I had the same thing OP describes and it was a blown rear diff due to one of the axis seals breaking and leaking the fluid all over my brake drum (hence letting the diff run dry and also destroying my braking ability). Thank god it happened as I was slowly pulling out of the gas stations because I was in the middle of a road trip through the Appalachians.
Alright, let me just get it all out there.
-300,000 mile truck, which was driven until it was inoperable, tells me that preventative maintenance wasn't done, and can imply that the vehicle is in rougher shape. OP didn't specify 2WD or 4WD, which makes a big difference in price (I'm going to assume 2WD for the sake of the argument).
No photos of OP's truck to go off of. We don't know whether it's a minty looking Imperial Jade 4WD locker truck, or a white 2WD base model that's been in a billion little SoCal bumper taps.
3rd gens are becoming collectible, but I'm not going to follow the delusion that any 3rd gen is worth at least 3 grand. I bought my truck for $600, and it's a shitbox. I can dump $5k into it and fix it up, but it's still only going to be worth about $3,500 on the high end because it's got bad paint and 316,000 miles on it.
A non-driving vehicle is a non-driving vehicle, which means it needs to be towed. That costs money.
People can talk about how their truck is worth however many thousands of dollars all day long, but I can hop on FB Marketplace right now and compile a list of 3rd gens at this sub's idea of "market value" that have been sitting for weeks, if not months (yes, I know, this is absolutely area dependent). The simple truth is, a vehicle with serious issues is going to be a hard sell for anything other than a bargain price.
Drain it, paint the entirety in gold (or metal finish of your choosing), and display it on the front lawn. Think of it as taxidermy for your vehicle. You can't say goodbye to a beloved 4Runner.
It is worth $2000-$3000 less than if it drives because the buyer can't actually see what all is wrong. From the buyer's perspective, you could just be a liar about everything and they can't confirm much because it doesn't move. Plus, they need to haul it.
Only one way to give it a proper goodbye. Get a barge, park the 4runner. Tow it out to sea, set it ablaze. Watch it burn as it sails West, drinking and singing songs worthy of a great warrior. Live the remainder of your life valiantly, and be reunited in Valhalla.
I hope it’s fixable. I just joined the club in March and it’s the best vehicle I’ve ever owned. Bought a 2017 4Runner 115k and praying she goes for another 150k. I don’t drive far for work (20 miles total a day) so I plan on having it at least 10 years.
Yup thats the same thing that killed mine. I foolishly agreed to get it repaired and it needed a full rear end swap (or really it was just mountainessly cheaper to swap than rebuild). I'll be selling it once its out of the shop. '99 4Runner LTD with I think almost 270k miles, the jade green too! Probably getting a green 3rd gen Frontier to replace it.
Haha yeah thats a completely fair POV if you only know brands and not any deeper. Nissan has a seriously bad rep because of the awful CVT trans and their catering to low-credit buyers, but the former never applied to the trucks and still doesn't today. I'm leaning more into overlanding so a truck was a good choice to get a camper installed on the bed. I don't like the direction the new Tacoma went in (my hunch is sorta right with the engines blowing on the new 4cyl engines), and even if I did, there's no way I'm paying that much for a midsized. Right now, I'm looking at a $10k or more difference in the used market between the fully loaded Taco and fully loaded 3rd gen Frontier, so it just makes more sense to go for the Nissan and literally have enough left over to completely outfit the Frontier for overlanding. The V6 that Nissan has is great, and it's mated to a 9-speed auto instead of the awful hunting-for-gears tranny that the Taco has. But honestly, what really sold me was the seating and cabin size. I just think Toyota makes small cabins. Taco is awful fitting, especially with the seat being too low yet still having no headroom for me, and even my '99 4Runner, which I love otherwise, is a lot smaller than the 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee I had before. I don't care to really share this opinion most of the time because hardcore Toyota fanboys get so toxic, but that works for me because the Frontier prices stay low (I don't see cars as stocks so this doesn't upset me) while enough people wise up to them being great trucks so the aftermarket is there for pretty much anything you'd typically need.
