Would like a smoother and quieter Gen 2

I recently purchased a 2012 manual , 2.7 Tacoma through a dealer online . The previous owner has installed a afe air intake, 18”raceline wheels, custom bumpers, etc. Truck runs fine , but exhaust has a sporty rumble , I’m not really liking . Truck also has a rough shutter ( if I’m describing correctly), when I get rpms a bit low. Would you assume these issues would stem from the aftermarket intake ?

Id like this rig to be as smooth as possible at very low rpms . As well as stealthy quiet.

I’d love to hear any and all options from the experienced minds here at Tacomaworld.

Note:I’m no mechanic ,but I’ve driven a Toyota pickup since my first 81.

 

Get stock parts and it should quite down to a acceptable level.

 

The rough shudder, is it when taking off from a stop, or idling in one spot?

 

Go back to all stock parts and you will be happy.

 

I’ll bet someone would happily trade you exhaust and intake for stock. You might even get lucky enough to find someone close. It would help if you could identify what brand exhaust you have.

I did similar once, found someone who had a radiator I wanted in his garage, went to his house and traded for something I had he wanted. But the dude was a bit of a nut. I asked why the car had a screwdriver sticking out of the windshield. He explained, at the end of the story was “and then I got mad”. After talking to him a bit, I realized every story ended with the same and then I got mad line.

 

Those aftermarket intakes like to mess with things MAF related. And on a 2.7 oh man is it droney and annoying in the cabin, get rid. Get a stock exhaust, weld in a resonator if you wish.

At that point youll only hear the motor or tires.

 

Sounding kinda heavy for a four banger.

 

Thanks for all your replies. As a note: my daily driver (family car) is a 2020 4 door Tacoma w/V6 auto.
The rig in question is (my hunting/scouting rig). I will be refining this rig to access/scout remote areas here in
Montana as well as Idaho and Wyoming.
The perfect rig in my mind is nearly silent ( my 85 w/22 re was so quiet you could barely tell it was running at idle), able to creep along at low rpms over and obstacles/ terrain. And gets great mileage , since I’m commonly hours away from the nearest fuel station.
I’m looking forward to refining this into a fine tuned backcountry rig.

 

I liked my 1988 22re a lot more than the 2005 2.7L I had. I thought the 22re was smoother running, more quite, and more efficient.

 

Majority of your issues will be resolved with removing and returning to stock the AFe intake and exhaust along with lining the interior cab with sound deadening material.
It sounds like the PO was trying to squeeze extra HP for a weak 2.7 with those mods which personally is a waste of money.

 

the 18" rims would make for a harsher ride. what kind of tires are on there as well makes a diffrence. mud or all terrain ride rougher and send vibrations thru the cabin.

and yes, i would post online to trade with someone for stock parts, should help.

how is the maintenance of the truck? maybe new spark plugs are in order?

 

FWIW, I swapped the 265 75 16's from my 3rd gen 4runner onto my '15 Taco with the 2.7/auto, it didn't like the wider tires at all. It got really sluggish and hills killed any momentum. I went to 245 75 17's on some 5th gen 4runner SR5 ( snow flake) wheels and it handles them with no issue, it feels "stock". ( just 1" taller) My mileage seemed to stay around what I got with the stock size tires the truck came with. ( 19 combined/22 highway).

I agree with the opinions of everyone else concerning your sluggish/drone noise- return it all to stock. The only proven "upgrade" that makes any usable power is the replacement header from LC Engineering or Doug Thorley. These 2.7's are about as gutless as the old 22RE powered trucks that almost everyone owned at one time!

 

All this hate for the 2.7/Auto makes me laugh. When I was looking to buy I definitely wanted the V6/Manual but due do to my budget and time constraints (needed a vehicle immediately) I ended up getting an AC 4x4 with the 2.7/Auto. I am glad I did. I am running 285/70r17's and it is gutless. I don't care. If I wanted something fast I wouldn't have bought a truck. I have no intention of towing heavy loads, I can go from a standstill on a metered freeway onramp to 60+ before the onramp ends and can go 80+ on the freeway with cruise set, it has never stopped accelerating up any hill or mountain I have driven on. From what I have read here and elsewhere there seems to be a lot less problems with 2.7's than V6's and less problems with 2.7/Autos than 2.7/manuals.

 

I do hate getting 15mpg though.

 

What about the downshifting on hills? Doesn’t that kind of annoy you? Going up a hill at high rpm

 

What vehicle doesn't downshift on hills?

 

What hate? You pretty much confirmed what is obvious with owning a 2.7. Both 2.7 and 4.0 are reliable engines but there's no comparison in the difference in HP. If I had a 2.7 running larger than stock tires, the best bang for the buck mod I would do is a regear.

 

It may have been re-geared, I don't know. I bought it with 76k miles on the odometer. It came with the tires and lift. It is slow but goes as fast as I want/need it to go.

 

Not true, I had a '92 with a 3.0 that was more gutless than my 2.7

 

Based on this statement, congratulations on finding a rig that suits your needs. It's understood op's goal is to make it a less noisy hunting scouting rig. I do neither, so I'm guessing less noisy it to not scare off game for a 20 mile radius with the loud engine.

The rough shudder you describe is commonly referred to as resonating or droning. If you're unsuccessful finding a stock exhaust, an alternative would be to have a different muffler welded in. But since many of us keep the stock parts when upgrading, someone is bound to have exactly what you need taking up space in their garage and would be happy to trade it for a 6 pack.

Probably, the majority of the noise would be eliminated after replacing the exhaust. The intake I'm sure makes some noise, like a bwaaaaa noise when you accelerate. You could try posting in the for sale want to buy section. If you don't have luck there, try digging through the build threads, people who have your same truck, and hit them up to see if by chance they have it and are willing to part with it.

Half the fun of getting a new to you vehicle is turning it into your own. Best of luck with your build. If you have questions, fire away. There's a wealth of knowledge in here.