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Educate Me on Several Vehicles

Stephen

Stephen

Who Dares Wins
Moderator
Location
Never Far From Nowhere
Today my wife's 1992 Camry decided to punch the time clock for the last time. This leaves me looking for a new vehicle to replace it with. My wife has vetoed my Miata idea and instead would like an SUV.

Here are the ones we have in mind:

Toyota Tacoma Crew Cab
Toyota 4Runner (2nd & 3rd Gen)
Nissan Xterra (1st & 2nd Gen)
Nissan Pathfinder (2nd Gen)
Nissan Frontier Crew Cab (1st Gen)
Jeep Cherokee (1998+)

I know the general specs of all these, what I am looking for is what issues should I be looking for in each? Normal engine problems, rust in X areas, transmissions tend to go out at X miles. Things like that.

If you have any pertinent information you could share, please do so.

Thank you.
 
Chevycrew

Chevycrew

Well-Known Member
Location
WVC, UT
3.0L Toyota head gasket probs, exhaust wraps behind the heads to help this problem along. 4runners get rust under the plastic panel behind the rear door.
 
Rot Box

Rot Box

Diesel and Dust
Supporting Member
Location
Smithfield Utah
Agreed with chevycrew ^ the 3.0 is one of the less desirable Toyota engines out there. Typically with a good set of head gaskets properly installed they can go for quite awhile but that isn't always the case. If you price low to high on KSL under Toyota 4runner and you will see many cheap 2nd gens with blown engines.

That said the 3rd gen Runners are really coming down in price lately and the 3.4 V6 is a very good engine. With a more durable rack and pinion steering and coilover struts (I really don't care for torsion bars) my money would be on a third gen even if it costs a bit more. Transmission failures are not common in any of the 2nd gens, 3rd gens and 4 door Tacoma's. The 4 doors Tacoma's (04 and older) are still quite spendy or I'd probably have one by now :-\ If you don't mind spending a bit more opt for the Limited models or TRD as they typically have all the bells and whistles (your wife would probably like that) and a rear e-locker.

Watch out for the Pre-Runners in the Tacoma and 3rd gen runner platform while shopping online. If you find a great deal you may be surprised to find out its only a 2wd--they look just like a 4x4 in appearance. I would avoid the 4cyl (3RZ-FE) engine in these years. While its a great motor and plenty powerful for a regular cab pickup the weight of the suv really puts a damper on things. Good luck!
 
864runner

864runner

I know I'm your hero
Location
West Jordan, UT
I have a 2nd gen Xterra and I love it, I have heard the automatics are having some troubles with getting coolant in the transmissions and causing them to fail. I have a manual so I don't have to worry about that.

Also the fuel sending unit had a TSB on it. When I bought mine I ran the tank down low and the check engine light came on so I checked it at the autozone and ran the codes and came back with the code for the fuel sending unit. So I did some research and found the TSB and took it to the dealer and they fixed it for free. I guess if you don't get it fixed and run the tank under half the sending unit could stop working and leave you stranded.

I get about 20 mpg if that matters to you at all.
 
jdub

jdub

Scrambler
Location
Provo, Utah.
Why not any Suzuki suv's on that list? I really like the grand vitara. The vote that I have is the Jeep Cherokee, reason being that parts-eventually you will buy them- will be readily available at the local auto parts store or even some are popping up at junk yards. I saw a liberty at our local one the other day. Plus parts will be domestic in price. I loved my Isuzu's but hated paying for parts.
 
Greg

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
Location
Grand Junction, CO
3rd Gen 4Runners are nice, Catherine has a '03 4Runner with a V8 and she says she still misses her '99. No real issues to be aware of, other than changing the timing belt and spark plugs. The 3rd Gens are coming down in price, if you do some looking around, I bet you'll be surprised how inexpensive you can find them.
 
Stephen

Stephen

Who Dares Wins
Moderator
Location
Never Far From Nowhere
jdub said:
Why not any Suzuki suv's on that list?
Click to expand...

She doesn't like the way they look. If this were for me alone, I certainly have a GV on the list, but it is not. She really has had her heart set on a Taco for a very long time, but they are by far the most expensive so we are considering other options as well.

bryson said:
Bless your wife for having the sense to talk you out of a Miata...:eek:
Click to expand...

