at about the same time. Mine had never had head work before because it did not fall within the headgaskit recall range. Look at the radiator for any cracks or pinholes. Check the rear tailgate window for smoothness and function. The tend to get gummed up a bit. If its a 4x4, check the CV boots since they turn all the time. Thats about all I can think of.

 

Oops my bad about the timing chain. I couldn't remember whether we have chains or belts :pat: Thanks for clearing that up Corey (and enlightening me as to what happens when the timing belt/chain do when they break, I never knew that; and also about the 22REs)

Corey's right about the speed thing, I forgot to mention that. If your brother is looking for a fast truck/SUV don't go with the 2nd Gen 4Runners, as Corey said they aren't made for it... Although with a 2-1/4" Cat-Back Exhaust system, and a K&N FIPK Kit, and ECT on, my '91 my 0-60mph time was about (+/- a second) 14 Seconds, which I think it pretty darn good for this big lug Not to mention that once you get some 31" tires on these bad boys they're very capable offroad machins

-Braden

 

Thanks for the replys.

Haha "interference engine" I am all too familiar with those, my 16v is an interference engine, gotta love replacing bent valves


I'll be sure to forward all this info too him. Still have to convince him not to offroad it, since he cant afford to fix it, just drive :rolleyes: