Thoughts on 1990's Toyota Pick up

[gregk24]

My brother is looking at an early model of this truck....I believe its a 1991. Its the 3.0 V6 with the auto, it also has 4 wheel drive. The current mileage is 245k. Are there any glaring problems with these? I told him I wouldn't pay much for it due to the age/ mileage. He has always wanted a truck and was looking at getting this one (friend of the family is selling it). Would this be a good option, or should he look elsewhere? Also, I really don't know much about these so what type of maintenance / care would it need at this point in its life? He asked me to post this for him because he trusts the BITOG community

TIA!

 

[andyd]

up here in the rust belt 90 something Toyota T100s are rare due to rusted out frames

 

[zach1900]

A 25 year old truck with 250K miles? I don't think anybody can say either way, I mean it does have 250,000 miles, so it must be good at something.

 

[Nick1994]

Timing belt motor that occasionally has head gasket issues. It's non-interference though.

If he wants one of those trucks he should get one with the 22-RE, there pretty legendary motors.

 

[simple_gifts]

Really depends on the use scenario.

4WD in FL, why?

I certainly wouldn't depend on it for daily 'truck type' activities; he'll be chasing age related things ad infinitum.

 

[dareo]

I would get the 2.4L or the 96+ 3.4L. 3.0 sucks gas and goes slow.

 

[crazyoildude]

here in nj the rust put them out long ago

 

[Lyman]

Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Timing belt motor that occasionally has head gasket issues. It's non-interference though.

If he wants one of those trucks he should get one with the 22-RE, there pretty legendary motors.
THIS/\

 

[expat]

Originally Posted By: Blkstanger
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Timing belt motor that occasionally has head gasket issues. It's non-interference though.

If he wants one of those trucks he should get one with the 22-RE, there pretty legendary motors.
THIS/\


Having had three of them, and currently driving an 84 model, I'd agree.

The old V6 sucked gas and did not produce much power.

 

[DoubleWasp]

That engine is a real boat anchor. He needs to follow the above advice and find a 22RE instead.

 

[DemoFly]

The 3.0L is just as reliable as the 22RE, it just requires more maintenance. And OH MY GOD is it hard to work on.

Valve cover gaskets are a 4 hour job.

It drinks gas. You'll get around 18mpg.

Look for a different truck, imo.

I had one for about a year, I just didn't see the point. It was really really good off-road, though! The entire time I owned it I drove it with regret for not buying the 22RE.

 

[eljefino]

Get a 2wd Dodge Dakota short cab, short bed with the Magnum 3.9 and decent rear gears, like 3.50s.

 

[Andrew1972]

Headgaskets and absolutely gutless engine that sucks fuel.

Toyota repaired first head gasket their dime 2nd my dad paid.

My dad had a 1990 4Runner v6 that was towed away last year. He quit driving mainly because ac quit and then forgot about it.

 

[Jarlaxle]

My friend's gets ~18MPG despite having super-deep axle gears, an automatic, and pushing a 9' high box through the air! (It's an ex-UHaul 10' truck.) Heads have been replaced (by UHaul), shortblock and trans are original...just short of 300,000 miles.

It's not at all gutless, but has to be driven properly: it's a DOHC 24-valve V6, so let it spin!