hey, whats up guy's iv been on the hunt for a 89-94 i believe, Toyota pick up. just wondering if you have any tips on what kind of things i should be looking at on these trucks to decide if its in good shape? i understand that the timing belt is an issue with older Toyota pickups. i'm looking for a daily driver because i'm selling my 07 scion and this will be my only rig. thanks in advance
stout890

 

Initially, you want to grab a 22RE and make sure the owner DID replace the timing chain recently. It's just preventive maintanence. The timing chain guides are plastic (don't know which Toyota engineer chose it, but i need to kick his butt), and they break between 70-100k, depending on driving styles.
Once these break, the chain will eat through the timing cover and into the water pump.
Water+Oil=Catastrophic Failure.

But as long this is regularly kept track of, then you're fine.

I did mine around 150k and that was when I was barely 16years old.

Don't be afraid about the timing chain, it's not going to be a MAJOR issue unless you truely neglect it.

The 3.0L 3VZ-E V6, you may assume its better since its V6, but it was a first of its own kind, sort of primitive, but not so loved as the 22RE. Avoid it unless you have really good mechanical skills and might as well pass it up for the beloved 3.4L 5VZ-FE that's extremely more efficient.
You're looking for a daily driver, so 22RE



As for the trucks themselves, they are easy to maintain, as opposed to the modern day cars that are CRAMPED with a bunch of wires and other little nick nacks.
Once you acquire a Toyota Pickup, and start picking at it, you'll find how relatively easy it is to work on one. It is VERY simplistic, from my experiences


Avoid the automatics, not because they're bad, but in the long long long run (and short run), it becomes boring and annoying to be dealt with. I had to change my fluid and do other little stuff, and automatics aren't fun. Economy and performance wise, auto's are FTL (for the lose, you probably know that)

Economy wise, I have a 1994 XCab 22RE Automatic 2WD. Lately I've been getting 23mpg. That's my latest gas tank fillup, which includes a few WOT runs, and probably a 1hour trip on the highway, 70-80mpg with AirConditioning on. <<< Going over 65mph in a truck with a wittle motor and automatic means poor mileage... well, in my experiences, some others experienced better mileage, but its not BAD compared to MOST.

MY truck has been an ongoing project for a longg time. I learned that hacking off your muffler reduces backpressure and you kinda lose some torque and its obnoxious.
But a 2.25" piping on the 22RE provides the best backpressure and best performance. I have some larger piped muffler on my truck, sounds alright. Even Ted @ Engnbldr.com can back up that statement. Also, he's been working on 22RE's for the past what, 40-50 years? IF you need ANYTHING or any question basically, email the guy and he'll help you out, just be patient.

Wheels and Tires. Our trucks come with 195/75/R14's (STD cabs I believe) or 205/75/R14 (Xcabs). The tires are 26.1" tall, about so, and are good for most conditions, assuming you have allseasons. The factory steel wheels are 14"x6" (TINY) and have ABOUT a +38mm offset. Great for your wallet because such tires are cheap! My tires are Michelin X Radials I believe, about $58 from Sam's Club. My dad got some crazy deal because they didn't order the tires on time (about 3 months late still) and got 4 tires for $58. That's right, $58 for 4 tires Cheap? VERY
For looks, you can upgrade EASILY. The Toyota pickups share the MOST common bolt pattern around. 5x114.3 AKA 5x4.5". The inner bore diameter is 67mm i believe, and some wheels are slightly narrower, so you may have to get those bored out, just to fit without spacers.
This is not a MAJOR problem at all, but something to keep in mind.
Lexus, Infiniti, Nissan, some Honda's, Fords in general, etc, most of the 5 lug wheels they offer can fit on our trucks. Just verify that the wheels are 5x114.3 first.
15"-17" wheels can fit well, as long the width isn't toooooo wide and offset toooo positive.
18" wheels can also fit well, for example, 350Z(18x8.5) wheels look GREAT on our trucks. Even Mustang wheels look good. pick your poison.
Last thing about wheels and tires, if they're wide as hell, your truck looks sexy.



Body wise-
Front fenders - Fenders from 89-95 4WD Pickups/4Runners will interchange. Keep in mind you will need 4WD corner lights, and these fenders will have an extra flare that matches the bed of the trucks. This also enables you to fit wider wheels etc.
And if you don't plan to go that way, you can always stick with the factory 2WD fenders, you can use any 2WD fender from 89-95. they can always look good too, a fellow member on here is on 350Z wheels with 2WD factory fenders.
Beds - The beds from all Toyota Pickups from 89-95 will interchange, only the other countries may have SLIGHT differences, such as rails or no "flare".

