3rd/4th Gen 4runner or Xterra? Which would you get and why?

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Cam_Cam_Tech

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rixham said:
Actually, the 00 did have the rear diff lock, at least my 2000 3.4 5-speed did. I think the center diff lock was for the automatics only, but the manuals still had it. Also, 2000 was the last year of the manual in the 4Runner.
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Good call, it's hard to remember all the options and packages toyota had made for certain model. Remember I work on FJ40s all the way to 2017 models. It's so much information and variance in each model I don't beet myself up for not remembering or knowing small details.
3rd gens are great packages and any of them will make a great DD and weekend off-roader.

Yo reply to a post earlier the 4.0 head gaskets can be done in the vehicle. There isn't any write ups i know of bc most of these are done at a shop due to its labor intensive job. It's a big disassembly just to remove the heads. I'll post a picture of it later


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ToyotaPro Concord said:
Yo reply to a post earlier the 4.0 head gaskets can be done in the vehicle. There isn't any write ups i know of bc most of these are done at a shop due to its labor intensive job. It's a big disassembly just to remove the heads. I'll post a picture of it later


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Yea, I figure there wouldn't be much info on this simply because of the nature of the job.. That said, I was thinking about just buying a FSM or something similar to get an idea.
 
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theoutbackdream said:
Yea, I figure there wouldn't be much info on this simply because of the nature of the job.. That said, I was thinking about just buying a FSM or something similar to get an idea.
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Honestly I don't think you'll run into any issues. We just see lots and lots of these vehicles due to being at a shop. So my sample group is huge and only had a handful with this problem.

Enjoy the new vehicle and have a blast! Look forward to seeing the trips and mods you will be doing!


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It looks like I am a little late to this conversation but it alsi looks like there were not to many Xterra fans weighting in.

I love my 07 Off Riad Xterra. I have 130k on it. A LOT of those miles are some rough Sonora Desert and Rocky Mnt trails.

I have always been amazed at just how capable of a vehicle it has been. Only reale modification I have done to it had been rock sliders and an 1.5" lift so I could run little bit taller tires. Not counting tires which are an expendable, I think I have less than $1000 tied up in it. My buddy who has a 4 door Jerp has spent 3 or 4 times that just to "keep up" with me.

I did just upgrade the shock with a step up but that was after taking the stock ones to 130k. Only othe complaint is to stock windshield only lasted to 120k. (I should get this fixed sometime soon).





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ToyotaPro Concord said:
Honestly I don't think you'll run into any issues. We just see lots and lots of these vehicles due to being at a shop. So my sample group is huge and only had a handful with this problem.

Enjoy the new vehicle and have a blast! Look forward to seeing the trips and mods you will be doing!


@cam_toyota_tech
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I hope I don't run into any issues! But as the nature of the game is, something is bound to happen. haha

Thank you very much! :)
 
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KD7WCD said:
It looks like I am a little late to this conversation but it alsi looks like there were not to many Xterra fans weighting in.

I love my 07 Off Riad Xterra. I have 130k on it. A LOT of those miles are some rough Sonora Desert and Rocky Mnt trails.

I have always been amazed at just how capable of a vehicle it has been. Only reale modification I have done to it had been rock sliders and an 1.5" lift so I could run little bit taller tires. Not counting tires which are an expendable, I think I have less than $1000 tied up in it. My buddy who has a 4 door Jerp has spent 3 or 4 times that just to "keep up" with me.

I did just upgrade the shock with a step up but that was after taking the stock ones to 130k. Only othe complaint is to stock windshield only lasted to 120k. (I should get this fixed sometime soon).


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Thats amazing to hear, glad you've had a good experience with the Xterra. Maybe sometime in the future i'll be able to afford another rig and make it a xterra :)
 
Mike G

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theoutbackdream said:
Hmm good to know. I'm exactly where you're at. I test drove a few 4runners/saw them in person, but I read about the headgasket issue which made me second guess the 03~05 4runners.... The 06+ option is what i've been looking for but it seems nearly impossible as I've been sitting on CL everyday and they seem to get sold within the hour or so....

But i've been wondering...
How badly are the 03-05 models affected by the HG issue?
I've never done a HG, but i've done a timing belt/water pump on a miata. Could I replace the HG at home easily?
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For the early 03 model years, I haven't seen too many HG issues. T4R.org started a list of HG issues that included the MFR year and their was only a few 2003 that were affected. It makes me think of those 2003 model years that were affected may have been built at the end of 2003? Right now, I'm going on 177777 miles with no issues except for the normal wear and tear.

If you find a 2003 to 2005 and decide to test drive it. Make sure the engine is cold. I read that a HG issue will cause a ruff ideal for the 1st few minutes at start up and white smoke will come out the tail pipe after start up. Bring along a OBD II meter as well, just make sure the OBD meter is not the cheap kind because it will erase the memory in the VSC and you'll have to do a Zero Point calibration to fix it ( which isn't too hard to fix). I'm no mechanic and but maybe @ToyotaPro Concord can chime in on this. Good Luck and I hope you find the vehicle you want.
 
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I have owned a 96, 05 & now a 2016 and so far all I have done is basic maintenance to all of them!


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Mike G

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theoutbackdream said:
Thank you! Happy I got it in black! One of my top 2 choices. It was either black or silver! :)
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My 1st choice was white and then Silver but those colors we're hard to find so I settled on black which looks awesome when it's clean.

For black, I recommend waxing it 4 times a year. (if you can or at least twice a year) I did this for several years and it looked great and I always got compliments on truck. The extra waxing also helps protect the plastic cladding on the side fenders from fading. Also wax the roof rack rail end caps. Those tend to fad fast since they are always getting direct sunlight. For the last 3 years I haven't waxed my truck and now the plastic cladding is really bad.





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Mike G said:
My 1st choice was white and then Silver but those colors we're hard to find so I settled on black which looks awesome when it's clean.

For black, I recommend waxing it 4 times a year. (if you can or at least twice a year) I did this for several years and it looked great and I always got compliments on truck. The extra waxing also helps protect the plastic cladding on the side fenders from fading. Also wax the roof rack rail end caps. Those tend to fad fast since they are always getting direct sunlight. For the last 3 years I haven't waxed my truck and now the plastic cladding is really bad.





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Interestingly enough, I read that the silver was the most common 4runner. I really thought I could get a silver one, but oh well..

Wow, thanks for the heads up. I might be waxing the car often then.....
 
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