Hey guys and girls, I've been a devoted jeep driver for as long as I care to remember. I have however spent lot's of time with Toyota drivers on and off road and they are just like us jeep drivers, SEVERELY dedicated to their vehicles.

I have a few quick questions as I am currently selling my YJ and I'm trying to decide whether to go with a 4runner or a grand cherokee. I'm selling the YJ because I've built it as big as it'll be and it's come time for me to not be thinking about mud holes and more about a solid durable reliable truck that also gives some creature comforts. Here's the questions:

-What's the average life of a 4runner? I'm looking at early 90's models, 91, 92, etc, with the 6cyls, most likely automatic since my wife never mastered driving stick. Most of the once's I've been finding are 200,000 KILOMETERS (less than 150000 miles). Is that high mileage for these machines?

-Are there any severe lemon years to avoid? God knows jeep had some lol. Do these have any MAJOR re-ocurring issues? Like for example main bearing problems or trannies blowing up all the time? I'm a wrencher so some maintenance is fine but I'd prefer to not be changing trannies every month.

-Are there any specific spots severely prone to rust? My jeep (and all YJ's) have one or two of these right on the frame, wish I knew to check them before I bought my last jeep, maybe then I would have see the baseball sized hole in the frame!

Any tips to a possible new 4runner owner? Thanks in advanced for -any- info you can give, I'll keep searching the forums to see if I can find more info!

 

Wow, 5 days and not a single response or a "yeah 4runners rock!". Deadest forum ever?

 

Sorry, I "just" joined a few min's ago. I have a '94 4Runner that I'm about to get rid of and purchase a new 4Runner. They are seriously excellent vehicles!!! The only deal is that there is a different V6 engine in the early 90's 4Runners, compared to the new V6 in the '96 and up models. I know this is an old post, but I figured I'd throw it out there for you anyway. As far as the lemon years, I'm on here trying to find out the same thing because I'm looking at a '99 model right now. Well I hope this at least comes as a little help to you!! G'day!


Bran <><

 

I have a 93 4runner and i love it! Granted ive done quite a bit of work to it, as far as purchasing one heres my advice...
my 4runner is a 3.slow it will climb a hill and do wonders off road but hates the interstate. If your looking to put 35s on it I would not recomend the 3.0. When I bought mine it had about 150,000 miles on it, It lasted to 185,000ish when my engine blew up which was purly my fault b/c it had an oil leak. (which all high milage yotas are famous for) But there is no doubt in my mind that it would of lasted much much longer. I cried like a baby and just couldnt bring myself to get rid of it so i dropped a used engine in it. Its running like a champ, still having problems w/ oil leaks but Ive just gotten in the habbit of keeping some w/ me and checking it every week.( I drive 5 hrs a day) As far as the transmission goes I know before I bought it mine had been replaced. Ive never had any problems w/ the electronics...as far as rust goes ive only noticed a little where my running boards are. Im in the process of painting the entire truck in bedliner though. Hope this was helpful!

 

The 4runner in this video has 292 thousand something and runs fine.