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[Brian]

^^ Yes to all the above points on the 90-96 4Runners.

Just say no to the 3.0L engine.

Get a 97+ because they are much much better.  Or go with a 22RE (2.4L 4 cyl) but they are rare.

As for vehicle pre-purchase inspections, nobody  knows these vehicles as well as the Toyota dealership. 

I'd ask them to retract the front caliper pistons and bleed the fluid to check their condition.  Seized calipers are popular on vehicles that don't see regular brake caliper maintenance.

Maintenance is easy to do yourself.  Just retract the pistons with the bleeder valve open (and a hose on it) every year or so.  Then bleed the brakes as you normally would.  It's easier to do with the rims off, but it can be done if you have skinny 9" channel-lock pliers.  If the pistons are stuck, pm me and I can give you a hand.

[Matt]

i am thinking of downsizing my vehicle and was thinking of the honda crv but the toyota 4runner seems to be a good choice too. why not buy a smaller suv? is the all wheel drive not that good?

Crossovers are based off cars, 4Runners, Blazers, Sidekicks, etc are truck-based SUVs.  Truck-based SUVs have a body-on-frame designed that is tougher but rides a little harsher, also usually more of a step-up to climb in (if you have a short wife or GF, you might want running boards).  The underbellies are less vulnerable to damgage and are usually higher off the ground. The older truck-based SUVs usually have part time 4wd systems that can send pull power to front or rear, whichever has traction, but you don't usually drive on dry roads with part time 4wd, so you have to judge when 4wd is appropriate- humans are usually much better judge than cars though so I prefer this. The handling is crisper and more car-like with the crossover (CRV, RAV4, Equinox, Escap, Forester etc), but the AWD system is little more than a front wheel drive that can send a negligible amount of power to the rear wheels.  Crossovers are lighter weight, get better mpg and less prone to rolling over.

For off road travel truck-based SUVs are better and offer fewer compromises, but car-based cross-overs are slightly better-suited to the city if you're used to driving a car.  I prefer the truck-based SUV as I feel that crossovers don't offer much more utility than tiny minivans.

*** the Jeep Cherokee is a unibody SUV (doesn't have a truck frame) but is built like a truck based SUV in all other respects, so it can be lumped in with that group for all intensive purposes.

[Matt]

^^ Yes to all the above points on the 90-96 4Runners.

Just say no to the 3.0L engine.

Get a 97+ because they are much much better.  Or go with a 22RE (2.4L 4 cyl) but they are rare.

As for vehicle pre-purchase inspections, nobody  knows these vehicles as well as the Toyota dealership. 

I'd ask them to retract the front caliper pistons and bleed the fluid to check their condition.  Seized calipers are popular on vehicles that don't see regular brake caliper maintenance.

Maintenance is easy to do yourself.  Just retract the pistons with the bleeder valve open (and a hose on it) every year or so.  Then bleed the brakes as you normally would.  It's easier to do with the rims off, but it can be done if you have skinny 9" channel-lock pliers.  If the pistons are stuck, pm me and I can give you a hand.

Very hard to find a 96+ 4Runner for under $5k- they just retain their value too long for that to happen yet.  x2 on the calipers, people don't generally maintain old trucks well and the calipers are one of the first parts to suffer accordingly on any old vehicle.

[Brian]

Crossovers are based off cars, 4Runners, Blazers, Sidekicks, etc are truck-based SUVs.

I prefer the truck-based SUV as I feel that crossovers don't offer much more utility than tiny minivans.

I have both.  We drive a Toyota Highlander and a Toyota pickup truck.  The Highlander with 4 snow tires has never been stuck in the city or when we go skiing.  As long as there is a road, it's fine with fresh or old crusty snow that hasn't been plowed.

I haven't had the opportunity to take it offroad in the winter, we take the pickup truck 4wheeling instead because it has full recovery gear, and I can stick a small boat in the bed of the truck.

Very hard to find a 96+ 4Runner for under $5k- they just retain their value too long for that to happen yet.  x2 on the calipers, people don't generally maintain old trucks well and the calipers are one of the first parts to suffer accordingly on any old vehicle.

Yes, I did note above (see post#17) that the 97+ 4Runners are in the $8k range, but well worth the extra funds.  Resale is much better too.  If I did find a 97+ in the $5k range, it would probably be a real heap and not worth buying.

[BigFisher]

Hey Matt, I have a question about the 22re could you send me an email?

