First time post looking for advice and apologies in advance if this is not the proper place to post this. Thinking of picking up a 1990 Toyota Pickup 4x4 V6, manual with 180K miles on it. One owner (Calif), no AC, no power windows. I had my buddy who does a little DIY with his vehicles look at it and found the following: Left CV boot leaking, oil leak from oil pan and some on rear main seal. Play on the idler arm, no frame rust but some minor rust on the body (by front roof next to windshield, door and bumper). Also some peeling of clear coat on the body. Tires, brakes are still good and all gauges work fine. Record shows timing belt, water pump done at 90K miles. Battery and alternator are fairly new at 175K mi. One dashboard crack. My friend said it will probably cost somewhere around $2K +/- parts and labor to fix cv, idler arm, oil pan and rear main, including clutch if I take it to local indy shop. Will be using this as a short DD and weekend warrior service truck. Seller's asking $5K so I want to know what's a good price for this truck? TIA!

 

Pickup prices are VERY regional. I recommend Craigslist to get an idea of what's being sold in your (my) area. E.g., https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto...948014336.html

Do you need (want?) 4wd? That runs the price up (appropriately), and the weight will cut into your mileage. But if you think you might want it, get it.

You don't need A/C IN San Francisco (well, 2 weeks ago you did), but as soon as you cross the bridge and get into the valley, A/C is something you'll be glad you have.

Last, you don't really know where that oil leak is. Gravity pulls everything down and back; every leak looks like rear main. But don't fret; once you get the truck, get some spray-on degreaser and a garden hose. Clean it up, start it, look for oil.

 

I would suspect these are the source for the oil leak that you are seeing. The oil will flow down to the block/bell housing interface and wick down to the opening at the bottom of the bell housing and drip from there onto your front diff housing.