Our Mechanic Decides Which One of Our Toyotas Is in the WORST Shape! | Cheap Toyotas Ep. 3 

Thanks to Falken Tires and Rider Justice for sponsoring the Cheap Toyotas series! Find out more about the Falken Wildpeak R/T here: ( www.falkentire.com/wildpeak/rt ) -- Rider Justice is a trusted personal injury law firm with a specialty in helping motorcyclists and overlanders after a bike or vehicle accident. ( riderjustice.com/TFL/)

Always go to a German auto mechanic. They have lots of practice with repairs due to unreliable vehicles. I mean, a Japanese auto mechanic really only gets practice changing belts and fluids.😂 I love this series!!!

This guy knows his stuff. Knowing a good mechanic with fair prices is a commodity.

Tommy don't sell yourself short as a mechanic. You try and thats the most important thing.

Great to see Toby back on TFL.

The issue on the 3rd gen 4runner has probably already solved but for everyone else; you really do need to go with OEM/Denso wires and coil packs. I've ran into the same issue on my 00' 4runner and it turned out to be bad shielding on the 'premium' part's store plug wires...burned a hole through the insulator. However, I doubt this would be a coil pack issue as this is a waste-spark ignition system, with a single coil pack providing spark for two cylinders (paired 1-4, 3-6, and 5-2). When a coil pack goes on one of these trucks it usually shows up in two cylinders. You also need to run a dual-electrode sparkplugs...don't over complicate things and just get OEM/Denso/NGK and be done with it, no fancy plugs needed.

Just went through this on my 2000 4Runner. It would run fine at first start up and then run rough if I turned it off and restarted it. It also showed a misfire on #6. Had to replace a coil pack, new sparkplugs, new wires, and a fuel injector on #6. Runs great now.

That 5.7 Tundra engine looked pretty solid.

I love these series and I'm looking forward to Moab. That said, it would nice to see another episode of two of you guys doing an overnight camping trip. More offroading, comparing and general tomfoolery! It's cool seeing them on Fins & Things, but it just ends so quickly after a few weeks and episodes of build-up. I think others and myself would love to see more with these champs in action!

Your episodes with Toby are some of my favorites. He doesn't sugar coat anything and gives his honest opinion

I had a 2010 TRD off road regular cab tundra. Kinda rare. It had 1600lbs payload. Started my landscaping business with it and snow removal too. Plenty fast and fun off road too. Sold it at 230K cause i needed an HD for my growing business. Great truck with just basic maintenance.

Just took our 2004 4runner V6 with 242k on the original powertrain 7 hours to the beach without issues. Gotta love the old Toyotas.

That gen 4Runner with the 3.4 has a waste spark ignition system, if the coil fails it misses on 2 cylinders not 1 which produces a violent misfire. If it has a noticeable but not violent misfire it is likely only missing on 1 cylinder as you said cyl 5 I believe. My experience has been on those motors if one cyl is misfiring start with injectors as they are a known common failure on the 3.4 anyway. Go to the salvage yard and pull the injectors from another 4Runner and keep spares to swap in, it will happen again if you keep it long enough.

I like Tommy trying to do whatever he can himself. Good luck with it. They're all in pretty good shape for the $

17.3 mpg looks good on that old 5.7 tundra

Love that you guys found Toby. Seems like a solid honest mechanic which can be hard to come by

The cheap vehicle series on this channel is probably my favorite series u guys came up with. Weather it's Cheap Jeep, cheap Toyota, convertible truck, car etc. Every one is entertaining informative learning about some of the great cars or trucks you can buy at a pretty decent price as long as u take your time and and try your best to figure out what your buying and if it's worth the money. Hope you guys continue with this series with another idea when this one is over. Also if you're thinking about what u could do with the next cheap series i have an idea that a lot of people could relate to since they are so popular as a daily driver ad specially if u live in more of a winter climate. You should do a cheap cross over or small SUV challenge. the car's have to be close in size with only AWD. no low gear transfer case. Set the rules to something along the size of a Ford Escape, Honda CRV, Mazda CX5, GMC terrain or anything in that range. I'm in Atlantic Canada and every second car on the road is somewhere in that ball park. I think t would be a good series since winter is coming and a lot of people look for that style of car because there decently affordable and go decent in the snow and some light off roading. Just a thought but I think would turn out well, get lots of views and be fun to make. Sorry for the long rant in the comments but I'd like to see how it would turn out. Hope u read this and sorry again for the long comment. Have a great day.

Nice to see Toby again. Always sage words of wisdom from him. Looking forward to the diagnosis on Tommy's T4R in the next episode.

You should only use original coilpack and denso sparkpiuggs for the smothest run of the engine!

It's possible that the coil pack from the auto parts store isn't 100% factory spec

It’s always a pleasure to listen to a true subject matter expert give his opinions. I’m really impressed by this mechanic guy, he seems to be ontop of things.

