Buying tomorrow

I know this is short notice and I'm a noob. But I will be looking at a truck to buy for my daughter tomorrow and would like to know if there are any problem areas to look for. Its a 98 SR5 extra cab,4x4,4cyl,auto,odo at 154k,motor has been change a couple years ago and has about 70k on it. I don't know what year motor it is. I was with in law this afternoon when I saw it. Got to hear it start up cold with hood up. Fired right up no ticks at all,ideled down promptly. I've owned a 88 PU,91 & 94 4Runners. I am mechanicaly inclined and do all my own work. Its missing AC belt so don't know if AC works. It has a few dings kinda like a work truck would have. I don't care about them really. Has good rubber, grey int is dirty with worn exiting spot on lower driver seat. Asking price is $3200 firm. At this point if test drive goes good I'm going to pull the trigger. Any advice to look for on this drivetrain. Thanks.

 

Yes it has to be 4x4 because of our location and thats just how we roll also. Our budget was about $3k for her so newer is not a real option. I looked at Autotrader for market prices. Lowest similer vehicle was at $5400 and had higher milage. The int just needs a good steam clean and seat covers which I do to protect the seats anyway.I didn't have time to look at it this afternoon. Going in the mourning with my tools for test drive and inspection. I thought he tried to spin the compressor after we noticed the belt missing and he said it wasn't locked. The guy just got it from a auction. Daughter said she dosen't really care about AC. Shes used to riding with me and the windows down. It dosen't get all the hot here in Wester North Carolina also.I went thru every page here looking for problems and all I could really see was frame rust issues. I did glance under it today and it looked clean. Forgot to add he said it just had some rear brake work done on it also.

 

Pic of truck I took with cell phone today.

 

Nice looking truck, walk in with $3000.00 cash and tell them to deduct $200.00 for the missing belt and what may or may not be a working compressor.

 

Awesome truck for your daughter!

X2 on checking the fluids.

Since your on the east coast... it doesn't hurt to look for water damage/signs since we have so many hurricanes and the resale of many damaged vehicles afterwards. A lot of these vehicles are coming out of Florida and sold at auctions.

 

If it's missing A/C belt, the A/C will NOT work for sure! Test drive it well. Make sure the auto tranny doesn't slip or shift weird, hangs in gears, etc... Most of those problems can be solved by new auto tranny fluid & filter, but can also be signs of more problems.

Seems like a small dealer you are getting it from. With that high of miles find out what maintenance was done. If they have no records of maintenance, it most likely wasn't done! If there is no maintenance records and you decide to purchase it, make sure to change;

- engine oil
- auto tranny fluid & filter
- air filter
- rear differential fluid
- front differential fluid
- transfer case fluid - if the 4x4 taco has one

I would highly suggest to use synthetic oils...

 

We are now proud owners of a Tacoma. Its sitting in the yard right now. First the good. Along with the above. It came from SC so no rust. It has some dried mud slung up in spots but no more than I'd expect. Its a 6 lug,has a toyota cd player, a bed liner which is coming out and being sold. Written in faded shoe polish on the pass window was new flyrod,tierods,alignment,new belts(ok where is AC). The guy I purchased it from put in a new battery,exhaust manifold and did some brake work which I'll pull down some and double check. I did a compleate visual inspection front to rear before test drive. Jacked it up ft and rear. I thought the left side on the R&P was a little loose. All u-joints and gear lash felt good. Looks like a replaced driver side half shaft. Now the bad. It has 285/70R17 Buckshot Maxis Mudders on. Three are about 1/2 worn and the fourth is at least 3/4 worn. During test drive with speedo at 55-60 it had a good shake to it. Don't know how fast I was actually going. So it needs new shoes. I'll sell off the Buckshots and bed liner to recoupe some of the cost. Other wise it ran good. Had a little bit of steering pump wine. Is this commen to these? Has a bad sway bar bushing,The grill is zip tied in place. Nubs probably broke off duing engine change. It was missing the rear bumper. He gave me a nice step bumper from a ranger. No deal I'm a welder. Gonna teach my daughter how to fab with it. Left frt bumper lens broke. Driver side window fell off the track when I shut the door once. Is this a common problem? Need to pull the door panel and have a look see. The seller had to get it inspected before release. He had the inspector look at the R&P and said it wasn't bad compaired to what he has seen and not to worry about it for now.

 

Now some questions if you all don't mind. The seller has no Idea what replacment engine it is only that it has about 70k on it. There is orange JY markings on it but can't read most of it cause its fading off. There is a sticker on the top ft of engine that says E3R7 W83. How do I ID this motor? Emission sticker on hood said 2.7. What size tires would this have come with? 255? I'm gonna teach my daughter to change all the fluids and will look for tags then but what gear ratio might this have. What auto tranny would this be. Funny thing is our daughter just took her learners test. Haven't even gotten results back yet. Wife told me to start looking for a truck a few days ago. POW! Right down the road in our small town. I jumped on it and feel I've gotton a fairly good deal so far. The truck will actually be shared between the wife and daughter. I like it a lot all ready.

 

Congrats on the purchase!

E3R7 W83 is not Toyota engine code. If it has one cylinder head it is the 2.7L I4. 4x4 access cabs didn't come with the 2.4L I4. Your Taco has the 4speed automagic the only automagic which came on those years Taco's.

Shaking can be from wheels not balanced right, bad alignment, lug nuts not tight enough... It is not necessarily caused by tires...

 

Found a # on the driver side of the block. Its 1183627. Dose this ring a bell.

 

Take a pic of the engine, we can tell ya then.

 

Here is a pic. I called Toyota with that serial # and they were of no help. He had no clue on how to figure out what size or year this engine is. I really would like to know for future repairs ect,