I'm shopping for a manual, reasonably economical pickup truck on a $1K budget. So far, the best match I've found is a 1986 Toyota pickup. Comes with dents, rust, hideous paint, a replaced mismatched door, a few broken things, but runs and drives just fine - exactly what I'm looking for. Having inspected and driven it some, I noticed a few things that I wasn't sure were normal, or something to be concerned about.

This is a 2WD short bed, carburated NA 4-cylinder, 4-speed manual.

- I opened up the oil fill cap to check for sludge, and discovered that the oil was filled almost to the top. This was immediately after a 10-minute drive on some back roads and a freeway. Is it supposed to be like that?

- The ride on the freeway was a bit busy. How smooth are these things supposed to be on the highway?

- The seller pointed out that a seam between the radiator core and the top (is that the expansion tank?) leaked slowly, if filled high enough. I couldn't actually see anything wrong with it, and it certainly didn't steam while driving. In fact, the temp gauge was at nearly full cold the whole time. Does that sound right, or is the thermostat stuck open (or the gauge miscalibrated)?

- The seller wasn't sure what kind of fuel economy it got, and guessed/remembered something like 200 miles on a tank. Reading reviews on carsurvey.org and the like, I get the impression that fuel economy varies widely, probably depending on how well the engine is tuned. Is this the case? What kind of mileage do people get?

- Is there anything I should particularly look for, that tends to wear or break and isn't common or obvious?

TIA

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80's Toyotas had a bad rust problem, esp the frame. Get a small hammer and go over the frame, every sq in. They rust from inside out, so you won't see it until it's real bad.


Filled to the top of the filler cap (valve cover) ??, heck no. There's a dip stock to check oil level



If busy means rough, that's normal



He's showing you something bad, if it's not an issue now it will be soon (new rad).
Gauge is probably broken or disconnected



Should be 20+ mpg

Run away. Fast. This looks like a money pit.

Thanks

I Checked out another one, mostly identical except it had fewer broken things, and no power steering. Had the same thing with the oil filled almost to the top (engine was cold), but the dipstick showed it was at the min line. What's up with that? Is there another way to check for sludge?

This one also ran pretty cool - just above the min line. I should mention that the first one's temp gauge was at least connected, since it was showing slight activity, just running on the cool side of normal. It warmed up somewhat after the seller opened up the radiator cap after a drive (spraying coolant everywhere; I have no idea what possessed them to do that).

Both frames looked rust-free. Both look to've spent all their lives here in California, just not well-cared for, especially cosmetically.

I'm a reasonably competent DIYer, so aside from transmission rebuilds and bodywork, labor costs aren't a concern. I'm also not looking for a pristine vehicle to keep for decades - just something basic to move me and some cargo around for a few months. Spending 150 on a new radiator would be entirely acceptable. My only concern as far as mechanicals go is the engine, since I couldn't check for sludge, and neither owner seems to know what they're doing.

Power steering on a light truck is not really a big deal. As long as their is little slop in the wheel, then your good.
Where the heck are you checking for oil? If the engine had oil all the way up to the fill cap, it would not run.

Do a big of research on the R22 I4 engine. I think near 300k the cam chain starts to go. Not an easy fix, but can be done yourself.
And a manual transmission rebuild yourself is not that hard. I did mine a 380k and it did not require anything fancy next to a cheap press.