Finally I got a yota... Now what should I do?

Finally I can join the Yota Club! Over the past month or 2 Ive been looking almost everywhere for a toyota truck to buy. I had a 2005 mustang V6 for over 6 years til the transmission went out just recently. Since then, I have sold one of my other trucks and also the mustang after a tree fell on it to accumulate enough money to buy one of these truck. One of my buddies from school introduced me to the website so I have been going through the treads trying to familiarize myself with the trucks before I go look to buy one. Finally I saw this beauty on craigslist for a steal of a deal so I jumped on it quick. I got her for $3500 with the camper top. Shes a 2004 Tacoma Prerunner 2.7 auto with 173,000, oversized 265/70r16s, a new cd player, and a flat black paint job. Honestly I think the truck is perfect and haven't had any problems with her yet. Glancing at the engine it looks like there's a small leak on the front of the engine but doesn't look excessive.

I plan on taking her to Firestone and getting all the fluids changed like engine oil and coolant. Depending on price I was thinking about getting the Tranny serviced as well as the rear end and maybe a balance of the tires.

What would you guys recommend? At this mileage, what kind of maintenance do you think is a good idea to do as a base line?

And are there any mods that can improve gas mileage? Ive seen the throttle body spacers but have seen mixed reviews on them on this forum.

Any responses will be much appreciated thanks!

 

I just found this thread so hopefully ill find some good ideas here


https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/cheap-free-mods.4838/

 

first thing's first. don't take the truck to firestone!

second. welcome to tacomaworld . the first 20ish stickies on this forum have really good insight on what to do in case of x situation and potential upgrades.

1 thing i've seen people recommend here is make sure your timing belt and components are new! but it looks like you have a 2.7 which is chain driven. don't think you have to worry about that. like ever at all. but see what others say.

find a good reputable toyota technician to do the work you can't do.

buy a haynes manual to help you do stuff you think you can or are willing to do

if youre smarter than the average bear, familiarize yourself with machine shops. when serious problems occur, it's great to be able to do the tear down yourself and let them handle the rest. can make a $1500 engine repair job turn into a $200 if you can do the work.

yes, change fluids.

buy a

$150 ScanGauge - SG2 II Ultra Compact 3-in-1 Automotive Computer with Customizable Real-Time Fuel Economy Digital Gauges , Black , 5"

scangauge! I personally have an ELM327 along with the android torque app. was like 10 bucks total and I get some great info from it.

 

265/70r16 is one of the two stock tire sizes on first gens lol but I'd definitely upgrade those tires first thing. Highway tires look way out of place on a truck. Get you a nice A/T or M/T tire on there and beef her up a bit! Give her some muscle.

 

Depending on what it is first thing I would do is fix the leak you found before it gets bigger. I'd look at changing all the fluids before anything else, especially brake fluid. People seem to leave OEM fluid in them.

 

Congratulations mr frankthetankoma and Welcome to Tacoma World ! I'm so glad you were able to find the perfect truck for you and that you haven't had any problems with her . I think the thing you should do with your new to you Tacoma is enjoy it !!!

 

What's wrong w Firestone? That's exactly where I was going to take her lol

And yeah I've been looking for a good deal on rubber maybe some general grabbers. I also want to try to remove the paint from the wheels the guy didn't paint them too great. Ill def post pics when I get around to cleaning them up.

That scan gauge looks pretty awesome too! Not as expense as I would think it would be.

Sitting in the DMV and insurance office to get her legal today!

 

That FloGrown sticker

 

firestone is just a corporate chain that is bound by SoPs and policies. their mechanics only need to have certification to get a job. and that's sometimes a shade tree mechanic with very little education. you're better off calling napa and asking them where is a certified toyota mechanic or a napa auto care center is.

 

tires are standard for Pre/4x4 and depending on what you're doing I'd say burn them out while you save.

the fact they painted over "everything" the flat paint more than likely hid some imperfections so I'd be skeptical and look it over real good

 

Yeah I'm planning on getting a much use out of them as I can maybe by the time they go out I could afford some nice wheels and tires. And thats I a good point about the blk. I'm gunna put it on a lift soon and check it out.

So do you think the local Toyota dealership would be better? The previous owner actually bought it from them.

 

If you don't mind paying additional. I'll say call napa and ask for a list of autocare centers. Or go on the website and see if you can find autocare centers that way