10k: Diesel Swap: 1995 Toyota 4Runner
The 2nd generation 4Runner (1989-1995) offered a medium sized package,
excellent 4WD capability and a refined ride when new. Its typically Toyota reliability
has turned it into a thing of legend and if you can ignore the sneers from the guys with Calvin peeing on brand Y in the rear window; they are great vehicles. A used example of a 4Runner is much more desirable compared to similar condition
Explorers, Cherokees, and other pre-Brodozed competitors, especially when equipped with a heavy fuel burning engine. Find this 1995 Toyota 4Runner with diesel powertrain swap offered for $8,000 in Durham, NC via craigslist. Tip from Tinyfrogs.
The 2nd generation 4Runner was a departure from the fiberglass camper-shell-on-truck setup used in the 1st generation, and now used a full steel body on conventional truck frame. Weight was very well controlled at 3700 lbs (about the same as a BMW 5-series from the same era) and the USDM 6-cylinder powerplant resulted in acceptable performance.
This 4Runner is powered by a Toyota 2L-TE turbo diesel engine that produces 97 horsepower and 163 ft-lbs of torque. It may be down significantly from the stock engine, but it offers dieselrific low end pulling power and fuel economy.
See another diesel powered SUV for cheap? tips@dailyturismo.com
Ugh, they picked the wrong year and wrong transmission.
If they had used a '96-2002 and a manual trans this would be worth the asking price all day.
I often get into arguments with Lexus GX owners when I point out their leather-lined luxo-bomb is 4Runner based. Oooo…that really gets their goat for some reason. In my dreams, Ralph Nader drives a GX…
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I usually just show them pictures of the stripped down, base-model, diesel, manual Land Cruiser Prados I used to bomb around 3rd world countries in back in the day, then ask them to focus on the the visual similarities, right down to the steering wheel and center stack. I then tell them they cost about 1/2 what they paid for their tarted up 4Runner. That usually shuts them up.
Ha! Logic is not a requisite of GX ownership, I think. They certainly aren't terrible vehicles but they're so inappropriate for the typical driver that it boggles the mind. The draw of the badge…
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Wow, a motor combo that's even weaker than the stock! This is good how? But seriously, mine was a fine vehicle, but with an automatic managed to have both atrocious gas mileage AND lousy power. I live in a very liberal area, and my friend and I would talk about how his Suburban was considered to be a pig and my Toyota redeemable. Yet the Suburban was much roomier, had more power and got better gas mileage.
As much as I LOVE 4Runners, I have never figured out how they made the back seat so small. It's like a reverse Tardis – smaller on the inside.
As much as I LOVE 4Runners, I have never figured out how they made the back seat so small. It's like a reverse Tardis – smaller on the inside.
As much as I LOVE 4Runners, I have never figured out how they made the back seat so small. It's like a reverse Tardis – smaller on the inside.
There's a lot to love here but I couldn't bring this girl home to my parents. They would be polite about her automatic transmission and then pull me aside and remind me that we are a 3-pedal family.
Yes, the autobox is more like a neck tattoo; not something you can hide like a tramp stamp.