Learn Me 1st-Gen Tacomas

I have a '99 2wd ext. cab 4cyl 5-speed. 247,000 miles (I bought it with 245k).

Will a Tacoma stand up to 4 years of living outside? No salt here and parked in garage so I can't really say.

Will a Tacoma have terrible wind noise on the highway? Mine is fine. It's no Lexus, but I think it's quieter than our Mazda 3

Will parts be available? Yes if you ever need them.

What kind of mileage will it get? I've read that the 4x4's get about the same mileage 4cyl or 6cyl - seems like 17-22mpg is a realistic average. My 5-lugger is averaging about 25mpg in winter with the best tank at 28mpg.

What is the Tacoma aftermarket like? All kinds of stuff available. Aftermarket loves trucks.

The worst part about Tacomas is the Toyota tax you have to pay to get one. It sounds like you can get a deal, I'd say go for it.

If I were in the market for a Tacoma 4x4 I would cross shop the T100. Same engine, more useful back seat and they seem to avoid the Toyota tax more than the Tacoma.

Keith Tanner wrote: I can confirm 1) that the 3.0 is slow and eats head gaskets and 2) the 3.4 is a tough, tough little engine. FM used to have a T100, which was the precursor to the Tundra. It had the 3.4 in it. Bill thought it was too slow so he put a turbo on it. Gave it more than 300 ft/lbs of torque. No real knock protection, you just had to downshift and wind it out if you heard knocking on a big climb. And we have big climbs around here. We used it to tow during a couple of the Open Track Challenge races with a 22' trailer full of race car, 110 gallons of fuel, tools and a spare engine/trans. In other words, it was worked far harder than Toyota ever expected. Never burped. He sold that thing with well over 100k on it and it still had the original clutch. I have a lot of respect for Toyota trucks, and I'd still be driving one if they offered a diesel.

This is awesome. Just so you know.

You'll love the Tacoma. Don't expect it to be fast (183ish hp) but it'll still be better than the trooper. The engine/drivetrain is pretty bulletproof. E-locker can be put in that axle by cutting a notch and putting two longer studs in IIRC. Or just swap in the whole axle from a TRD truck. No real weak spots to think of, besides the rust issue. The aftermarket is insane for those trucks; a nice change from Isuzu. My one gripe with them is how much they cost. The same year 4Runner will be a few thousand dollars cheaper, at least here in CA.

Thanks for all the info everybody, I think I'm going to pick up a Tacoma within the next few months, even if it isn't the one my friend has.

On that note, is anybody interested in a Trooper or an E30? Send me a PM if so.

Why not just a good ol' F-150? They are cheaper and can haul more.

I don't know much about the trooper market, but tacos really seem to hold their value. In the Podunk town where I grew up, they seemed to be well-regarded by the surfer types, hubters, and Calvin peeing contingent. Seems like a favorable trade for you.

This just in- he's no longer interested in trading for a Trooper. Turns out he drove one (dammit) and decided they were too slow.

He did, however, say I was still welcome to drive his Tacoma for a day. I'm going to spend friday with it and see if I fall in love.

Assuming I do, the current plan is sell the Trooper and the E30, buy a nice first-gen Tacoma with the TRD package, a V6, a stick, 4wd, and an access cab. Oh, and make it white or silver, please. Yes, I realize I'll have to do some looking, but I think I'll wait for the right one instead of jumping on this one. It doesn't have the TRD package, and honestly I'd rather have a standard bed.

At the end of this all, I'm hoping to have a modern truck I can drive every day, as well as a few grand in the bank that I can use to move out of my dorm.

mndsm wrote: This is awesome. Just so you know.

Than you should see the TRD superchargers for 3.4 T100's.

I have a '97 SR5 with 173K miles on it. Supercharged since it was 17K. It's been outside its whole life. It's an awesome truck. I don't ever want to get rid of it. The only reason I am even considering it is because I really want something that can tow better. It would also be nice to have room for more people -- maybe two tiny children could sit in the jump seats in this thing, but it would be awful.

