Brought her home...a couple questions!

Hey folks,

Today I finally brought home my 2002 TRD SR5. Very excited to get things moving with this young 'un (a mere 126,500 miles on it).

This is the first 4-wheel vehicle I've owned in quite some time. I ride a motorcycle all year round here in Brooklyn, and don't need a car for much. But a move to Vermont in May will necessitate a truck (4wd for sure - and a pickup to haul the bikes in). So here she is. I restore vintage bikes - but have never really wrenched on a car. So I am sure I'll need some serious schooling.

I have a couple questions, to help me determine what's normal/acceptable for these trucks at this age, if you can bear with a newbie:

1. I've read a ton of posts about keyless entry (they seem to get sidetracked quick to alarms - so I need a definitive answer). Really, I just want to know if I have it already (PO said the remote was lost - but I'm not convinced it ever had one). Is it best to just ask a dealer to run the VIN to see if it ever had it? No tell-tale box to look for hidden under a seat/dash?

2. The steering is a bit loose. The steering wheel moves about an inch total without input to the tires. Fine at slow speeds, and even at 70mph it's tolerable, until you hit the NJ Turnpike, and then all bets are off Read the post over on . But I'm not going to be able to get in there to tack weld anything for a bit - so I want to know if there is anything else I should look at first/in addition to - that's less labor-intensive?

3. Any tricks to getting the seat to stop squeaking? Or is that just age?

4. It was checked by Toyota for frame rot, and passed, then sprayed. But there is some pretty bad rusting back by the rear of the spring leafs (the rest looks good to my untrained eye). Not sure if this is typical - and how bad it has to be until I start worrying?

I'm looking forward to make it my own. Loving the info I've gotten already on this site.

I rode the bike down to get the truck. Seller helped me load it up for the drive back. Photos, because it aint real unless you see some! Thanks in advance...

When I first got there this morning...


On the drive home...


And right on the lift for some fresh fluids...

 

Its a trd, I should have a key less entree system.

 

Thanks. The guy seemed pretty cool - so I wanted to believe him. But the 40 threads I read gave me a headache, and I know less now than when I started

I'd love to locate the unit to confirm the model number.

Appreciate the help.

 

You'll have to get used to the steering if you don't do the tack weld mod

Likewise, you'll have to get used to the seat squeak. I got used to it... then put new seats in and totally forgot about it.

Take a picture of the rust on the frame and post it here. You'll get a lot of opinions on it.

Welcome to TW... nice truck!

 

Thanks Madjik. I will be fine with the steering until I get in there. Re-reading the mod thread made me wonder if putting steel shim stock in there wouldn't do the trick - and prevent the worry about preventing the collapsing in the event of a crash.

The squeaking is just reminding me that I need to go on a diet. Hmmm. New seats or more ice cream? Tough one

I'll see if I can get a good photo tomorrow of the underside rust. Need a better camera than the phone.

 

Where are you moving in Vermont? I used to live in Burlington for a few years before moving out to Colorado.

 

Moving to Barre at first (girlfriend's family are there). Hoping to move a little out in the woods, toward Waterbury maybe???

Beautiful country up there. Great for riding the bikes - and I'm sure fun for the 4x4 crowd too.

 

Took a few pics of the rust. Not great, but hopefully you can see what I'm talking about.

 

That's really rusty but I don't see anything obvious in terms of structural integrity.

Have you hit it with a hammer in those spots?

 

welcome! and just look for the rear locker and "RR DIFF" button to confirm if its a TRD.

Mine has a keyless entry but it's due to a remote starter, no idea if it came with one from factory.

Rust doesn't look terrible to me, do the hammer test on the usual spots, and If its good then I'd say wire wheel the surface rust off and re-pray it on your own. Toyota will not coat it again FYI but will inspect it for free as many times as you want until the 15 yrs is up. Since you're headed up to VT you def want to take as many rust preventative measures as possible!!

and use a magic eraser on those fender flares!!!

 

Thanks guys. Are we talking just tapping it with a hammer to see what shakes loose? Or am I listening/looking for something specific? I had planned on taking a wire wheel to it to clear it off for some protective spray.

It definitely has the RR DIFF button. I am wondering about supposed included items listed in the ad that I can't find like compass/temp gauge, coolant gauge etc. I thought that I had read (and the PO must have as well) that these were part of the off-road package.

I'm up in Vermont already for the weekend. Had a heck of a trip - cover all sorts of roads and conditions. Think I really like this thing! Definitely need to address steering and/or suspension.

 

Hit with a hammer and see if you put a hole in it. That's how Toyota tests them.

 

Good grief! High tech!!!

 

Congratulations on your new truck! In order to drive the NJ Turnpike, you must have numbers on your doors. lol.

Anyway, you will be pleasantly surprised on how capable Tacoma's are. Have fun!

 

Tell me about it! I got a real workout today too on the taconic - plenty of hills and curves, and too many spots of construction that narrow down to one lane - no shoulder, no room at all!!!! Little crazy.... Then into the hills of Vermont for some more twisties and some snow on top of killington pass. First test of the 4WD. Gripped like a champ.

But she handled it all well enough. But I really need to start digging in to seeing whether the sway and bounce is just the steering issue (needs a tack weld) or tiered suspension (or both).

 

Well, a quick drive to Vermont killed that nice clean truck look right quick!!!

 

Thanks bassman. I am started to get together some bookmarks together that address the common issues for the front end/steering.

Hopefully I can diagnose and take care of this fairly soon - because I am really enjoying the truck so far - and want to be able to "trust" it fully, and not think about it anymore.

Appreciate all the help folks.

 

Good tip. I'll swing by a place soon and see what they say.

 

...and to complete the scene of all 4 seasons in a 48 hour period...