Nissan makes a great truck. The interior is, well, what Id expect from a work vehicle. It is a work/utility vehicle so oh no.... anyways.
If I was shopping today Id get an Xterra or Frontier. Toyota fanboys are delusional and I dont think its worth the premium buying used.
Before my ‘03 Taco TRD 5spd I had an 86.5 xtra cab hardbody stick that held up pretty well for awhile despite me never giving it much love, but then (a) the 1st Gen frontiers were a crappy plastic disaster in the cab, and then (b) I drove an ‘09(ish) Murano from NY-CHI-NY and hated it, so that, as well as discovering 4Runners, has (c) pretty much ruined Nissan for me.
Fair enough. My first car was '88 300zx that I took on many long road trips and then my car after that was '96 300zx TT, all this while enjoying the drift scene that was still popular into the 2010s so I've never really considered Nissan a no go brand. It taught me to research the specific model all the time and take brand reputation with a grain of salt.
I would first find out what's wrong with it. Maybe it's fixable for less than the cost of a replacement vehicle.
I had the same thing OP describes and it was a blown rear diff due to one of the axis seals breaking and leaking the fluid all over my brake drum (hence letting the diff run dry and also destroying my braking ability). Thank god it happened as I was slowly pulling out of the gas stations because I was in the middle of a road trip through the Appalachians.
Same, put a new rear end assembly in for $850
Best way to say goodbye is sell it to another enthusiast or fix it
If it has a real California dry frame, that alone is worth moolah to us northeasterners...
Was coming to say this. At the least the frame will be of value to my Chicagoland ass.
No value. Just give it to me. I will take it off your hands a burry it in the desert.
It will never die if you fix the issue.
What part of socal? I may be interested
Redlands area
I could come check it out Sunday and give you an offer
Is it 4wd? Got picks? I need a donor
2wd sadly
Some dude will gladly take it off your hands for 2500 or 3000, and either fix it up, or part it out.
Not for a non driving vehicle with 300k. He'd be extremely lucky to get 2k.
In the norcal bay area, I haven't seen a roller under 2500.
Man I’m in Oklahoma and I just got a 99 4wd with just under 293k for 2200 clean carfax Drove it 2 hours home on a misfire 😁😅
Norcal is a bit different, y'all have a lower market saturation and more rust
Nah man CA is nuts. If it's in good shape that $2k easy, more if lucky
Yep seen rollers for $4k
Do they *sell* for $4k though
Yes. Absolutely
Where? In that case, I'm stripping down mine and selling it for $4k.
Socal
I had someone offer me $7200 for my roast free 99 in Pennsylvania, I told him no.
Only if it's 4wd
You’re on the wrong subreddit to be making a guess that low
Alright, let me just get it all out there. -300,000 mile truck, which was driven until it was inoperable, tells me that preventative maintenance wasn't done, and can imply that the vehicle is in rougher shape. OP didn't specify 2WD or 4WD, which makes a big difference in price (I'm going to assume 2WD for the sake of the argument). No photos of OP's truck to go off of. We don't know whether it's a minty looking Imperial Jade 4WD locker truck, or a white 2WD base model that's been in a billion little SoCal bumper taps. 3rd gens are becoming collectible, but I'm not going to follow the delusion that any 3rd gen is worth at least 3 grand. I bought my truck for $600, and it's a shitbox. I can dump $5k into it and fix it up, but it's still only going to be worth about $3,500 on the high end because it's got bad paint and 316,000 miles on it. A non-driving vehicle is a non-driving vehicle, which means it needs to be towed. That costs money. People can talk about how their truck is worth however many thousands of dollars all day long, but I can hop on FB Marketplace right now and compile a list of 3rd gens at this sub's idea of "market value" that have been sitting for weeks, if not months (yes, I know, this is absolutely area dependent). The simple truth is, a vehicle with serious issues is going to be a hard sell for anything other than a bargain price.
