1989 4Runner question.

[rattyrunner]

I found a 1989 runner for sale, it has some rust but other than that drives good. The guy only wants 400 bucks cause its rusted out. He already had the head gasket replaced and it has 195,000 miles. Can anyone help me on what to look for as far as problems, I know the 22re motors run forever but i dont know to much about the 3.0v6. Any advice or suggestions would be great!

mike

[toy4x4runner]

Valve cover gaskets will probably leak a lot. Possibly the rear main bearing seal. Look (and feel) the transmission (5 speed, I'm assuming) and xfer case. Take it out and put it in 4WD on dirt/gravel to make sure everything engages OK. Check the front wheel bearings for slop. Find out when the timing belt was replaced. Check the rear brakes to see if either side is frozen (a common problem with rusty areas). you can do this with the parking brake - if it holds well on a hill, you are using both sides. if not - one is frozen

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. Any other problems it may have can be easily fixed. my DD has 250,000 on the 3.0 without any work other than new gaskets to fix leaks, and the '88 has 465,000 miles before its 3.0 quit.