Is an overhaul at 300000(much neglect) viable?

I bought an 03 2.7L M 4x4 with 200,000 miles, 4 years, another hundred thousand miles and a lot of neglect later its still running (limping). I absolutely cannot part with this truck, I’ve been to and through a lot of places with it and despite that I’ve also run the dog crap out of it, basically not even a hint of pm, more than a couple 15,000 mile oil change intervals and I can’t remember a single time I might’ve greased anything. If anyone has either bought or created a Tacoma in this condition and resurrected it and has any tips, must fixes, or that it’s a farce please reach out.

 

Hello Friday!

I'll bite. If you "absolutely cannot part with it" why did you knowingly abuse it?

 

Make it to 400k by doing the usual tuneup and fluid changes, general maintenance can go a long ways.

 

Hey, sounds like we have the same truck. With enough time/money/patience, I believe you can overhaul anything at any mileage. If you can’t part with it, then don’t. You probably have a lot to do though. And once you get it fixed you should def keep up with preventative maintenance.

Will you DIY this or pay a mechanic?

Do a compression test and leakdown test and a valve shim clearance check/adjustment at the least to see how your engine is doing, and see if it’s throwing you any codes (probably should have said this first). And change your LBJs.

 

You can absolutely get that thing back to working order. Just realize it's going to take a plan, and you're going to have to spend some money on it. I'd start by budgeting a few hundered dollars, every couple weeks, or couple months (depending on how fast you want to get it done).

My middle son bought a heavily abused 3rd gen 4Runner with a salvage title, that had been in a front end collision. We've got that thing back to pretty damn fine shape, if I do say so myself. It took A LOT of work though.

My youngest son bought a 96 or 97 Tacoma that might as well have been a salvage, needed a bunch of work, and was pretty neglected. It's gotten him back and forth to Colorado from California a couple times now.

It's definitely possible. These trucks are really pretty hard to kill.

 

Come on, man. We need pictures of your truck!

 

Only potentially acceptable reason I can fathom is threshold testing. Other than that, this new member needs to be terminated with utmost haste.

Haaha kidding. But really, be nice to your truck or it'll give you grief eventually.

 

Curious how intensive his rehab was? Do you know the bulk of the work required to make it reliable again?

 

You mean my middle kid's T4R?

Ya... I was elbow deep in pretty much all of it.

 

Ha Ha Ha only you can make the call!!

Anything can be refurbished with enough time and money.

It comes down to just how much money and time you can afford to spend.

I doubt it will be cost effective but I have had my share of Labors of Love.

I think every one has a thresh hold after which not a penny more will be spent.

 

Yeah doesnt seem like your the fix me up type.....

Dont think you know what your biting off. Cylinders are most likely already ovalized from the rings being contaminated and unable to compress......

(238) TOYOTA OWNERS! Please NEVER Do THIS to Your Toyota! - YouTube
.....See @ the 11 min mark

Only if you want a loooong term hobby.......and like tracking down hard to find parts.
And redoing shit......over $ and $ over.....

If you had a 2wd 5 lugger it would be easy peasy......but you have MT 4X4.....totally different animal........and not so easy to find another reasonably priced that isnt already destroyed....beat to hell.....

4X$'s.........a toy.....

If only I had a nickel for everyone that just bought one of these, and is broke, and trying to do the budget fix up......we see about 3 or 4 a week here.....
They have a 4x4 money pit.....and no money.....
They think toyotas are magic and run carelessly forever, and synthetic oil is magic and hardy needs to be changed.....


On good note there are a ton of these 2.7 engines available.......new/used/rebuilt....
probably more than any other toy engine because these were in many of their base models......
Unfortunately the head gasket thing keeps a steady turn over of these 3rz's......
probably worst in fleet except for 2az's oil burners in gen2's...

Buying a salvage 3rz or 5vz is very risky.....lot to go wrong......


The needles in your universals, I would be worried about them.....
that or lower ball joint failure.......is a bad day.

Not only that but old coolant, brake fluid, steering fluid, tranny fluid, and differential fluid is systematically destroying everything from inside .....all undetected/unseen....all fluids under heat and pressure become corrosive, and over time/heat the additives in these that keep everything safe.... break down ...
Your hoses delaminating as we speak....some think syn oil or red coolant gives you a free pass to let things go.......and forget long time established standard maint....
And some of these things are like unicorns......like the 4x4 rearends......Antiques..

 

^^^
There you have it. Prioritize. Start with the things that keep you and others on the road safe, like brakes, steering and suspension, even things like those worn wiper blades. Then move on to the things that make your ride more reliable like drivetrain service, address any codes you’ve been ignoring or meaning to get to one day, catch up on deferred maintenance like fluid changes and lastly work on the appearance.

 

The 4R that was there at our mod party?

Fuck, didn't realize it was that bad. It looked good in person!

 

Lmao! Oh bud...

We replaced:
UCAs (with UBJs and bushings) (SPC)
LCA bushings
LBJs
OTREs
Steering rack, with ITREs
Front shocks/coils
Rear coils
Front wheel bearings
Front brakes, all (Tundra brakes)

Coils
Plugs
plug wires
Temp control sensor
Idle air sensor
Cat converter
Fuel injectors

Complete dash
Steering wheel
Front seats

Cleaned:
Throttle dody
Upper intake

I'm sure I'm forgetting shit... still need to do timing belt and valve covers

 

Anyone that has a 20 year old Toyota has a sick hobby of wrenching on &hit. Meth would have been a better alternative.

But Meth and old Toyotas is recipe for failure, or success in some crowds.

 

Overhaul? Sounds like at this point it'd just be standard maintenance. I wouldn't say you need an overhaul, just fix what needs to be fixed. First and foremost, check the compresson on all cylinders. should be around 150 +-10psi. If that's what you have, then awesome, start finding things to fix! The fuel delivery system is often misunderstood and overlooked, start there. Don't worry about the ignition system cause that's easy to do. Then check on the timing, unless it's timing chain then don't bother. Clean out cooling system, do some oil changes, check your brakes, also inspect the body bushings! If they're cracked/seperated get yourself one of those energy suspension kits. It'll stiffen up and everything will feel more "responsive" and "tighter." If you can and dont have yet, get a bluetooth scanner and the torque app if android and start looking at your fuel trims. you'll want to get them as close to 0 as possible. This usually just involves intake gaskets and vacuum hoses.

In any case, start and let us know if you have any questions or even start a thread chronicling your progress