2nd gen owner buying a 1st gen

Picking up this tomorrow:


'98 2.7L Automatic with 150,000 miles 4X2. I got a fair price at $6500. Glad to come over from the darkside of the 2nd gen's. Figure this truck will serve my DD needs while I get the 2nd gen more trail worthy. There is no rust on the frame surprisingly, as it was part of the recall, interior and paint in excellent condition, so it was well maintained. Clean carfax. I plan on doing some major maintenance this weekend to it as I have no idea what has or hasn't been done.

Maintenance list:
Oil and filter; engine filter; Pcv valve, grease driveshaft, fuel filter (heard it's a bish on these 4 bangers), spark plugs and wires, sea foam fuel/crankcase, flush AT fluid? (Need to find a guide, or technique for full flush), flush coolant?

Overkill? Also if anyone has any recs. on things to look out for or perform as maintenance it would be appreciated. I'm excited to own a 2nd Tacoma.

 

Looks like a good find!
The oil filter is a pain in the dick on these things- fuel filter is too.

 

If you don't know if the tranny fluid had been changed, then I wouldn't do it. I asked my mechanic the same question and he said he could change it, but you might be back in for a new tranny. It's a nice truck, but 6500 is alot for a 98 2wd. If it were me I would keep looking, but that's just me.

 

It's my understanding, and I may be wrong, but as long as the AT fluid isn't funky smelling, tar black, and/or has shavings in it then you should be fine to change it, thanks for the heads up. I imagine the pan will be a pain to get off though. As far as the price, around here, a tacoma in excellent condition for this year model with low miles has been averaging $7700-$8500, so I don't feel cheated or anything, it's fair.

 

If that's the case, then congratulations on the truck! With the tranny, the cleaning agents in the oil are what causes the problems because it loosens the grime. I wonder if they sell oil without the agents.

 

Hmmm, really have no idea on that one, but I will look into it. If I can figure out a good way to do a full flush at home, I will probably get good stuff like Amsoil ATF, if not, I may just drop the pan and filter, and replace that with some Mobil 1 more frequently. I wish I had some better pics of this truck to really show how clean it is inside/outside/underneath; it had to be garage kept, pretty amazing really.

 

When you buy it tomorrow, post some pics.

 

There is an at home flush process but most mechanics who don't want to change your tranny later will tell you just to drain what you can and top it back off a few times. That's what I did with my 1st gen, Had a friend do a flush and the tranny never acted the same afterword.

 

damnit. Everyone here needs to stop spreading this idiotic lie.

saying "don't change your tranny fluid if its old" is akin to "I haven't brushed my teeth in a month, and if I do brush i'll get cavities, because it'll remove the plaque protecting them..."

Obviously there are problems with the "flush systems" Specifically the back flush ones.

However, having a tranny that needs a rebuild after a couple hundred thousand miles isn't unheard of. Passages, bearings, and tolerances change. Most often exacerbated by morons not changing their ATF, because they don't want to harm the magic/metal shavings, holding their crap together...

 

I never "flush" trannys when its high mileage. I just drain the oil, inspect the magnet in the pan for shavings, change the filter and gasket, fill with new oil and be done with it.

 

Hey I saw that same picture of that truck here is SoCal. Hope you are actually going to see that truck not just buy and getting it delivered. Be careful!

If its real, then congrats, its a beauty.

 

Yea it's local, got it yesterday. Gonna do some maintenance this weekend and get some more pics up.

As far as the tranny is concerned, I don't believe this particular truck would have a problem with a full flush, the color is good, no shavings, and was taken care of. I am going to drop the pan this weekend and hold off on a full flush though, until I get some more time anyway.

 

Specifically my truck as 206k on the tranny and have no record of it ever being done and from the looks of my drain plugs, I would say it wasn't. It's not a lie. Like you said, tolerances in the tranny change and pretty much what is holding it all together is the grime build up. The cleaning detergents will break up the grime and loosen things up. If someone knows and/or can tell from a physical inspection that the tranny oil has been changed, then there should be no problem with changing the oil. Otherwise it's best to leave it alone.