Finally got a Tacoma! 02 V6 4x4 Trd

Well, I finally picked up a nice looking Tacoma after nearly a year of stressing and searching daily. It's exactly what I want, an 01-04 extra cab V6 with 4x4, the TRD package and even Sr5 and hitch aswell. I drove 6 hours one way to get it and picked it up for 8500 not including tax and title fee. I'm so excited. The previous owner was a former mechanic and really kept the thing in shape. It practically looks showroom. Not a hint of rust in the underbelly, perfectly clean engine bay, clean interior. Only one little blemish on the exterior and thats on the top of the tailgate. It has 122,000 miles. Timing belt wasn't done, which kinda erked me a little but I plan on doing it before 130k. Hopefully it doesn't snap on me, but my research tells me it's a non-interference motor so I guess it wouldn't be the complete end of the world.

I just wanted to thank everyone on this forum for their time and help in my multiple threads and posts over the past few months. Their will probably be a lot more coming in the next few years since I plan on owning this truck for a while.

My first question is this now. On the 6 hour drive home i had a lot of time to drive the truck and get a feel for it. It's not a super fast accelerator by any means but it's decent and it holds its speed well. 80mph felt like 60. The automatic tranny certainly let's me know when it's shifting. There sure is a lot of vibration and buzzing through the gas pedal, floor boards and steering wheel during each shift, along with , at times, what feels like a little drive line lash. A little less when ECT is Off. Is it normal for the truck to be giving so much audible feedback while shifting through the gears? I hope it's not a sign of an issue with the tranny. I've never driven a tacoma other than this one so I don't know exactly what is normal.

Anyway I have to run to work but I'll post pictures later tonight.

 

Congrates on the purchase!

 

Congratulations!

 

Are you sure it is the tranny? First, I'll state that I have a manual, and have no experience with the auto. However, all our trucks are a little notorious for axle wrap caused by weak OEM leaf springs. This can cause some jerking feelings that are transmitted up trough the driveline from the rear axle. It might feel like a clunk and a little lurch, usually. For me it was most noticeable when coming to stop or when taking off in first gear. It could be a factor for you. One cheap, quick, and easy thing that may help reduce this is greasing the slide yoke on the rear drive shaft (easy, just grease gun on a zerk). This at least stops the slip yoke from binding up under these conditions.

If your truck has OEM suspension at that mileage, you might find yourself dissatisfied with the handling (like wallowing, imprecise streering, body roll). Did the previous owner ever replace the shocks? If not, you should likely consider new shocks right away. You may also want to consider new front coils and new rear leafs i fthe shocks aren't enough. I know you just got the truck and I don't want to be a bummer, but I just went through this with my truck, which I bought last October with 101k miles. I just finished replacing mys shocks and springs with aftermarket stuff, and it is a vast improvement and well worth the effort and cost.

And congratulations on your truck!

 

Time to mod it

 

x2458.
Great find. Getting harder and harder to find a nice first gen.
Check to see if the auto trans fluid had been changed. My 2002 2.4l auto was clunking when it shifted from first to second so I changed the fluid three times to get it back to the red color and the clunking stopped. My auto took about 2.5 quarts each time. You manual should tell you about how much fluid will come out on each simple drain and refill.
Waiting on the photos.

 

Yes, photos please. Congrats on the find.

 

Nice find, congrats!

I recently (about 20,000 miles ago, currently at 140K) put new shocks and coils on my truck and the ride improved tremendously. Maybe start there?

Also remember: it's a truck and the first gens, thankfully, drive like one. So you'll get road noise, it'll be a little jerky and bumpy, but that's why we love'em.

 

welcome bud!

 

Welcome! looking forward to seeing some pics

 

The previous owner said that he just flushed and did the tranny fluid, but maybe it takes a few flushes. he said he just went and greased the axles or something.

I'll look into the suspenders. I jumped on the tailgate a bit. It has about an inch of static sag and when i stand behind the truck and push up and down on it, it doesn't wollow before settling back at that inch of static sag it goes right back into place. Although i noticed when im in the back and jump up and down it does seem to go through it's range a bit quickly. (im 215lb). I plan on driving to canada with a motorcycle or 2 in the bed in july so making sure the rear suspension is up to it will be on my priorities.

 

Welcome to TW. Lauderdale to Canada. Now thats a long a$$ ride.

 

yeah, ive done it a handful of times. Depending on how i feel I stop in one of the carolinas for some shut eye.

I'll put pics of the truck up ASAP

 

SO true

In my 99, I get jerking and hard shifting when I have the air on. Or if I'm stopped at a light with my foot lightly on the brake, when the air revs up more, it jerks the truck forward.

 

Congrats! Post up some pics!

 

x2468,
If he did a real flush and not a simple drain like I did then you should be fine. Is the fluid red or brown on the dip stick?

 

here are some pics. the first few were taken by the previous owner and the offroad ones by me and my friend. enjoy. If i had a pic of the engine bay and undercarriage i'd show it. you could practically eat of either one.

 

Yeah Baby! Impulse Red Pearl....FTW!!!

 

That's a great looking truck!!! Great color. I've had 2 1st Gens that color myself. I always liked the Impulse/Sunfire Pearl Red. Second best color for our trucks, behind Lunar Mist Metallic of course! Congrats on the find. 1st Gens are getting harder and harder to find in nice condition.

 

Yeah man, nice lookin truck for sure. As I'm reading your first post I was laughing because I felt the same way with both of my trucks. For my first one (a 2000) I took a train ride to pick it up, then my wife and I drove it back 6 hours to get it home. Big smile all the way too. It's a great feeling getting something you really appreciate so much. A few months later my truck failed rust inspection and Toyota bought it back. My heart was broken that day. Then 2 weeks later I bought my 03 (the replacement) which was a major upgrade due to the smoken deal Toyota settled me up with $$$. Went through it all again but was a local deal. Hey, enjoy your new truck...!! Congrats...