cbaddy

First, I'd like to preface this: I am a newbie to the site. I read the site rules and am trying to abide. I've searched the site with a variety of key words and could not find any threads that were specific enough to what's going on with my 4runner - hence this thread.

The other caveat is that I (unfortunately) am not much of a car guy. I've done basic maintenance/ replacements, but when the talk turns to clutch brackets, drive lines, and U-joints, I'm lost. Sad, I know. I wish I was more adept, but I'm not. A true NOOB if ever there was one.

That said, this NOOB needs some help. I have a 1994 4runner, v6 engine, manual transmission, with about 180,000+ miles on it. I bought it with 170,000ish miles (maybe a little more, probably 172K). I drove it from Colorado to Nashville, TN and it's been running like a dream up until about 6 months ago...

Around that time, I started noticing that upon coming to a very abrupt stop (hitting the brakes hard. Not slamming on them per se, but definitely mashing down on them), the car would start stuttering (i.e. - a rapid series of jolts throughout the entire car that would be keenly felt in the brake pedal) and before stopping, and I'd hear this odd "clicking" noise that almost sounded like spokes of a bicycle hitting something while slowing down. (Does that give you an idea?)

I didn't think much of it, especially because I don't drive my car all that often (I bike to work) and it wasn't frequent enough to merit attention. HOWEVER, the problem has compounded to now where I notice a very real vibration throughout the entire car while driving it - especially at high speeds on the highway. What's more, while shifting into gear, the car seems to be pulling for power. The whole thing shudders until I get the RPMs up past 3 or 4,000. Even then the whole thing seems shaky. What's more, shifting into a new gear is not smooth and there is a little bit of a jolt.

Now, I thought it could be the clutch, and it very well could be, but when I press down on the clutch to shift, the pressure in the pedal seems smooth, and the car shifts alright (save the hiccup), which makes me think it might be something deeper. Someone suggest I look at the fuel filter/ fuel pump, but again, it feels structural. The car starts up fine and seems to run alright for a little while, but then after 10 minutes or so of consistent driving, that low vibration starts.

Any thoughts? Again, I'm not a car guy, so if you could please use layman's terms like "doo-hickey" and "thingamuhjob", it'd be appreciated. I will most likely be bringing it to a shop on account of my own ignorance and lack of tools.

Secondly- Are there any good Toyota Mechanics in or around the Nashville area? Or suggestions of good auto shops? I toying w/ the notion of bringing it into the Toyota dealership's shop, but I have a feeling that is going to cost something wicked, and I'm kinda poor. Additionally, I'm getting ready to move back to Colorado, so this is sort of an impending need.

FINALLY: Any and all help is appreciated. I'd like to say how cool/professional I think this site is, hopefully without sounding like a suck up, but if sucking up can get me some solutions, then suck up I will.

Again, many many thanks.

cbaddy

Nevermind - figured it out.

fdp101452

What was the problem?