What issues should I look for during the test drive? The body looks great in the ad, interior not shown. 170,000 miles manual transmission.

 

Engine? Trans?

 

What engine is installed?
Look underneath and judge the condition of the frame and body, my friend brought me a beautiful toyota tundra but when we went to do some brake work, it looked like it had been parked at the beach everyday at low tide, everything was bad rust....

 

If it's a 1500 manual trans, it's either a 3.7 or 4.7 (no manual available with 5.7 in ½ ton). If memory serves they didn't put the 3.7 in quad cabs so it should be a 4.7.

ST's are usually manual locks & windows. Check under floors, front frame rails and back in and around the axle and spring mounts. Make sure the jack is under the passenger seat & the spare is under the bed like it should be. Being a 4.7, long term maintenance and making sure the cooling system is up to snuff will be the most important things. If sludge has built up already it's too late. 4.7 gets too hot it likes to drop valve seats. Not hot enough and sludge builds up, though some of that can be mitigated with synthetic oil.