The Adventures of Ash and Baby Taco

Shit'll buff out!

Well at least when it nukes you can be ready and have a motor on a stand ready to swap in. Would take like a saturday to swap a new motor in. Shouldn't be too bad to do in your garage.

Drive it till it blows!

 

I hate to ask you to retype everything, but maybe point me to a post that describes this.

So what really happened that lead to this failure and the previous failure? How did you notice it (symptoms)? How many miles and all that.

I have a 2011 like yours and I really don't want to go through the same headache you are.

 

The original issue was oil consumption. Which started small and barely noticeable to having little to no oil by time I needed to change the oil. By that time it was obvious something was happening as I was blowing huge plumes of blue smoke out the exhaust.

After further inspection we found out it was a blown piston ring in the 4th cylinder. Toyota denied me warranty replacement as I had modified the air intake and had diet present in the air box.

I had a local shop in Laramie rebuild the engine...which took about 6 months. When I got it back it didn’t seem “right”. The next day I turned it on and had a audible rattle from the timing chain. It rattles until oil pressure returns and the tensioners tighten up the chain. I had the shop tear the engine down a few times to fix this problem and was eventually told it’s not a big deal, just ride it out. At that point I was tired of dealing with them and moved 17 hours away. A year later I was spewing oil everywhere and the chain rattle increased (we now know it was a broken tensioner). The lose chain would slap the timing cover when I turned on the truck and eventually ate a hole through it...causing oil loss.

I had the local shop fix it this last week but the timing chain noise is still present and he pointed out the obvious blow by I can’t believe I didn’t see until now.

I wouldn’t stress about it. It appears I am a outlier who got a lemon.

 

Ewwwww see... I have a rattle/tick when I first start the truck and start driving. It lasts maybe 2-3 seconds while I accelerate in 1st gear and the RPMs get up a little and then it's fine.

No smoke, and oil consumption is minimal though.

I'm around 110,000 miles now so I might need to take a peak at the chain.

 

I can get a video of the start up sound soon. It’s pretty loud and obvious.

 

So it only happened during start up?

I think mine might be due to cold engine and thicker oil because it doesn't ever do it any other time. I'll let it warm up a little more and see if it still does it since I typically just get in and go without much warm up.

 

Can’t believe I am actually saying this but I am really going to sell this truck. I think I am just a land cruiser guy now.

If you know anyone looking for a project truck, send em my way. I’ll work with whomever on pricing. If I can’t sell it on here I’ll drive it for a few months until nicer weather to do some much needed TLC.

I just want another 80’s series. Call me crazy. If anyone wants to trade for a 80’s or 100 series let me know as well.

 

Damn.

If I didn't have a single cab already I might be tempted.

Find baby taco a good home.

 

Well, I think I have a buyer for BabyT guys. Another toyota lover (I bought the cruiser from him) with more money and time than I have. I told him I’ll button things up in the next few months and give him a shout. He’s going to start prepping his wife for another vehicle .

Sad to see her go and it feels like I am losing a child. I guess it’s the right thing for us currently. That truck brought a little too much stress in the past years and I’ll be glad to shed that weight.

I’ll still be around the forums and probably post in the cruiser build.

Growing up sucks guys.

 

Bummer! Hard to imagine you w/o BT.

 

Sad day. Baby taco was the coolest.

Hopefully he will live on

 

Baby T and the Cruiser teamed up this week to nail me with some drama . The cruiser has had a slow coolant leak that I have been working on tracking with my mechanic. We both thought it was a simple fix with a loose hose/clamp. Well, that didn't work and there wasn't an obvious trail of crusty pink residue. Well, I found a puddle of coolant below the cruiser shortly after getting to work yesterday. I take it to the shop and we find a very long, fine crack along the top of the radiator. So down goes the cruiser until thursday when the parts come in.

Meanwhile the Tacoma is giving me the run around with wiring. Last Thursday my coworker told me my rear running lights were out. I suspected the after market trailer harness BUT getting to it has been an issue. While the truck sat the past year the tire gate locking pin rusted inside and permanently "locked" the gate. So I can't drop my tailgate to remove the tail lights and just unplug the harness. Well, I have been PB Blasting the hell out of it and have been hammering a metal rod into the other side to break it loose...no luck. I found the trailer grounding wire and noticed a lot of salt, rust, corrosion like build up. So I cleaned that, moved to a cleaner location and it worked! But what was odd is the battery seemed weak when I finished so I drove around a bit to charge it up.

This morning I start the truck and again the battery seemed extremely weak. I just bought a new battery last month so it looks like my alternator is dying/dead. About halfway on my drive to work I realize my running lights, once again, are dead. I am burning fuses almost instantly. I am picking up a refurbed alternator (not my first choice but I need to get things running) after work to put in and if I have time I will get back to tracking my wiring issue with the tail lights.

So folks! Any ideas on how to open this tire gate without cutting the latch off? I am hoping yesterdays knock out drag out fight with the hammer and PB Blaster loosened some things up but I have my doubts. Also, any ideas on where to look for the wiring issue with the running lights (all lights associated with the fuse are not running. Front running, rear running, and license plate lights are out)? It seems odd that moving the ground on the trailer harness let them run temporarily over night and then have an issue on the morning again? The place I grounded it this time was naturally super clean compared to other places.

 

Can't you remove the plastic cover to get to the linkage? Or do you have to have the tail gate fully open for that?

The fact your popping fuses isn't good. Means something is grounding out and could still be if your battery is draining. Before buying an alternator just check the voltage while it's running. If it's over 14v the alt is fine.

How did it get so rusty? They salt the roads in ID?

 

Try some heat cycles with soaking PB blaster between the hot/cold. A propane torch should enough if the metal isn't to massive. Patience will help. Post a picture.

 

I have only notice them using salt occasionally on the roads here but everything rusts super fast. We get way more moisture than in Wyoming and I think just sitting for a year without opening did it. I have always removed the light by popping the tailgate and removing the bolts inside. As far as I know you can't easily remove the lens. The alternator has been on it's way out for awhile. I never worried about it because we had the second vehicle and bigger issues (engine).

 

I meant the plastic cover of the tail gate. On 1st gens it's a metal plate you can take off to access the latch and handle and rods. 2nd gens I think the whole cover comes off. So might not be possible without dropping the tail gate or cutting it up.

Huh odd. I get way way more moisture up here but nothing seems to rust any faster. I wash the truck off when it warms up though as they do sorry the roads occasionally

 

It was odd and not really a problem I expected to have but here we are. I am going to try and remove the cover because I only need another inch or so to have enough room to access the bottom headlight bolt. I have removed it a few times but I can't remember all that was involved. I may have enough room if I can remove the tailgate handle/latch.

 

Great news, I got to the taillight! I had to remove the plastic cover to get enough room to reach the lower bolt with the tailgate open and resting against the gate. Great idea @Blackdawg. I am struggling to release the old plug and came inside to warm my hands .

 

Got the trailer harness out and started it up. I have lights for now, let’s hope it stays that way.

Again, super weak start.

 

Nice! One thing off the list.