I kind of fell into this old 4runner. My daily driver broke down, nothing major, but a family member lent me this 4runner for a few days while my car was fixed. The 4runner had been driven about 200 miles the previous 2 years, most of that in one trip.
After talking and weighing options he decided to sell it to me for $1200. The good is that everything except the windshield washer reservoir works, including new AC and a new clutch. Cruiser control, power everything, and even though she's 25 years old, she feels solid and isn't creaky sounding or loose driving around.
View attachment 38755
Now she's a typical gutless 2nd gen, and she has blown a head gasket, and she does have some valve train noise. So my first order of business was to clean out the rats nests and fix whatever leaks I could.
View attachment 38757
So, valve cover gaskets, and some cleaning ... she still has a small rear main seal leak but that's staying until I have to change the clutch (which shouldn't be soon as it's new).
I've since gone 4 wheeling twice, once was pretty hairy, but she did awesome...better than expected. Here's a short video.
For the next few years my wife and I will use her for short overlanding trips and have already discovered the need for a small roof rack. Once we get the dogs loaded up with our gear, we are packed! So I added a rack last night.
View attachment 38758
There's the before.
View attachment 38760
The plan is simple...small mods that fit our needs. I'll put an OME lift on her, and some 33 x 10.5s soon. Then some gears to help with the gutlessness, along with a rear aussie locker.
I'd really like to add some lights and decent bumpers, probably some rock sliders too. But, dreams and budgets, right??? ... they rarely align.
See, I should call her 4play...I love exploring and camping, but my wife doesn't like the idea of pooping outside, so before I can invest in a modern rig, I need to see if she's really on board!
I think I'll win her over as she loves fishing anD hiking anyway and we will go cool places.
If and when I get a more modern rig, I'll do a SAS and make this 4runner a serious offroad machine. (She looks good, but has some rust and has been in a fender bender, which makes me comfortable chopping her up a bit in the future).
Anyhow, I guess that's a wrap for now!
After talking and weighing options he decided to sell it to me for $1200. The good is that everything except the windshield washer reservoir works, including new AC and a new clutch. Cruiser control, power everything, and even though she's 25 years old, she feels solid and isn't creaky sounding or loose driving around.
View attachment 38755
Now she's a typical gutless 2nd gen, and she has blown a head gasket, and she does have some valve train noise. So my first order of business was to clean out the rats nests and fix whatever leaks I could.
View attachment 38757
So, valve cover gaskets, and some cleaning ... she still has a small rear main seal leak but that's staying until I have to change the clutch (which shouldn't be soon as it's new).
I've since gone 4 wheeling twice, once was pretty hairy, but she did awesome...better than expected. Here's a short video.
For the next few years my wife and I will use her for short overlanding trips and have already discovered the need for a small roof rack. Once we get the dogs loaded up with our gear, we are packed! So I added a rack last night.
View attachment 38758
There's the before.
View attachment 38760
The plan is simple...small mods that fit our needs. I'll put an OME lift on her, and some 33 x 10.5s soon. Then some gears to help with the gutlessness, along with a rear aussie locker.
I'd really like to add some lights and decent bumpers, probably some rock sliders too. But, dreams and budgets, right??? ... they rarely align.
See, I should call her 4play...I love exploring and camping, but my wife doesn't like the idea of pooping outside, so before I can invest in a modern rig, I need to see if she's really on board!
I think I'll win her over as she loves fishing anD hiking anyway and we will go cool places.
If and when I get a more modern rig, I'll do a SAS and make this 4runner a serious offroad machine. (She looks good, but has some rust and has been in a fender bender, which makes me comfortable chopping her up a bit in the future).
Anyhow, I guess that's a wrap for now!