Refurbish, repair, or replace?

I've read a number of posts on here, but I'm now to posting. If there's another thread I missed but may be useful to me, I'm all ears.

Sone context about about me and the truck.
I was a pipe welder/fitter for 7 years or so but ended up getting recruited to the Quality. I straddle a weird line of being able and willing to work on my own truck but I'm just not that interested in cars. I only ever mess with cars if it's basic or I'm extremely desperate. y'all can just assume I'm clueless when it comes to mechanic work.

I have a basic 2011, automatic 2.7l, rear wheel drive, access cab taco. My father drove it off the lot new, I got it from him around 2016. It's fully paid it off. I can pretend I don't like it all day, but I could never hate a truck that has treated me with nothing but reliability. Because of that, I'm a Taco fan for life and will be buying another when the right time comes (a little foreshadowing here).

Oil changes and breaks are all I've done, I honestly don't know what maintenance it's had than that. I'm sure I'll think of more if this thread finds traction. The odometer is reading over 260,000, while the truck is fighting a slowly clogging catalytic converter. Yet, it's still getting me back and forth somehow.

Outside of the standard maintenance I mentioned, I've replaced the headlights, the coolant bypass line (with the new metal one), and I amd working to replace the clogged cat myself.

Ok, now for the core of this post.

The questions boil down to, what can I do to get the most use possible back into this truck?

Like I said, I'm dead set on another Tacoma. My dream is a brand spanking new TRD off road but between the cost and the "wait 2 to 3 years" for new generation Tacoma's situation, 2026 is a pipe dream. I would like to avoid a new vehicle until I can see the light at the end of my pipe dream, so over the next 1+ years I want to put money into this truck to get it running as smooth as possible for 3, 4, 5+ years to come.

KBB tells me that as is, my truck is worth $6000 for trade in and $8000 for private sale. My guess is about $7,000 is the most I should put into it. ignoring cosmetics, how would y'all determine how much money is to much money?

In general, are engine rebuild cost effective, or should I look for a replacement? No wild swap suggestions here please. I'm only interested in a rebuild or replacement 2.7l .

What other issues should I brace myself for at my milage and beyond?

I want this done right. So if a task us outside of my skill set, is the dealership or a good mechanic better? How should I even approach one about my situation?

Am I insane for considering any of this? Would it be better to buy something for 7k, instead of putting that into this truck?

Thanks for being a great community. I look forward to hearing from y'all.

 

That is a long winded post to say the only thing wrong is a clogged cat and ask if you should preventatively spend the entire value of your vehicle on it.

 

Don’t take it to a dealer. Just do what you have to as far as maintenance goes, fluid change,plugs etc. Don’t worry about doing the motor unless it dies. How’s the frame?

 

Welcome to TW!

 

Yeah, long winded for sure, you should have seen it before I paired it down... I asked about more than just the the cat though. That'll cost me about 1k, leaving me roughly 6k on my guess. I can't just drop that much money in it, so my goal is to understand what is even worth worrying about.

Are you saying the cat is it?

 

260k isn't low miles, but that 2.7 is pretty bulletproof. Fix the cat, and take everything else in stride. (Assuming you're not in the rust zone and your frame is good.)

 

What's a good resource for me to truly understand what maintenance is required?

I have no actual plans to mess with the engine, but I do want to know what I should expect if that conversation is started by a mechanic.

The fame is fine from what I can tell. The tuck has only seen a fender bender or two. I haven't seen any rust on or been told anything.

Yeah, I get that I'm probably just paranoid but there's more than just the truck that got me here. Try to keep a long story short, I want to be financially intelligent. A new car is not that, and I don't want to ruin a good thing by being screwed by this truck failing or putting to much money into it.

 

I'm in South Louisiana so no road salts for me. I'll still do a run down on the frame to be safe, but fender bends would be the only thing that may have messed with it.