bought truck, maintenance?

Hey guys I got a Tacoma a couple months ago with 162k miles, my dad said it looks like its been took care of. The only thing im worried about is the entire underside is painted black, but it could be to hide mud or little bit of rust. And it looks like the right side has been completely welded, but the dealership (Chevrolet) showed us a clean carfax report. All that aside im wondering if I need to drain everything and change necessary things (already changed the oil)
Diff
trans(manual)
rear axle
t-case
radiator
Spark plugs?
has K&N drop in filter(not cai)
Brake fluid?
Fuel filter?
It has pretty new cooper discoverer at3's on it, I bought some new green stuff brake pads cause the brakes are horrible.

And is there anything I missed?

 

Hey Jacob,
About the Carfax. Carfax is a reporting company. They report what dealerships report to the national data system.
It is missing what every owner or small dealership or bodyshop has done to the vehicle.
My truck has been hit in the passenger front and the driver rear and then repaired. I can tell by the bent/crinkled sheetmetal the front and the coarse sand marks showing thru the paint on the back driver side of the bed. It came out clean as a whistle on carfax.
Most likely the work was done by a individual or a small bodyshop. I bought it anyway. Frame is perfect...so is the engine.
What I am saying is......Don't ever trust the Carfax. Dealerships use it as a selling point.

As far as determining past maintenance? Only way to know is to get to work going thru it all. Look throughout the forum and you will get the info you need.
Toss the K&N filter for a paper/stock one. You may gain .001 HP from a K&N and filters dirt like mosquito netting, so it isn't necessary and actually harmful. So go for longevity with a good filtering paper/stock one.
If you are not sure about any of this, take it to a mechanic that you trust and have them help you.

 

Timing belt, fuel filter should be changed around the 100k.
Tranny fluid...do not do a flush...especially if it has never been changed. Best to take a quart or two out and replace with new. Then wait a month and repeat.
Then get a grease gun to lube all lube points.

 

Thanks, im thinking about a cai, like the afe pro dry or is it not worth it?

 

I can do the grease gun but how hard is the fuel filter to replace? And the timing belt you have to take the motor apart don't you? what oil do I need to replace it with, I looked at everything a week after I got it and they was topped off, but the dealer could have done that? Thanks for the help to.

 

According to your signature, you have a 4-banger . That means that you do not have a timing belt. Your timing chain will out-last everything else, and should only be changed during a complete engine re-build.

Fuel filter is a real bitch to replace since it is located above the starter. Unless you suspect a problem with it, swap it out when you have to work on the starter.

Just because the oil is 'topped off' doesn't mean its clean. Take a look at it on the dipstick. If it doesn't look like new oil, change the oil and filter (also a pain to get at ).

Check all the belts and hoses, and replace any that have cracks, or that look old. Many times, while off-roading, I've seen guys stuck with a broken belt or burst hose. Better to replace those things in the comfort of the garage.

 

Thanks, I didn't think I had a timing belt. About the oil, im talking about the diff, t-case, and that other stuff, not the motor, unless they have a dipstick?

 

You don't have a timing belt. You got the chain and your engine will sit with roaches as the only survivors of WWIII.

Front and rear diffs & xfer case - make sure to loosen the fill plug before you drain them. Lots of uh-oh stories on here of people not doing that and the fill plugs being impossible to remove. Drain, fill until it seeps from fill hole and you're good. You'll need a fluid pump as you can't get a bottle of gear oil vertical to fill under these trucks.

Engine - You know how to do that I'm sure. Use a good synthetic 5W-30 or comparable.

Fuel filter - I like Mann one's. Bitch and a half on your truck but can be done with patience. Its under your intake manifold.

Trans oil - drain and fill same as the diffs. A lot of people use Redline or Royal Purple. I use Mobil 1 bc its pretty cheap for a synthetic at Autozone.

Oil filter - OEM for the win, but all are fine for our trucks. OEM filters A LOT more, but the difference doesn't matter. Its like someone being amazing at playing a sport and someone being really good at playing a sport. Either way, they'll kick a shitty teams ass.

Air filter - see oil filter

I don't usually replace belts or hoses unless they fail or look like they will fail soon.

Hope to the dear Lord you never have to replace your heater core. They last forever, but some do go down. You'll wish you had paid a shop to replace it by the end of tackling it yourself.

 

Only the motor has a dip-stick. I'd replace the transmission fluid, unless you know its been done in the last few years.

Verify the coolant is not plain water. I always use Prestone, but many prefer the red OEM coolant.

Plugs are easy to check, but you may have to remove the intake tube going across the top, to get to all of them.

You may want to check the valve clearances. Not as easy as the old 22RE motors because of that intake tube that has to be removed to be able to remove the valve cover, but do-able with normal tools. However, its difficult to adjust them. I ended up taking mine to a pro mechanic when I determined that the exhaust valves were quite a ways out of spec.

 

Thanks guys. I drained 3 quarts from the radiator and replaced it with peak full concentrate, anti freeze checker said it was good to 10 degrees and I didn't like that so now its like -40. And ill leave the valve clearance check to when somethings wrong.
What is the oil people use when they replace it and it is supposedly a different truck? Im pretty sure I read that on here, maybe in the 2nd gen section.

 

Prestone anti-freeze concentrate should be mixed 50/50 with distilled water. Are you sure that you don't have to do that with Peak?

If your exhaust valve clearances are too tight, it may be too late if you wait until 'something goes wrong'. That will likely be a burnt valve, which requires the head to be pulled for a valve job.

 

Heed the above fellows advice. The 2.7 is known for needing the valve clearances checked/set at about your mileage. When the 2.7 exhaust valves burn they also like to crack the head.$$$$$$$

 

Yes, I think its supposed to be mixed 50/50 but my dad said it would be ok. If anything goes wrong, it will be out of his pocket the way I see it. How do you check the valve clearance, with some tool you can barrow from autozone?

 

you don't need it to check the valve clearance, you just pull off the valve cover and measure the clearance you have with the cam lobe in the correct position.

you only use the tool to take out or replace the shims that determine the clearance you have

 

If you haven't already, get a Haynes repair manual. Not as good as a factory manual, but only $20, rather than $300. For most routine maintenance and repairs, its works fairly well.

 

Thanks guys, I will look into all of this.

 

this is a good idea and you can get a free download version of the factory service manual but it is sometimes not easy to find what you are looking for in it.