Thinking of buying '97

Huh. That's more reasonable than I thought. Are you 4x4 already or 2WD?

 

My 2.7 5 speed 2nd gen regular cab is a lot of fun. The only time I'm flooring it with no results is in a major headwind on the freeway or up big hills on the freeway.

 

Honestly it's the automatic 2.7l that's gutless. The manual 2.7l has a little more power and control.

Living in California makes me want to avoid having a manual just because we spend so much time in traffic having a manual commuting everyday would suck.

 

Enough people say this that I believe they're certainly feeling that way. It doesn't bother me for some reason.

 

I'm sure your traffic is worse over there haha. I was stuck in 405 traffic once. Never again.

To each his own, I suppose.

 

I make the traffic do what I want it to do by leaving plenty of room in front of me and idling in first. All I have to do is push in the clutch to slow down and with the distance I leave in front of me, most of the time I don't have to use the brakes or at least not come to a complete stop even when the cars out in front of me do.

This approach also alleviates the slinky effect that causes most of the traffic not caused by on- and off-loading the freeway from and to the streets. The key feature that I remember reading about in computer assisted driving way back in the late 90's when BMW and Mercedes were piloting the tech along with some other companies was to make cars start, stop, and cruise simultaneously which could reduce a great deal of highway traffic inefficiencies caused by people's reaction time when in "stop and go" traffic. It's only stop and go due to relatively poor reaction time and a driving approach that is learned in our culture.

 

Perfect description!

 

130k on a tacoma is nothing. Just make sure the frame isn't rotting, and it should have had a new timing belt and water pump by that mileage.

 

You kind of are right about the power but low throttle tq in the v6 is nice compared to the 2.7. I can barely throttle to get going in my v6 up a hill where the 2.7 seems to need more throttle all the time on the trail. 4x4 hi is almost useless where the v6 can cruise up hills in hi.

And that's where the v6 shines. If geared correctly it keeps pulling in all situations.

 

Don’t buy a first gen if you live in MN. Unless you are insanely diligent about going out in the cold with a power washer to clean the salt off every time it’s exposed. The frame is just going to rot to pieces in a few no matter how clean it is when you start. It’s a losing battle that most people won’t win.

 

If that was completely true than no 1st gens would be left in MN. They all need rotted out.

 

Us poor people don’t have 4wd

 

3 hours on 405 a day
17 years
MT all day everyday

 

My '96 has around 127k on it and is still fine, different powertrain though since it is a V6 auto.

My frame is surprisingly clean but it is a southern truck. The paint is starting to chip bad on the hood which seems to be a common problem for these years. The rubber coating or whatever on the dividers for the back glass has started peeling off. The rubber seals still seem fine and havent dry rotted or anything (fingers crossed cause everyone here keeps mentioning those)

Check over the fluids, like everyone has said defintely tap the frame because thats the worst point for corrosion.

 

There aren’t many left.... A ton were bought back from the early years and the ones that are left either got a new frame or have been patched together/rusted through.

It’s honestly an oddity to see a first gen on the road regularly where I’m at in Northwest Indiana