I've been ofered this truck for $3000

MD

MD

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I've been looking for a Toyota 4x4 for a while and was just offered this through a friend. I don't know how many kms it has on it yet, but apparently the owner is a mechanic and has maintained the truck well. Any thoughts?



85 straight axle 22re 5 gear, rust free frame and box, electric locker winch, 4 brand new 33s $3000 non neg.
 
My Two penne'th.
Having owned older Toyotas just a caution. They are ridiculously expensive if they need any parts. Super reliable vehicles in their early life, but once the electrical gremlins start acting up, you'd better be sitting down when you phone you friendly Toyota dealer.
 
Sixmaniac said:
My Two penne'th.
Having owned older Toyotas just a caution. They are ridiculously expensive if they need any parts. Super reliable vehicles in their early life, but once the electrical gremlins start acting up, you'd better be sitting down when you phone you friendly Toyota dealer.
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There are piles of these trucks for parts around North America. There are even Toyota truck specific graveyards.

I have owned two of these trucks a beat the crap out of both of them, parts aren't nearly as bad as you make it out to be...
 
85 straight axle 22re 5 gear, rust free frame and box, electric locker winch, 4 brand new 33s $3000 non neg.
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sounds great - if true - about the only problems some have had with the engine is timing chain slop wearing the cover ... otherwise sludge from not changing the oil - although not common with units this old as their owners tend to be particular if they know what they have. The SFA is desirable to folks that like a little lift .. but stock they are pretty much bullet proof and simple to work on!
 
Big thing with those trucks are the frames they rusted real bad if the frame is truly rust free that it's a bargain. The 22re had some head gasket issues but not a huge deal to fix . As for electrical issues they are a pain to diagnoses and harness from from
Difrent years may not work
 
crazy_davey said:
..parts aren't nearly as bad as you make it out to be...
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Commenting from my own experience. Others experiences my vary.

Examples:
$500+ for electric window winder. Common problem - any at a wreckers were already pooched.
$500+ for window winder relay - same as above.
Leaky sunroof - can't buy just seals - have to replace glass, seals, rails the whole shooting match. Aftermarket glass companies wouldn't touch them.
I could go on..
The vehicles always kept running though.
 
Sixmaniac said:
Commenting from my own experience. Others experiences my vary.

Examples:
$500+ for electric window winder. Common problem - any at a wreckers were already pooched.
$500+ for window winder relay - same as above.
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And in under a minute I found multiples of both of those parts(working condition) for under $100 each.

After owning close to 30 4x4 vehicle's and having worked on them all, parts can be found if your willing to look at the right places.

There are almost always other options, other than the stealership.
 
Sixmaniac said:
Commenting from my own experience. Others experiences my vary.

Examples:
$500+ for electric window winder. Common problem - any at a wreckers were already pooched.
$500+ for window winder relay - same as above.
Leaky sunroof - can't buy just seals - have to replace glass, seals, rails the whole shooting match. Aftermarket glass companies wouldn't touch them.
I could go on..
The vehicles always kept running though.
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Easy fix: Convert to hand crank windows and a tube of silicone for the sunroof, less than $50.
 
crazy_davey said:
And in under a minute I found multiples of both of those parts(working condition) for under $100 each.

After owning close to 30 4x4 vehicle's and having worked on them all, parts can be found if your willing to look at the right places.

There are almost always other options, other than the stealership.
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I don't wish to drag this out into a long debate. The OP asked for opinions ("thoughts" to be totally accurate).
I was simply stating my experiences from several years ago, not today.
Clearly the framework of wreckers online has developed to such an extent that it is now that easy to find used spares. Great, have at it. That was NOT the case with my vehicles.
 
Opinions, thoughts, as the original poster, I welcome them all.

My photobucket account screwed up so I don't have pics to share. I only got one sent to me. evidently the owner took it on the Dempster Highway in the Yukon this summer.
 
