New Tacoma Owner!

Finally I'm authorized to be here, but I have some buyer's remorse. I picked up a 1999 Toyota Tacoma I4 2.7l 4x4 today for $7,000!

It's pretty nice, has a line x bed cover, brush guard (no name visible) and a pair of PIAA fog lights mounted. The are 113k miles on the truck and it rides pretty much like a truck. It's mostly awesome but...

There is a slight grind going into 4th gear which a mechanic has indicated isn't bad and that it would cost $1,000+ to fix.

There are a some dings on the hood that roll then off to the side and ding the fender a bit as well. Paint is gone and metal is exposed, the year old injury hasn't rusted at all but some day... (I'll add a pic tomorrow when the sun is up.)

The Airbag light stays on... does that mean one doesn't work properly?

The entire paint job has some little air bubble/ring worm thing going on which the owner said is apparently common on 1999 trucks.

I realize that I got it for $7,000 and it runs great otherwise so I had decided each one was acceptable, but now that its in my driveway I fear that the sum of the injuries might be too much.

Hopefully the owner will buy it back as I'm not sure my churning stomach wants to keep it. Is this just me having buyers remorse and any of these issues isn't too much to worry about? I'm really only deeply concerned about the hood/fender and the 4th gear... are those scary issues?

 

man my truck has done the whole 4th gear grinding thing for along time now, and if im WOT i usually cant put it in 4th. Like i get on it in 2nd and try to go to 4th, nope not happening, gotta put it in 3rd then 4th for the synchros. Seems to be a common thing, if it doesnt resist 4th then its probably fine, if its hard to put it in 4th then maybe the synchro is going out. I still wouldnt be too worried since you generally dont shift hard into 4th gear the synchro should still last since its not being abused all the time. I have given my truck hell and tranny is good, as good as its ever been. Probably wanna get it repainted if you are gonna keep it, asap. Seems like a descent buy to me...i say keep it and get it painted. Skip the tranny issue, its probably fine.

One word of advice.... alot of times transmission rebuilds end up being shitty, worse than what you had before. You would probably have better luck swapping in a used tranny from a junkyard/craigslist or something. Just a thought...

 

Awesome feedback, he had also been told that it as fine and I just stressed it as I drove home.

It doesn't resist changing gears at all and just doesn't feel right. I guess I want it to drive like its brand new.

Anyone had their truck repainted professionally, should I just pay Maaco 300 or will I regret that later?

 

yea mine doesnt it do it all the time, but id say 1/3 times it grinds. That being said, i dont know if it started when i put the Amsoil in there or not... you could try changing the tranny fluid and see what happens if you are feeling froggy.

 

any pix yet?

 

Here are some snaps from my phone...






And the damage, the rock hit here...


... and rolled off here ...


All in all, she's really pretty and I love the peppy I4.

My mod list will be short and cheap for a while, wife is still recovering from the purchase (and then paying tax.)

- Wheels are kinda oxidized and icky, going to look into repainting.
- Tinting, its pretty sunny here and that extra shade will be nice.
- Trailer hitch/towing package

Putting a rototiller into the back of it today helped me realize just how much lift the truck has by itself. I won't be adding a lift for while.

 

Oh and after motoring around town today doing my truck errands I realize that the 4th gear issue is really a non-issue, the paint isn't flaking or pealing and isn't really an issue, and the only troubling thing is the hood/fender... but thats an excuse for putting the 2001+ style grill that I like so much right?