First Time owner of 1995 Tacoma!

Hello all, I just bought a 1995 Tacoma 4WD V6 LX this weekend. I know little/nothing about this truck or tacomas in general other than Toyotas are reliable, etc.

I bought it from my FIL as a favor to him (since he needed money and it was his extra car). Drove it 500 miles home and (since i'm a tinkerer) I've already noticed some stuff i'm not happy with and would like to repair/replace/restore, but i have some questions.

The truck currently has 31X10.5X15 tires on it. they stick out like 2+ inches and the speedo is off by approx 10%. According to a little research those tires were optional on an SR5? So is it a cheap/easy fix to change something to make the speedo read right? also did the SR5 come with particular fender flares to cover the tires or did they not stick out so far? (this truck has aftermarket wheels so perhaps the offset is wrong, i just wanted to get some info before starting to unbolt stuff if i don't need to).

Also missing is the lowest panel on the center of the dash, the one that actually touches the carpet. (anyone have a parts list page that shows that PN, or know where i can get it, interior is grey).

There's other stuff but i figured i'd start here. I still don't know what i'm going to do to this truck as i wasn't really looking for another vehicle but it only has 140K miles, and he's already rebuilt the front diff and apparently the engine as well. It runs strong with no mechanical issues but the interior squeeks something irritating and IMO the suspension feels much too stiff for such a light truck. (maybe that's the tires or maybe that's normal for a 95 tacoma?)

 

Here are some pics to explain my current questions.

 

The 95-97 Tacoma's did not come with any fender flares. You could purchase aftermarket flares though, theres a ton to choose from online. Yours tires seem to stick out pretty far for tires that aren't real big, so its either the backspacing on the wheels or else there are wheel spacers. My tires are bigger than yours, and they don't stick out that far.

I don't know about fixing the speedometer, I'm sure there's a way to calibrate it but I don't know how. Mine is off about 12% and I just account for it when I calculate my gas mileage and when I'm driving on the freeway. I know when my speedometer reads 63, I'm really going 70. The original tire size on your Tacoma was 225/75/15. It should tell you that on the sticker that is on the drivers side door jam.

The suspension on your truck could probably stand to be replaced, these trucks are known for this as they age.

As for your missing console piece, I would say that your best bet is to check a junk yard. I doubt there's anywhere that you could just order that part new, I'd just take a used one off of a wrecked Tacoma.

Good luck with your truck! Once you fix some of the small stuff, it sounds like it should be a great truck!

Although, why would the engine have needed to be rebuilt if its only got 140k on it?

 

That's good info, i'll have to pull the tires off and see if someone put spacers on there for some silly reason. (i hope so) otherwise i'm going to have to find someone to trade wheels on craigslist. I don't want to spend money on flares for no reason.

Yeah i ran the figures and it's a 9.5% error i just didn't know if someone knew of an easy fix (like a speedo cable gear or reprogramming the ECU)

Hmmm, we talking shocks and springs? or just shocks?

I was hoping to find a used one on ebay or something like that. I've never been to a junkyard, do you call first to see if they have that model truck before driving out to them?

Yeah I wondered about that too...

 

Regarding the suspension, somebody else will probably know more than I do as far as if you should replace shocks and springs, or just shocks. I'm not sure.

As far as the junkyard, yes you can just call them up and ask if they have any Tacoma's 95-97, and they might even tell you over the phone what individual parts they have for that certain vehicle. The 2-wheel drive Tacoma's should have an identical interior as well, so that will give you more options. I'm not sure if 98-04 Tacoma's have the same dash/console pieces, I know some of that stuff changed over the years but not sure how much.

Some junkyards will even post their inventory online if they have a website. You could get that missing piece you need for just a few bucks I'm guessing.

 

Late post... I have a lot of experience with a '95 SR5 AC. It drives like a boat. It hits bumps hard and sways in the turns. I would replace the shocks but it isn't a DD and when I do drive, i drive slow.

The most irritating part about the truck is how loud the exhaust is inside the cabin.