93 cruiser high mileage

[Nathant78]

I found a 93 model that i absolutely want...but it has 251k on the ticker.
would that be too high of mileage for it? what would i need to look at?
price is good, its local to me. i want to go look at it tomorrow badly.
if i decide to not get it or if they dont accept my bid ill pass the info on to others.

 

[BIGdaddy]

there's a myth that cruisers with high mileage are immune to having problems from such high miles...

That is very much not the case. Expect at least a couple grand in baseline maintenance, and parts simply reaching their failure point....

My dad has a 94 with about 210k, and has had to do quite a bit of work(couple grand) to get it up to snuff. Be clear, though, that these are normal parts that were just worn out. O2 sensors, brakes, tune-up, fluid change, locker/tcase solonoids, CDL switch re-wire, lighting rewire from worn insulation, etc...

The overall truck is in excellent shape. And now that he's done all that, it's good to go for the most part. (he just did an OME lift, so he's actually transitioned into modding for overland travel)

If I were to buy a car with that many miles, it'd be a first gen 4runner with the EFI 22re, a fj60 with 2f, a fj80 with the3f-e or 1f-Z, or a Jeep cherokee w 4.0L.

So yeah, with realistic expectations of repair costs, I'd consider it a very wise investment.

 

[brentbba]

See if the front birfs/knuckles have been done. Ask if the head gasket is original or replaced. My HG just went at 202K on a '94 and unless you do it yourself, that's $2500 right there.

As BIGdaddy said - baseline all the fluids, etc. O2 sensors aren't cheap but easy to replace.

'General' rule of thumb on cruisers is at least 300K before even thinking about an engine rebuild, but remember - parts are not cheap on these trucks. They were $46K new in '94 (original owner of my beast - and that's unusual in itself!).

Lockers? Do you want them? Cloth or leather? Stock truck with that kind of mileage, even in excellent shape shouldn't fetch more than $3-4K at most and probably on the low side of that. They guzzle gas too!

 

[KLAKEBRONCO]

The buy in for a high mileage truck is of course lower. This gives room to fix and upgrade things as you go along.

In the end, everything you replace is NEW, and not just low mile so you are actually ahead of the game in some areas.

I'm convinced when buying used something around 150,000 miles is actually better than something that has just under 100,000. There has been time for things to go wrong and things to be fixed.
At 251,000 though anything could need to be repaired or replaced. Make sure that is in your budget.

 

[Nathant78]

well its sold. but it will give me some idea as to what i would need it put into one anyway.
thanks

 

[a.mus.ed]

As said above figure out if the major things have been done (birfs, head gasket). Then figure about $2000 in baselining into the price you're paying (+/- depending on your level of VOCD). If it is still a good price then buy. I'd figure the same amount in baselining regardless of how many miles are on an 80.