Learn me 'Yota Pickups (pre-Tacoma era)

As I alluded to yesterday (http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/i-think-i-berkeleyed-up/91299/page1/) I have a potential deal in the works to trade my 97 Suzuki Bandit for a 1997 Toyota 4x4 pickup.

The truck is a 1990 with 227k, 5 speed tranny, a 6 inch lift, and 31s. It needs new tires, exhaust, and the ebrake adjusted according to the guy. He also mentioned that when he went to drive it the other day (its apparently been sitting for a few months) the truck wouldnt move when he went to let out the clutch. Says his uncle thinks its tue master cylinder. From what I have read it sounds more like the pressure plate, but I was shocked to see how cheap clutch kits were. Best of all, it doesnt appear to be a rust bucket by any means.

My end use for this vehicle would be as a winter beater so I wouldnt have to drive the Camaro, plus maybe some light wheelin' and other general truck things. I would like to spend as little money as possible on it.

So whats the scoop on these things? I know they have a reputation for being indestructible, but there must be at least a few things to watch out for. Also, I have never personally had much of any experience with lifted vehicles. What is there to wqtch out for in terms of the suspension?

lemme guess.....

It starts, but you can't drive it. It needs $2000 of parts/tires/etc.

The guy is probably asking $5k.....

Do NOT trade your running vehicle for this one.

If you show up with $1000, and offer $500, you will probably end up with a truck good for another 100k miles with a little work. (If the current owner has a brain....)

Once again, if the current owner has a brain.....you guys should be able to work a deal..

Good Luck!

Rog

Didn't Top Gear prove they were indestructible? (Except for the clutches apparently...)

I got a 2 wheel drive one for free, probably 5 years older than that one. Not a spot of rust on it, I did find where the rust was hiding, in the gas tank. Cutting the tank out wasn't fun, the bolts weren't rusty, some kind of locking that wouldn't come apart type. Changed the tank and pump and the next week it spun 2 rod bearings. No more toy trucks for me, ever. YMMV

they rust in Arizona just remember that... Here is the south I have not seen one with a complete bed in years, they all are missing most of the bed or front fenders due to rust. O and there will be rust even if it doesn't look rusty.

They rust fast. I had a frame rust through on mine.

I'd buy another in a heartbeat.

If it's been sitting, I'll bet the clutch disk is welded with rust to the flywheel.

Everything on that truck is overbuilt with no real weaknesses beyond the rust.

As said, rust is about it.
My grandpa bought a hilux 4cyl gas brand new in 87 and still drives it. Hes done little to it other than maintenance.
The four wheel drive on it has something going on (started in the last couple of years) but he doesnt need 4wd and hasnt gotten it checked out.
They are still worth ALOT around these parts, I work at toyota but never really see them come in for anything other than oil changes.
If its a 90 then I'm gonna assume its prob a 22re right? Pretty much indestructible. Just slow.

I would check the slave cylinder first, sits right on the side of the tranny, the seals go if the hardline hasn't rusted away or the rubber line hasn't split. As said, rust and oil leaks are probably your biggest worry (front and rear mains). The 86's had a bad batch of head bolts, I lost a head gasket in mine. And the clutches will interchange with the 2WD and the Celica, so it's really easy to get a car clutch with a light pressure plate instead of the proper 4WD one. With those deep gears it will jump off the line but you will be grabbing 2nd around 20-25 mph, 22RE just runs out of breath in the upper revs. If it ain't rusty get it, fix the broke bits and drive it another 200K. If it is rusty, get it and part it out.. Win-win

I would say your Bandit is worth more than the truck.

+1 on rust basically being the only killer of these trucks

Is it the 22 re or the 6?

Furious_E wrote: ...1997...1990..Toyota 4x4 pickup...a 6 inch lift, and 31s

It's dog slow and has been flogged constantly to make it get out of it's own way. Try one and you'll see.

6" lift, unless it's a well done is a mess. With the 31's, if it's been off-roading it probably wasn't gentle or careful.

Wouldn't move when the clutch was released. That goes along with what I said above. Clutch if your lucky, which is a heavy job with that transfer case.

My opinion, it's a scrap metal truck and I'd value it accordingly.

