Buying advice

I’m looking at a 2005 regular cab, 4 cyl, 4wd, manual with 180,000 miles on it. Frame was replaced 5 years/50,000 miles ago and appears to be in decent shape. Dealer is asking $9k, any opinions on whether or not this is a reasonable asking price?

Also, it had an issue where it was stuck/put in 4wd and driven on pavement which caused damage to the front axle (according to service records). It seems to drive fine now aside from some drifting/misalignment in steering. Is there anything to look for to see if this has been properly repaired?

 

Find a gravel parking lot or a grassy field.
Put it in 4x4 and listen, you shouldn’t hear any unusual noises.
If the Dealer objects to this, move on.
Or ask for a 14 day warranty. Then go try it after you buy it?

 

Personally, overpriced. Negatives are single cab, 4cyl with 180k with unknown maintenance history. PO not knowing how to operate in 4WD which makes maintenance history more concerning. Like stated above, find a gravel field to test the 4WD. Were there any listed damage or repairs to the transfer case besides the front axle?

 

I was more worried about the damage to the front axle. I assume it was caused by binding while turning with 4wd on pavement. Wouldn’t damage caused by this be obvious while driving? The service record notes seem to indicate substantial steering/stability issues while driving at higher speeds, which were not present when I test drove it.

 

The front axles turns even in 2wd.
If there was an axle issue, I’d expect to see it even in 2wd.
What you won’t know is the damage that may be done to the transfer case and front differential components.

 

No repairs were made by the Toyota dealer that listed the service record, something was noted about the transfer actuator needing repair. This is also what the selling dealer said they were replacing when I brought up the issue of damage due to be stuck in 4wd. Not sure if they just pulled this from service records as well and if it was actually fixed or not.

Aside from all that single cab is actually a plus to me (though I admit I may regret it), as is 4cyl (mostly for the reputation of the motor), mileage is definitely a downside as is questionable maintenance and previous owner(s) operation of the vehicle.

 

Strange. So the dealer knows of the damage, but they don’t know if it was repaired?
Maybe someone took it to the dealer and didn’t like their quote for fixing it?
Who know?

Not enough information for me to buy it.
I’d pass.

 

Your last paragraph screams expensive repairs.

Id find out exactly what is wrong with it, what it needs and how much that is going to cost. Then decide from there if it's worth negotiating on the price.

 

Right, which was reassuring (in regards to any issues with the front axle) because there did not seem to be any issue while in 2wd. I haven’t had a chance to test 4wd, but I’ve had a mechanic check it out and the only issue noted in regards to 4wd was not shifting out of 4lo without restating the vehicle. Which is obviously a concern and the dealer said they will be looking in to it.

 

Reports of Actuator failures are pretty common on these truck.
Sounds like somebody had one fail, couldn’t get it out of 4WD, and just drove it home.
Hopefully it wasn’t in 4L the whole time.

This is all speculation. Who know the real story.
I don’t like stories, not on things I’m buying.
I’d still pass.

You can do what ever you like, I’d be wanting some type of “warranty” knowing the history of this truck.

 

Despite what you will read all over this forum, driving in 4x4 on pavement wont break things. Not a good practice, but it wont break a CV either. What exactly do the service records say? Got a picture?

In your post just above you mention 4Lo is the issue. First post made it sound like 4Hi. 4Lo could just be operator error from the previous guy, if I had to make a guess. Not being able to shift out of 4Lo until the truck was 'restarted' aka when it was stationary like the manual says

Owners manual also recommends switching into / out of 4wd every month. If the PO never did this then its possible the actuators aint happy.

Last thing, I cant really see how wandering steering would be related to 4wd. Seems like a separate (and bigger) issue.

 

Sorry, after rereading my posts, I’m not being clear enough.

I looked at the service records on the Toyota owners website. There it was recorded that there were problems with the front axle and 4wd system. According to the records the previous owner declined repairs and presumably sold or traded in the vehicle to the Toyota dealer that performed the diagnostic service.

It was then sold to a third party used car dealership that is listing it for sale. I am unsure if they were previously aware of this issue or not. They claim to have listed it shortly after receiving it and that all necessary repairs would be made prior to sale. However I contacted them about the issues noted in the service records and they said they would look in to it and later said they would be replacing the transfer case actuator.

 

I mostly agree with this.
It is not that 4WD and pavement is “bad”.
It is usually the PERSON driving in 4WD on DRY pavement.

Put it in 4WD and turn steering wheel full lock and do figure 8’s on DRY pavement.
Something is going to give.

Again, I agree with you. Limited straight runs in 4WD on pavement shouldn’t hurt anything’s.
Just keep it as straight as possible, and take it EASY.

FWIW, OP I wouldn’t recommend you run 4WD on anyone ELSE’S truck.
If you are extremely unlucky, You may make THEIR problem YOURS.

 

T-case actuator is very easy to see by just poking your head under there. Should be easy enough to spot a shiny new part and confirm if they did that repair or not. Which should solve any possible 4Hi<->4Lo issues.

But again, Im still wondering about the 'wandering' steering issue..

 

I honestly don’t know enough as to what the problem with 4wd is/was just that there is/was one. Personal mechanic is who said it would not shift out of 4lo until being turned of and back on. I’m confident he knows that the vehicle should be in neutral and stationary while shifting in/out of 4lo.

What might the wandering steering potentially point to and why would it be a bigger issue?

Service record pics:

 

Thank you, I didn’t know this was something that could be easily observed, I will take a look at it when I look at the truck again.

Not sure about the steering, could just be an alignment issue (?) wasn’t that noticeable when I test drove it.

 

OP, buddy.
The more I read, the more I would NOT buy this truck.
The diagnosis was “Vibration due to being in 4WD and the axle was damaged by a disconnected Sway Bar link”

Was the sway bar disconnected or broken?

 

Definitely too much guesswork in the 4wd diagnosis. OP, if you are buying this as a 2nd weekend toy, there's no way I would risk having a 4WD malfunction whether you do or do not need it offroad. Definitely pass even if there's no issues. $9k seems overpriced for a single cab 4 banger even with a working 4WD. At 180k, a clutch install may be next on the list.

 

Offer $5k to see if they’ll bite. Otherwise move on.

 

Ahhh. It sounds like the right sway bar link somehow came loose, at which point it probably dug into the CV. Likely tore a boot and lost all the grease inside.

If the dealer you are buying from will replace the t-case actuator then that should be good to go. Have your personal mechanic go over it again real good. Make sure he sees the above notes and can confirm a new actuator, the sway bay is in working order, and that none of the CV boots are messed up.

As far as price goes, I cant really say. Gut feeling is it isnt that far off but I try not to look at used trucks too much - I dont need another project