My 4Runner reached a milestone today

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Your 4Runner is a unicorn! It still looks great and runs slow obviously. Congratulations on the achievment. Coming from a 4Runner owner, this puts a smile on my face. I only have 12,000 miles on mine so I'm working g to catch up to you.
 
I have had 3 Toyota pick ups (22R) since the early 80's, one I gave away after 500k miles
without a rebuild.

Once the timing chain is addressed, over 300k is not unusual. But it's not just the engine, if rust is kept at bay hundereds of k miles can go by with Nothing going wrong at all!

My current 84 truck has only had Brakes, shocks, muffler and new starter solenoid tabs in the 10 years I have owned it.
 
Originally Posted By: expat
I have had 3 Toyota pick ups (22R) since the early 80's, one I gave away after 500k miles
without a rebuild.

Once the timing chain is addressed, over 300k is not unusual. But it's not just the engine, if rust is kept at bay hundereds of k miles can go by with Nothing going wrong at all!

My current 84 truck has only had Brakes, shocks, muffler and new starter solenoid tabs in the 10 years I have owned it.


The trucks early life in a favorable climate has certainly helped it's longevity. It still had the original exhaust at 300,000 miles. I put the first new exhaust on the truck at 303,000 miles. I have replaced the timing chain as the single roller engines it's a known weak point. I have upgraded some things as well, while I had it apart to replace the timing chain I installed a RV cam. Then the rear differential needed new bearings I rebuilt a Turbo/V6 rear differential and installed a Detroit locker, I've since removed the locker and installed a TrueTrac instead. It's an easy truck to work on and I really love the 22RE engine.
 
Originally Posted By: Donald
Toyota makes good reliable vehicles. If you can avoid living where they blast the salt and brine all winter your vehicle will last a good long time.


My old '97 which I bought new, has spent it's entire life on heavily salted roads in the winter, and summers on dirt roads that have a high sodium content. It's also spent time on the Bonneville Salt Flats almost every year since it was built.

There is just a hint of surface rust on the exhaust system. The rest is rust free.

How? it's all in how the vehicle is maintained. I have a neighbor that bought a Mercury Mountaineer (Ford Explorer) at the same time I bought my 4Runner. He would make fun of me for regularly washing the body and undercarraige, in the dead of Winter. His Mountaineer was hauled off for scrap 10 years ago, due to extreme rust that had destroyed his Mountaineers frame and body.

I'd post a picture of my 20 year old rust free 4Runner, but this thread isn't mine.

Bottom line: If you live in a highly corrosive environment, you have to be proactive in keeping the entire vehicle clean, (as is spelled out in every owners manual I've seen) if you want the vehicle to last.
 
Originally Posted By: FlyNavyP3
... The trucks early life in a favorable climate has certainly helped it's longevity. It still had the original exhaust at 300,000 miles. I put the first new exhaust on the truck at 303,000 miles. I have replaced the timing chain as the single roller engines it's a known weak point. I have upgraded some things as well, while I had it apart to replace the timing chain I installed a RV cam. ...
That's kind of a mirror image of my Mazda that spent its first two winters in NJ, Pa, and Ohio salt, then moved south. Also the opposite: numerous exhaust replacements, but no hint of a problem with its original double-row timing chain or tensioner in 606K miles. Transmission bearings replaced at 360K, its most expensive mechanical repair. Finally done in by erosion of coolant passages in the head, as well as encroaching rust.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: CT8
Originally Posted By: Gebo
What oil and filter you use?
oil and filter will not make a difference just as long as the oil and filters are a quality oil.


My point precisely 😀
 
Those things are cute, but I don't know what you do with them. Can't pull a boat with a little 4 popper. Just a little more room than a full size car. A friend insisted I borrow his 80s toy truck to pull my jet boat. I was dismayed that I had to downshift to maintain speed on the overpass. Went back to towing it with my corvette.
 
Originally Posted By: turtlevette
Those things are cute, but I don't know what you do with them. Can't pull a boat with a little 4 popper. Just a little more room than a full size car. A friend insisted I borrow his 80s toy truck to pull my jet boat. I was dismayed that I had to downshift to maintain speed on the overpass. Went back to towing it with my corvette.



Most of the guys I know with the old Toyota 4wd pickups and 4Runners use them as hunting vehicles and trail/rock climbing rigs.
 
Originally Posted By: 02SE
Originally Posted By: Donald
Toyota makes good reliable vehicles. If you can avoid living where they blast the salt and brine all winter your vehicle will last a good long time.


My old '97 which I bought new, has spent it's entire life on heavily salted roads in the winter, and summers on dirt roads that have a high sodium content. It's also spent time on the Bonneville Salt Flats almost every year since it was built.

There is just a hint of surface rust on the exhaust system. The rest is rust free.

How? it's all in how the vehicle is maintained. I have a neighbor that bought a Mercury Mountaineer (Ford Explorer) at the same time I bought my 4Runner. He would make fun of me for regularly washing the body and undercarraige, in the dead of Winter. His Mountaineer was hauled off for scrap 10 years ago, due to extreme rust that had destroyed his Mountaineers frame and body.

I'd post a picture of my 20 year old rust free 4Runner, but this thread isn't mine.

Bottom line: If you live in a highly corrosive environment, you have to be proactive in keeping the entire vehicle clean, (as is spelled out in every owners manual I've seen) if you want the vehicle to last.


Yeah, great idea...wash your car when it's 15 degrees, then discover it has turned into a giant iceberg! I suspect you live in a DRY area...salt is not the only culprit-it is salt and MOISTURE.
 
