1988 Toyota 4Runner

DLX SUV

4 Cylinder 2.4 Liter

Manual

JT4RN62S2J0193067

Gasoline

Hello, Thank you for looking at my 1988 Toyota 4Runner with the well renowned 22R-E 4cyl engine. The SUV has 41k original miles on it and it is a true find to locate one of these rare Toyotas without 200k miles on it. This vehicle has the following options: - Cruise Control - 4 speaker radio/CD player - Power Steering - Power Brakes I always admired these vehicles as they were so unique in the ability to have a pick-up / convertible / 4WD all in one. Originally I had intended to keep this vehicle for a long time. I just purchased the vehicle from a dealer in Colorado and has the SUV shipped in. I have a great (or bad depending if you talk to my girlfriend) hobby of buying low mile unique vehicles giving them some love, enjoying them, and getting them near perfection. The next owner after me usually gets one heck of a pristine machine and all my time and fix-ups for free. I have sold the following vehicle on eBay in the past 4 or so years. 2004 Honda S2000, 2004 Lexus GS, 1999 BMW M3, 2006 Lexus GS, 2005 BMW 645ci, and most recently, which the feedback on eBay is still visible, a 2003 Toyota 4Runner that was my daily driver. All these vehicles were beyond the new owners expectations. I am no mechanic and rely on mostly OEM dealers to do work on the vehicles for me. This 1988 4Runner was supposed to be in excellent mechanical condition. As soon as I picked it up from the transporter I could here the timing chain clicking. I immediately took it to the Toyota dealer and had them do a complete inspection. They said the vehicle overall is in nice condition but the following needs performed on the vehicle: - Idler arm - Adjust steering box - Repack drive side wheel bearing - Replace license plate lights (I will do this) - New timing chain kit - Windshield wiper fluid bottle All these repairs were much more than I wanted to spend. The dealer told me the problem here is it is nearly all labor and the parts are not that expensive. In fact in researching this I found that the parts are $500 or less. If I were more well versed in automotive repair I would tackle it myself. Overall though this vehicle is mechanically sound, the dealer went all over it and these were the only items they found. I drove it 60 miles on the highway from the transporter and besides a little vagueness from needing a new Idler arm it drove nice. As for rust which is another major area of concern for these old 4Runner I have took a bunch of pictures. The only problem area is the passenger side rear wheel well. It was poorly bonded and repaired. Other than that please look at the pictures and you will see what I am referring too. The vehicle looks to have all the original body panels. It was repainted though and I would give that paint job a C rating. It is starting to crack in a few places and they seemed to do the black top with poor quality paint. The interior of the vehicle is really nice for the age. Hardly anything is cracked. There is one crack on the dash near the passenger side and the armrest on the driver side has a crack. As you can see in the pictures the vehicle hardly looks sat in. Before the vehicle got here, I had already purchased period correct Toyota wheels for this truck that have new 31” tires with less than 500 miles on them. There are a few spots in the clear coat of the wheels but they are very nice. The wheels are currently being shipped here but are already bought and paid for so the new owner of this 4Runner will get those. They will make this truck look 10xs better. That is the stuff I usually get in to, putting new wheels and tires on fixing up minor cosmetic items. All the rubber and chrome on the vehicle looks to be in very good condition. There is some minor peeling on the grille but that is all that I could find. Yesterday I went through everything and it all works: 4WD both high and low, locking hubs, clutch override start button, lights, heater fan, radio and speakers, and the transmission shifts great. The only thing I could not get to work were the front fog lights. Now I have well over $7k into this with the transportation, shipping, wheels, new weather –tech floor mats, and the complete inspection and oil change. If you are looking at this you know how rare these vehicle are, regardless of the minor issues it has for its age. If you are mechanically inclined there are directions on the Internet that go into detail on replacing the timing chain kit on a 22R-E engine. If you can do this yourself or find a local shop with reasonable labor you are going to get a heck of a deal here. Where I am located in MI, good Japanese repair shops are not readily available. Pictures: More that you can imagine are available at: http://gallery.me.com/pamy104#100021 If you have any questions, please ask. Thank you for looking. On Sep-14-10 at 16:03:26 PDT, seller added the following information: Hello, I have received many questions in regards to what my buy it now price is. Originally I had one on there and I forgot it would come down once bidding. My buy it now was $6,500. Thank you!On Sep-15-10 at 18:47:33 PDT, seller added the following information: Hello, A few answers to the questions I have received in regard to the timing chain and idler arm as to why they need replacement when the vehicle only has 41k miles. According to what the mechanic told me, on the timing chain, it has plastic guides on the driver side that wear with mileage or time. The clicking of the timing belt is probably caused by the plastic guides that are worn with age. In regard to the idler arm, there is a plastic bushing which is the culprit that wears over time. After some research on the internet, I found evidence that the whole idler arm may not need to be replaced and the problem can be solved by just replacing the bushing for less than $30.