4Runner on a long road trip

Hi all,

Me and the wife are planning a road trip up the east coast—approx. 1,000+ miles from A to B. Would any one of you trust an 02’ SR5 with 145,000+ miles on it to make a round trip like that without any issues if its been properly taken care of? We’re trying to avoid flying and renting a car isn’t much of a better situation. If not, what would it rake to make it sturdy enough for a trip like that?

 

1000 miles is nothing. You know the car better than anybody else.

 

Thats fair. I personally feel confident for the most part. I’ve done a lot of preventive maintenance scheduled for its age. There are a few things that could be taken care of first. The wife, however, needs confirmation.

thanks for the input

 

Agreed with @canadian.bacon . I've taken many road trips in 4Runners with over 200K on them. It sounds like you take good care of it, so I wouldn't worry.

Have fun, and post pictures!

 

Thank you sir!

I haven’t owned him that long, this is kinda the first car I’ve owned that is worthy of any road trip out of state, so still kinda getting a feel for whats good and whats not. I’ve been burned in the past with previous rigs of different natures, so thought I’d pop a quick question and see what people say. I take very good care of him and so far he takes very good care of me, so with all the encouragement I feel much more confident. I appreciate the advice! And I will definitely post some highlights after the trip!

 

Should have no problems...so take the boss, and enjoy the ride...happy motoring

 

Hit the road and have a great trip!

 

Keep in mind an 02 4 runner is almost 20 years old now. They are said to be very dependable
I have never had a car older than 10 years, living in New England, cars just dont last much longer than that.

 

same can be said for the Michigan area...brutal winters, lots of road salt...eats 'em up !

 

I've taken both my 87's on any number of 1000 mile, or longer, trips. I used to live in Yuma, and would run up to the San Francisco Bay Area, where I grew up, every now and then, just to see the old neighborhood, maybe walk in the redwoods for a while. Only palm trees in Yuma. Blech!. Some time on the beach, too. Yuma has 200 miles of beach in any direction you might choose. No ocean, though. Again, BLECH!
Never had a bit of trouble out of them. Heck, they both would run better after a long trip like that, than before. It's like it cleaned the valves, pistons, plugs, and so on. Maybe it does.

As long as you've kept up the maintenance and repairs, I wouldn't have any hesitation. Give the belts and hoses a good look, things like that, to ensure they're all in good shape, and the belts are tensioned correctly. Maybe go pick up spares, just in case. You know good old Justin Case, don't you? We all know Justin. Can't hurt to have them along. Plugs and wires, too.
Oil changed recently, and a good Toyota filter on it. Maybe flush-n-fill the cooling system, if it needs it.
Carry a tool box with all the usuals. Screwdrivers, wrenches, sockets, pliers, etc. You never know, but chances are you won't need them. Better to have them and not need them, than need them and not have them, though, you know?

Have a good trip, and don't even think about your truck. It won't let you down
Pat☺

 

if its been properly taken care of
Can't guarantee anything of course, but I'd ride with ya no problem.

 

Well has the timing belt ever been replaced? If not, that needs to be taken care of. The other thing to do is to attach an OBD tool and read any codes that may be in the system. Also if the ignition wires and for that matter plugs have not been replaced, they will need attention too.

 

Thank you all for the great advice! Our trip isn’t until September, so before then the only thing I think I have left to do is the bearings (not sure if its the front or back yet) and the rear axles seals, other than that near every preventive maintenance that I could do, I did, and then some. New Valve cover gaskets, intake manifold gasket, radiator, timing belt, camshafts plugs and seals, ball joints upper and lower, tie rods, stabilizer bars, spark plugs, and anything related thereafter, the whole sha-bang. I went ahead and even did the 231mm Tundra brake upgrade. That is some good advice though, to get an OBD tool and check for any codes. I probably should do the ignition wires as well. I do have one concern, and one I’m not tally sure if its fixable or not. For some reason the engine seems really loud only in the driver seat around 2,000-3,000 rpm when its under a loud. It kinda hurts my ears and my wife has said it hurts hers whenever she has driven it. I don’t know if that is normal or not, but its kinda bothersome, especially when you leave it in cruise control and it has to swap up a gear when going up a hill. It can be pretty deafening. I’ve thought about insulating the floor board some more, but I don’t know how much that will help. To me it doesn’t sound so much mechanical as much as just acoustic, but I could be wrong.

 

If I had to guess, I would say you have a leak in the exhaust system, probably at the inlet to the muffler, the actual muffler casing is cracked, or one of the two seals for the cat is leaking. Possibly even at the mating between the head and the exhaust manifold. The inlet to the muffler is a known place where the pipe cracks, right where it's welded into the muffler. The actual case of the muffler is known to crack right there too.
Either take it to a muffler shop, and let them run the system end to end for cracks, breaks, or leaks. or do it yourself.
Either way, I'll wager you find a leak, or crack, someplace. Makes the truck sound awesome when the gas is pushed hard. VROOM!

Good luck!
Pat☺

 

Address any issues and a good tune-up. Make sure you have a jack, lug wrench,good spare ( MY '85 SR5 P/U was stolen and I replaced the Hi-Lift bit not the bottle jack=You guessed it: a flat at the top of Wolf Creek pass in a blizzard on the way back from an Mulie hunt in WY). If going over the mountains (Cascades,Sierras or Rockies) be sure to have snow gear == We got snowed in at the Old Faithul Lodge in Yellowstone for 3 days the weekend after Labor Day; Needed 4WD on Memorial Day in the Cascades and in June in Angeles Forest in SoCal.

My wife's RAV4 AWD (used pretty much just around town here in the Cascades) has a tow rope, shovel, kitty litter and a tire inflator 24/7/365.

