Help Identifying Lift and Other Sundry Advice

JasonJLamb

Observer
Hi all,

I'm shopping for a used, inexpensive rig and came across a 1996 Toyota 4Runner Limited here in Lawrence. I've seen the vehicle up close and emailed with the owner (which is how I know it's a '96, not a '98 as listed) but have not started or driven it.

The good:
  • Third-gen, my favorite 4Runner, with rear locker and 4:30s
  • Lift and Tundra brakes
  • Clean 17" FJ Cruiser wheels and recent 265/70-17 BFG A/Ts (as tall as I'd want to go)
  • California truck has only been in Kansas about two years
  • Current owner is second (~two years); he's put on about 30k miles
  • Has alarm, remote start, and a nice stereo
  • Clean CarFax report that shows regular maintenance and California inspections
  • No rust (thank you, Sacramento, CA!) and no obvious off-road damage to rockers, bumpers or frame rails
The not-so-good:
  • Truck has 193,000 miles; engine and trans are original as far as the owner knows
  • Owner does not know what kind or brand of lift
  • He does not know when the timing belt was last replaced
  • Front tires already show a little abnormal wear (like bad shocks)
  • Driver's seat is ripped and console lid is stickered up
  • Other minor wear and tear
The ugly truth:
I'm totally smitten with this rig and drive past it three or four time a week!

Your help:
It seems like a decent buy, but the mileage, unknown lift, lack of a recent timing belt replacement and front tire wear have me weary. My budget is pretty tight and I will be using this as a daily driver and family hauler. So, my questions are:
  1. Any good tips for trying to identify the lift set-up? Any other things to look for with a lifted 4Runner?
  2. And comments about buying a Toyota and/or 4Runner with so many miles?
I've read up as much as I could here and on T4R.org (buyer's guide) and IH8Mud (FAQs), which gave me a lot of great general info and things to look for when I drive it, but I was looking for your comments specific my points above.

I appreciate your help!

Jason
 

downhill

Adventurer
All I can give you are some things to think about. 193k is enough to do a good bit of damage if the previous owners didn't keep up with maintenance. I'd be looking for records or some evidence that suggests it was well cared for. If it was, it could have another 100K left. More than likely you are going to need to rebuild the front suspension. New balljoints, bushings etc. That's most likely the cause of the tire wear, although the shocks may be bad too. If you don't know when the timing belt was replaced, you should do that. A broken timing belt is not a good thing.

If it were me, and I really liked the vehicle, I'd first confirm the maintenance. If that is a dead end I would pass on it. If that checks out, I would make sure the selling price allowed me to fix the things that need work. If not, I would pass. I try not to buy modified vehicles for the most part. Too often the work done is substandard. The most imporatant thing to know about buying a used vehicle is when to let it go and keep looking. It's best not to fall in love with any vehicle that you are looking to buy because it can cloud your judgement. Probably not the things you wanted to hear, but that's what I would tell a friend.
 

Applejack

Explorer
Spend a few bucks and take it to a trusted mechanic. He wont be able to tell you everything but he should be able to give you some good feed back on what else is going on with the vehicle. He won't be able to tell you if the timing belt have been replaced or not, and if dealer service records don't say, just figure that's something that's going to have to be done soon. The good thing with the 3.4 is that it is a non-interference engine so if the timing belt does let go your pistons wont smash into your valves. As far as what kind of lift it has, that may or may not be a big deal. Can you tell us if it's a spacer type lift, coilover etc. a picture would be helpful too.
 

99runner

New member
That is a fairly sought after set up if it is the factory locker. I have 188k on my 99 which when replacing the valve cover gaskets i found wasn't taken care of very well by the previous owner. It still runs beautifully and starts quickly every time. If you are able to do your own maintenance the timing belt is fairly cheap, though a real pain. The weakest link in that vehicle is the trans cooler in the radiator. You can get an external trans cooler and have the peace of mind.
As far as the lift goes, there are a number of options it could be. From what I've heard spacer lifts aren't too bad, and unless it looks like a real hack job it shouldn't cause problems, but without seeing cant really say. The abnormal wear on the front tires could be just a bad alignment or could be worn parts, if the seller would let you, you could jack up a the front tires and check the ball joints for play.
I don't know what resale is in your area, but i paid 9500 for my 99 back in 06, so that price seems a bit high. Applejack's suggestion is a good one, get some one you trust to look it over, factor in changing the timing belt and possibly a trans cooler and talk the guy down on the price some.
 

JasonJLamb

Observer
Thanks for the great comments!

downhill, that's why I posted here, so you could get my head out of the clouds. I do really like it, but with a vehicle this age, I definitely want to be careful.

Applejack, your suggestion for an evaluation was a good one. My dad's a mechanic and always taught me to get any used car inspected. If the seller doesn't let you take it for an inspection, walk away. Unfortunately, he's in Chicago, and I'm here in Kansas. But I have called around to see who can inspect her for me, if I go this route.

99runner, his price is not unreasonable considering the market here for 4Runners. There are several used dealer lots that specialize in getting 4Runners, and they jack their prices, so the private sellers do as well. Which is weird since there's not a huge market for off-roading here. But those here that have trucks and SUVs with four-wheel drive use them as we have a lot of gravel roads with low-water crossings and other obstacles and big storms in the spring and early summer and snow in the winter.

I think I'll test drive it, and then think about an inspection. Assuming that checks out, I'll try to negotiate down the price. I don't really want to pay more than $5000 (hopefully less) considering a timing belt job and suspension work would be mandatory.
 

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