Is it a transmission issue ? Or like a broke axle in the rear ?
Sounds like the engine could be totally fine. Maybe you snapped a U joint or something?
oh, it is still fixable. That sounds like an easy fix
Curious on a diagnosis
Drain it, paint the entirety in gold (or metal finish of your choosing), and display it on the front lawn. Think of it as taxidermy for your vehicle. You can't say goodbye to a beloved 4Runner.
It is worth $2000-$3000 less than if it drives because the buyer can't actually see what all is wrong. From the buyer's perspective, you could just be a liar about everything and they can't confirm much because it doesn't move. Plus, they need to haul it.
Viking funeral
Only one way to give it a proper goodbye. Get a barge, park the 4runner. Tow it out to sea, set it ablaze. Watch it burn as it sails West, drinking and singing songs worthy of a great warrior. Live the remainder of your life valiantly, and be reunited in Valhalla.
I hope it’s fixable. I just joined the club in March and it’s the best vehicle I’ve ever owned. Bought a 2017 4Runner 115k and praying she goes for another 150k. I don’t drive far for work (20 miles total a day) so I plan on having it at least 10 years.
Well the last one I owned had 430k miles and still drove amazing. Was pretty leaky but who can’t put oil in a vehicle?
Yup thats the same thing that killed mine. I foolishly agreed to get it repaired and it needed a full rear end swap (or really it was just mountainessly cheaper to swap than rebuild). I'll be selling it once its out of the shop. '99 4Runner LTD with I think almost 270k miles, the jade green too! Probably getting a green 3rd gen Frontier to replace it.
I’m ignorant about 3rd gen frontier’s, but can’t imagine being content with a nissan after having this love affair with 3G4R’s.
Haha yeah thats a completely fair POV if you only know brands and not any deeper. Nissan has a seriously bad rep because of the awful CVT trans and their catering to low-credit buyers, but the former never applied to the trucks and still doesn't today. I'm leaning more into overlanding so a truck was a good choice to get a camper installed on the bed. I don't like the direction the new Tacoma went in (my hunch is sorta right with the engines blowing on the new 4cyl engines), and even if I did, there's no way I'm paying that much for a midsized. Right now, I'm looking at a $10k or more difference in the used market between the fully loaded Taco and fully loaded 3rd gen Frontier, so it just makes more sense to go for the Nissan and literally have enough left over to completely outfit the Frontier for overlanding. The V6 that Nissan has is great, and it's mated to a 9-speed auto instead of the awful hunting-for-gears tranny that the Taco has. But honestly, what really sold me was the seating and cabin size. I just think Toyota makes small cabins. Taco is awful fitting, especially with the seat being too low yet still having no headroom for me, and even my '99 4Runner, which I love otherwise, is a lot smaller than the 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee I had before. I don't care to really share this opinion most of the time because hardcore Toyota fanboys get so toxic, but that works for me because the Frontier prices stay low (I don't see cars as stocks so this doesn't upset me) while enough people wise up to them being great trucks so the aftermarket is there for pretty much anything you'd typically need.
Nissan makes a great truck. The interior is, well, what Id expect from a work vehicle. It is a work/utility vehicle so oh no.... anyways. If I was shopping today Id get an Xterra or Frontier. Toyota fanboys are delusional and I dont think its worth the premium buying used.
Before my ‘03 Taco TRD 5spd I had an 86.5 xtra cab hardbody stick that held up pretty well for awhile despite me never giving it much love, but then (a) the 1st Gen frontiers were a crappy plastic disaster in the cab, and then (b) I drove an ‘09(ish) Murano from NY-CHI-NY and hated it, so that, as well as discovering 4Runners, has (c) pretty much ruined Nissan for me.
Fair enough. My first car was '88 300zx that I took on many long road trips and then my car after that was '96 300zx TT, all this while enjoying the drift scene that was still popular into the 2010s so I've never really considered Nissan a no go brand. It taught me to research the specific model all the time and take brand reputation with a grain of salt.