89-95 4runners?

[Ryno]

Looking at buying a 89-95 4runner for work, and for a desert vehicle when the wife stays home. I want a 5spd manual, power, 4wd, but other than that, what should I be looking for? I know the 3.0 v6 had head/ head gasket issues. How well do these trucks hold up as a daily driver, and a weekend warrior? I drive roughly 120 miles a day, so mileage is an issue. Thanks for any tips!

Mods-please delete my other post in the engine section.

[matt_helton]

everything is the same as the pickups except for the coils in the back. its a toyota, why are you even asking this? :)

[Ryno]

I ask because everything else I've read tells me I'm looking at a vehicle getting 20mpg, and the 3.0 is a 50/50 chance. A civic gets 35+mpg, but is no good for offroad. On the other hand, it gives me a place to keep tools safe, easy to load a bike on, and gives me a place to sleep with plenty of room in the desert.

[BajaFand]

Just stay away from the 3.0 if you can, that is the worst motor Toyota ever made. Other than that, Matt is right. I love 4-Runners and you can't beat Toyota's reliability.

[Lance T]

I have a 1989 4Runner with a 22RE in it. It has a header and a K&N on it with about 290,000 miles on it and with the 31's it gets around 24mpg. I can always tell when somebody has a 3.sl0w engine...because I pass them on the hills.

It has been a great truck...want to buy it? :D;)

[y2kbaja]

My 90 3.slow gets 12-14 mpg with gears and 33's. I don't daily drive it anymore because it's usually down for post/pre-run maintenance. Very capable vehicle. The 4runner has thousands of miles in pre-runs, desert runs and a couple of Baja trips.

[JESSE_at_TLT]

Just stay away from the 3.0...
Unless you're planning on swapping-in a 3.4L V6 out of a later-model Tacoma or 4Runner (it's a bolt-in deal).

[shooei]

I've got an 89 truck with the 3.slo. I've added a downey intake, headers, msd ignition and so on, and haven't had any problems with it. It's not the fastest but very reliabe as any Toyota. Never had the 22r but I'd guess that one is more fuel efficient.

[Ryno]

Was the 3.0 the main motor in these things, or is the 22re out there in a couple. My main priorities are 5spd manual, 4wd, mileage.

[JESSE_at_TLT]

There are LOTS of 4cyl trucks out there.

[Lance T]

I think that just the SR5's were the 3.0.

[curt]

There were many 4cyl trucks out there but I haven't run across any 4-runners with the 4cyl. The problem with the 4runner is they got heavier and heavier with every model production change as they "upgraded" it with accessories and creature comforts for mass appeal. The 89-95 came with the V6 (it needed the ponies to carry the weight) but unfortunately the 3.0 just never lived up to it's predecessors. It's prone to headgasket failure not once but repeatedly and the motor is just a touch faster than a moped going uphill. There are very little performance parts for the motor and in the end it will never come close to a stock 3.4 from a 96 or newer model. I have a 95 with about a perfect body, I considered scrapping just because of the power and a blown headgasket, it just wasn't worth the money or effort to me to build it. I also considered a 3.4 swap but the swap was way more than the truck was worth and IMO the chassis is just too heavy to make a reasonable pre-runner out of. Decided to let the kid drive it with the slight HG leak and just finish the motor then it's to the junkyard in a year or two...

Spend a little more and get the 3.4, it's a dead reliable powerplant with a great performance. Fuel economy isn't very good at sub 20 but for light prerunning you can bolt in a set of SAW coilovers and rear shocks to get some play out of it.

If economy is really important, look at a Tacoma with the 2.7l 4cyl. Economy is decent, power is decent at 150hp, and it's a very good platform to start a prerunner off of as you can build it all the way to a race truck if time and money are available. Always start with a good platform then you won't hit a ceiling as to what you can do with it over time as your needs and wants evolve...

Curt

[y2kbaja]

I agree with the weight issue as my 4runner in stock form according to Toyota spec sheets is 700 lbs heavier than a truck of the same.
But my 4runner is a very capable prerunner with a Chao front end and leaf conversion in back.
If I were to do a 4runner again I would go with 3rd gen 96-02 to get a 3.4.

[Ryno]

A truck is not an option. I have 2 already. My 2500HD is my tow truck, and my nissan single cab is what I am replacing. I am looking for a 4runner, pathfinder, blazer, etc. Something I can lock up my tools in after work, and throw a dirtbike on the back of. I want an SUV because we often do double shifts, so I could crash in the back. If I have to live with the 3.0, so be it, but spending 5k for a work vehicle first, and a desert vehicle 2nd is out of range. This is something I am going to spend alot of hours driving. If I get 20mpg, I'll be happy. Any other suggestions for an SUV with 4wd for $3k that will get 20mpg?

[curt]

OK got it...I did a search on traderonline.com just to get a feel for the prices. See below...
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=u&car_id=239625086&dealer_id=57401337&car_year=1996&num_records=25&model=4RUN&systime=&make2=&highlightFirstMakeModel=&start_year=1996&engine=&keywordsrep=&keywordsrep=&keywordsfyc=&keywordsfyc=&certified=&body_code=0&fuel=&awsp=false&search_type=used&distance=0&marketZipError=false&search_lang=en&showZipError=n&sownerid=570931&make=TOYOTA&color=&keywords_display=&page_location=findacar%3A%3Aispsearchform&min_price=2000&drive=&seller_type=b&position=top&max_mileage=&style_flag=1&sort_type=distance&address=95054&advanced=&end_year=2000&transmission=&doors=&max_price=4000&cardist=326

The price delta is only about $500-$900 between the 2 platforms from what I could see without getting into some real high mileage stuff... The 3.4 can go past 200k if maintained properly where as my experience is the other one is good for about 50k-70K between headgaskets. I'm really not trying to blow smoke up your britches and I know some people have had a decent experience with the 3.0 but the odds are very much not in your favor. One of our sponsors owns a Toyota salvage yard up here in Northern California, I tried to sell or trade him ours for something I could work with for my daughter. He said 2 things, it's virtually worthless ($500-$700) and he hates getting involved with them even as parts cars. The motors are so bad that even with the updated headgaskets its a 50k mile repair waiting to happen. He will only do 3.4 swaps now and he gets about $8000 for the whole job including parts...

