Chatt_Jetsetter
Jet Boat Addict
- Messages
- 176
- Reaction score
- 259
- Points
- 112
- Boat Make
- Chaparral
- Year
- 2020
- Boat Model
- VRX
- Boat Length
- 20
Hey guys,
Sometimes you just stumble into one, and I wanted to share with ya'll. It's a little bit of a read and picture heavy, but it's worth explaining.
My neighbors on my street had a 2003 Toyota 4Runner, it was the wife's car. It's an SR5 model with 4wd and the V8 with 203,000 miles. I'm out doing some stuff in the yard one day and I see a tow truck pull up with it on the flatbed and drop it off in his yard. Later I ask him about it and he said it broke down on his wife and she had it towed to a mechanic.
Mechanic told her it needed a new transfer case and front driveshaft (he couldn't remember what else they said it needed) and they could fix it for about $4k or they would give her $700 for it. It was still at the mechanic and he wanted to know what I thought; now I'm not a know everything car guy at all. I do my oil changes, I can do brakes, and I even changed out all the suspension components on our Pilot this year but my knowledge is based on Youtube and a little hands on now and then.
However, I told him I didn't think it was the transfer case, and if it was, you should still be able to drive the vehicle. What I didn't know at the time until I started researching for him was that the V8 model was full time 4wd, so if the transfer case was bad it actually might not be driveable. A few weeks went by, then a month. I asked him again and he said they were trying to decide what to do, and they might just sell it. I told him if he sold it to let me know and I'd be interested, or if he wanted to try and fix it I could help him get it up and going.
A few more weeks go by and he tells me they are going to sell it. His wife wants a new Tacoma, and just doesn't want to mess with the 4runner at this point. I told him to let me know what she wanted for it and if it made sense, I'd consider buying it. A week later he sends me a text and says she wants $1500 for it. I told him I thought they could get that even if it didn't have an engine, for parts alone, and he said she just wanted to get $1500 out of it. I told him I'd take it, don't even bother listing it.
The next week they cleaned it out and handed me the title for $1500 cash. It was still in his yard at this point, and I told him I'd move it asap. The next week I went over to start checking it out. It started up and ran fine but when I'd put it into gear it never felt like it engaged, but I heard a whirring sound under the vehicle. Looking underneath I saw the front driveshaft broken at the U-joint, just laying on crossmember. I got back in the vehicle, reached over, and pushed the VSC button that controls traction control and the locking differential. Instantly I felt the transmission engage, and I gently pressed the gas pedal...the 4runner moved forward.
I slowly backed the truck up, then turned it around and down the street to my house. The drive shaft clunked with each rotation, but I got it home. The next morning I jacked it up and went to work removing the front drive shaft. Once removed, I hopped in and drove it down the street. Smooth as butter as a RWD only. Total invested in the fix so far...zero dollars.
So at this point I have $1500 into a 200k mile 4Runner. Are you kidding?!? Now, it needs a lot of love. I need two new rear tires, one isn't holding air and they are bald. The front windshield is completely cracked up. It needs new headlamp assemblies (super cloudy and broken brackets), new hood struts, and there are little things all over the place of course. I'm going to do spark plugs, oil change, etc. The biggest thing is I need to do a timing belt (the V6 has a chain, V8 has a belt), and I'll need to pay someone to do that.
But I figure all that I'm under $3500 total, and that includes the purchase price. I think it will make a great run around vehicle, something I can take up to the hunting property and with a 7k towing capacity, I can haul the boat with it when we vacation and not put the wear on our Touareg. Sometimes you just stumble into one!
(by the way, if my daughter's face looks funny in the photo it's because I blur them a bit)
Sometimes you just stumble into one, and I wanted to share with ya'll. It's a little bit of a read and picture heavy, but it's worth explaining.
My neighbors on my street had a 2003 Toyota 4Runner, it was the wife's car. It's an SR5 model with 4wd and the V8 with 203,000 miles. I'm out doing some stuff in the yard one day and I see a tow truck pull up with it on the flatbed and drop it off in his yard. Later I ask him about it and he said it broke down on his wife and she had it towed to a mechanic.
Mechanic told her it needed a new transfer case and front driveshaft (he couldn't remember what else they said it needed) and they could fix it for about $4k or they would give her $700 for it. It was still at the mechanic and he wanted to know what I thought; now I'm not a know everything car guy at all. I do my oil changes, I can do brakes, and I even changed out all the suspension components on our Pilot this year but my knowledge is based on Youtube and a little hands on now and then.
However, I told him I didn't think it was the transfer case, and if it was, you should still be able to drive the vehicle. What I didn't know at the time until I started researching for him was that the V8 model was full time 4wd, so if the transfer case was bad it actually might not be driveable. A few weeks went by, then a month. I asked him again and he said they were trying to decide what to do, and they might just sell it. I told him if he sold it to let me know and I'd be interested, or if he wanted to try and fix it I could help him get it up and going.
A few more weeks go by and he tells me they are going to sell it. His wife wants a new Tacoma, and just doesn't want to mess with the 4runner at this point. I told him to let me know what she wanted for it and if it made sense, I'd consider buying it. A week later he sends me a text and says she wants $1500 for it. I told him I thought they could get that even if it didn't have an engine, for parts alone, and he said she just wanted to get $1500 out of it. I told him I'd take it, don't even bother listing it.
The next week they cleaned it out and handed me the title for $1500 cash. It was still in his yard at this point, and I told him I'd move it asap. The next week I went over to start checking it out. It started up and ran fine but when I'd put it into gear it never felt like it engaged, but I heard a whirring sound under the vehicle. Looking underneath I saw the front driveshaft broken at the U-joint, just laying on crossmember. I got back in the vehicle, reached over, and pushed the VSC button that controls traction control and the locking differential. Instantly I felt the transmission engage, and I gently pressed the gas pedal...the 4runner moved forward.
I slowly backed the truck up, then turned it around and down the street to my house. The drive shaft clunked with each rotation, but I got it home. The next morning I jacked it up and went to work removing the front drive shaft. Once removed, I hopped in and drove it down the street. Smooth as butter as a RWD only. Total invested in the fix so far...zero dollars.
So at this point I have $1500 into a 200k mile 4Runner. Are you kidding?!? Now, it needs a lot of love. I need two new rear tires, one isn't holding air and they are bald. The front windshield is completely cracked up. It needs new headlamp assemblies (super cloudy and broken brackets), new hood struts, and there are little things all over the place of course. I'm going to do spark plugs, oil change, etc. The biggest thing is I need to do a timing belt (the V6 has a chain, V8 has a belt), and I'll need to pay someone to do that.
But I figure all that I'm under $3500 total, and that includes the purchase price. I think it will make a great run around vehicle, something I can take up to the hunting property and with a 7k towing capacity, I can haul the boat with it when we vacation and not put the wear on our Touareg. Sometimes you just stumble into one!
(by the way, if my daughter's face looks funny in the photo it's because I blur them a bit)
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