like 4crawler said, the timing chain is a typical "car" job. I'll give ya my 2cents on what I think.... pre '95 toyotas ROCK. for some reason I find the 96+'s crappy(er). They're not like our older ones. My girl's 2000 4runner has had more mechanical problems than my 94. she has 74K, I have 135K... So I don't really favor "newer" toyotas; not woth it. My dad bought a '98 F150 V6 5spd reg cab 2wd & it was a tank. Never had 1 problem with it. dirt cheap price too. I went off-road, learned how to drive stick in it, towed boats, did donuts... honestly that truck turned me on to Fords. Prior to that truck I hated Ford. It died a year or so ago when a old-fart rear-ended it at 60mph with his '86 Lincoln when my dad was stopped at a red light. Totaled both vehicles. I'm actually thinking about buying a Ford Ranger/Mazda B2300 in about 2-3 yrs when i'm done with school for my Daily driver; I need a pickup. But if you're not looking at a "new(er)" ford I'd fix your yota and call it a day. stay away from old worn out fords, that's where the problems begin. I'd only buy a ford new, or dang near new.