Tundra brake caliper upgrade.

Nice score!

That's a great deal!

I had a '98 in that model and loved it. I probably had that many miles on it in 2004 when I traded it in.

Love those trucks! Check for the strawberry milkshake in the radiator. This happens when transmission fluid from the transmission cooler mixes with the coolant. It's not good for the transmission.

Great buy!

Thanks for the tip. I remember that being an issue with some of the Nissan Xterras but didn't realize it also could be an issue with the 4Runner. I've driven it around the hood and it seems to shift fine, but will definitely check out the coolant and transmission fluid when I change it. So far the biggest issue will be cleaning the interior. My neighbor was a Hall of Fame member of the local Golden Retriever rescue and has fostered about 50 dogs over the years. As a result, there is a metric **** ton of dog hair in every nook and cranny, but if that's the biggest issue I have I'll consider myself very lucky.

Timing belt and water pump, new plugs, new belts, check tires for dry rot

See if they have the service records at the local dealership or wherever she had it serviced.
Maybe all the things mentioned above have already been done.

Good suggestion, and I'll add to check the toyota.com/owners site for records too.

Unless its been running synthetic oil all this time, keep conventional in there but go high mileage. My recommendation is Penzoil but there are several good oil brands in that category. Switching to synthetic will likely bring about leaks.

Is the paint/body in good condition? At some point, you can always consider an X-liner paint job. I know many will laugh/ridicule that, but if done professionally it really looks cool and will last a long time with virtually no maintenance.

Depending on the condition of the interior, I'd also look at replacing the cloth with sport fabric seats. They are fabric seats that wear far better and handle dirt and moisture. I might change the carpet out, but I know some would say that is unnecessary. If you choose to clean the upholstery, go light to moderate with the cleaner (i.e. don't overspray), scrub with either a brush, drill brush, or one attached to a dual action, then use an extractor to get everything up. I also recommend a Tornador cleaning tool. It attaches to your air compressor and "lifts" up the dirt and essentially moves it away. The tornador in addition with the other stuff (not to mention a steamer if you have one) will make that interior almost brand new. Both Griots and Chemical Guys make good interior cleaners. Griots is a little lighter cleaner, but the CG properly diluted still works well. I use them both -- CG mostly on carpet.

Wife had a 1998. The 3.4 seemed underpowered so I added a k&n cold air induction and it picked up a lot more passing power and improved the gas mileage.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/knn-57-9015-1/make/toyota/model/4runner/year/1999

The downside is it sounds like an evinrude 100 hp boat motor when you open it up to accelerate quickly. Check the timing belt for sure and change all the fluids and belts and at least the radiator hoses. I would also change the plugs and fuel filter.

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. Among the dog hair I've found several Kwik Kar receipts for oil changes (and possibly other service) but unfortunately that location just closed last month, so I don't think I'll be able to get any old records - but I'll keep looking, and will ask the executor if he happens to have any. While filthy, the interior is leather and the only real wear issue is on the driver side outer bolster. Not sure how I'll address that. I know I could spend half of what I paid for the vehicle on custom fit leather covers, but that seems counterproductive to what I have in mind for this project. The exterior paint, dash and steering wheel ( areas that generally deteriorate in older cars) are in immaculate condition so that is a plus and it is certainly a result of being garaged its entire life.

Aston 91 said:

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Thanks for the tip. I remember that being an issue with some of the Nissan Xterras but didn't realize it also could be an issue with the 4Runner. I've driven it around the hood and it seems to shift fine, but will definitely check out the coolant and transmission fluid when I change it. So far the biggest issue will be cleaning the interior. My neighbor was a Hall of Fame member of the local Golden Retriever rescue and has fostered about 50 dogs over the years. As a result, there is a metric **** ton of dog hair in every nook and cranny, but if that's the biggest issue I have I'll consider myself very lucky.

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Consider steam cleaning the interior after to vacuum the hair out. This is the one I own: https://a.co/d/9go3Gdn

Damn, Merry Christmas!

I sold my manual 98 Tacoma TRD during my dumb 20 year old phase and wish I never had. That vintage Toyota is a great truck and you got it for a steal.

Second Gen Xterras. First gens had no cooler. As for Toyotas, the 3.0 had some head gasket issues but the 3.4 didn't seem to have that problem so much.

GrapevineAg said:

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Love those trucks! Check for the strawberry milkshake in the radiator. This happens when transmission fluid from the transmission cooler mixes with the coolant. It's not good for the transmission.

Great buy!

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I checked the coolant this morning and thankfully no SMOD (strawberry milkshake of death). Based on my quick review of 4Runner forums it sounds like replacing the radiator proactively is a good idea, so I'll likely do that. Some people bypass the factory cooler altogether with an auxiliary cooler, but that can introduce other failure points - as I can personally attest to with the van sitting in the driveway next to the 4Runner.

Good deal, glad to hear that. 7-8 years ago I passed on a '98 4wd SR5. I suspected that it was a flood vehicle from Hurricane Harvey, but I still wish I had bought it. I could have replaced the carpet and other soft stuff pretty easily. There wasn't any rust on it. Glad you took the plunge here - great vehicles that can go 400k easy if taken care of.

Part of my motivation for taking the plunge on this is regret over letting my '02 Trooper go after the transmission gave out. The shop gave me a fair estimate on what it would cost to rebuild the transmission, but it was more than I wanted to spend on a vehicle that old so I sold it to the shop for peanuts. Regretted it ever since - there's just something about the solid feel on this era of Japanese vehicles - or at least the Toyotas and Isuzus I've driven, as well as my '02 Honda S2000.