When is enough maintenance to warrant keeping your Taco

i cannot read @vettehigh mind ... the ? seems open ended ?

 

If you don’t like paying to maintain a vehicle... don’t own a vehicle.

 

if you can do the majority of the work yourself keep her forever. Like mentioned above, to replace her will be minimum new $35k and I am not sure that you would want it. The amount of electronic sub systems adds to the complexity and extreme costs when out of warranty. Tire air pressure sensors, slip angle sensors, ABS pumps etc.
When she needs a transmission is usually when I make the decision. Even with a competant shop doing the work an automatic never seems to be the same.

 

I had the clutch go out on my truck in late 2018 so I had my mechanic replace the clutch & carrier bearing, and serviced both differentials since it hasn't been serviced for close to 20 years since I've owned the truck. Then my truck engine blew a head gasket in December and was able to drive the truck to the repair shop with the engine on its legs (water/coolant leaking from underneath, Yikes!) after 20 years and 275K miles. Taking the advice of my mechanic, I had him do an engine swap with another 3.4L motor with 130K on it, install a new radiator/water pump/hoses/timing belt/mass air flow sensor. After the engine swap, I had to have the truck smog to renew my registration. I passed and got my registration squared away with.

Since I didn't perform the engine swap & related work, it costed me about $6K for the engine swap & labor, but my truck mechanically under the hood has a mid life refresh to last me another 10 to 15 years. To the OP, your parts list is typical for an engine rebuild, but comes with the territory if you intend to keep your truck. You'll find a lot of satisfaction when the work is done properly and knowing that your engine will last you for 200K + miles.

 

95% normal stuff to be replacing on older vehicles. plugs, headlights, oil, filters, timing belt , water pump, etc... Not sure why you got a custom painted oil pan, though...

Bed liner is not a maintenance item. Kind of unfair to include that, that has nothing to do with the longevity of the vehicle.

But if you are itemizing each and every bolt you're buying, it's time to hang it up and lease your next vehicle...

 

The oil pan had to be painted, it comes from the factory all scratched and not painted. I was not charged for the paint job on the pan though

 

why did you replace it in the first place, though?

Also, you seem to be getting a LOT of OEM parts, and I assume aying through the nose to do so. There are a lot of things where that just doesn't make sense and is unnecessary.

 

Like I said in my earlier post, I get all OEM parts at dealer cost and sometimes 10% below that. As for the pan, it was very rusty in the front

 

I'm honestly shocked that a 95.5 is still alive in upstate NY. Figured all of them were piles of rust by now.

 

I missed that post, sorry.

So you're into this thing for $12k. So do you still think it's worth it? I'm guessing that because you've started itemizing every last item (down to the bolts) you've repaired/replaced, you're tending towards it not being worth it.

It definitely sucks to have to do all that stuff in the same year, but when you own a vehicle for a long time, you are easily able to spread that cost out over a lifetime of ownership. I've owned my truck 15 years. The biggest 1 time expense I've ever made on it (besides my Kings and UCA's, or tires, lol) is the timing belt kit. Every thing else has been $100 here, $50 there...

You have a few alternatives if this is too much for you:

1) Buy a new truck at $35k min.

2) Lease a vehicle for $200-$400 a month.

3) Buy a bicycle.

 

After all I did and will be doing next week, it's forever staying with me

 

yeah, you should be good for another 200k, lol

 

That's a pretty decent list, you might have to do U-Joint or CVs sometime too, they can wear out. I had to get a new O2 sensor with similar miles to yours. But it should run for a very long time trouble free like everyone else is sayin..

 

This. I've never heard of a shop that can correctly and 100% rebuild Japanese auto transmissions. I'm sure they exist but man a high quality auto rebuilder could make a killing if he wanted to. It almost tempts me to do myself with FSM if time ever comes, eventually time should come I'd think

 

i beg to differ! winter climate will rot beds out BAD i have seen proof

 

Yup U-Joints and carrier bearing are the only things I saw missing that go out by then usually.

 

Not where I live, lol...

I generally adhere to what the manufacturer recommends as "regular maintenance" items (changing filters, oil, gaskets, etc...) as detailed in the service manual. Anything else is regional or personal preference type stuff.

Polishing and waxing it, and vacuuming the interior is a good way to keep it looking nice for longer, too, but IMO isn't really "maintenance"...

 

I would need 2 U-joints right (same part number front/rear) and 1 carrier?

U-joints: 04371-60070
Carrier: 37230-35130

 

would a complete and total frame rehab warrant me keeping my taco

its not a laughing matter hahah, it is as real as you can imagine
i can see your point, though
but to prevent major body damage in probably 1/3rd of the country this (bed liner) must be done (if using as 'normal' truck stuff, carrying objects in the bed and scratching it up)
the other gens have fiberglass composite? bed so they don't need to worry as much