A few 96 taco questions...

Yeah so I have some questions so im just gonna dump them all here for your reading pleasure. If you happen to know about them then thats great

Timing chain: I am 99% sure that the 3RZ-FE has a timing chain. Do those need to be replaced/when do they need to be?

How often should I change the
-coolant
-transmission oil
-dif oil?

This last ones a long one...
I have a Strange buzzing noise coming from near the battery. Could be the black box above it. It happens sometimes when I turn off the truck, and it sounds for about 1/2 a second, then goes away, and then comes back. The longer the truck is left to sit, the longer the interval becomes between the buzzing. The truck had it when I bought it and I dont much care about it, but it is a little annoying and I would like to know what it is...

I may have a few more when i think of them...but thanks if you have an answer

 

My 96 has a belt, gets changed around 95 K miles.
I Usually change the coolant, tranny and diff around 60 k.
Now that buzzing, ain't that a annoying piece of Toyota engineering. It has something to do with the vacumm system/emissions. I noticed it on mine when I bought it in 98, and still does it to this day, I took it back to the dealer and thats what they told me. So don't worry about it.
bill

 

If you have a 4 banger, which you have, then it's a chain and it doesn't need to be changed out. Coolant should be every 2 years or 30K miles. Tranny is every 30K miles, not sure about the rear diff though.

The buzzing is probably caused by the charcoal canister and it's normal, nothing to worry about.

 

Ehh.. timing chain 'should' be replaced.. probably around the 150k mark. But it isnt a necessasity. I would change the rear diff every 20k miles, there is alot of heat there.

 

thanks guys.. i'll get on that coolant and tranny stuff soon.

and im def not concerned about the noise..I just wanted to know what it was. And its a bit annoying when I go to work on the truck and it does it for the next 2 hours, you know?

 

Did you just buy the truck?? How many miles on it?

When I had my 96 3.4L tacoma... the manual stated 60K miles for the timing belt to be changed. I bought the truck at 60K miles so I had it changed as part of the sale (at 60K). I changed the water pump @ about 85K miles because it was leaking (took about a year to find out where I was loosing radiator fluid). It's recommended to change the water pump & timing belt at the same time.

Immediately after I bought the truck, I changed everything.

Obviously, I did the usual stuff (engine oil & filter, air filter..yadda yadda)
Flushed & filled radiator
Changed transmission (manual) oil, front & rear diff oils, transfer case oil.
Flushed & filled steering fluid
Changed fuel filter
edit: spark plugs also

After installing a lift - I got stainless brake lines and changed out the brake fluid.

As for the buzzing sound......Open up your gas cap. It's probably emissions related and opening the gas cap stops the buzzing.

 

Oh boy. I have the same vintage so I can tell ya everything.

First of all, the chain doesn't "need" to be changed unless you start hearing it make noise. Chains give you advanced warning before the go unlike belts which just snap. They also last a lot longer. I've got 220,000 miles on mine, original chain and so far so good. Usually unless you just absolutely rev the hell out of the engine, the chain should be good to go.

Secondly, I change radiator fluid about every 2 years as well, or about every 50,000 miles. The new coolants they have ( long life) last a lot longer and when I change it even after 2 years, it still looks clean. But its easy and cheap to do, so do it anyway.

The water pump is easy to replace. You have to remove the radiator to get at it, but again- its not at all difficult. I replaced mine at 150,000 miles. It was still in good shape.

I change the transmission grease every 50-60,000 miles. Mine is a manual transmission and I used Redline synthetic. If you have an automatic, do it every 40,000 or so.

I changed the Diff every 50-75k. Not a lot of parts in there so its fine to let er' go for long periods.

The buzzing sound could be lots of things. Mine makes lots of vibrating/buzzing sounds. On mine it comes from the hood latch, the exhaust manifold shield which has cracked with age, and other various places. The truck is old so I deal with it.

Spark plugs: Every 40k, wires every 60k

Otherwise, these trucks will go practically forever.

 

thanks bobwilson, thats quite a lot of help.
as for the buzzing, it definitely sounds electrical, not just metal vibrating. but again, i'm not too worried about it.
I should probly do the spark plugs, tranny fluid, dif fluid and coolant soon. thatll be an afternoon of projects.

I also now have a squeaking coming from the front. my friend says it is probably something stuck behind the rotor from offroading. any suggestions?
i was planning to pull the wheels off and blow it all out with a compressor.

 

I have a 96 4cyl manual transmission 213K miles...sounds like you have tons of experience so hoping you can help me out... I get a wierd noise (not rattling but sort of, not grinding) when I m in 3rd gear around 30mph and 4th around 40mph...not apparent before I hit those speeds or after...any ideas? I was thinking about changing the tranny oil...last summer I changed out the shift lever boots as the old ones were dust...mayb some of the "crumbs" got into the oil?? Or, could it be a timing chain noise? My daughter had the truck for college before I recently got it back from her so.....could have been rev crazy, don't know. Been doing work on it as things go on it...will definately keep it on a maintenance program now that it's back "home". What kind of noise would the chain make if going bad if not the one I tried to describe? Oh ya, not sure but driving it work this am thought it might have slipped a bit in 5th gear...have to pay closer attention to it to see if it keeps happenin. I had the plugs, wires, cap and rotor done about a week ago (sorry just didn't have time to do it! And thought it would need to be "timed"...) Thanks for any insights you can provide!

 

hello, that buzz buzz, sound worried me until I read this

 

My 95 3rz makes that noise from time to time,let's me know its still alive.

 

Thanks for the replies..i dont have the buzzing noise..its kind of a muffly sort of rattley sound at those speeds in those gears..wierd, it happens in 5th gear at 50 miles an hour too! There r times i dont hear it but it is often. If a run in 4th gear at 50 mph it doesnt make the noise, just 5th. Same with 3rd gear..if i go 40.. no noise, only in 4th..and its right at those marks..not b4 or after. Think ill do the tranny oil first..saw the diy, needs it anyway. Will c what comes out. About the timing chain...how can i "check it" and tell if its needing a chain? Is there a specific noise it makes? Lastly, if i do need to check out the tranny gears..how hard if a job is it being a manual tranny? I can do most anything with good directions. Sorry for the load of questions!