[Sinaran]

hey matt u sure know shxt about trucks eh, gotta ask for your ideas the next time i am getting a truck (in 2 months)   

[yakideath12]

go test drive a couple and get a bcaa inspection they cot 100$ and trust me only buy a stock vehicle

bcaa inspection? what do they do? can you explain more specific plz?

[Matt]

ouch a stake to the heart  funny how you think you know it all when you dont. The squamish isnt very remote buddy, maybe you should come out one time and see if you sit with the boys or fish with the men.

Perhaps refrain from childish insults in a thread about trucks, just because I disagree with you doesn't mean I'm undermining your intelligence/ manliness/ sexual orientation/ fishing ability.  Responses like that do however undermine your maturity. 

As for the Squamish, go up there sometime, mid Jan midweek after 4pm, and try thumbing a ride back.  Point is, your in for a miserable night if you get stuck/ break down in on just about any river road if you happen to be one of the last guys out and your truck packs it in.  Last year, I was up there until dark on a night when the river was forming ice from the bottom up.  My thermometer showed -21*C and my wading boots were freezing to rocks on the bottom of the river.  I was moving pretty slow because of the conditions and made it back to the car at dark.  Only a couple tire tracks on the road that day in total and they were long gone.  I give the suggestion of an imported SUV because I have confidence that should the OP find himself in the same position, there is smaller chance that he may get stranded and half to spend a very miserable night.

[yakideath12]

seems like going side way...

[Matt]

CohoC, this is getting stupid, you're arguing with me about an area you've never been too from the sounds of it.  Cell coverage eh?  Lots of people fished the upper S this year?

I've never taken a shop class, just wrenched.  Alot.  I've worked in some capacity or another on Toyota (22R, 22RE, 3VZ-E, 3VZ-FE 4Runners, Camrys, 4wd and P/Us, Corolla), Jeep (YJ, TJ) Dodges (Caravan), Honda (Civic), Ford (Ranger), Peugeot, GMC (yep, a Jimmy), Mercedes (300 and 280 SD), VW (Eurovan, Jetta, old Beetle) and probably more I can't remember at the moment.  That's not to say I've replace the headgasket on each, as I haven't, but I have spent enough time under enough cars and trucks to qualify my opinions.  I've rebuilt an engine, set up backlash on a couple diffs, installed lockers, replaced entire suspension systems, done more brake work than I ever wanted to do, rewired a lot of circuits, aligned cars on my driveway that have over 20K on my aligments without any extra noticeable wear, dropped gas tanks, replaced and rebuilt alternators, starters, repacked wheel bearings, replaced idler arms, TRE's, ball joints,  timing chains etc.  I really could go on ad nauseum, but I think I've made my point

CohoC, before you post anymore about reliability of vehicles, places you haven't ever been or semantics, please state the extent of your experience with cars and trucks.

PS.  Domestics are used by gov./ cities because domestics provide fleet pricing, whereas imports don't.  Gov and city vehicles are replaced usually within less than 10 years as well.  Repairs are done by city mechanics as well.  Part of the city job is job creation to reduce unemployment, better to buy vehicles cheap, have them worked on by people you employ.

[scotkemp]

this topic is to bash vehicles like

toyotas blow major balls and jeeps rock

this topic is not supposed to be a people bashing forum
just my 2 cents

[HOOK]

why does this sound like 2 kids squabbling 

this post is supposed to be about information on good 4x4 vehicles. How about we get back on track eh

Edit - good point to the original post CC. I drive a Ram and it got around in the deep snow like it wasnt even there but then again i have 35" muds on it 


Yakideath - if you go with a truck even a 2wheel just get mud & snow tires and you shouldnt have a problem. I used to have a 2wheel Dakota and only got stuck once going up a slippery ice covered hill. I went back to the bottom and ran it faster and made it just fine. Blizzaks on your car would probably help out huge !!

[Brian]

bcaa inspection? what do they do? can you explain more specific plz?

If you have a BCAA membership they can send a tech to look at a vehicle with you and tell you if it's a pile of junk or not.  They can't be super thorough, given the conditions that they work in, but can often tell you to run away from a certain vehicle.

A pre-purchase inspection is always a wise investment.  Generally, it's best to take the vehicle to the dealership because the techs there are intimately familiar with them.

[bateman]

thanks matt for the in depth knowledge about crv's vs truck like suv's. all help appreciated.

[Matt]

Forgot to mention that a crossover isn't going to have a low range box so thats another limitation.  Low range does add traction per se, but allows you to better control the usage of the traction available to you in tricky situations.  Low range is also nice on a boat ramp so you don't have to rev the nuts out of your engine if its a lower torque motor.