If what your being told about the truck is accurate, I'd probably do it. For a bush/hunting truck they're hard to beat. I wouldn't want to use one for a daily driver though, the cab is way too small. You might want to find out if the gears have been swapped. My 91 had 4:10s from factory and those 33s made it work hard. You gotta remember that 4banger has about 100hp. I swapped in 5:29s and it was like a new truck.

Parts aren't bad for these trucks. If you want brand new it can be a struggle to find things but like Davey said, there is lots of used stuff out there. I used to get my stuff from a yota specific wrecker outside of Lethbridge. They were good to deal with and could get almost anything. If you buy it, join the yotatech forum. They have everything you could ever want to know about these trucks.
 
Sounds decent. I've had several, all with the SR5 6 cyl. Got down to being able to do head gaskets within 15 hrs - books says 23hrs IIRC For the difference in HP, should have gone with the 4 cyl - at least the head gaskets don't take two days. Did have electrical gremlins with one, but no other issues. Had to go to a fullsize PU to pull the car-hauler...
 
Underpowered for 33s
but in good shape its worth every cent.
you can swap a set of 4.73 gears in out of a 79 and it should be great with big tires.
i did this on my 84
But never did the big tires lol


MD said:
I've been looking for a Toyota 4x4 for a while and was just offered this through a friend. I don't know how many kms it has on it yet, but apparently the owner is a mechanic and has maintained the truck well. Any thoughts?



85 straight axle 22re 5 gear, rust free frame and box, electric locker winch, 4 brand new 33s $3000 non neg.
Click to expand...
 
lowridersvt said:
Big thing with those trucks are the frames they rusted real bad if the frame is truly rust free that it's a bargain. The 22re had some head gasket issues but not a huge deal to fix . As for electrical issues they are a pain to diagnoses and harness from from
Difrent years may not work
Click to expand...


Or just bolt on parts from a carbed motor ;-)
Been there...done this
 
I had a 1980 short box with a 20R engine and a 4spd. Mechanically from a motor drive train perspective they were very solid and dependable, they hadn't changed much by the 85 model year. I drove mine for 8 yrs. The major weakness was the bodies and frames, they rusted. My frame not so much but the body was a constant battle. The roof along the top of the windshield especially. I had the roof cut off an replaced twice before it blew off. So I would have my sincere doubts that it is truly rust free and not rotted somewhere. When I had mine and my best friend had one also they were very tough little trucks. The places we took them moose hunting while dragging small trailers loaded with gear, canoes and moose would scare most people. Neither truck ever let us down. And with more good luck than good management we never got stuck much either.
They had single skinned boxes and tail gates still I think in 85 which means what you made a dent with on the inside also made a dent on the outside. The gear ratio was very low in low range 4x4, so with a manual in 1st gear it would almost crawl straight up a cliff if it could get the traction. Bullet proof drive trains and crappy bodies to make a long story short. 33" tires is a lot of tire for those small truck drive trains, that size tire can put a lot of torgue and load forces on front end components, something to keep in mind. Those size tires can play hell on full size truck front ends. But for mooching in the bush they would be good.

But if it has been regularly "Rust Checked" and is reasonably rust free and mechanically sound as described it would be an excellent hunting vehicle for 3K. Put it this way you would be hard pressed to buy a decent used ATV for 3K. Depends what you expect of the truck and what you want to do with it. Do you want it as a daily driver and commuter or a bush buggy to run the tote roads with.?
 
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"Do you want it as a daily driver and commuter or a bush buggy to run the tote roads with? "

I work at home and don't drive much except to go to the Stupid Store once every two weeks and a few other chores.

Otherwise I like a vehicle to go waterfowling a lot in the winter (I'm in Vancouver and my main spots are 45 minutes away), spring bear and all fall hunting of course.

Thanks for the tips on the 33-inch tires though. I've never used anything but 235 75R 15 tires and I've been driving a 4x4 since 1992. I guess I could take 'em off sell them on CL and get more of what I'm used to in a truck.
 
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