Trading a T100 for a 03 runner.

[Zuke76]

An old coworker of mine is looking for a weekend warrior truck. She just got a TDI Jetta for her 100+ mile daily commute and wants to sell her 03 4Runner V8. I need something with more passenger room for the kids. My father in law just got a new truck so I can borrow his for hauling crap around. I love the T100 but the xtra cab space sucks with two kids back there. I have a company car that I drive to/from work and only need something for weekend trips. I also want to keep a 4x4 vehicle in case of heavy snow/zombie infestation. So we are looking at trading T100 for 4runner.

Hers-
2003 4runner SR5 4.7 V8 150k miles.
She had the timing belt/wp and full tune up done last summer at the stealership. She takes good care of it but it has its share of dings/paint scrapes since she is a kayak addict and drives it on trails every weekend. I don't really care about the cosmetic issues.

Mine
96 T100 SR5 3.4 v6 150k miles
Timing belt/wp were done at 100k miles. I have replaced the sway bar bushings, shocks and plugs+wires last summer. Runs great but lots of rust issues....joy...

She is looking for a few extra bucks her way maybe $2500-3000.

My family and I have owned lots of Toyota trucks and this would be the first SUV style. I know the old pick-ups and tacomas pretty well as far as mechanical issues and repair.

Here are my questions--
The V8 in the 4runner is rated pretty low on hp compared to the tundra... anyone know why?
The v8 models had full time 4wd is the system any good? Flaws/perks?
These 4runners are based on the Lexus lx470, correct? How is aftermarket support?
What are the issues I should look for that are specific for this model year/ generation?

Thanks!

[jetwhine]

Zuke76,

Ok I'll try to give you a little insight. I do own a 03. We love it. With children I can see why you would want something else.
Your Tundra. In good shape it would bring somewhere between 5,500-8,000 in good condition. Yours has rust....
The 4runner has body dings and scratched paint. Rust??? If in good condition it would bring about 12,000-16,000 its a big range but still more than the Tundra. So if you traded your Tundra and gave her 3,000 you would still be getting a good deal. With 150,000 miles you will still need to do a little more maintenance but you would be doing that with the Tundra anyway.
Now to try to answer some of your questions.
The horse power: Its not a speed demon as it is a heavy rig. But the back side of the power on the V-8 is torque. It has good torque for towing. On the V-8 they gave up horse power for the torque.
I like the full-time 4wd. You don't have to do anything it is there when you need it. It has low range and a diff lock which is awesome.
I believe the Lexus is base off of the 4runner not the other way. The 4runner has been around allot longer than the Lexus line.
As far as issues are concerned I have only had an issue between 4High and 4low. It tends to be a little finicky trying to get out of the low range. But I have found a trick that works well. If you can get it to a place where you can coast both forward and in reverse then you can get it out easier. The transfer case seems to get a pre-load on it and to get back to 4high you need to roll forward at about 5 miles an hour drop it into nuetral then try to disengage it. If it does not go into 4high the go in reverse and do the same thing. By repeating this is will eventually come out. It only does this if you don't use 4low very often.
The after market for these rigs, there are plenty of parts and mods for this rig. If this is what you are referring too?
I hope this helps.

[84Cressida]

Originally Posted by Zuke76

An old coworker of mine is looking for a weekend warrior truck. She just got a TDI Jetta for her 100+ mile daily commute and wants to sell her 03 4Runner V8. I need something with more passenger room for the kids. My father in law just got a new truck so I can borrow his for hauling crap around. I love the T100 but the xtra cab space sucks with two kids back there. I have a company car that I drive to/from work and only need something for weekend trips. I also want to keep a 4x4 vehicle in case of heavy snow/zombie infestation. So we are looking at trading T100 for 4runner.

Hers-
2003 4runner SR5 4.7 V8 150k miles.
She had the timing belt/wp and full tune up done last summer at the stealership. She takes good care of it but it has its share of dings/paint scrapes since she is a kayak addict and drives it on trails every weekend. I don't really care about the cosmetic issues.

Mine
96 T100 SR5 3.4 v6 150k miles
Timing belt/wp were done at 100k miles. I have replaced the sway bar bushings, shocks and plugs+wires last summer. Runs great but lots of rust issues....joy...

She is looking for a few extra bucks her way maybe $2500-3000.

My family and I have owned lots of Toyota trucks and this would be the first SUV style. I know the old pick-ups and tacomas pretty well as far as mechanical issues and repair.

Here are my questions--
The V8 in the 4runner is rated pretty low on hp compared to the tundra... anyone know why?
The v8 models had full time 4wd is the system any good? Flaws/perks?
These 4runners are based on the Lexus lx470, correct? How is aftermarket support?
What are the issues I should look for that are specific for this model year/ generation?

Thanks!

The 4Runner's V8 is rated lower than the Tundra due to different exhaust and engine tuning. I don't remember off the top of my head, but I believe they upped the HP on the V8 4Runner later down the line, like '05? They did for the Tundra and Sequoia. The LX470 is based on the Land Cruiser, and the 4th generation 4Runner like the '03 you're looking at is based on the Land Cruiser Prado, which is a LC variant sold overseas and was sold here as the Lexus GX470.

Overall, the 2UZ-FE and the Prado platform are very reliable and great off-road, as well.