What have you done to your Tacoma today? 1st Gen Edition

Got my leafs in the mail today, just waiting on coils and shocks

 

I would build the 5VZ, sink too much money into swapping in another engine in your state and the 5VZ will have plenty of power in a truck that small.

 

Yeah, that's what I thought. Worth it to rebuild the 450k 5VZ or find one with a quarter of the milage?

 

Yesterday I put new wipers on and my blower motor came in! So I guess I have something to do over the three day weekend. I’ve never used Michelin wipers before; I usually buy Bosch. They seemed like they’d be pretty good though and definitely better than the ones that were on it haha

 

If you can find a later one that would be cool. Most of the later ones don't have EGR which is good, you can just fool your computer with a 10k ohm resistor and be good to go.

 

Would it be a terrible idea to rebuild the one I have? Thought it would be good practice.

It has zero problems as far as I know - no leaks, compression is good.

 

Then just drive it, don't rebuild what doesn't need it. Wouldn't be a bad idea to rebuild it as a spare if you ever got into boost but for NA purposes one engine at a time is good haha

 

Yeah those are the ones I was thinking about. But I’ve been looking at this CAT filter housing small ehough to fit in our engine bays. But I still need to look into a compatible air filter. Just a thought right now.

 

Sounds good. I'm really surprised how well it's held up considering the milage.

I do plan on doing the timing belt and water pump just for the hell of it.

 

FYI you can get 19" blades on the driver's side and 18" blades on the passenger side. Makes for a better sweep than 17"s obviously.

 

Thanks for the info. Never really thought about going bigger. Now I am.

 

I dig it, I'd go with bags just cause it's more practical so you can make it over speeds bumps lol

 

I'd take off the top end and see what the cylinders and pistons look like. If it's all good, go for a rebuild. Maybe rebore and get some round top pistons to raise your compression Make some power out of the 5vz

 

Thats what she said

 

What have you done today? What haven't we done? All started with the pesky notice from CA DMV that The Classic needed a smog check. There's a K&N Air Charger thingy (my official words) that has been on the truck since 1999. The sticker from K&N is on the inside of the truck hood. The truck has always passed smog check before until this time. The smog "technician" couldn't find the sticker (and to be honest I had no clue what he was talking about) and I told him it's always passed before and nobody's asked about a sticker (and I'd even taken it it a few times before for the smog check). Said we needed the EO #. Again me no clue.

Take the truck to a trusted shop. The truck has been running rough and needed some work. Replaced O2 sensor and valve covers then fuel injectors. Thinking positive and head back to the smog check for the free re-test after driving the truck for a few weeks on city streets and the fwys. FAIL................. Back to the trusted shop. Now there's an oil leak they're trying to figure out what's causing it/where it's coming from. Plus the catalytic converter needs to be replaced because that's probably causing the latest smog check fail.

Is this just normal stuff that happens over time with an almost 20 year old truck with 225,000+ miles (original engine)?

 

Sounds like normal wear and tear for an older vehicle. Plus California is crazy strict compared to the rest of us

 

Yes. On my 2.7 after 230,000 I had to replace the cat. Magnaflow sells a cat for a fair price. They also carry cali approved ones. OEM is going to be the most expensive but they last almost forever.

 

California.... love it/hate it. Told my husband we can't really complain since the truck has been a rockstar for 19 years with minimal extras other than routine maintenance. It's more of a "when it rains it pours" kinda thing right now. Husband doesn't drive the truck too much anymore due to a work vehicle so it's been frustrating trying to pass smog for over a month. Add to that the fact he got pulled over last night for expired tags isn't making it any better.

 

The block I bought that I’m issuing has over 400k on it according to the last entry from the truck it came from on toyotas site.. still solid to build from. But I’m replacing everything and using a used block.. so heads. I don’t know. I bought the block bare

 

Well I went a ahead and ordered an OEM carrier bearing. I found one online for pretty cheap and not much more than what the aftermarket ones cost. Unfortunately it won't get here until next Thursday... Going to have to bum my parents vehicles or take my summer fun car out of the garage