I flat town my 2434lbs Miata with it several weekends a month. I have two sets of wheels in the bed along with tools and such. Maybe 300lbs of cargo? For that purpose, it is 'okay', but it isn't great. I can't imagine pulling a trailer plus the car. I'm sure it would probably do it, but it would be dog slow and scary, I think, although at least the trailer would have brakes. I guess I should try it sometime.

robert

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/TRD-/181061243928?_trksid=p5197.c0.m619&forcev4exp=true#ht_500wt_1182

What does the hive mind think of this?

edit: Just looked, it would cost about $300 for me to fly out and drive it home. Here's to hoping it doesn't sell and he becomes willing to deal.

I had a '96 Extended cab 4x4 version. It was good. The guy I bought it from tried to kill it then I attempted to finish it off.. and didn't succeed.

They will tow. the frame and suspension might not like it, but it will do it. Mine towed a Saab 900 back when I raced at the local oval track.

W'happen here?

Appleseed wrote: You just knew someone would post this pic, right?

oops, forgot they switched to the 3.4 so ignore my head gasket comment

FYI, when I bought mine (again, second generation, but the same may info may apply) there were five different TRD packages available. Make sure that you're getting the equipment that you want.

And, it's worth noting that mine doesn't even say TRD on the flanks, even though it has one of those packages.

From my understanding, any access cab with a 3.4 and a TRD package will have the rear locker, which is all I'm really interested in.

In reply to Tom Suddard:

There is a difference between Access Cab and Xtra Cab. Access Cab has a door to the extended cab where the Xtra Cab doesn't. I don't think they made 1st Gen Access Cabs, just Xtra Cabs.

There are also TRD OffRoad packages and TRD Sport packages.

In reply to twolittlebroncos:

Ah, that makes sense. I was wondering why the two terms seemed to mean the same thing. Only 2nd gen trucks had the little door, so I guess what I'm looking for is an Xtra cab. Thanks.

In reply to Woody:

Okay, thanks. I'll make sure to check the differential.

The generation Tommy is looking at only had one TRD package. With the redesign in 2004, they then began to offer multiple TRD packages like the sport vs the off road.

Also understand that TRD offers many other high performance parts that can be added on your own. So a non TRD stickered Tacoma can most certainly have a TRD elocker, as well a TRD supercharger and other go-fast things.

I had an 86 hilux. I actually had my frame rust in half. I welded it back together and then sold it. I beat the crap out of that truck. It went through mud, rocks, towing, jumps, and other college baffoonery. Based on my experience with that truck, it would be hard to get me to purchase anything other than a Toyota truck ever.

In reply to Fueled by Caffeine:

So you were okay with the frame rusting in half then? I had an 87 4x4 with the 22re. It went through 2 head gaskets in under 150k, was terribly slow, and cramped. I wanted to love it because it felt like a little mountain goat offroad, but I just couldn't get past the many shortcomings. Went with a 99 Cherokee and never looked back....well until I developed an addiction to square body suburbans.

So, there's a Tacoma sitting in my driveway as I type this!

It's a 2002 silver TRD Xtracab 3.4 manual. It's also not technically mine, I just borrowed it for a day to see if I like Tacomas.

The bad: It's been butchered up. Block lift front and rear along with a 4" body lift. It also sports a chopped up front bumper, camo-covered interior, tires that rub everywhere, a noisy throwout bearing, and a fancy aftermarket exhaust system (that drones).

The good: It's a Tacoma.

So, at this point I'm going to keep my Trooper. I've already made appointments to get some rust (it's just starting, better to fix it now instead of after it's rusted through) and control arm bushings fixed. I might pick up a Tacoma in another year or two, but for now the Trooper fits my life better.

Cliff's notes: This thread was all for naught.

Buddy has a '94 Tacoma extra cab, 22RE 5 speed, ~225k miles. No frame rust, we down here in the Durty Durty South just don't see that kind of stuff. It busted a timing chain guide about 10k miles ago, he removed the timing cover so he could replace the chain, guides, tensioner etc. Truck ran great.One small problem: he didn't get the pieces of guide out of the pan, they blocked the pickup and it spun #3 rod. He got a long block which we swapped in at my place, it's ready for another 225k.

Cotton wrote: In reply to Fueled by Caffeine: So you were okay with the frame rusting in half then?

Yup. I'd do it again in a second. I lived in Rochester New York at the time and they used so much salt on the roads, plastic would rust in half. I loved that truck and always will