1989 Toyota 4x4 Deluxe review from North America

The exhaust manifold is cracked or has a bad gasket. I'm not positive because I haven't given it much attention yet.

The rear-end leaked (poured) out on a long trip. It was due to the seal where the U-joint bolts to the differential. It was a cheap fix, but the mechanic said the rear-end may need a rebuild someday because of the amount of play in the drive shaft. I think this is a common problem. I think I'll let it go for now.

Some rust, but not as bad as most Toyotas, since it was repainted. I have read that the pickups manufactured in Japan are less prone to rust and mine also fits that description (I found out on Carfax.com, on the quick summary, without paying for the full report). I hate rust.

It is a really nice looking pickup and the engine runs very smooth. The acceleration is good. The owner before me put some over-sized tires, not sure what size, but the mini 4 cylinder doesn't seem to mind too much. The truck's power actually surprises me, but the previous owner did some performance upgrades (ie: super coil, split fire plugs, and probably some other stuff, but I don't know).

I bought the pickup specifically for hauling my boat so it doesn't stand to see too many miles as long as I own it.

I agree with people who do not like the bench seat, it isn't too comfortable, but OK for short trips.

I think the ride is smooth, compared with what other people have said about their Toyotas. Maybe it is the tires, but I don't know. The road noise is sort of bad, but some of that is due to my exhaust problem.

Once I fix the exhaust manifold problem, I think I will like the truck much more. On one trip, I think I almost passed out from the carbon monoxide.

The truck's tires puts the speedometer/odometer off a few miles, not sure how many yet. The gas mileage is not all that bad for a pickup, but I like 30+ miles per gallon usually, for my vehicles.

All in all, it is a really nice little pickup truck with big tires. It is the kind of truck you feel like fixing up because it just looks nice. Good truck.