The SR thread, let's see them!

Ouch.... what happened there... not sure the answer is covering up with a flare... you dont want that to go untreated and have potential rust issues sitting under the flare

 

Plastidip isnt everyone's cup of tea, but I used it on my tailgate to try and hide some imperfections after getting rear ended.....it might be worth giving a try for $10 a can.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-sr-thread-lets-see-them.411453/page-366#post-27750886

 

Sick!

 

That looks like paint transfer. If so a little rubbing compound and wax could take most of it off.

 

I just changed my oil myself for a 2nd time (toyotacare did the first 2). I noticed both times I drained that I was about a quart low. I'm guessing that 10k miles between oil changes on the 4cyl motor is a bit too long.

The oil was pretty dirty and I dont drive hard, although I've been on the peddal a little more this past 2500 miles or so. I want to see if I can get 250,000+ from this pickup and that's not gonna happen if I stick to this interval. and continually consume a quart every 10k.

I'm going to switch to 5k mile change intervals for a while and measure what drains each change. My motor and filter take a little over 5.5 quarts to fill up to the mark.

 

Yup, the picture I posted was immediately after I scraped a concrete pillar in a parking garage. I got all the paint transfer off but there is some paint completely scraped off. There's also a couple small dents that you can't really see in the pic. That's why I was thinking of just covering it by putting on fender flares, but I should probably do something to protect against rust first. Any ideas?

 

That's too bad. You can sand down the rough areas to get it smooth then primer and spray on some color match touch up paint. Cover the areas that you don't want to paint to protect against overspray. It won't match perfectly but it will look better. If you still don't like it then fender flares are a great option. The only drawback is that it may not look right with stock width tires.

Another thought is to put the factory flares on it. They wouldn't look so out of place with the stock wheels and tires.

 

How much paint is actually missing. When my tailgate got smashed I was able to touch it up with OEM paint pens (3 different ones for Magnetic Black). I got a paintless dent guy to get the major dent out, he couldn't fix it 100% out so I wound up taping off and "covering up" the imperfections with plasti dip.

I couldn't get my gate repaired .. they wanted to replace it. It might be worth just getting it repaired at the local.body shop. I used those paint pens to touch up the missing paint on my drivers side bumper cap too.

 

A quart? Really? That surprises me. A lot!
Mine doesn't lose/use a drop.

I expect 400,000 plus, out of this 2.7L. (got 300k out of a Honda, so Toyota should surpass that)

 

10,000 miles on any engine is too long. There are countless mechanics on YouTube advising people to not do this with proof. Its a dumb idea.

Spend the measily 30 bucks on an oil change every 5k and never worry about it.

They will tell you yes yes go ahead and do 10k oil changes, oil can do that. Well they don't also tell you is it can do that with only highway driving with no load on mainlt flat roadways. 99% of people aren't ONLY driving highway with no load.

These people are trying to sell cars and somehow "save the world" with less waste from vehicles. It's doing nothing and destroying cars so you have to buy another one. Just change it every 5k and you won't have headaches.

 

What oil are you running? 0W20 or something heavier? What is your oil change interval?? 7,500? 5,000? 10,000? I'm not surprised as I had reservations about 0w20... my wife's 1.8T Jetta would consume more than that (about 2 qt) at 10k mile intervals. I switched to 5w30 and guess what.... no more consumption. I didn't plan on keeping that car til past 100k.

I have been using Shell Rotella 0W20 Gas Truck (not that it matters as I'm not married to any particular oil). I only have 40k on the clock, so consuming a quart seems high for a motor so new....especially a Toyota 4cyl.

I expect 400k as well.. but after 2 oil changes in my garage I measured 4.5 quarts out and I put 5.5 quarts in to fill, so Its concerning that the thin oil and the low tolerances to pass epa regulations and boost MPGs are actually serving to destroy a bulletproof motor prematurely.

I did 3 -4k mile oil change intervals on my v6 first gen at 475k and it was fine before my son totaled it. If I continue on a 10,000 mile oil change interval this thing will start to consume more oil, blow rings, and eventually become unreliable although it'll still probably make it to 200k, past that I'll run into problems.

I've seen enough to know after 2 oil changes in my garage that I'm moving to 5000 mile intervals. 10,000 intervals on 0W20 seemed like a stretch (just like it did in the Jetta), however the Jetta was a turbo, so I figured I'd follow the manual....looks like it's a common theme.... lowering emissions, thin oil, low tension piston rings, the perceived low cost of maintenance, and the need to get better MPGs all serve to wear these 4 cyl motors out prematurely --- the best remedy, I suppose, is more frequent oil changes... my oil went in almost clear and it came out dark brown, so theres another reason for moving to 5k intervals.

I'll be reporting back here.... I figured the SR thread is best since a majority of the 4 cyl 3rd gens are likely SR trim packages

 

Absolutely man. These Toyotas last but time and time again I see people doing 10k intervals and they've got all sorts of nasty problems. I change my oil every 3-4k. It doesn't hurt my wallet to spend 30 bucks every 3 or 4 months.

 

Yep.... Pay now on more frequent maintenance or pay later for a blown i4 at 200k. I'm trying to keep this thing on the road and problem free for a long while..

 

My dad owned a 97 4 banger tacoma from when I was 5 until this year (I'm 30). Truck ran forever until it was too beat up to drive anymore 400k on it.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...5-16-35-000-mile-review.780063/#post-27892563

For anyone who might be looking for new tires....

 

1 year old today, almost cracked 20K miles

 

I'll be getting a BHLM done this weekend (no ice hockey). I noticed that my 2020 SR does NOT have the headlight grilles, so hopefully I can add em..... I'm hoping to have them look like this when its done:

 

BHLM done.... Being a DIY kind of person, I really didn't want to spend money on this, but this guy @no vtec 4me does some really great work.... Check him out if your looking to upgrade the look of your stock lights.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/retrofit-and-bhlm-headlights.565466/page-131#post-27938663

 

Put on some new meats today. Went from the stock Hankooks to Cooper Rugged Treks in 265/70R16. Slight road noise but ride is little to no difference. The Coopers I'm told are a soft compound.

 

It’s coming along