BTW: That truck was still running good when I sold it @ 327K for $2500.

 

Not gonna lie, I agree with you, it does have a very good sound too it. How would I check that myself? And would that be an easy enough fix? Such as a patch or something of the sort? I have next to no experience with the exhaust system. I’m pretty familiar with just about everything else on a car except for the exhaust. That would be on my to-do list before the trip, it can get pretty obnoxious from the cabin for the driver, to the point where if there is enough stress on the engine it drowns out even the music.

 

Maybe I missed it, but didn't see reference to tires. Regardless of the age and mileage of a vehicle, tires are absolutely key. That's a weak link that could ruin any trip. If they've got good tread and sidewalls, not too old / dry rotted, I'd agree with what everyone else is saying here. No guarantees, but if the thing drives, rides and sounds good now it should be fine for 1000 miles.

Regardless, I'd err on the side of caution re highway speeds. Keep her close to the speed limits.

 

An exhaust leak can be...CAN BE, I say...pretty easy to find. Just crawl under the truck and follow the exhaust pipe along it's length. I don't fit under my pickup like I used to when I first got it many years ago, but thankfully, the 4Runners are high enough I still fit under them pretty easily
A crack in the muffler case is usually right near where the pipe enters the muffler. Again, pretty obvious. Same with a crack in the weld where the pipe enters the muffler. If the weld is cracked, it's visually pretty obvious. I mean, a crack in the metal of the weld, or the muffler case is very visually obvious. They also tend to get a black coating to them, as exhaust leaks out. Just a little carbon buildup. Makes cracks easier to see, though. Looks like someone took a Sharpie and drew on your muffler, or wherever.

If it's a cat seal, you might need to hold your hand near it to feel for the puffs of air as the exhaust leaks out. Be careful NOT to touch the actual pipe, though. It get's HOT.

Unless you're a good welder, and have the pipe bender to shape new sections of pipe, just take it to a reputable muffler shop. Let them track it down. I've had 2 mufflers fail by getting cracks in them on my 87 4Runner so far. The first one, I took to Midas there in Yuma. They guy said he heard me coming a couple blocks away
Anywho, that was more than 20 years ago, and just last year, the muffler got a crack in it again. I took it to the Midas here in K Falls, and they replaced the muffler, and checked out the rest of the system for me. FOR FREE! They do good work and they honor their warranty. When they say lifetime, they mean it.
I'm not saying the Midas where you live is the best muffler shop in your area. There may well be a "small business" type shop in your area that's cheaper and does good work for their price. Just showing you my experience. Let your phone do the walking for you, to find a good shop. Check with your BBB for complaints, good reports, etc. It can be a great resource.

Exhaust line work is a pretty specialized operation. Unless you have the machines for pipe bending, and are experienced at welding thin pieces of metal together, let a shop do it. Well worth the money. But it's something you need to get fixed. An exhaust leak can get into the cab, and be very insidious, and VERY dangerous. Especially with the cab closed down because of heat or cold. Be careful, and keep the windows open, just to be safe.

Good luck to ya!
Pat☺

 

Well, I had a dumb moment. Come to find out the noise is my cold air intake. I guess I never realized how noisy CAI are. It was installed by the previous owner, and while I like the sound of it I’m debating if I even wanna keep it. Oh well, at least its not the exhaust!

 

Not dumb. Smart for figuring it out!

 

Glad you got it! And for a lot less money than an exhaust problem might have cost

Enjoy!
Pat☺

 

Glad this was mentioned. With all the regular maintenance and part replacement out of the way, I never forget to keep a close eye on tire wear and PSI! After hours spent under my truck, in the engine bay, and gutting the interior for sound deadening, it’s almost too easy to forget the foundation of any safe road trip: Tires!

I’d say if you’re comfortable with them, all the work you’ve put into your 4runner is going to pay dividends. I just had mine completely loaded (full interior, full roof box, two-bike rack) on a drive from socal to, and through, the Rockies in a late spring snowstorm. It could not have been more comfortable and pleasurable to drive.

245,xxx on the clock btw

 

I’m very glad you guys said this. I agree, those are little thought about but extremely important. Thankfully right before I bought the Runner the PO had just bought brand new Coopers, so tires are no worry (except for road hazards). I keep roadside insurance in my vehicle at all times; fluids of every type I need, basic tools, tire patch kit, and some extra stuff. Your sights are very helpful!

 

Well, we did the trip. From start to finish it turned out to be 5,200 miles, and the only thing I had to repair on the 4R is the spark plugs, coil packs and spark plug wires. We started in Louisiana, drove to Vermont, and then back home. We even made the climb to 6880 on Mt. Washington! Gorgeous views!

 

Very nice! We're about to make a trip from Louisiana, to Moab, and back later this month - with plenty of stops between. My rig is waiting to be picked up from the shop as we speak. I had them replace the cv axle seals because I didn't trust myself to get the depth right, and I'm running out of time.

Great looking rig!

 

Congratulations on the trip, it sounds like a blast. We're taking our first road trip next month, only about 1000 miles. I don't think there will be much off road action for us on this one, but hopefully we'll find SOME trails or something to at least get dusty on!

 

Update: just put 3500+ miles on mine on a road trip out west without any issues at all. 4Runners are the best.

Oh, and I passed the 350K mileage mark too!

 

Sounds like a more than decent trip! We did the same thing, there wasn’t any offroading, but I made it a point to search for some trails, because why not? It is a 4Runner after all.

Thats awesome! Thats quite a drive too. Whereabout did you start in Louisiana? We started in Central Louisiana for ours.

this makes me curious how far everyone has gone in their 3rd gen 4R.