Faults:

Clutch cylinders 10,000 miles ago.

Fuel injectors 20,000 miles ago.

Driver's seat is worn.

Rust around fender wells.

Plastic grille cracked (my fault).

I need a new A/C.

General Comments:

I wish I could find another one for a future spare, as mine keeps running and running etc.

Only one time stuck, high center on a four foot cube of ice in five feet of snow. I chiseled the ice and drove away.

Hard to find replacement outside mirrors; I have a habit of squeezing through things too narrow for my mirrors.

Faults:

At 174K miles the timing chain guide failed, so I had to get a new timing chain, oil pan gasket, and other seals on the engine, seeing that basically the long block was the only thing not taken out of the engine bay to do the work on the timing chain.

At that time, also replaced the radiator, which was from 2001 (subject to Fresno 100+ degree summer weather).

Also replaced the water pump as a precaution.

The car began to leak oil soon after, but didn't get around to taking it in, as the car is my daily driver, until 2 months and 4,000 miles later.(kept up with oil level in engine however).

When I finally got it to the shop, the mechanic discovered that the truck had sheared off the gear in the oil pump, creating a hole which the oil was leaking out of, and no oil was being pumped through the engine... FOR 4,000 MILES.

Have my truck back, better than ever. Going to start with replacing the seats with the SR5 seats, mild 2 inch lift, 33" tires, new paint, new dash, and this thing will be on the road for another 20+ years.

General Comments:

When I first purchased the truck, I was kind of mad at myself, as I had had almost the exact same truck a couple of years earlier, when I had an '89 4Runner that had an astonishing 332,xxx miles on it when I sold it for $3000, and I still see it from time to time on the road where I live.

I have actually had 4 other 4Runners, all 1st generation, all reliable as anything (except for my '88 SR5 3 point slow. You guessed it, blown head gasket at 220K).

The other 3, 22RE powered, all over 200K, all never broke down... EVER.

It's just a pickup with a rear bench, and a camper shell, so it rides as such, and may be a little underpowered, but as far as a daily driver that's fun to drive, decently sized, and gets good fuel economy, and is cheap as anything to insure, operate, maintain, this is the perfect "fun" truck. Hence the draw and value increase the remaining 1st Gen 4Runners are experiencing.

Stay away from the '88-'96 3.0 6 cylinder powered 4Runners, the engine is junk.