Bought a 99 Limited with 325k, what maintenance?

I bought an extremely clean 1999 4Runner Limited with 325,xxx on the clock. CarFax shows timing belt and water pump replaced at 85k but it's just been oil changes since then. Don't want to dump a ton of cash into a 17 year old car but I want to take care of it and gets some life out of it. What's the first things I should do? New spark plugs, change transmission fluid, diff fluid?

 

Do the timing belt again ASAP & every 100k. If it breaks, your engine is history.

$185 AISIN TKT-025 Engine Timing Belt Kit with Water Pump - Compatible with Select Toyota 4Runner, T100, Tacoma, Tundra

DIY for $200 or about triple that for a pro. All fluid & filter changes (with that many miles I wouldn't use synthetic). Plugs, wires, or here is

TBK Engine Tune Up Parts Kit Replacement for Toyota Tacoma 1996-2004 3.4 and replacement for Toyota 4runner 1996-2002 Includes all filters, PCV valve and grommet NGK spark plugs and NGK Ignition Wires

everything for a tune up except the water pump/timing belt.

 

ball joints. specifically lower balls joints. if you don't know how old they are you had better change them. failure happens often and its not pretty.
add an external tranny cooler and stop using the tranny cooler on the bottom of the radiator.

 

The 3.4 is a non interference engine, so if it breaks you can just put a new t-belt on and run it. But absolutely change it before it gets to that point, like you said.

 

Thanks, I thought so but didnt want to argue with the free advice above.

 

Interested to hear how the rig is going. I'm looking at finding something like this (high mile 3rd gen).

 

Still going strong, Leaks a bit of oil but that's to be expected I guess. My wife drives it just a few miles every day but I've taken it on a few 200 mile round trips so far and no issues at all.

 

Pretty experienced with the 99' runners. On my second one. Bought 2 at the same time because the dealer gave me a crazy deal before new years.

My stock 4 runner died at 245k miles. It was burning oil and coolant exponentially throughout time. Turns out the block was cracked, head gasket was shot, and the engine was just breaking itself. I ended up selling it to my mechanic- lesson learned, treat a problem when it starts...

My current 4Runner was given to the dealer to have a TRD blower and a bunch of other upgrades. It's at 174k and i've been a bit more careful.
I have the timing belt regularly checked and replaced. Trust me, no matter what kind of engine you have- timing belts are a nightmare.
It started burning oil, so my mechanic redid the head gasket.
Then the bad part happened. One of my cylinders stopped firing on start up, and tons of coolant was burning. Turns out my header was cracked. Got it all fixed.
If your burning oil gets worse, get it looked at before it's too late.

 

Dood, i know its been awhile...but the thread IS on the main page so....hows it working out?

My third Runner...snared last October after a year or more of stalking! I'm second owner now...150k miles

 

It's been great, my wife drives it every day and have not had a single problem yet!

 

Aces...good to hear. Only thing I have seen take down a 3rd gen runner, aside from sudden impact, is the dreaded pink milkshake (1sr hand) and rust...take care of them proactively and its golden

P.S. take care of the timing belt aussie

 

this is giving me hope! wanting to buy a high mileage 3rd gen. subbing for updates.

 

Dood, there is still time to be certain...i see some clean interesting ones listed quite frequently, but alas my driveway is full. There are even some lower mileage ones to be found. Do your due diligence on what to look for beyond the obvious...if you find a clean one, preferably from an anal retentive first owner jump on it, you wont be sorry.

Now, lets define hope...the big white elephant on MY target list is a clean, original 84 or 85 Runner...Manual...with an ugly as fvck interior, cuz, they all were then...had one...sold it *SNIFF*

But back on topic...I bought my taco 3 months after my Runner acquisition...I still grab the Runner on weekends cuz its Just. That. Fun.

Happy hunting...let us know what you see out there!