Hi all, my name is Joe. I currently have a celica that I swapped a 3sgte motor into about 7 years ago. It has been my dd for all of those years.

Now that I have purchased a house I need a more practical vehicle that I can randomly throw stuff into the back of (wood, concrete, tools, etc.) My celica has been completely unreliable so I have my heart set on a 22re 3rd gen manual pickup for the ultimate practicality and reliability.

My goal is to end up with a 89-95 22re 2wd (short bed, long bed, standard cab, extended cab...doesn't matter) with a/c. The mid 20's gas mileage is something that is necessary due to my 40 mile commute to work.

My question is:

Due to my non-existent experience with these trucks, from your experience, what are things to watch out for when looking at purchasing one of these trucks?

 

Mileage, rust, oil leaks. Under 200,000 is still young for a toyota, but over that and I would be asking if a timing service has ever been done, the clutch too.

 

also, in my opinion when you get past 1989 year the 22re and 5 speed are less common, there for they might be more expensive if someone thinks they are very sought after

 

Welcome to Yotatech, CT!

Personally, I've always checked the compression on anything I'm spending a decent amount of cabbage on. And yes, definitely look out for leaks, especially coming from the bell housing on a Manual(rear main seal), Valve Covers, etc. Let it idle for several minutes while you chat with the guys/gals, then keep an eye on the temp. Drive it a GOOD distance, at all speeds, checking for any rear axle chunkage and noise, as well as looking for 'death wabble', etc.(Also listen for driveshaft "PINGGGG" lol) Look for wiring hackage(if they've hacked into the harness). Listen with a stethoscope to the timing cover for any chain slap as well as oil pump gear chatter/spline-unhappiness. Listen to the bottom end for knock. Check the timing for any serious jumping around(that can be top end related, as I found out with my bad cam... And, can also be related to other 'timing' issues that can get costly, including Dizzy, etc.) Check the brakes for neglect/needs(Pads, rotors, etc....see if you're gonna be getting into 'some drama', ya know?). Do a pedal test on the brake pedal as well, checking for Master issues or Booster issues. If you can, IF the AC is working, currently, test it for holding Vacuum(The rule is it shouldn't lose more than an inch in 5 minutes.... Loaded with 28" Vacuum... Although, as my neighbor said, "NAHHhhhh, it shouldn't lose ANY vacuum, over night, if you've done all the o-rings/seals properly/or they're still good"). I would take a stethoscope to everything I could that would cost some decent cabbage(Dizzy, Alternator, Steering Pump). Also check voltage with a multi-meter(13.9-14.6V with Motor running?). I also check ALL THE FLUIDS, including the fluids on the trans, both pumpkins and the diff.(in a PU, yeah, not as much to check, but still). All of this wouldn't take more than 30 or so minutes, and if they're not willing to letcha simply 'check' things, ..well, I'd automatically get suspicious.

They are INCREDIBLY tough work horses, the lil guys, ...but when they begin to go, TRUST ME, it can be like an avalanche, lol.

Some of these things are not big jobs, but if there were suddenly a "LIST" of these things, well, you can just do the math and decide if the "likely variables of cost" are worth it, compared to price asked, yeah?