Aloha, yesterday traded my 2001 Dodge Dakota with 198k miles, 2WD manual.
For this 1996 Toyota 4Runner, 2WD, automatic 300k miles
Does this seem like a good trade?
4 runner is nice, high miles. But shifts really well and trans fluid is red and smells good. Engine sounds good. Only codes is a knock sensor which I ordered off eBay and is on the way. Many parts seem replaced. New brakes, drive shaft, fuel pump, fuel filter, rotors, tie rods, and maybe few other things. It has a lift with big tires. They are throwing in a extra trans with 197k miles they had on the side just because. Nothing wrong with current one they just had one on side. Trying to get their extra engine too.
Does this seem like a good trade?
No way to tell from here. With such ancient clunkers how they've been treated and maintained over the decades is the most important factor. When they were new it would be Toyota, hands down. However decades later an old 4Runner might be better than an aging Dakota or maybe not depending what happened to those vehicles during that long period of time.
Good luck with your ebay sensor. Ebay is a major source of counterfeit and defective Chinese junk. It's always best to use OEM sensors. (A knock sensor is basically just a microphone so maybe you'll luck out.)
They are good vehicles, I had a 98 and sold it running like a top at 225k miles.
Depending on how big the tires are, I would try and stay as close to stock as you can. The bigger tires won't help that old transmission, and they are fuel hogs to begin with, no reason to make it worse. My answer might be different if it were 4x4 and you planned to do some off-roading.
It has a lift with big tires.
You're slowly killing your transmission with that lift. Monster trucks drive on dirt, not dry pavement. Any vehicle's drivetrain is supposed to remain relatively level. Throw in a lift and big tires, not only are you straining the driveshaft and transmission, you're also throwing off that vehicle's gearing. The car was designed around stock tires, not your lift.
Lifts also raise the vehicle's center of gravity, making them more suseptible to rolling over.
drive shaft,
If your lift is high enough to require a new drive shaft, that is definitely too high.
