New to 3rd Gens. Got some questions.

Do the 3rd gen 4Runners have traditional C frames, or are the unibody?

Is there easy access under the hood to work on the engine?

Are parts expensive? Will the engines go 300,000 miles?

What MPG do they get? Does the 4wd break easy? (I'm probably going to get 2wd, but still curious.)

Etc.?

 

C is a negative. Boxed in frames.

3.4s are easy to work on. They are pretty basic

Depends on the parts you are after. Not cheap not exspensive.

300,00 is easy, guys are already passing 600k on stock engines and trans.

Mpg is about 15-20. 4x4 is pretty solid but if you want to break it it's not hard to do if you wheel them hard.

Blue

 

Sounds like a nice truck. Is rust an issue with the boxed in frame (unibody)? I know it is on Jeeps. I have heard the frames can rust from the inside out and are not repairable when they do.

 

The 3rd Gen 4Runner Buyer's Guide points out that 3rd gen have the traditional body-on-frame construction. So they are not unibody. This is good news!

 

They are a full frame like a truck. Look at my Avatar pic. That will tell you about the frames.

Here is the deal with the frames and rust. There are people out there thinking the 4Runner frames are prone to rust blah blah blah, well it's BS. It's all in how they were taken care of, were the truck lived it's life etc. My 99 Limited has zero rust in the frame. My 2001 SAS SR5 has zero rust in the frame. Why is that, because they were taken care of all there life. I wash the frames about every three month really good. So far it has paid off for me. I also keep it painted it if needs it.

 

Yeah, I think if you keep the mud off, it probably wont rust so easy. The mud probably traps moisture causing rust.

 

That's why I hate mud and cleaning it.

 

My 3rd gen is at 240,000, sister's is at 310,000. Mine travels 4 hours each way highway every weekend, steering rack is going, probably going to cost about $600 to fix but otherwise, squeaky clean.

 

Then fix it. Spend the money and get one from Toyota or the Toyota parts place in grand junction colorado. I'm thinking safari for some reason. The after markets are hit and miss.

Blue