I've been looking for a 99-00 4Runner limited with the rear locker for a few months and haven't had much luck. Today I looked at one that I thought was very nice for the price. It was the tan/silver 2 tone, 2 owners, ~175k miles, good paint and interior for its age, almost no rust, tow package, etc. Overall it was in really good condition but it had a few strange problems that worry me. I was wondering what you all thought?
First, the transmission fluid was bright red (brand new looking, didn't smell) but there was some oily sludge on the top of radiator fluid in the overflow tank. The line leading back to the radiator also had some brown/yellowish oily sludge built up in it. It didn't look like the "strawberry milk shake" but it looked like there was some oil in the radiator fluid. The radiator fluid was red but apparently Toyota uses red fluid according to Google. I'm thinking the radiator fluid is just really old and needs to be flushed out? The dealer said they would flush it. Also, the oil looked fine and didn't smell weird or look like it had any water in it. This was all after test driving the truck about 20 minutes including driving it in 4low and on the freeway.
The truck had some random electrical problems. Both the drivers side rear window and the back liftgate windows didn't work. The climate control fan and temp control worked but the "auto" didn't light up or seem to work. It had an older alpine stereo and amp but the front speakers weren't working. I'm assuming something is wrong with the install or wiring. Again, the dealer said they'd fix these problems.
It probably needs a new timing belt because the sticker says it was changed at 90k and the truck doesn't have any maintenance records. The engine is clean, looks like the plug wires are fairly new, has a KN filter, throttle body spacer and a relatively quiet aftermarket exhaust and cat. The truck drove great, straight, brakes felt good, transmission shifted smooth, engine felt smooth and felt as or more powerful than my buddy's '98. I drove another 2000 with 105k miles on it a couple weeks ago and this one drove better.
I think the dealer will take 7.5k after fixing the problems above which IMO is a pretty good price for Washington state. What do you all think? The truck isn't perfect but that's okay with me. I have a company car to daily drive so I'm mainly just going to use to truck for road trips, camping, and eventually towing a small trailer. If I buy it I plan on doing a tune up, changing the oil, front/rear gear oil, installing an external tranny cooler, and doing the timing belt/water pump.
First, the transmission fluid was bright red (brand new looking, didn't smell) but there was some oily sludge on the top of radiator fluid in the overflow tank. The line leading back to the radiator also had some brown/yellowish oily sludge built up in it. It didn't look like the "strawberry milk shake" but it looked like there was some oil in the radiator fluid. The radiator fluid was red but apparently Toyota uses red fluid according to Google. I'm thinking the radiator fluid is just really old and needs to be flushed out? The dealer said they would flush it. Also, the oil looked fine and didn't smell weird or look like it had any water in it. This was all after test driving the truck about 20 minutes including driving it in 4low and on the freeway.
The truck had some random electrical problems. Both the drivers side rear window and the back liftgate windows didn't work. The climate control fan and temp control worked but the "auto" didn't light up or seem to work. It had an older alpine stereo and amp but the front speakers weren't working. I'm assuming something is wrong with the install or wiring. Again, the dealer said they'd fix these problems.
It probably needs a new timing belt because the sticker says it was changed at 90k and the truck doesn't have any maintenance records. The engine is clean, looks like the plug wires are fairly new, has a KN filter, throttle body spacer and a relatively quiet aftermarket exhaust and cat. The truck drove great, straight, brakes felt good, transmission shifted smooth, engine felt smooth and felt as or more powerful than my buddy's '98. I drove another 2000 with 105k miles on it a couple weeks ago and this one drove better.
I think the dealer will take 7.5k after fixing the problems above which IMO is a pretty good price for Washington state. What do you all think? The truck isn't perfect but that's okay with me. I have a company car to daily drive so I'm mainly just going to use to truck for road trips, camping, and eventually towing a small trailer. If I buy it I plan on doing a tune up, changing the oil, front/rear gear oil, installing an external tranny cooler, and doing the timing belt/water pump.
