First Time Tacoma Owner Not Having Good Experience

Hello everyone,
I've been reading lots of posts on this site lately since I've bought my 96 tacoma 4x4 2.7L 4 cyl. I've always wanted a Tacoma but ever since I bought it I've had problem after problem. Hoping to meet people in Colorado, preferably Boulder to maybe take a look at it or recommend shops in the area that are reliable/fairly priced. So far I've had to replace U-joints, it died on way to work today, mechanic said Crankshaft position sensor is bad (expensive), and there are some rattling noises etc. I've always believed Tacomas are rugged so I don't want to give up on mine now.

 

Welcome. Tacos are extremely rugged I would say but my opinions are going to be biased. How many miles on the taco and has it had proper maintenance ?

 

Were you expecting a 16 year old truck to have no issues?

 

Welcome from N.J.

 

It has 166,000 miles. I was expecting it to hopefully last till 250k or so. I know it will need TLC. I'm just a little bummed that as soon as I bought it it's starting to crap out on me.

 

Did you get it inspected before you bought it?

 

Welcome. U-joints are a wearable item. Sensors and what not will all eventually fail. It's just the nature of things, man.

 

what is going wrong? and if its just normal where and tear parts then thats to be expected. but if its something else then maybe we can help..also make sure you find a trusted shop or work on it yourself ( thats what i do) i never take anything to a shop normally they will cause something else to go wrong just so you have to come back in and get it repaired. i dont let a shop even change my oil i know they can do it for 15 bucks and i pay about 30 to do it myself but at least i know what oil is going in it and i know i wont have any problems out of anything else like a unplugged sensor or them telling me a need something else..i hate most shops.

 

Welcome to TW, Logan. Congrats on your new truck, sorry it's giving you trouble but don't give up. It's going to go through things, that's what wear and tear is all about. But keep in mind that once you fix something, it's FIXED.

Try not to get frustrated, I know it sucks because you wanted to start enjoying it but after it's done, you will reap the rewards.

 

My truck is a 95 and the major problems it has was starter went (I rebuilt it for 25bucks) and bought new headers since old was were cracked.
If your truck was abused/neglected its going to give you problems .

 

Logan, thought you might want to read this...
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/technical-chat/236194-camshaft-position-sensor.html

 

I was thinking distributor too but after the CPS was pulled out it was covered in metal and had a pretty decent size chip on the tip, like 1/4 the tip broken off. Something is wrong, it's running for now but I'm gonna keep tinkering with it in hopes that I fix something. Thanks for all your guys advice.

 

Welcome to TW logan frm me in AZ....
how many owners has the truck had??
.....hope you get it fix....good luck...