well i posted a few days back about a 4runner i was looking at to buy...


i went and drove it and looked it over better today.

tried the 4wd out and it worked fine... but when i went to shift out it didnt want to come out of 4wd. and i got a smell of 90w after driving it like this about a mile back to the guys house. i messed with it a little more in his driveway and it seemed to be working fine then.

its an auto and has the leather style shift boot on the 4wd lever, not push button. and i dont know if i'm just not used to how it works or what?/ it has add not hubs...


and the tranny seemed to be leaking some fluid. but it also appeared that the fluid was just changed...

it shifted fine up through the gears, no wierd noises or vibrations...


anyone have any insight?

oh its a 97 4wd 4cyl automatic 4runner

When you were shifting into and out of 4wd were you in neutral?

Where was the tranny leaking fluid from? Do you think the fluid was just changed to hide something?

ok some more info on it, when i drove it today i got a recipet out of the glove box with the original owners # on it


so i gave them a call tonite, they live about 20mins for me and the guy was really nice.

the tranny went in it no tthat long ago, and they had it replaced with a used one with 35,000 on it...

so that could explain why the fluid was new and maybe why the pan was wet with fluid on the outside.


he said that the 4wd was having trouble engageing and disengaging... they had it "temporarily fixed" he wasnt exactly sure what that meant, but i'm going to go ask the shop that swapped the tranny what exactly is wrong with it.



so i am wondering if its a problem with the add? or the tranny it self


the owner said they were getting 25mpg with it and the tranny was the only problem they had ever had with it.

so i'll post what i find out any other ideas before then would be helpful...



the runner was traded into a toyota dealer on a matrix...then a used car guy bought it from the dealer and is now selling it, but he is not aware of the tranny problem so i am hopeing its a simple fix and i can talk him down even more below the $4000 he is asking.

4K sounds REALLY low, and since a used car guy is selling it you might want to ask yourself why??

well i talked to the original owner... who traded it in to the dealer....


then the used car guy, who i know, bought it from the dealer. its a local truck...


i think the reason the dealer didnt keep it is there are quite a few small dents and scratches on it, and its real basic, no power window's, no a/c... 4cyl auto... real basic rig, not exactly what most people are looking for.

i'm just trying to figure out whats up with the tranny/ 4wd... its shifts fine up through the gears... and the motor runs great...everything else seems fine with the truck

If it bound up on dry pavement, its normal. Try putting it in reverse to remove the binding. Toy 4Runner/truck tcases are what the Cruiser world might call center locked; that is, it mechanically ties the front and rear together. That causes binding on dry surfaces, where 4wd should not be used.

Doesn't sound like a worry. What does, is a failed tranny. Why?