Reliability in California (Surfing / Mountains / Road Trips)

Hey all,

Still looking at which 4Runner to go for. This morning came across a pretty beautiful 3rd gen 1999 4WD with 176k miles on the clock. Looks fun. Alright service history, well maintained, 1 owner.

What are these guys like for long road trips, driving up into the mountains (8,000 feet in snow) and driving up/down the coast on hot days?

Yeah looks like a really fun project to work on and build up, keen for thoughts here! Currently been planning for a 5th gen.

 

Currently looking at this beauty !

 

Love the wheels!

 

From the pics and the carfax it has a completely clean record, no accidents, well maintained & kept for last 15 years by an enthusiast. California kept and reported no rust

 

Beautiful, and it's got the stick??

 

What do you mean by stick?

 

It's a stick shift !

 

Yeah sorry, meant manual shift.

 

Am entertaining the idea of getting a 3rd gen for myself and pass my '23 ORP to wife. That's a beautiful one you've found.

 

Isn't it just, I am very stoked to see and drive it

 

I just found some 3rd gen off roading footage and it handles roots / mud holes / slopes / logs with ease - elegance pretty much

 

Great find!
I think your snow driving fun will be more about the rubber on the road. The 3peak snow rated AT tires are a good starting place, but only if you do winter trips for fresh snow. With the usual winter mountain temps above freezing during day you will be driving on melted and refrozen snow= ice. So some sort of cables or chains will keep you from collisions with unprepared CA drivers.
Touring tires rated M & S plus cables when on icy snow should get you everywhere you will be going.

 

Have traveled pretty much through to all corners of the state with my stock 2000 Limited and through every mountain pass. The only time I wished the engine had a 'bit more' to give was traveling above 7500', such mountain passes like Sonora Pass (+9600') and Tioga Pass (+9900') were the most notable as well as going to the vista atop Minaret (+9200') and Sherman to the south. Typically with 2 adults, an average of +200 lbs of gear and a Thule cargo box on the roof, was always able to keep up with the flow of traffic. Traveling along the 395 was fine, 3-5 hour trips were just fine on the legs and back so going from coastal up to the mountains was never uncomfortable, longer hauls just take breaks when fueling up or for meal(s)/snack break. Longest one-shot haul was about 12 hours from Yellowstone to Reno, doable but I try to keep long hauls below that nowadays.

Cruising on summer days with windows down and the rear cracked for airflow rarely needed to turn on the A/C. Above 90 then for sure it gets turned on. Mine loved going out and getting her feet wet at Pismo (and a damn good bath afterwards!)

From what I can see that one is def 'California clean' underside.

 

Thanks !

My concern at the moment is that it is the listing price. Is $19,995 a fair price for this?

199,850 miles
1998 4WD
Spark plugs / Idle control valve replaced at 138k miles
Flywheel & clutch replaced at 125k miles (2009)
Diff last serviced 116k miles (2008)
Enthusiast owned since 2011 (2011 sale at 156,665 miles, now selling 2025 at 199,850 miles)
No service history between 2011 & 2019, then vehicle serviced & all good
Bull bar front bumper / Falken Wildpeak A/T tires / unsure wheels / unsure model of roof rack - looks like Prinsu or 4Runner Lifestyle

 

This is fantastic! Thank you - your usage is really similar to my intended usage

 

To me, that is very expensive for a 27 year old car (even if it is as nice as it looks), and a lot of miles. Even in tip-top shape, things will need replaced as time goes on, just due to age and mileage.

I was just about to recommend looking at 4th gens to find a better deal, then noticed you have a 2013 in your profile.

Did something happen to the 2013? Or in other words, what will the '98 do that the 2013 won't?

 

I agree.

I think the one in my profile is a placeholder put there when creating my account.

Current contenders are the 5th gens & 3rd gens - and these are the two models that I've been looking at over the last couple months. Just need to bite the bullet on one of them...

So essentially the trade-off is 5th gen would be more sensible and reliable and going 1998 would be more risky and fun

This 1998 is cheaper than the 5th gens I was looking at, of course there are more factors at play there but this is also my first car/truck so want to have a bit of fun

To answer your questions: not looked at 4th gen 4Runners, and the '98 provides a bit more fun, it's a little smaller and personally I think the 3rd gen is quite beautiful and agile, while the 5th gen is bulkier and more utilitarian

 

I’d highly recommend that you read over for some good 3rd gen knowledge.

If that rig has been well taken care of (not just servicing but not abused by being driven hard) I don’t see why it wouldn’t make it well past 350K especially here in California. Mine was driven about 90% highway, 10% city and was my daily.

 

Thank you!

 

Your welcome and good luck with your decision!

 

Honestly, if this one checks out, it's possibly the winner. I've been looking for so long now & it checks the boxes and looks so fun

 

Regardless what model 4WD 4runner you wind up with please note our 4runners have several unique items requiring maintenance. If you are a DIY mechanic you will need some tools, crush washers, lubes etc. Find a independent shop that knows Toyotas 4runners as they require some know how.
I found a 50,000 mile 2019 SR5 for my daughter last year.
The under hood fluids were all fresh. The under vehicle lubes were original and seemed never serviced. So both differentials gear oil, drive shafts grease, transfer case gear oil, and a drain & refill tranny ATF were performed. Prior owner gave it oil changes timely, like a Camry, but skipped all the 4WD needs.
Looking at 100,000 mile plus 4runners these under vehicle services lubes can become important history.
Good luck with your vehicle hunt.

 

Thanks! There's a shop about an hour away from me that specializes in older 4Runner / Toyota maintenance & rebuilds - also a local mechanic who lives and breathes cars and engines and walked me through the last repair on a Chevy

 

This is very, very common. A lot of buyers buy these things after hearing on social media as being "bullet proof!" but since they never use 4WD or know how to maintain them, treat the 4Rs like commuters since they are using it as a commuter.

 

I'm going to see the 4Runner tomorrow. Any recommendations on how I can check these during inspection?

> So both differentials gear oil, drive shafts grease, transfer case gear oil, and a drain & refill tranny ATF were performed. Prior owner gave it oil changes timely, like a Camry, but skipped all the 4WD needs.

 

At that mileage, just assume they all need to be done. If I was selling, I wouldn't really want some rando popping all of my fill plugs lose (technically you should replace the crush washers each time, although it's not really needed on the fill plugs).

You should ask for the maintenance history (details), and of course look for leaks on all of those.

The ATF comment is only for an auto transmission; are you looking at the stick shift? It still has gear oil, but is an easier process to change (and more forgiving, in my opinion).

 

^what he said. Ask for maintenance history if they have it, but it is not common for people to let potential buyers to crawl under the vehicle popping plugs off to check for diff fluid status.

 

I am indeed looking at the stick shift

 

Understood, won't do that, but I will be taking a look to check the frame hasn't been sprayed / check for rust

 

Ideally all of these fluids jobs are things I can learn to do and check myself