5:20 Hopefully they replaced those cracking brake lines before taking it wheeling. That seems pretty high on the priority list.

I’ve enjoyed this series. I’m a big Toyota fan. It was neat to see them try and fix the coils. I like the footage like that also that some channels don’t show. Looking forward to your next videos in this series

Awesome as always.Thanks for sharing and taking us along

Great work on this series! Enjoying every episode.

It's pretty tough to hurt a 3.4 V-6 in these 4 runners. With a waste spark plug system you would usually get 2 misfires but that isn't the case here. I would use standard plugs because in stock systems unless it came with iridium plugs they can cause more problems than they are worth. If it isn't the injector I would be surprised. I have sold hundreds of Toyotas with the 3.4 in them and I have very rarely seen internal damage unless someone ran them hot and continued to run them hot. I have seen many surpassing 500k without any type of major work.

Went through a misfire on my 99 4Runner. Actually chased it for many years. It started at 293k and I didn’t solve it until 336k. I changed plugs, wires, coil packs, injectors, and in the end it was a leaking head gasket. She’s solid now and ready for another 300k. Btw I believe these trucks run better on the dual ground plugs.

Good Video! Always enjoy a trip to Toby's shop!

Toby is the man. He know his stuff.

Nice showing of Toyotas made in the US vs Japan also. Great comparison all around. Love that land cruiser!

I’d love to see the same thing but with other brands too, such as find the best gmc suv/truck for under 10k, find the best coupe for under 10k, etc

Those spark plugs were iridiums and the tips basically look like that. After changing spark plugs in my 2000 T4R I just used basic OEM NGK plugs. From what I've read on forums, these 3.4 engines don't necessarily run better with the fancier and more expensive plugs. OEM Denso plugs would be fine also, and some even left the factory with NGK and Denso in the same engine.

i own a 3rd gen and am very proud of it and the fact all he could do was nitpick an exhaust leak and valve cover gaskets makes me so happy lol he bought a car he could potentially drive for 20k miles without doing anyt of that other maintenance to it but changing the oil

Love Toby! Hope to see him more on the show!

The fact that they made a rule of more than 200k but then they had to cap the price at 10k says a lot. Toyotas are expensive for a reason

Gotta love guys that work on the engine and transfer the dirt and grease to the interior.

Very professional Mechanic straight to the point

Love the return of the Toby episode Now all we need is an equitable way to deal with the budget excess, ideally Tommy having some upgrade budget (if he doesn't eat it all with repairs). Can't wait to see what's next

Near the end in the section "we have some problems" is *exactly* what Car Wizard and The Car Care Nut warn about: the parts cannon. Nice to see how it happens in real life.

Wow headlight restoration on the Tundra for sure!

Great young and honest mechanic I like that need more of tobby

Great video series

Great series.

Tommy, I bought an 01 and had to replace the plugs and wires as well. Fixed my issue.

Really like this last bit we’re y’all going through some basic mechanic stuff. Never really see this anymore and it’s great to know. Tommy should have to diagnose more things. Maybe have the mechanic character (love him!) come behind him and give him pointers.

Love this series

have an 04 taco with 3.4 130k miles TRD 5 spd and love it! that 4 runner is the best of the bunch imo

Great episode

D indicator being out is super common given that’s the light that’s on the most, but also possibly because people just pull them out so as not to have a bright green light just on while your driving.

This was a fun watch.

When my 2010 Tundra got rear-ended my airbag light stayed on as well. It took the body shop about an hour of experimenting and they finally figured out that if you put the seats in the perfect upright position (don't ask me what position that is) and then try to clear the codes, the airbag light went off. I also have a 2000 4runner and I had a cylinder 3 misfire and it turned out to be a bad fuel injector.

love tommys 4runner i grew up riding in the back seat of a 3rd gen and a 4th gen.

I had this exact same vehicle. I'd put $20 that it was a bad injector. At 230k miles, I had to replace two of them. I had almost every issue that you had with this one at that mileage. Still loved it. You'll almost certainly want to do the Tundra brake upgrade on it as those front rotors are VASTLY undersized to the weight of the vehicle and the rear drums are iffy at best.

Should have flown in AMD /car care nut. Would have loved that

My 1999 3.4 4Runner had sticker requiring dual electrode plugs. Also had #2 plug wire go bad had same symptoms. 205,000 miles on mine.

Best vid released today. Not going watch the other 2 'cause their EV's.

Hope you guys know I really enjoy this little series your doing

By far the best channel on RU-vid.

I had a 4th Gen T4R just like yours that blew a head gasket at 251k. Hopefully, that’s not what yours has. Sold it as is for $3500 because Toyota.

