Buying an Old 4Runner or Landcruiser for Noob

[BIGdaddy]

Get an 85-89 4runner (the one where the top comes off) with 22re 4cyl and a 5spd. Super easy to work on and tons of online support/writeups. Fantastic vehicle to learn mechanics on.

I would steer clear of the V6 4runner of that era as they have a known issue with headgaskets blowing and aren't as easy to work on the as the 4cyl.

Yup, this!

I've had two first gen 4runners. One with 120k miles and one with 280k miles. Both ran like tops, didn't use oil, and drove 70mph on the freeway getting from 20ish-25ish mpgs...

I would steer you away from anything but fj60's for landcruisers. They're very tough. FJ80's can be bought cheap, but honestly the ones I've been seeing lately are beat to crap and not worth the $3-4k you might shell out.

fj60's are gas-hogs, but honestly that's really their only downside, IMO. Everything else can be pulled apart with simple hand-tools and put back together with fresh parts.

 

[p nut]

You didn't say what your budget was but I agree with the above. Too many people out there think Toyota was sprinkled with some kind of magic fairy dust and are asking way too much for a clapped out beater with 250k on the clock. Not worth it to pay the "Toyota tax" when all you want is something to get you to the boonies.

For a lot less than a Toyota you can probably find a 1st or 2nd gen Explorer, spend $500 or so upgrading the suspension and you'll have a vehicle that is every bit as capable and probably more comfortable on the road than an 80's Toyota.

Says the dude with a Toyota. Look, we all vote with our money, and obviously when you bought your 4Runner, you could have bought a cheaper alternative from Ford, GM, etc. But you didn't. Which makes me think you're one of those that may have sniffed that magic fairy dust as well and paid the "Toyota tax"?

 

[BIGdaddy]

Says the dude with a Toyota. Look, we all vote with our money, and obviously when you bought your 4Runner, you could have bought a cheaper alternative from Ford, GM, etc. But you didn't. Which makes me think you're one of those that may have sniffed that magic fairy dust as well and paid the "Toyota tax"?

LoL

 

[Martinjmpr]

Says the dude with a Toyota. Look, we all vote with our money, and obviously when you bought your 4Runner, you could have bought a cheaper alternative from Ford, GM, etc. But you didn't. Which makes me think you're one of those that may have sniffed that magic fairy dust as well and paid the "Toyota tax"?

The Toyota was the right fit for me, but I don't worship at the altar of the big T. For newer vehicles there's not a lot of price difference but by the time you get into "beater" level vehicles, 15 or 20 years old, the price difference is enormous and out of proportion. Look at what people are paying for early 4runners and compare that with similar vehicles by other makes and you can see something is seriously askew with the market.

If I only had $2000 to spend, I wouldn't go near a Toyota, for the simple reason that (a) any Toyota in that price range is going to be a worn out POS, and (b) for less I can get a newer, lower mileage vehicle from another brand.

 

[jaxonm]

Ive got one of each for sale, neither of which fit your requirements very well I'm afraid. My 4runner is a 95 and completely beat and in need a bunch of work to be a reliable expo rig. My FJ60 is completely rebuilt from the ground up to be 100% expo ready. The reason I am jumping in is not actually to try and sell you on either of these but to offer you to come take a look and see what you are getting into. I am in the LA area as well (western SFV) and would love to talk over the pros/cons with someone new to expo vehicles. If you want to check out either/or, or talk about the pros/cons I am happy to walk you through what I have done and what Ive spent. Shoot me a PM if interested.

 

[Arktikos]

Look for a 4cylinder 4runner, either 1st or 2nd generation, in good condition for a reasonable price. Newer models will be more expensive, don't have the sex appeal (attractive body styling) of the older ones and have inferior suspensions. Do you care if they go faster? I didn't think so. Everyone wants stupid money for used Land Cruisers, plus they're expensive to fuel and repair, so only consider if a rare good deal presents itself.

 

[Milo902]

Look for a 4cylinder 4runner, either 1st or 2nd generation, in good condition for a reasonable price. Newer models will be more expensive, don't have the sex appeal (attractive body styling) of the older ones and have inferior suspensions. Do you care if they go faster? I didn't think so. Everyone wants stupid money for used Land Cruisers, plus they're expensive to fuel and repair, so only consider if a rare good deal presents itself.

The older 'Yotas certainly have more character than the newer ones, but the coil sprung IFS is better in every way than the old torsion bar, IMO.