If the truck wouldn't move when he let out the clutch, the pressure plate is bad. If it was a hydraulic problem it would have had a grind when he tried to put it in gear.

The only thing that kills these is rust....but due to their legendary reliability and popularity with the offroad crowd, they don't sell for cheap anymore.

foxtrapper wrote:

Furious_E wrote: ...1997...1990..Toyota 4x4 pickup...a 6 inch lift, and 31s

It's dog slow and has been flogged constantly to make it get out of it's own way. Try one and you'll see. 6" lift, unless it's a well done is a mess. With the 31's, if it's been off-roading it probably wasn't gentle or careful. Wouldn't move when the clutch was released. That goes along with what I said above. Clutch if your lucky, which is a heavy job with that transfer case. My opinion, it's a scrap metal truck and I'd value it accordingly.

also a 6 inch lift with the truck being a 90 means it is still a ifs truck and those lifted that high wear out so many parts up front unless they have been sas'ed

I'm dubious about the lift. A stock 4x4 wouldn't need 6" to clear 31" tires. If it had a 6" lift and 31" tires it would look really silly.

This 4 runnder has a 4" lift and 31" tires. 6" and 31" would be stupid. (yes I know different front suspension).

Just so you know there are 4 cables in the e-brake. The one coming out of the cab is apparently a dealer only item.

The clutch kit for my 87 cost $92 from NAPA. Had the pilot bearing, throw out bearing , and the plastic alignment tool with it. Make sure to resurface the flywheel.

Yotatech.com is an excellent source of info on these trucks.

That's a $500 truck around here. Clutch problem is not the slave cylinder, although slave cylinders are a problem area (like you need a new one every hundred thousand or so.)

I drove an 86 2WD 4 speed into work today. I only have about 356K miles on it.

If it makes you feel better, my 22RE made it to 442,000mi before it popped.

About 260k miles on my 1994 pickup, still going strong and easily passes california smog. I love the punky truckster. I guess they are slow but the toyota gets great gas mileage, 25mpg+ for me.

Also, do yourself a favor and check the timing guides if its a 22re. Open the valve cover and look down along the chain. You shouldn't be able to see the aluminum of the front case. If you do there's probably 2 railroad tracks from the chain slapping the case. The guides are plastic and tend to break and drop down into the oil pan. This is bad and will need to be fixed. That is the one real Achilles heal of the 22re.

my first vehicle was a 2wd 86 with a 22r, other then a clutch and headgasket i had no problems, sold the truck with 341k on it and enough tire rubber caked under it to keep it from rusting. 4speed with a limited slip and i beat the E36 M3 out of it.

Yeah, as Appleseed says, that timing chain rail is the only weak point. Replace it with an aftermarket metal one. One weekend job.

Well, at least the springs didn't break.

Or did they ?

I agree that it doesnt look like 6" of lift. I think the tires might also be 33s rather than 31s. It is nowhere near as out of proportion as that 4Runner. As stated though, I have basically zero experience with lifted vehicles so I dont really have a good eye for that stuff.

The idea of the clutch being rusted to the flywheel scares the hell out of me and sounds like a HUGE pain in the ass. Its definitely not related to the clutch hydraulics from what he is describing. But even if it needs a whole clutch job I am still in under $200, easily, including getting the flywheel resurfaced.

A quick search on rockauto shows the ebrake cables for under $20 each, so maybe $80 there plus whatever the dealer sourced one costs. This cant be too bad of a job, right?

I am thinking I may try to find used tires if I buy this thing. Am I correct in reading that these share lug patterns with Chevys?

In terms of what this thing is worth, I really have a hard time pinpointing it since prices for these seem to be all over the place around here. I am thinking maybe $800 in its present state. I am asking $1600 for the bike. I dont yet know if he is willing to put that much cash on top, but if I could get it road-worthy for only a couple hundred out of pocket, at the end of the day, I would be happy. I just dont want to get into a total cluster berkeley either.

My '86 4x4 ate clutch master cylinders. I think I replaced it 3 times in the time I owned it. I learned rev-match shifting in that truck.

Otherwise, I agree with what's been said: rust, rust and more rust... my '86 (first year of IFS) would fit 31's stock. Suspension lifts on those were kinda weird... 3" body lifts were pretty common, tho.