Love the series and this specifically is my favourite type of episode you do

That 5.7 Tundra engine looked pretty solid.)))

Man let’s give it up for Toby for being a solid technician.

I got a ‘96 80 series with a 1hz in it. She’s pretty rusty cos I live on the beach, but she still starts first pop, and will take u where ya wanna go. She’s got over 650 000km

The reason it shut off after you moved the coil is because you had the mass air flow disconnected

In the case of the 4runner not starting after replacing the battery: a lot of Toyotas, especially late 90s-late 00's always start and die a couple times after replacing or disconnecting the battery. The computers on these are finnicky and take a couple tries to reset itself to proper spec/mapping. Worker at a battery shop for years all the older Toyotas did this.

The internet tells me Toyota's are so reliable that a video like this doesn’t make sense.

More than likely an injector on the 4 runner. Super common on the 3.4 and usually if it’s the coils two will go at a time not just one. Get Oem or as close to it though! You’ll just be replacing them again soon if you don’t.

275,000 on my 2000 tacoma pre runner . Still runs good . Just got back from a 1200 mile road trip , no problem .

Check for coolant loss and do a pressure test. You very well could have a blown head gasket on that 4Runner. While doing a pressure test on the cooling system, stick a bore scope down that cylinder and see if you have coolant weeping into the cylinder to cause that misfire. Head gasket failures were fairly common on 3rd gens.

Only replace the plugs when the engine is cold on the 3.4. Aluminum head, iron block.

On the 4 runner with the bad coil pack, change those plugs when you change coil packs. And get OEM packs is you can.

I can't wait until I get my 96 T4R 5 speed 4x4 back from the shop. I plowed a deer with it. Despite both the AC condensor and the radiator taking a hit and getting a bit squashed, both systems continued functioning perfectly. I miss it so much every shop here is slammed with deer damaged vehicles and it's been there over 2 months 😭

Pretty much what you need to do on a new/old to you, motor change the ignition top end.

Toby is the man

I havent been in a single 80 or 100 that the indicator light for Drive wasn't out lol

Its an injector, I had the same misfire on my 99 v6 and the symptoms were the same. Misfire on hot starts, so I went ahead and rebuilt all 6.

looking at brakes without taking the wheel off, real pro mechanic stuff haha

I have a 2013 Tundra. 150000 miles Drives like the day I bought it. Only regular maintenance done.

Roman, you mentioned the 80 series is one of your dream cars. I know it's TFL policy to move on cars after you have gotten the maximum content value out of them. However would love to know what FOREVER cars the team has that they own and would very unlikely part with and what in the fleet has been around the longest!!

The mechanic knows his shit. Have him on the show more please.

Good job! Good luck with the rest ☺️

When it comes to tracking down a misfire. You can try unplugging the low voltage side of each coil and listening for a difference in the engine running. The other thing that would be nice to do with this engine would be a compression test of all six cylinders. It's possible that your intermittent misfire is a valve issue

An 80 series aint that cheap unless you get lucky and do the maintenance yourself. Really fun video though. Cant wait for the next one.

I need a mechanic like Toby

Tommy I'm not sure those plugs are worn. Some platinum plugs look just like that.

Send these to The Car Care Nut. Its a drive but I think he would be up for a colab!

Either buy OEM or Denso/Aisin for most parts. The 7K for the 4Runner might be a steal. Valve cover gaskets and new brake lines won't cost much by the gasket is a several hour job. The shitty cat job but has clean brake fluid does not compute.

Toby we love you bud yay

You guys should take Colorado desert boss on the mountain trail

ALWAYS put OEM spark plugs and wires/coils on any vehicle. Had a similar issue on a Audi Q5. Store brand just didn't fix it and it ran worse.

Just having a 3rd gen 4runner with a leather steering wheel in perfect shape is rare and a flex. They always have torn leather wheels.

I'm experiencing the EXACT same thing in my 98. New plugs, coils, wires and even fuel injectors and STILL getting the misfire. I'm eagerly waiting to see your next move.

The 3.4 takes double prong plugs. Says right on the engine cover.

That same engine code in my 2000 4Runner ended up being an engine. Fingers crossed it's something more simple for you.

my 07 stock FJ made it up a dirt bike hill in 4 high

Toyota 4runner - Misfire on 6 (code reader) and your changing the coil pack on 3, maybe I'm missing something here, great video by the way, thanks. :)

I have a feeling the head gasket is on its way out in the 4Runner. Remember when y'all spent $3,500 fixing the engine in that clean ' 90s Tacoma you had a while back? I'm seeing a trend here.

He didn't even know the 3.4 is a V6. This is the expert they take them to.

I like this series. Think it would be good to do with the other Manufacturers as well to do an overall at the end.

20:29 it would have been nice to not have background music on this part when we are trying to hear the 4Runner run.