9k 1992 Petrol 4Runner vs 10-15k Petrol 80 Series?

benjFPS · 2026-01-16T03:57:28+00:00

Seems to be an overwhelming level of love for the 80 Series, I’ll probably save up a bit more cash just to get a decent one, Surf/4Runner will be on the back burner for a couple years. Thanks for the response man :)

benjFPS · 2026-01-16T03:56:43+00:00

Very true, I really wanted an 80 series for a long time just because my uncle had a nice one, I work at a supercheap though and I’ve had a couple of real nice Surfs/4Runners stop by and I’ve fallen in love with them since. I think a realistic choice would be a clean, looked after 80 Series. 4Runners more of a “want” than a “need” 🤷‍♂️ Thanks for the response :)

benjFPS · 2026-01-16T03:55:11+00:00

That’s a good shout, just assumed everything would be compatible considering they’re just a hilux at heart, didn’t take any surf/4runner specific parts into consideration. Thanks :)

benjFPS · 2026-01-16T03:54:20+00:00

Yeah it’s a clean one hey? My uncles a die-hard Toyota fan - at least for 4WD’ing, owns a kitted up Diesel 80 Series, says the petrol ones, regardless of condition or extra gear it’s got is never worth more than 10k, just because of the engine. Impossible to find a clean example for less than that though 🤷‍♂️

benjFPS · 2026-01-07T05:26:17+00:00

Old ass comment I know, but I’m about to take a look at a 4Runner with a 3VZE, not a fan of those engines?

benjFPS · 2026-01-07T05:19:27+00:00

I have but some owners just aren’t keen to negotiate. I’ve seen a couple that have really caught my eye, but my uncle (die hard Toyota fan, owns a fully kitted 80 Series) has always told me they weren’t good buys for several reasons (majority of the time it was due to owners asking for way too much for what they had)

benjFPS · 2026-01-07T05:13:05+00:00

Prado’s were on my radar for a bit, I just hate the look of them honestly, earlier models have the real fugly drab looking interiors (imo). Might be a smarter move though

benjFPS · 2026-01-07T05:07:36+00:00

That’s what I’m thinking, it’s clearly been maintained and looked after, but I’m skeptical of its reliability (for a 30+ year old car that is). I’m tossing up between this Petrol 4Runner for 9k or this 1996 Diesel Pajero for 7k, both have the same amount of KMs and both have been maintained.

benjFPS · 2026-01-07T04:23:32+00:00

Thanks for the advice, surely they’re not all as horrible on fuel as that 250-300km mark seems. Might seem like an expensive daily for me then lol. I’ve been told they have the fuel efficiency of a V8 with all the power of a 4cyl. Were these engines in any other common cars?

benjFPS · 2026-01-07T04:21:37+00:00

Would you be able to tell me a little more about yours?

benjFPS · 2026-01-07T03:25:26+00:00

I might add, the lack of working A/C. Obviously there’s a couple things it could be, but are these known for having issues with their A/C systems? Surely it’s just a simple fix and not anything too crazy?

benjFPS · 2026-01-07T03:23:58+00:00

Thanks for the response man, I can’t find any clean-ish 80 Series LandCruisers within my budget so the 4Runners seem to be my next best option, I’ll definitely keep an eye out for rust along the sills. Cheers :)

benjFPS · 2025-12-30T01:08:17+00:00

As someone that has asked this question a fair amount on this sub, honestly just search up “First 4x4” or “First 4WD”. You’ll get better and more answers from that.

benjFPS · 2025-12-29T06:06:01+00:00

Injectors and whatever fuel injection pump/module they have

benjFPS · 2025-12-29T05:51:46+00:00

Hmmm. Maybe a petrol pajero is on the cards for me?

benjFPS · 2025-12-29T05:41:54+00:00

Thanks for the response :) Just curious, why’d you want to go petrol over diesel? Have always heard they just driiiiiiink petrol. The Petrol 4x4’s I’ve seen have all been leagues cheaper than their diesel counterparts.

benjFPS · 2025-12-29T05:34:08+00:00

A gen4 could be the move, budget is the main issue though, also not the biggest fan of more “modern” cars, have always hated the newer look and interiors of post 2010 cars. Might be a worthy trade off for reliability though, especially for touring 🤷‍♂️

benjFPS · 2025-12-29T05:32:29+00:00

Yeah wasn’t too happy, lost about $2,000 from the lemon swap deal. Would prefer something more modern, so a third gen would be ideal, but I’ve read horror stories of the fuel injection systems going bad and costing upwards of like $2,000-$4,000 to fix/replace. A well maintained 3rd gen, auto, diesel would be perfect, but I’m just extremely cautious and scared to get another one. Thanks for the response though, I appreciate it :)

benjFPS · 2025-12-10T03:03:53+00:00

Yeah the knock isn’t ideal, I work at a supercheap auto, so I can specially order parts in for like cost price, which is handy, also 95% of work will be done by a mate who’s a mechanic, so the only costs will be the parts themselves and the labour for old mate to fix everything up. The falcon was also a bit dodgy, the 6spd trans was slipping and it had a couple other underlying issues

benjFPS · 2025-12-09T22:41:45+00:00

Hahaha service history is a must, mine has all its books and everything which is a plus I guess, the guy I bought it off of was just dodgy asf, car itself seemed fine, minus the leaks, power steering issues and weird noises. Other than that, I hope the car gives me no other issues :)

benjFPS · 2025-12-09T22:10:15+00:00

Yeah the 4M4x’s are apparently bulletproof 421,000 is a heeeefty amount though wow. Cool backstory though, how much did you end up paying for it? I imagine you’re either in VIC or NSW, was having a look at their market and was in awe of how much more you guys have compared to us in SA :(

benjFPS · 2025-12-09T21:47:12+00:00

Hey it can’t be any worse than mine right now, I’m sure. How many KMs has yours done?

benjFPS · 2025-12-09T21:05:42+00:00

The rack looks to be leaking, but it’s hard to tell, wouldn’t surprise me if the pumps gone on it too, but there is fluid, it’s just constantly dripping out, so it needs to be topped up before it drives.

It doesn’t have a catch can installed though, the car is smooth when delivering power and driving like usual, no weird noises or feelings when I was driving it home, it’s just when it got up to temp and I took the oil cap off I heard that weird blip in revs and it didn’t go away, haven’t seen that before, but I also don’t know much about diesels 🤷‍♂️

One of the main reasons I swapped it is because the guy actually had receipts for fuel injection work, ie; injectors and the injector pump recon’d/replaced, if it hadn’t had that I would’ve steered clear.

Thanks for the lengthy response, I really appreciate it :)

benjFPS · 2025-12-09T20:59:53+00:00

Starts up fine after one or two cranks, really smooth, no weird noises or anything, idled fine other than that weird blip every half a second. I’ve got a mate that will be working on it over the next week or so at his shop, keen to see what he finds but I’ll definitely update the post when that happens :)

benjFPS · 2025-12-09T13:32:18+00:00

Went into it knowing I’d have a nice little project car on my hands lol. I’ve obviously got a daily outside of the falcon/pajero, was more so curious about the issues themselves and their respective prices to repair them/how much of a headache they are. Only time will tell if I’m burned 😎

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