I am going to look at a 2001 King Ranch 4x4 this weekend. I have never bought a used truck and need some pointers on what to lok for. Carfax came back clear. It has 89000 miles on it. what should I look for on the 4x4 side of things.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

Make sure to use enguage the 4wd H and 4wd L. Make sure the transfer case is working and locking the front wheels. Accomplish this by doing circles in a parking lot, if the 4wd is working it will be hard to steer and you will feel the truck wanting to go straight. Get underneath and check for offroad damage, bent skidplates ect. Also check all axle seals for signs of a leak or signs that they have been recently cleaned to hide a leak. Usually if it does not have a bed liner you can quickly tell how much of its life it spent doing actual work by how much paint is left in the bed. Other than that look for the normal record books showing all the scheduled maintenece was done

 

x2 - Check the oil dipstick and trans dipstick too. These 2 things are commonly overlooked. See how black the oil is and the level it's at. Smell the tranny fluid and see if it smells burnt.

The last 2 trucks I bought (2000 Scab 4x4 and my now 03) have been great. The 2000 was totalled, that's why I have the 03. Anyway, the early 2000s are great years for these trucks.

I usually checked everything out when I went on a test drive. Just pull into a parking lot and check it all out.