Originally Posted By: turtlevette
Those things are cute, but I don't know what you do with them. Can't pull a boat with a little 4 popper. Just a little more room than a full size car. A friend insisted I borrow his 80s toy truck to pull my jet boat. I was dismayed that I had to downshift to maintain speed on the overpass. Went back to towing it with my corvette.


SO downshift. The Toyotas are small, OHC engines...they need to spin. My friend has an old Toyota U-Haul box truck...it kicks down on long grades-especially loaded to 3+ tons-but pulls them fine. If it needs to shift out of OD and climb hills at 5000RPM...so what?
 
Smaller boats should not be an issue - I have a boat ramp at my camp - the tires land in mud and shell - in fact a number of the public ramps in my area run out of concrete fast - and I'd take that 4 Runner any day over some of the two wheel drive trucks I see spinning on them - watched these guys redline a 250 Vmax trying to help "push" a full size truck
 
Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Originally Posted By: 02SE
Originally Posted By: Donald
Toyota makes good reliable vehicles. If you can avoid living where they blast the salt and brine all winter your vehicle will last a good long time.


My old '97 which I bought new, has spent it's entire life on heavily salted roads in the winter, and summers on dirt roads that have a high sodium content. It's also spent time on the Bonneville Salt Flats almost every year since it was built.

There is just a hint of surface rust on the exhaust system. The rest is rust free.

How? it's all in how the vehicle is maintained. I have a neighbor that bought a Mercury Mountaineer (Ford Explorer) at the same time I bought my 4Runner. He would make fun of me for regularly washing the body and undercarraige, in the dead of Winter. His Mountaineer was hauled off for scrap 10 years ago, due to extreme rust that had destroyed his Mountaineers frame and body.

I'd post a picture of my 20 year old rust free 4Runner, but this thread isn't mine.

Bottom line: If you live in a highly corrosive environment, you have to be proactive in keeping the entire vehicle clean, (as is spelled out in every owners manual I've seen) if you want the vehicle to last.


Yeah, great idea...wash your car when it's 15 degrees, then discover it has turned into a giant iceberg! I suspect you live in a DRY area...salt is not the only culprit-it is salt and MOISTURE.


You suspect wrong. I live where we get tons of snow every winter. Just a couple miles up a nearby canyon, the average is 500" a year. This year was better than average at approx. 600" of snow for the season.

Yep, washing the car at 15° F would be an average day. Often it's colder. Sometimes much colder. Frozen fresh water is much better than the vehicle being encased in Salt.
 
Originally Posted By: turtlevette
Those things are cute, but I don't know what you do with them. Can't pull a boat with a little 4 popper. Just a little more room than a full size car. A friend insisted I borrow his 80s toy truck to pull my jet boat. I was dismayed that I had to downshift to maintain speed on the overpass. Went back to towing it with my corvette.





Well I don'thave a boat I need to tow, but it seems I am always hauling something, weather it be garbage to the dump or gravel for the drive (it carries 3/4 ton), we haul firewood for winter heat and contruction materials for various projects I work on.
It's easy to load and unload, as the bed is significantly lower than more modern trucks, an item can easily be lifted over the side and placed in the bed.

Living on an island it's as fast as any other verhicle here, but will cruise at 80 mph if need be.

Aside from that, it is ecconomical enough to use as personal transport and small enough to parallel park down town.
Running cost is probably lower than any utility vehicle I have known.
 
The small Toyota engines will do a lot of work and live a very long life you just have to be patient. Downshift to maintain the road speed that you want to maintain, put it on the floor and just let it work. Same goes for trying to go uphill and into a headwind at the same time at highway speeds. Better the header and exhaust and camshaft I installed in this truck I've had a full one gear improvement on the highway. No more shifting out of 5th in anything other than the mountains.
 
Pulled 1,700lbs. often thru the U.P. MI. hills with a '97 CRV back 20 yrs. ago, like Navy said... let them work.
 
I know a friend of mine who has 375K on his 4Runner back in 2011 and was always maintained by the dealership. Not sure if it still on the road....
 
This is a very cool truck. Congrats on the milestone. I like the new 4Runners, but I've often wondered why they strayed away from the Bronco/ Blazer removable top. Probably the same reason Ford and Chevy did away with theirs I guess. Lol.

Fun fact: Apparently the calipers (Sumitomo?) on that thing fit the 240z and are considered a brake upgrade. 2 pistons (or 4 depending on how you look at it) and much larger pads. There's a larger selection of pads on Rock Auto too.
 
Thanks to everyone for the kind words. I've tweaked or upgraded things over my 6 years of ownership to improve on little nuances over the way the truck was built 30 years ago. Things like installing a limited slip differential, header, better camshaft, larger clutch from a Turbo truck, bigger brakes from a T100 on the front and a FJ60 land cruiser on the rear, a pillar gauges to monitor coolant temp and oil pressure in actually numeric values instead of a generic scale on the dash with no associated numbers. Little stuff really. I love these trucks for their simplicity, ease of maintenance and rugged dependability. While all my coworkers are driving newer cars, having more issues, making car payments and paying for astronomical repairs when something does go wrong I'm here enjoying no car payment and easy do it yourself maintenance. I actually have a brand new engine that I built for this truck before I left the machine shop I was working in, but this original engine runs so well I can't bring myself to change it. My current goal is to reach 400,000 miles on the original engine. If it 400,000 miles it's still running well then I will strive for 500,000.
 
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