What Have You Done To Your 2nd Gen Tacoma Today?

A brake upgrade has been in consideration for a while as our tiny camper doesn’t have brakes. Manual transmission so gearing is lower anyway and gears also used to help engine brake on downgrades. I swapped these wheels and tires from the other truck so have never driven this one without the weight. It’s not only weight and diameter to consider though as tire width creates more friction and drag. If it were only the truck to worry about I’d have put them on already. I’ll most likely stick with the size I have as it all works great

 

I haven't done anything to it today, but I'm planning to do either a drain and fill or complete flush of the transmission fluid. I'm still undecided though.

 

31 and even a few snow flurries on my way to work at 5:30 this morning.

 

whats the thingy on the left.... green light? (and yes thingy is a technical term found in many specs)...early version of mine

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...th-pics-for-second-gen-4-liter-trucks.289913/

lotsa good info here

 

Thanks for the input. I've been doing research on this for a few days now and I'm leaning towards doing a drain and fill with valvoline Maxlife atf since I only use the truck for my commute to work and other errands. However, I do have a high mileage tacoma (101,xxx) and I'm fairly certain the fluid has never been touched. I will definitely give the thread a read and see what other knowledge I can pick up. Thanks again.

 

I did a drain and fill on my wife's 2006 Taco at 189k. The tranny shifted just fine but the truck had a questionable service life before my wife picked it up at 92k, and because of some old school advice, I was always afraid to touch the auto tranny fluid. But the info found in the above thread helped me decide I would give the drain and fill a shot just to see/smell the old fluid that came out and try to gauge the health of the tranny. I used a clean drain pan and figured I could always put the old stuff back in if I discovered something that didn't seem right. About 2.5 quarts came out and it was dark as expected but seemed ok (no burnt smell, no detectable metal bits). I added back Valvoline MaxLife ATF and Lube Guard Platinum as recommended by Gear Cruncher, then did the temp level check following the directions in the thread.

It's been over 10k miles now and her truck shifts great. I did a full flush following the instructions in the thread when I got my 2014 at 38k miles (57k on it now). Now that I've done a few auto tranny services on these trucks, I plan to add this as a routine maintenance item and question the "lifetime" service designation.

 

I don’t want to be the “one up” guy, but 30 degrees at noon and......It’s may Ffs

the top pic is not today, attached it by accident...

 

My favourite water bottle doesn’t fit in the door bottle holder so I adjusted it a bit. Cut some out and attached some heavy elastic to hold it tight. Seems to work alright.

 

Thank you for taking the time to reply to my comment. I'm on the same boat you were. I'm somewhat nervous about doing a full flush only because I feel it might be unnecessary since I've had the truck since 40,000 miles and have never driven it rough. Either way your info was very insightful and once I go over the thread that user @wmg suggested I read I will most likely do the drain and fill with the valvoline. I do however have a question for you. When you did the drain and fill did you drop the pan and replace the filter and gasket? Or did you feel it was unecessary? Thanks again for you help.

 

LMFAO I'm sure that will increase your resale value. It looks top notch!

 

Good info, makes me wanna do this as well. Not only do mine rub but the paint is also fading.

 

Glad the info might be useful. To answer your question, I first thought it would be best to do a drain and fill to inspect the fluid and go from there in baby steps. I plan on going back and dropping the pan, changing the filter and further inspecting after a few more thousand miles.

With your truck, used as described, I personally would have little issue dropping the pan, replacing the filter and the fluid. My wife's truck was a little different. It's been used for little else other than highway commuting these last 10 years, but the first 92k appeared to have been used pretty carelessly. Soccer mom transporting kids during the week (food stains everywhere) and as an apparent play toy during weekends (lots of caked on mud, bent tow points, lots of trailer hitch wear, cheap Fram filters used throughout and zero maintenance records included with the sale). The u-joints looked like they were never lubed when I replaced them at 100k. I was a new boyfriend at the time, but if I had been present when my now-wife bought the truck, I would have steered her away from it. That said, it's been an awesome truck for her and we plan on keeping it another 100k.

 

haha, agreed not the prettiest job, but it serves it purpose. Not to worried about resale value either. I don’t plan to every sell this truck, when it’s no longer fit for the road it will be a pure woods buggy.

 

Who here is running an ultra gauge? Mine keeps telling me that i’ve hit “oil miles” but the truck doesn’t say maint required. I’m confused as i installed it a bit after i had just changed the oil last and i’m not sure if it’s accurate. does the truck no longer say maint required due to the gauge?

 

After trying a set of used aftermarket rims the old lady decided she didn't like them and said, "Lets just get new ones"
Well you don't have to ask me twice. Went down to my new favorite shop here in Portland Oregon, Automotive Outfitters and looked over their selection. The Lady really liked these Moto Metal rims so we got them. I think they look pretty tuff too.

 

They definitely did not think those holders through very well. I have the same problem. Not sure I want to go to that extent yet to find a fix but looks like it does the job.
Maybe someone can print a holder that will go in the cutout so it looks finished.

 

ya, the more I look at it the worse it looks. I think I’ll head back to the garage and see if I can pretty it up some how. At least no one can see it when the door is closed, haha

 

looks sharpe, I like em!

 

Like my dad said, that's what they make trim for.