2004 Tacoma Maintenance Upon Ownership

I just bought my first Tacoma (first vehicle actually!). It's in great condition but I want to make sure I get everything checked out in more detail than the pre-purchase inspection. Are there any specific things I should make sure I look out for/tell my mechanic to look at? He asked me to make a list for him. Lower ball joints, tires, etc. Thanks, I am very new to this!

 

How many miles? V-6?

 

There was a recall for the lower ball joints that you may want to check to see if it was done or if your vin # falls within the range of the ones recalled.
Also, last year Toyota announced they will inspect the spare tire carrier to see if it should be replaced. If they do replace it, it's covered by Toyota.

https://www.faxvin.com/recalls/toyota#:~:text=Toyota Recall Information. To check the Toyota that,and title. Door jamb at the driver’s side.

 

My list I check is
- Valve cover gaskets (any oil weeping/leaking?)
- Lower ball joints, this is a big one!
- Upper ball joints
- Tie rods
- Steering rack bushings
- Transmission and engine mounts
- Check/change all fluids, note any that look particularly bad or low (oil, coolant, brake, diffs, transfer case)
- Also get oil and trans fluid tested through blackstone if possible, will give you a good idea on overall health of each
- Check frame THOROUGHLY for rust/holes, especially near rear spring hangers and shock mounts
- Oil pan on transmission and engine, mostly for signs of leaking/weeping.
- Airbox/intake tube for any dry rot/cracks, also vacuum lines in engine bay
- Timing belt/water pump condition, or if they have paperwork stating when it was last changed. Also should be a sticker on the timing belt cover
- Radiator for any signs of leaking, mine had a hairline crack you couldn't see but the dried coolant gave it away.
- Brakes
- Spark plugs/coil packs
- If they're willing/able to do a compression test I would go for that as well, also another good indicator of engine health.

Chances are you'll have to replace some things on this list since some of these 1st gens are pushing 20+ years old and it's just the nature of buying older vehicles. Depending on your location some of these may take precedence over others.

If your in the rust belt or somewhere that gets snow and they salt the roads, then frame condition should be your biggest concern.

 

The whole My Mechanic is so very scary .

Give them about $3000.00 to replace or repair what they can till next month.

Even the best maintained 4x4 vehicles always have neglected areas

 

Immediate things to check:

Lower Ball Joints. These could lead to catastrophic failure. I just bought an 04 and replaced them. Check out the video below for a comparison of old (left) vs new (right)


Spark plugs and wires. Probably never changed. Doing so will improve the performance of your engine and possibly better fuel economy.

Clean the MAF and throttle body. Definitely the MAF was probably never done also. The throttle body should be examined. If the butterfly looks worn then leave the carbon build up around the butterfly. But you can still clean the throttle body chamber itself. These two will definitely improve performance and fuel economy.

Air filter. Change it. It’s cheap and you’ll know when to start the 10,000 mile interval.

Timing belt/water pump/thermostat. Like others said, look for a sticker on the cover or if you have paperwork to verify when it was done last. Every 90,000 miles.

https://youtu.be/wQtZJ13DErw

 

How mechanically inclined are you? Asking a mechanic what should I replace, would make him see $$$. A lot of the minor stuff you can do yourself with a basic tool set and patience.

When I got my Tacoma (used), I replaced all the hoses, coolant, oil/filter, belts, plugs, dist, cap/rotor and wires.

Perhaps you have a friend or family member who can help you inspect the vehicle and show you what to look for.

 

I made a checklist:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/old-truck-checklist.606811/


Its pretty thorough. For a quick check though, brakes, fluids, suspension (especially lower ball joints).

 

When I got mine it had 130k over the course of a year I replaced just about every fluid(ATF, oil and filter, brake, diff,and coolant) only thing left to do is power steering.

 

First, CONGRATULATIONS on your first purchase. Welcome to the club!

2nd, We require pictures.

3rd, and more details - V6? 4x4?

As for maintenance, the above is great advice. I'll just add my bit.

Basically, look up the factory recommended maintenance schedule for whatever mileage it has, and basically assume none of it was done. Unless you have maintenance records from the previous owner, just go ahead and assume it wasn't done.

>Fluids: engine oil, differential(s), transfercase (if 4x4), transmission, even the coolant. Changing the fluids is a great way to diagnose potential problems.
>Balljoints: at a minimum check if they were replaced under the recall. Wait, no scratch, that, just replace them. Stick to 555 or OEM.
>spark plugs, wires
> Other engine stuff: clean the throttle body, MAF, and various others

Basically anything rubber should be looked at closely (namely suspension/steering bushings). Even if the truck only has 10 miles on it, all those rubber parts (namely bushings) are going to be 20 years old.

Good luck!

 

135K V-4

 

That's just getting broken in, nice to find such a low mileage truck!

Also, it's not a V4, it's an Inline 4 cyl ("I4")

 

Thanks, on the Carfax I have, it states no open recalls. Is that reliable?

 

This is so comprehensive, thank you. Luckily, it has been in the desert its whole life. No rust issues.

 

Thanks for your advice! I am not very mechanically inclined, but I hope to learn some things. I really trust my mechanic (family friend for years), so I know he won't take advantage.

 

Hmm.. can you explain that?

 

1. Thank you! I am very excited about it.
2. Haha! Will post soon.
3. 2.4L I4 F DOHC 16V, rwd

Thanks for all of this advice.

 

1. Thank you! I am very excited about it.
2. Haha! Will post soon.
3. 2.4L I4 F DOHC 16V, rwd

Thanks for all of this advice.[/QUOTE]

Hopefully I didn't sound patronizing or anything with that comment about the I4 vs V4 thing. It's just the shape of the engine. The 4 cyl engines have all the cylinders lined up in a single row ("in-line"), where as the 6 cylinder engines have 3 on each side, and at an angle, like a V.

So what you have is a 5 lug. It's weird because there are rear wheel drive Tacomas that look just like the 4x4's (Prerunners) and those share suspension parts, whereas the 5 lugs have very different springs and shocks, etc... So it helps to know 5 lug vs. 6 lug. A lot of us put that info in our signature or the profile below our names.

There's even a 5 lug specific sub-forum here, although that seems to be a lot more 2nd and 3rd gen people.

1st gen best gen!

 

Hopefully I didn't sound patronizing or anything with that comment about the I4 vs V4 thing. It's just the shape of the engine. The 4 cyl engines have all the cylinders lined up in a single row ("in-line"), where as the 6 cylinder engines have 3 on each side, and at an angle, like a V.

So what you have is a 5 lug. It's weird because there are rear wheel drive Tacomas that look just like the 4x4's (Prerunners) and those share suspension parts, whereas the 5 lugs have very different springs and shocks, etc... So it helps to know 5 lug vs. 6 lug. A lot of us put that info in our signature or the profile below our names.

There's even a 5 lug specific sub-forum here, although that seems to be a lot more 2nd and 3rd gen people.

1st gen best gen! [/QUOTE]
Oh no, I appreciate learning! Thanks for explaining. I am bringing it to the mechanic today with my long list of things to check and talk about!

 

Most sites will charge you to check recalls. Just go directly to the source:
https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls