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View Full Version : New guy, new to me 1990 4runner



MechanicallyDeclined
12-26-2012, 08:23 PM
Hey all, signed up a while back but haven't sat down until tonight to say hi. Bought my 1990 SR5, 22re/auto w/ 271,xxx miles back in August. Family needed a vehicle with 4wd and a back seat for our at the time 1 year old daughter. I bought the 4runner off CL for 800.00, PO thought the front main bearing was shot. Towed it home to find out the #3 spark plug was not connected and the rockers needed adjustment. Been driving it since with a laundry list of fixes needing to be done. As you can see by the chosen screen name, working on cars is not my strong suit but I'm hoping to learn on this vehicle in hopes of fixing this and selling it to put the money towards a Fzj80 to fit 2 car seats in :D

I plan on using the search function as much as possible and hoping that this forum has a much traffic as I hoped. Saw a few other forums out there, some seemed too crowded with a lot of drama, some were a little too hard core. I've spent countless hours on mud reading up on 80's for research, though a great site for cruisers, sub forums seem less active.

I'd like to be able to tackle as many issues as possible on my own with the limited skills and even more limited knowledge to build up my confidence in shade tree mechanics to save money and just learn more about my vehicle(s). In the end, possibly give back with any knowledge I have learned.

There are issues to be addressed with this vehicle, it is 22 years old and the PO knew less than I.

Known issues and broken/missing list:

-Leaky sunroof gasket along with not opening with button. Motor clicks but no go. Possibly off tracks.
-Cracked front windshield.
-Power mirrors, DS & DSP windows dont work. Got both power mirrors to move once, thats it. Windows, no go. Possibly motors or power window/locks/mirror panel I'm guessing.
-Need front and rear wiper arms. rear wiper works....just doesn't come in contact with rear window. Need spray nozzles as well.
-Rear window is very slow in raising back up. Guessing tracks are dirty. Seems like a daunting task.
-Center console needs new lid.
-DSP door has no inside handle. Locked myself in a couple times already.
-Ticking noise when in drive. In P or N its less audible. Coworker suggested flex plate? Mentioned an access panel by the tranny, I have yet to find this. Thinking it`s a mythical unicorn.

anyway, looking forward to learning.

04 Rocko Taco
12-26-2012, 08:27 PM
Welcome to UltimeateYota! $800 is a steal in my book everyday of the week!

Great group of guys here. Not a TON of traffic, but almost 0 drama, and even the hardcore among us, are much less so on this forum, this is a great place for everyone from newbie on up to hardcore crawlers.

The guys, and girls, on this forum are very knowledgeable and will be a great help in most of your issues!

Feel free to post up any questions, and good luck with the 4runner! Working on your own vehicles is always fun!

Seanz0rz
12-26-2012, 08:28 PM
Welcome!

DHC6twinotter
12-26-2012, 08:40 PM
Welcome! I had '90 4runner up until 6 months ago. It had a few bugs, but overall, it was a good vehicle. Sold it with 223k on it.

MechanicallyDeclined
12-26-2012, 08:46 PM
My daughter turned the pc off before I could post a pic :love:

Robinhood4x4
12-26-2012, 10:17 PM
I don't have time for a proper response, but send me a pm reminder if I don't respond in a day or two. In the meantime somebody will probably post the same advice as I would give.

Crinale
12-28-2012, 01:37 PM
I have a 91 4runner parts truck sitting in my driveway. PM me if you'd like to buy any parts from it and I'll let you know if I have it - anything but the engine is in decent condition.

Also, Welcome to Ultimate Yota! I started with Toyota's in a similar situation to you, bought my 91 4runner v6 auto for $800 with 200k miles on it.

4x4mike
12-28-2012, 08:28 PM
Welcome. The search doesn't always pull up what I'm looking for so feel free to post up.

MechanicallyDeclined
12-28-2012, 09:26 PM
Thanks everyone for the welcome. 4x4mike, I've noticed that about the search, was wondering if I was doing something wrong. I'll probably end up starting a separate thread just for the repairs to be done to my 4runner.

Crinale, I may just take you up on that offer. I've browsed CL here locally and theres hardly ever anything available and the local wrecking yards tend to double the prices on parts with Toyota attached to them. With a 16 mo old and another on the way, money is always an issue so learning to do the repairs myself and finding good prices is key.

I do have a chiltons and have discovered an online FSM manual and have been searching Youtube for DIY videos. I am by self admit, one that learns better from watching how its done as opposed to reading. Great for somethings, bad for others, such as repairs.

DHC6twinotter
12-28-2012, 11:59 PM
You've certainly picked the right forum for help! Great folks here. When I first bought my '90 4Runner, I didn't even know how to do an oil change. With the help of the folks on this forum and others, I've managed to do the majority of my own repairs, even timing belts.

It's a great group here, and I'm sure everybody will help in whatever way they can.

Robinhood4x4
12-29-2012, 08:16 AM
-Leaky sunroof gasket along with not opening with button. Motor clicks but no go. Possibly off tracks. I'm no expert on the sunroof and I could be wrong here, but I think how the sunroof works is that it is supposed to allow water through, but there are drain tubes that channel the water away. These tubes sometimes get clogged and then it appears there is a leak. This is how it works on the 3rd gen and 4th gen 4runners anyway. Of course, if the roof is off the tracks then all bets are off.

-Power mirrors, DS & DSP windows dont work. Got both power mirrors to move once, thats it. Windows, no go. Possibly motors or power window/locks/mirror panel I'm guessing. First try taking apart the switches and cleaning them. Usually it's just the contacts in the switches that get dirty from years of drinks spilled on them.

-Rear window is very slow in raising back up. Guessing tracks are dirty. Seems like a daunting task. See Roger Brown's website about the rear window. In fact, bookmark his website because he has a lot of info about the older 4runners. http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTricks/RearWindow.shtml