Hey everyone I was hoping to get some advice on a possible purchase i may make.
I have a shot at a 94 4 runner with supposidly a headgasket out.
It hasn't been driven for about a year and a half.
It has the v6 3.0 engine which I am not familiar with at this point.
Automatic trans. Leather interior which is in pretty decent shape actually.
This truck has the small right rear passenger window broke out thats in the same frame as the larger passenger window which would need replacing and I wonder how available they are. Also the tailgate has quite a bit of rust right where the window slides into the gate body just outside of the window seal. Some rust starting on the right rear wheel well also. No stereo and 119k on the odometer.
I was thinking on offering 1,000 to 1,200 for it considering the engine work mostly.
Does that sound like a reasonable offer?
Thanks in advance.

 

Sounds reasonable to me, considering you'll need to replace a lot of the critical rubber parts and normal-wear parts that have been sitting for all that time, in addition to all the fluids. I would also check the frame for rust. Fixing body panels is a pain, but frame rust is a bigger problem AND a deal-breaker.

While you are doing the headgaskets ( use the new, slipper plate steel design headgaskets from Rock, Nitroseal or Toyota dealers -- DO NOT USE FELPRO ), you should also change the timing belt and hoses. Also take a look at the water pump. Do not re-use the head bolts,, the original Toyota head bolts are one-time-use only.

Mileage sounds good, provided the other parts of the engine (rod / main bearings , cylinders) didn't get hurt when the gasket blew.You can probably pick up the small window online at eBay or at a yard.

Food for thot.
Mike in AR

 

the question is whether or not you want to deal with all that. rust is like cancer. so like regularguy said check the frame. i guess that is an ok offer. alot of work but if for the most part body and inside are good then thats ok.if you are willing to do all that work go for it. they are pretty hard to work on from what i here. i havent had to work on mine though.....(yet)

 

Well i'll zip by and shoot some pics of it today and post them.
That rear window? Does it have a particular name since it's a smaller part of the rear window arrangement?
The owner is kinda making a big deal about the rims that they had put on it which i really don't care about. The original rims would be fine with me.
My girlfriend had a 99 limited 4runner before, and man it was great for pulling the boat, and the dogs loved the rear window arrangement.
So regularguy412 that new slipper gasket fixes the cronic headgasket problem with this engine if the heads are flat as well as the block? I also read some stuff here about removing the crossover pipe. Is that also a good fix for prevention of future problems? or is it still in the testing phase.
I was hping I could try to stop the rust on the right rear quarter wheel well and then add some fender flairs. I always liked the way they look anyways.

 

You might want to check and see if it is stolen: small window missing, stereo missing. Sounds like it would be worth a VIN number check. Check the title, it may have been totalled out by an insurance company.

 

I had an officer frend check that out. It's not stolen. The guy pulled the radio to prevent anyone from breaking into it. However he said some kids got busted throwing rocks at cars in the area and he assumed thats when the window was broke. I just ran over and shot some pics since its only a few blocks away. we had some snow recently so it has some on it but i may update the pics when it melts.

 

Trythis has a good idea -- worth checking. I'm not sure about the name of that little window, but if you do a search on eBay for your year runner and 'window' you'll likely get several choices with pics from people who are parting-out their runners. You can also check other years for the same window. I believe Toyota used the same style for several years running.

Yes. The slipper plate design is the fix. Adding a set of headers to the 3.0 also helps with the burnt #5 & #6 valves, as well as helping the blown headgasket problem.

Just remember that your gf's 99 likely had the more desireable 3.4L engine. It has quite a bit more HP and torque than the 3.0. The 2nd Gen Runners with the 3.0 are rated to have a 3500 lb. towing capacity. You 'might' be able to sneak up to 4000 lbs., but if you're climbing lots of hills,, you'll need a tranny cooler (auto trans) and some patience. The 3.0 was not Toyota's most shining moment. That said, it can be a reliable powerplant , after the headgaskets are done and all the tune up parts are in spec.

Mike in AR

 

Heres some links to pics.
http://members.cox.net/beverle3/4runner/01.JPG
http://members.cox.net/beverle3/4runner/02.JPG
http://members.cox.net/beverle3/4runner/03.JPG
http://members.cox.net/beverle3/4runner/04.JPG
http://members.cox.net/beverle3/4runner/05.JPG
http://members.cox.net/beverle3/4runner/06.JPG
http://members.cox.net/beverle3/4runner/07.JPG
http://members.cox.net/beverle3/4runner/08.JPG
http://members.cox.net/beverle3/4runner/09.JPG

 

Yeah regularguy412 that 99 limited was damn nice...you didnt even really know the boat was back there. And forget about getting stuck on the boat ramp.
This boat isnt that big it's only a 18.5 foot ski boat. And as far as hills...were pretty flat here in the east part of NE.
Damn i forgot to check if it even had a hitch on it.

 

doesn't look too bad on the underside. body sure needs some work, tho

 

the underside looks good. the tailgate is basily toast. as the top rusts it leaks down into the gait and youll probibly find another set of canerous rust on the inside andor the bottom....

I bought mine with virutally no rust and a fan bracket problem for $1400.

With a HG problem and rust like that, (althought the miles are ok) id say no more than $1000- $1100 tops...

 

There is a source for replacement fiberglass rear gates. I saw it on a board, but don't remember where -- right off hand.

Mike in AR

 

I know it would be expensive but I asked a Toyota dealer why the heck they dont offer a stainless rear gate since they know it will have problems with rust due to the window. Too bad. seems the little extra for the gate would be worth it in the long run.

 

Offer him 500.00 see if he bites.

 

Ok i'll do that. The owner said he would be in the neighborhood this weekend and I am curious if the engine still runs on it's own. I have a large cube truck / service truck I think I will take overthere so I can have the tools necessary to do a compression test, and leakdown test if I can get it started briefly. In my opinion that will make a large deciding factor on how far gone it may be. Anything else I should look for regarding the engine?
Also whats the average time to do HG's on that 3.0? Thanks.