I’ve owned 4 Terranos and do agree pre 2000 do seem a better build quality for sure. That said and has been said the big thing is rust and even then most things can be fixed. Paying for rust repairs can get silly money as I’m guessing you’ll know already and I think mainly because garages prefer easy money jobs. If you can weld yourself then no worries there really.
Very early Terranos and Mavericks were 2.7td but around 96 they gave both the intercooler and fly by wire which can cause a few but not many issues. Around 2000 they put the zd30 engine in which had a lot of negative publicity due to same engine going in earlier patrols and had problems but by the time it went in Terranos those issues had been sorted. I have heard of injector pumps going on the 3.0 litre but my guess is people stuck veggie oil in and that’s a big no no with that engine. Some of the 2.7 you can stick veggie oil in but depends on brand of injection system.
I love my 2.7 auto but can be a little slower off the mark and uses a little more fuel. I also love my 3.0 litre manual, this is definitely a more refined engine. Have had 38mpg on that truck on a run driving like a member of the clergy. Only issue I had which is common on those is one of the oil pressure switches.
I love both and one really ought to go but I can’t make my mind up which.
Personally I’d be more concerned with rust and checking it’s been serviced. As said see how it drives, 2.7 can kick out some smoke too when driven hard.
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