If working on it isn't a problem, consider buying an older one with a 22re. They're lighter and come with a removeable half top. Unfortunately I think they are popular with the crawlers so maybe difficult to find.



Curt

[dan200]

I got a 97 with a 3.4 I might be willing to part with. I also have a 3.4 with a gen 1 TRD Supercharger on a hoist in the garage. PM me if you are interested.

I have had a 95 3.0 and a 97 3.4 and 98 3.4 SC. the 95 was ok but i leased it and it was gon after 36k miles. the others I loved to death. dont buy the 3.0. the 3.4 is so much better.

[Lance T]

A truck is not an option. I have 2 already. My 2500HD is my tow truck, and my nissan single cab is what I am replacing. I am looking for a 4runner, pathfinder, blazer, etc. Something I can lock up my tools in after work, and throw a dirtbike on the back of. I want an SUV because we often do double shifts, so I could crash in the back. If I have to live with the 3.0, so be it, but spending 5k for a work vehicle first, and a desert vehicle 2nd is out of range. This is something I am going to spend alot of hours driving. If I get 20mpg, I'll be happy. Any other suggestions for an SUV with 4wd for $3k that will get 20mpg?

I'm the opposite, I need a truck. What kind of Nissan do you have? How about a trade?

[BajaFand]

Get an 86-88 with the 22re and the IFS front end. They should get great gas mileage and be allot more reliable and hold their value better than the 89-05 models. They definately hold their value, nice ones go for $3500-6k and over.

[Lance T]

Get an 86-88 with the 22re and the IFS front end. They should get great gas mileage and be allot more reliable and hold their value better than the 89-05 models. They definately hold their value, nice ones go for $3500-6k and over.

You are thinking of the trucks. The convertible IFS 4Runner ran from 86-89. My 1989 has a convertible top.

[Ryno]

I did some more reasearch last night. It seems Nissan Pathfinders are pretty reliable and durable vehicles. From what I saw on autotrader, they aren't priced bad either. I'm heading that direction until I read a review that is negative about them. The v6 in them has way more power than the toyota 3.0, and they seem to last a long time. Thanks for the input guys!

[stick-boy-rick]

hey ryno, i've got a 95 and i'm very happy with it. i did put a new 3.0 in it 2 years ago from a company called JAPAN ENGINES.
it was NOT one of those "40,000 mi. jobs" coming out of japan, this was a new crete engine. paid $2,500.00 for the engine with a
$300.00 core so $2,200 that also included the return freight of the old engine. hope my .02 helps!

[Dezertpilot]

Get an 86-88 with the 22re and the IFS front end. They should get great gas mileage and be allot more reliable and hold their value better than the 89-05 models. They definately hold their value, nice ones go for $3500-6k and over.

True dat! I sold my 86' 4runner with 7m-gte conversion done by a fellow board member for 9k in June of 2006. I personally spent over 10k easily along with the work the former owner did. It needs a few items but when running again the guy will have an AWESOME prerunner or maybe even a fun 1450 vehicle.

[Old School 8]

I'm not sure which post to quote under, but I'll post my story anyway. My wife had a 94 4-runner, with 95,000 miles on it. Its only "Off Road" modification, was a set of BFG All-Terrain tires. I had heard about the head-gasket problem, but thought "that wont happen to us !" One day she was driving it home from her work, and called to say it was over-heating. I met her, and we had it towed to the Toyota dealer. The dealer told us of the head-gasket deal, and it turns out that the recall (read: free motor) was only on models with less than 100,000. We're in ! Even though it took the dealer 6weeks (had to wait in line) we got it back with a brand new (I saw it in the box) 3.0 motor.

A few months later, Nick Vanderwey called me about driving his class 8 (the cow truck) in the Baja 2000. But the deal was we had to pre-run our section, in a 4WD. So my co-driver and I drove for 3 days from Tucson to San Ignacio, pre-ran our 500 mile section for 2 days, 1 day to shuttle back to where we get in, someone else drove it to where we got out, and 3 days home to Tucson. All tolled, we drove 4000 miles in nine days. With not so much as a flat tire. We had brought allong an Ice chest, food, two Jerry cans of gas, two sleeping bags, two helmet bags, and survival stuff like high-lift jack, tools, and spare air and fuel filters. It was pretty loaded.

Our little family eventually out-grew that little 4-runner that I pre-ran the Baja 2000 in, (I also pre-ran a couple-hundred miles of the 2002 Baja 1000 in it). We sold it to a guy down the street in 2003, even bragging about it having an (almost new?) engine in it. The poor guy had an old lady run a stop-sign, and totalled it out only a month or so, after he bought it......

My wife still loves Toyota, and now drives a Toyota Matix. Said if her little 4-runner can survive the B2K, (with a good car wash), that's the brand she's sticking with !

[tool46n2]

Great post. been looking to get a 4-runner, need to get rid of our ford ranger for a small s.u.v. just didnt know what to look for in a 4-runner. Thanx guys.