Bryson, I'll excuse your lack of knowledge of one of the purest sports cars to have come from any manufacturer over the last 20 years. I have a line on an '89 with under 13,000 miles (yes, thirteen thousand) on the clock. It would be like buying a new car. Alas.
 
SAMI

SAMI

Formerly Beardy McGee
Location
SLC, UT
The 1st gen Xterras didn't come with a motor worth buying the 1st gen.. So just get that out of your head. Although, you do drive a 1.3lt...

2nd gen Xterra, as mentioned has a few reports of the coolant getting into the tranny. Milkshake in the tranny makes for an expensive repair. Guys are bypassing the lines that cause this, but I worry that if I did it I'd fall out of my warranty. I've had no issues with the tranny/coolant.. Another seldom seen issue, and I hardly bring this up, is a weak front diff. The spider gears on some 2nd gens seem to be made of diecast metal and break even when engaged in 4wd in loose/soft dirt.. Again, this is a rare and I don't know anyone personally who has had this happen. Guys online make a bigger deal out of it than needs be. The benefit to the 2nd gen Xterra is the VQ40 motor, the interior room, and loads of storage space. The VQ40 spanked Kurts supercharged 3.4 last year down a dirt road. I slowly pulled away from in the triple digits. I really like the 2Nd gen Xterra. I will add that the FSU recall is only for certain years, which is odd since they all use the same FSU. I had mine replaced under the recall but it's still acting up. I just watch my mileage to know when to refuel. Btw, I'm not easy on my Xterra, and it puts up with my abuse so far with no issues. What it really needs I a decent suspension (speaking of mine personally - but the factory setup isn't stellar). OME should have a leaf pack out very soon, and already has the front coils/strut available from a Navara D40 Ute. PRG is a popular upgrade coilovers for most guys.

I do also miss driving my '99 4runner. I miss the nimble dimensions, ad the OME suspension.. But it's hard to miss the 3.4 after driving the Nissan VQ40. Night and day difference. For cool factor you can get a nonfuntionibg hood scoop on some 3rd gen 4runners too ;). Mine is the "Highlander Edition" (pre Sport) that came with rear e-locker and hood scoop. Awesome vehicle. Reliable, classic looks IMO, and plenty of add on products around.
 
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RockMonkey

RockMonkey

Suddenly Enthusiastic
Cherokees are huge piles of turd...

...but they are cheap-as-free, and tend to run for a long time. The 4.0 engines frequently go well over 200,000 miles, and the AW4 transmissions are quite reliable as well. We have a 2001 WJ with a 4.0 and AW4. It has 140,000 miles on it, and the only real problem we had was a transmission solenoid. I expect to get another 100,000 miles out of it. It had a CPS go bad ~10,000 miles ago, which is the only time it's ever stranded anyone. Even then it started and ran fine after it cooled down. I drove it home.

I'm not a huge XJ fan even though I own one, but for a cheap reliable SUV they're tough to beat.

Now go buy a Taco or Frontier!
 
Caleb

Caleb

Well-Known Member
Location
Riverton
From that list of vehicles, I'd have a very tough time justifying any of them over my 4-door taco. Even though they (4-door tacos) are probably the most expensive vehicle on that list, they also keep their resale values far better than any other vehicle in that class. I think the only other vehicle that could possibly entice me on that list would be a 4-runner, but I'd still rather have the bed of the taco than the cargo space of the runner. I've had absolutely no issues with my taco, but I only have ~74Kish miles on it. While the 3.4L may not be a race engine, it rarely leaves me wanting more power. I feel it has more get up a go than my 2007 Grand Cherokee did with the 5.2L (I think it was a 5.2). My tace also gets ok gas mileage, with me driving I get 19ish pretty consistently...if you drive like an old lady (like my wife does) 21+ is piece of cake. (this is 100% city driving)

My vote is for a 4-door taco, it's a vehicle you can drive for a LONG time to come.
 
Houndoc

Houndoc

Registered User
Location
Grantsville
May or may not be a good reason for it not to be on your list, but I have like my Mitsubishi Montero Sport. Not a lot of options for off-road mods (but obviously not a big issue since Miata's have even less), but otherwise has been a great SUV.

150K miles and counting on my '03, with repairs very limited. Only rust is areas I have damage on the trail. They do need timing belt replacement etc.
 
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