Faults:

If you truly want to read about a 4Runner take the time to read the following.

Over the last 6 years I have owned the wonderful 1990 Toyota 4Runner there have been many things which have gone wrong. Within 10,000 miles of buying the vehicle the clutch had to be replaced... expensive, but now I have 60,000 miles on the current clutch (napa heavy duty) and It is still strong even while turning 33" tires. Front end issues with idler arms, tie rods, ball joints, mostly from off road use, had to replace the CV joints in the front end also. Motor for the rear window broke, was replaced by the dealer for about $500, exhaust replaced with flowmaster muffler and 2.5" cat back system, seems to add some power to the weak engine and sounds excellent. There are many other things which have gone wrong mechanically with this truck including 2 major problems in the last 2 years. first the transmission had to be replaced, it is a 5speed, and I am very competent at driving stick shift, but it would slip out of first gear violently while accelerating even slightly. Marlin Crawler re-maunfactured transmission is in place now, very strong and smooth, no issues yet. Most recently the internals of the rear end disintegrated while going 70mph on the highway.. this was not fun by the way, as the vehicle speed was reduced very quickly and I had to make room to move to the breakdown lane as the vehicle was completely immobilized, something which is hard to believe for such a stout truck which is very capable on and especially off road. New Rear end 800$ plus 400$ to install. Talk about a headache, not to mention the towing fee of 150$.

General Comments:

- Vehicle is fun to take anywhere on or off road, people love to ride in it, although mine is lifted 2" with 33" tires which adds to this appeal.

-It has decent cargo room for every ones things, I regularly go skiing with the truck, great in the snow if you know how to drive, and has enough room for bags etc.

-just like everyone says, not enough power, I have added a cat back exhaust system and a k+n intake to improve this.

-Gages are nice for such an old vehicle, layed out well, look good easy to read at night etc.

-I have had many headaches over this vehicle and am thinking about selling it after these huge mechanical problems, but am undecided as it is a difficult vehicle to part with.

Faults:

Bad valve in #5 cylinder.

Bent frame from minor undocumented incident.

Bad steering box.

Leaking transfer case.

Leaking transmission.

Leaking oil pan.

Leaking power steering unit.

Leaking master cylinder.

Broken flexible high-pressure fuel line.

Bad fuel injectors.

Leaking, noisy manifold.

Burns gallons of oil.

Suspension in general is shot.

Vents always blow dust into the cab, even when all fans are off.

Rear power window failed.

Valve cover gaskets shot for the second time since I owned it.

Pitman arm bolt sheared off.

Starter failed twice.

PS pulley ate through two batteries before I finally fixed the defective bracket.

Alternator puts out less than 14 volts.

Power antenna stopped working.

Rear window defrost doesn't work.

Power locks work only intermittently.

Ignition cylinder replaced.

Power mirrors never worked during the time I had it.

Spare tire storage winch/mechanism failed.

Transmission slips from park into reverse on its own sometimes.

General Comments:

Everyone says how great these 4runners are, they can run forever, blah blah blah. Well, this one is little more than a pile of crap. Paid under book value for it and has cost me over $3,300 before I finally realized it will never run right again.

I can't even in good conscience sell it, as the steering is so unpredictable that someone other than me, who is used to it, will get hurt or killed. It's all over the road.

It can't climb hills, and can't go faster than 70 mph or so. It gets only 11 miles to the gallon (all highway) because of the dying cylinder. So yeah, everyone keep praising the Japanese for their wonderful overpriced 4runners, my previous vehicle, an AMERICAN truck (Dodge) ran fine, but I had to listen to all the crap about how great the Toyota is.

Besides my first wife, that Toyota is the worst mistake of my life. Never again.