just looked at a 98 RAV4, 5spd manual.

I really liked it . Had a ton of miles but felt solid and seemed to run and drive smooth. 

Don't know much about the engine in these. I know it's a 2.0.

Are these engines belt or chain driven?

Any other useful info on these?

Thanks

That should say RAV4. 

Belt driven. Which means non-interference in toyota-speak. I see a bunch of early ones still on the road here in the desert.

Fine vehicles.  Timing belt service is a pain.  If only the abs pump were somewhere else...

  AWD actuator on the front of the diff eats a bearing, and they are pretty expensive.  That might be a couple of years newer, now that I think of it.

Fine vehicles.  Timing belt service is a pain.  If only the abs pump were somewhere else...

  AWD actuator on the front of the diff eats a bearing, and they are pretty expensive.  That might be a couple of years newer, now that I think of it.

I have a Y2K.  Timing belt.  3SFE motor.  I have one sitting on a stand in my shop now.  Only has about 225K miles on it.  I replaced it with a 4th gen 3SGTE. 

Linky.

In general, people don't sell them unless they ran them out of oil because they didn't know you had to check that or they get crushed into a ball on the interstate, or they just want a newer RAV4. 

This one has 240k miles but I was surprised how well it drove and shifted. Someone took care of it. Interior looked great and outside only had clear coat peeling on the hood. 

There is a 2 door variant on the early ones, I think they look the business in that mid-90s cute ute way. 

dankspeed said:

This one has 240k miles but I was surprised how well it drove and shifted. Someone took care of it. Interior looked great and outside only had clear coat peeling on the hood. 

My wife had a '99 Rav4 when we met.  It was a great car.  From that era where Toyota seemed to build very well.  This is really the vehicle that started the whole cute-ute and Crossover trend.  

In general, the 4 cyl is underpowered (at least in the auto trans version).  Add to this the tall height and the short wheel-base which results in a rather "jouncy" ride.  The only reason we sold it was that my wife was now having a 45 minute commute each way, all expressway.  In no way is the Gen1 Rav4 a highway car.  Great around town and for running errands but the "big box" gets poor hyw mpg for what it is.  In general it is loud and rough on the hyw (compared to other choices)   

Picked it up today. Overall im happy with the car. Wish the paint was in better shape but oh well. wheels are the stamped steel variety and have some rust on them. Going to look into picking up a used set that will fit the stock 16" tire. 

I'll also gets some pics up in the next few days

Cool.  I got some Toyota 16" aluminum wheels at a junkyard for not much.  I painted them black.  Those are the ones in the pics I have on the build thread.

In reply to Dr. Hess :

Gonna check out my local yard on wednesday. Probably gonna order some old man emu springs and shocks to give it a little lift. Also would like to swap out the stock steering wheel for something cooler. 

The official unofficial web site for that vehicle is http://www.rav4world.com/forums/75-rav4-1-first-generation-1994-2000-models/

Near as I can tell, any Toyota 16" wheel that will bolt up should work.  I think I paid 2 bills for the aluminum set with center caps on there now.  Not sure what they came off of.

I seem to remember the Rav4 having a pretty nice stereing wheel.  Sample:

Yeah, they had the same steering wheel as the Supra and later MR2 in JDMland.  

Its fine as far as stock steering wheels go. Just would like something with more character.

Wife had one. Biggest pile of E36 M3 we’ve ever owned. By far. 5th gear isn’t od and Highway revs are ridiculous. Hers burned 5 cats in 4 years. Rear diff was shot at 88k miles. Ate tires like candy.   

Just took my Rav4 up to toyota to have the diffs and transmission flushed. They checked it out and found the front axle seals are leaking and that the water pump is leaking.

Debating on if I should have the dealer do the work or find a cheaper shop. Dealer charges $119 an hour for labor.

A friends family member works there so I trust they're being honest about the work needed. 

Also has a leaky valve cover gasket.

Gotta love old beaters. 

Seems like today that the going shop rate is about a bill an hour.  Water pump and a timing belt, then.  Or just run it and keep an eye on the fluid levels.  Unless the water pump is puking water.

I have a trip down to ashville, NC in nov soI don't really want to nurse it along. Plan on just biting the bullet and fixing it. I have another friend that has family that have a service shop. Gonna call tomorrow to find out their hourly rate and see if they'll use genuine toyota parts.