Originally Posted by
b00gers
What do you guys think about early 90s 4Runners or Cherokees?
Depends on what you want out of it.
The 4runners V6 is crap so if you get one the first thing you should do is change the head gasket if it hasn't recently been done. The way to get a cheap one is to scour Craigslist for one of the thousands of them for sale with a blown V6 then pick up the Chevy Vortech 4.3 V6 to swap into it for a trouble free combo. The only other thing I don't like is the IFS, but if you aren't into hardcore wheeling it should be fine for your average weekend play date on the dirt.
The Cherowagons I am not a fan of because of the unibody but they are good vehicles. The engines are solid if maintained well. The tranny I would look for is either the manual (hard to find in the Cherowagon) or the AX15 auto which is the choice tranny (some research will help identify it). Make sure you get the 4.0 inline 6 if you do decide on one of these. The 4 banger is underpowered horribly but can be swapped out relativley cheaply. The axle combo is a Dana 30/35 combo which again is ok for a weekend fun in the dirt kind of wheeler but the hardcore will shatter them rather quickly in heavy rocks and the C-clip design makes for some work swapping out the inner axles. They can and do put up to abuse but it is a weak spot that can give some issues if you over shoot it's strength and bind them up under throttle.