bit of advice?

[alrob]

gday,

looking at getting my first 4WD, and might go to look at a 4 Runner on the weekend. the description is as follows for Autotrader:

Toyota 4 Runner SR5 1986 4WD 2.4ltr manual, bullbar, towbar, aircond, p/steering, spotlights, mattress, curtains, 12volt plugs, 12mths registration NKB035 VGC $6000.

Rang him up. its a diesel ( YAY! what i've been looking for), but its done 390,000.

he said that when he bought it at 211,000, he replaced the longmotor (dunno what that is, any help?), and many other mechanical fixings since. What should i be looking for when i get there, in terms of future problems? just generally, i know its hard to say based on this little info, so sorry

also, how much u reckon i could wiggle off the price? i'm really keen on getting something in the next couple of weeks, and this is a) what i've been looking for ('86 at least, diesel) and b) geographically close.

[Gwagensteve]

That seems like a fair bit for a car with that many k's.

A long motor is basically a complete replacement motor that all of your old accessories (starter, power steer pump etc) are re attached to.

Are you sure you don't want an 85 with the solid front axle? That was my families first 4WD and we loved it so much we bought another one in 1991. On the other hand, the IFS fourrunner we owned had a dog of a front end.

I would be looking for a clean (and probably lower K's) 1985 for the $4500-5500 mark, in the long term, I think you will be happier with its performance.

[phippsy]

Welcome to OL, only my 2c, but it sound a bit expensive and I'd be worried about the mattress and curtains. Like buying a second hand sleeping bag...

[alrob]

ok, thanks for all the info guys. great help. now, is it worth holding out for a diesel, or am i gonna get the same performance out of a dual fuel wen doing the drive out to the grampians and around the grated roads? i'm not looking at caning it up some muttha of a hill just yet!

[bad_religion_au]

if your talking about graded roads, buy a falcon... the grampians roads aren't that hard (graded ones anyway)... but put it this way, if you get IFS and you get the 4x4 bug, you'll kick yourself for buying the vehicle. mate of mine has done exactly the same. tries to compensate with about 6 inches of lift etc, but still gets outdriven by stock 45 series troopys, zooks, and patrols. diesel is a personal preference. dual fuel you be better off fuel price wise, depending how gas prices go, but petrols do have a habit of being slightly less reliable. personal preference. i got one of each, and use them for different stuff.

alot of my mates with diesel hilux's and 4runners from the same vintage as your looking end up dropping in a commodoor V6 anyway

[MQ080]

alot of my mates with diesel hilux's and 4runners from the same vintage as your looking end up dropping in a commodoor V6 anyway

Can do but they alway turn out very very thirsty.

It is slightly on the $$$ high side for a truck with that amount of kms. If it's only driving graded roads go with the IFS, however if you do want to go more hardcore you'll hate yourself for it later:!:

As with the mattress and curtains I wouldn't exactly call them "selling points" ...unless it's someone famous and you could flog them off on Ebay Would you buy a house if the person selling it was willing to throw in their handkerchief

[alrob]

ahh, the curtains and matress wer'nt exactly at the top of my wishlist tho. maybe a added bonus?

[alrob]

well, checked it out today, and was pleasently suprised. knowing jack all about 4WD's, i really didn't know what to look for. but the guy seemed genuine, and as a aerospace engineer, it was obvious he had taken care of it. had a list of things he has repaired, some are the following...

RADIATOR CORE: New hoses, thermostat, waterpump.
Alternator/Vacuum pump
Injector pump input shaft resleaved. Injectors overhauled.
Exhaust system replaced
Gearbox Overhauled - New syncros and bearings.
Clutch replaced + input shaft bearing
Clutch master cylinder replaced
all 4 Glow plugs replaced

there was.....
A New Windsreen
No rust
corrosion inhibitor inside doors and panels (aerospace stuff from where he works - sounds good i think!)
Back is slightly lifted to be level when towing.

He has put switches in the back so as to be able to open the rear window and turn on rear light in the car, along with the 12V plugs. VERY clean interior. Fairly new tyres (can't remeber what they were, but he said they were about $200 each, 'goodyear all terrain' 31x10.5??) another set of mags for larger off road tyres, RWC, plus he'll put 12 months rego on from wen i(or who ever) buys it.

he also pulled me up and said that something i should have looked at if he was me would be the radiator water. Green is good, brown is bad. it was a healthy green.

considering all this, he was pretty firm on the $6000 i think.

i did have a look at an 85 petrol too today. Visible signs of patching and repainting areas around the doors and windows. rust coming through in places. leaves were quite flat and some rust areas, and it wouldn't start first shot! aparently it had only done 180,000ks. the reason it wouldn't start was actually that one of the wires coming from the battery was broken, and had to be rejoined. $700 to get it to RW the guy said, and for an asking price of $4900!!

to me, even though the km's are high on the diesel, it was been very well looked after.