Rear Glass - If you ever need to change out, you might wanna know a few things. Our trucks came with either the solid one piece or sliding. That's basics number 1.
Basics number two is, Standard and Xcab rear glass can't interchange! Off by one inch.

Hoods - Interchange, all the same.

Suspension - lowering statically is easy. easing the torsions, SpindleMountRelocation (aka BJ Flip, not literally flipping a balljoint), drop blocks or drop leafs, to all out bagging the trucks, you can pick what you want. a slight drop is easy and cheap, or an all out bag setup that drags the frame.



This is all I can think of right now, hope the informatioon helps you out! The trucks are amazing and lovely to work with, finding a good one is up to where you live and where you can find one (its like impossible to find one!). Good luck with the future purchase.


and oh yeah, WELCOME TO TM!

 

welcome to the site buddy!

cin pretty much covered it all. only essential thing you need to ask when buying is when the last timing chain set was done, miles... if lots of miles, ask about the headgasket. you can tell how well the engine has been kept serviced and treated just by how they run. these trucks are known to run for ever and a few miles. so dont be afraid of a high mileage truck if it looks clean and sounds good.

a 22r is not a bad choice although the 22RE makes a few horses more and gets better economy.

manual or auto is your choice. auto has its perks but if you want to look into performance wise, you start with a manual tranny.

when looking into a truck, just keep an ear out. these motors are naturally noisy but not excessively. they tick a little due to the valvetrain although some motors are quieter than others. make sure that it dont "rattle" uppon startup. thats usually sighns of a broken timing chain guid/s wich will indicate a need to do a timing chain set.

check the oil. check the water and observe... there's not much else to these trucks and are fairly bulletproof otherwise.

overall, you are looking around $1500 - $2500 for a fairly clean truck thats the ballpark. of course, options, trim, depending on your location, as well as upgrades or conditions of the vehicle price can still vary further. you can find a real pile that runs for around $500 or a total gem sometimes for up to $4500 if not more.

good luck in your search and just a bit of advice..... there are more trucks and better deals as you get into the LA and san diego area in socal.

 

Welcome to TM! I guess there's nothin left to cover.

 

thanks for all that info guys, iv never been on a forum where i didn't get told to "search". and the guy says its got 250,xxx on the truck but the motor was rebuilt 40,xxx ago. probably just a top end i assume. and my bed size question got answered aswell lol i guess i can delete my other posting . he wants 2300 for it but im gonna offer him 1800 and id like to go no higher than 2k think its possible? id post the add but i don't want anyone o snag it before Tuesday when i sell my scion.

oh and also whats a sr22 Toyota engine? seen a few trucks posted on craigslist saying that is the motor type???

 

An sr20 is a 4 cyl Nissan motor. The motors in the 89-95 Toyota trucks are either a 22r (carbed 4 cyl), 22re (fuel injected 4 cyl), and the 3vz (v6).

 

Are the rear windows actually different in a standard cab than in an ex cab

 

yup, height wise.





Bed Lengths
MiniShort Bed - Found on Dual Cabs (actual 4 door cabs in JPN/AUS/ non US)
Short Bed - Found on Reg and Xcab's around the place
Long Bed - Found on Reg Cab's


Kinda forgot that lol

MOST truck's you will find short bed.
You will know a long bed when you see it lol

 

Damn I woulda never known thnx man

 

what do you guys think about this truck and do you thing the emission problems would be solved the way he describes? what would you pay for this truck?

http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/cto/1672809926.html

 

looks good in pics bu youll see in person it might differ? hate the color tho worst they came with?

 

yeah i looked at one today that i thought was going to be clean and it was not even close, not worried to much about paint or color just all the damn tiny dent's work trucks get all around the bed! still wondering though if the smog issue is easily fixable and what a "seasoned Toyota truck buyer" would pay for a truck in that shape??

 

http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/cto/1672809926.html


here is the add again

 

Hey it's a Toyota thing to have dents all over the bed tiny ones aren't bad tho. I've seen only a few perfect beds

 

im not looking for perfect just don't want it to look like a retard loaded the bed all day, i saw a great deal this morning on a 90' lifted ex cab on 36' tires with a rebuilt 3.0v6, came with stock tires and a nice grill guard. all for 2500!!!! i called the dude but he said the first guy to call was on his way with cash, gonna call him again and see if he fell through.

 

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/ant/cto/1678841818.html


here is the link to the lifted v6

 

that 2wd looks pretty nice!
already has 4wd front end