 

[Arktikos]

Well, this is what one experienced Toyota fanatic on the internet has to say about front end durability. I've read essentially the same thing from another guy who builds Toyotas for offroading.

While IFS was retained ( 1995 Tacoma and 4Runner), it too, was also completely redesigned. Instead of the very stout, strong double wishbone,
torsion bar suspension with ball type steering, the new system used a weaker double A-arm coil sprung system with car like rack and pinion steering.

 

[toyota_jon]

another thing I would add to the opinions is for overland the SFA isn't the holy grail. if you're rockcrawling it's a must, but for Overlanding? How much more often are you traversing backroads with long miles of washboards vs crawling over rocks where the IFS is far superior? IMO for most of us who's overlanding consists over long weekends up to a week the 86-89 4R is about as good as it gets. Lots of interior room, great robustness as well as decent MPG it's a good cheap all-rounder.

 

[Dwill817]

another thing I would add to the opinions is for overland the SFA isn't the holy grail. if you're rockcrawling it's a must, but for Overlanding? How much more often are you traversing backroads with long miles of washboards vs crawling over rocks where the IFS is far superior? IMO for most of us who's overlanding consists over long weekends up to a week the 86-89 4R is about as good as it gets. Lots of interior room, great robustness as well as decent MPG it's a good cheap all-rounder.

Amen! Having a SFA is cool and all, but it will slow you down a whole lot driving just a dirt road. Now when it get on rutted out or your climbing up a washed out hill then it's nice, but that's like 2% of the time compared to 98% on dirt roads. There are trade offs to both.

Has the OP even reposted? I think he should take the guys(sorry I didn't remember your name) offer to come drive his 4runnee and FJ60. If I wasn't in alabama, you could come take my 1st gen pickup on some trails and around town to try it out. I'm sure anyone here would let you try out there 1st gen 4runner.

 

[Milo902]

Well, this is what one experienced Toyota fanatic on the internet has to say about front end durability. I've read essentially the same thing from another guy who builds Toyotas for offroading.

While IFS was retained ( 1995 Tacoma and 4Runner), it too, was also completely redesigned. Instead of the very stout, strong double wishbone,
torsion bar suspension with ball type steering, the new system used a weaker double A-arm coil sprung system with car like rack and pinion steering.

I've heard this from quite a few people over the internets, but I just don't see how the torsion bar is any more stout than the coil sprung version. Ride quality aside, the coil spring IFS seems to hold up quite well for what it is. The each have their weak points (idler arms on the torsion, rack & ball joints on the coil) but neither seems like a deal breaker and can be mostly eliminated through a combo of regular maintenance and aftermarket parts.

Having owned both, the ride quality is no comparison, but I haven't beat on either offroad to get into the weaknesses people speak of. Can you elaborate?

 

[Clutch]

While IFS was retained ( 1995 Tacoma and 4Runner), it too, was also completely redesigned. Instead of the very stout, strong double wishbone,
torsion bar suspension with ball type steering, the new system used a weaker double A-arm coil sprung system with car like rack and pinion steering.

I have owned all three SFA, torsion, and coil.


I have had less problems with my coil front end over all the others, plus my current ride has the most miles out of the others...and still going strong. I replaced the rack at 250K miles....seems like a decent service life out of it to me.

The torsion bar front end rides rougher...little more difficult to lift...coils you just plop in new coil-overs and maybe UCA's. Super easy.

The SFA front end on those trucks had weak brakes, and birfs...I had to rebuild the birfs twice when I owned that particular 4Runner.

I dunno....I like the CO front the best, couldn't imagine going backwards. This probably make most people groan, would love independent rear suspension
on the Tacoma.

YMMV

 

[Box Rocket]

If by chance you end up with a solid front axle truck, there is large aftermarket support now for upgraded birfs and axle shafts. Marlin Crawler also sells HD inner axle seals so you can almost run them maintenance free. Unless you are running MASSIVE tires (over 37") the little 4cyl will never make enough power to blow up the stronger birfs.

But I have to agree with earlier comments. For overlanding, the IFS is much nicer. I can drive higher speeds in my IFS Tacoma than I can with my solid axle FZJ80 even though the Cruiser has a NICE coil spring suspension.

There are lots of upgrades out there for the brakes too. The early 4Runners might have some of the largest aftermarket support out there except for maybe jeeps. The can really be taken from something that is already good to something spectacular without too much effort.

 

[Skylo]

I would go for Isuzu trooper, most under rated 4x4 on the market.For less or the same money then a 4Runner you will get a more capable and spacious truck.