why should i choose a taco or tundy?

Honestly I'm not well versed in the 4.6. All of our work trucks had 5.4s but 2 with the new 5.0s. I never had to do anything more than PMs on any of em but I know the 5.4s can have a host of problems and I got to drive one of the 5.4s for a couple weeks (a hundred miles a day if not more) and I was pretty unimpressed, as well as several of the other 5.4s for maybe 20 miles at a time here and there, same story. I also got to drive the 5.0s, hundreds of miles. Night and day difference in power and economy.

Between the driving experience and the well known problems of the 5.4, I'd steer clear.

Again, I really liked my dad's GMC, and I love my buddies tundy, and my taco. The dodge... gas... nah.

 

If reliability is your concern, I wouldn't recommend domestic full size pickups at all. Maybe diesel. But that's my opinion.

On the other hand, the Tundra doesn't seem to have the power to match the domestic full sizes. Supercharge? i don't know, I'm kind of babbling now

 

the 4.7 is a great engine, I'm not sure how it compares hp/torque with the 5.4 and 5.3 or 5.7/5.9 but super reliable solid engine

 

Come to Oregon we have tons of tacos

 

1st gen tundra. or 2nd gen taco.

dad has a 2000 tundra extended cab, 4x4. has over 200k on it and we still work it to hard. only problem is that stupid ticking, and the thing with the seat belts not retracting on there own very well.

we have towed 2 cars to NY, (about 655 miles) one of the times we had an atv in the bed and a bunch of other stuff for 3 people.

 

That's a Toyota thing. They never get the seatbelts just right

 

If I were in your shoes I would get the tundra. First of all you can find them in great shape for that price (you will not find a taco in that price in decent shape). Second the 4.7L is an extremely long lasting power train (it's what they used in the land cruiser for years).

 

Damn, tough choice boss. I'd probably go with this ^

My buddy has a 01 Tundy AC and really its footprint isnt much larger than my 13 Taco DCSB 4x4. But it is an AC..

 

if i do get the 5.4 i might "chip" it, the guys on f150 forum have had good success with getting a little more power without losing reliability.

i really need to test drive one, but i don't think the stealership will let me with just a permit.
i'd get a dodge before i got a GMC, but i will look at the chevys.

It's not my main concern, i just don't want to buy a truck that'll fall apart at 115k.
if i wanted a 3/4 ton truck i'd get a 99 f-250 with the 7.3, but it's to big to be my DD.

i like the way you think, its very tempting to go FI if i go the tundy route.

that's good to know
5.4L
HP 300 @ 5000 RPM
TQ 365 @ 3750 RPM
4.0L
HP 245 @ 5200 RPM
TQ 282 @ 3800 RPM
4.7L
HP 240 @ 4800 RPM
TQ 315 @ 3400 RPM
5.3L
HP 295 @ 5200 RPM
TQ 330 @ 4000 RPM

i'll have to look

x2 we had to replace one in my taco because it wasn't retracting.

they are cheaper then the taco, and they have more power which is nice.

the tundy (DC) is 6 inches longer then the f150, which is 2 inches longer then a 2nd gen DCLB.

 

Yeah that sounds about right. My buddies isnt a dc tho so the geometry looks about right there.

 

I can second everything flatblack said about the GM 4.3l. The engines themselves tend to be reliable but everything else about them will nickel and dime you to death...vacuum issues, dex-cool destroying everything cooling related, distributor on the back of the engine against the firewall, and above all abysmal power for the mpgs.

I wish I had looked more into a 1st gen tundra before getting my Taco to be honest. Similar size and V8 available.

 

thanks for the input mike.

so many options, i started looking into the chevys harder and they seem to be very reliable, so i'm gonna do more research on them.

 

i completely understand the shop i work at has a $15,000 computer scanner that is basically how to fix anything nowadays. and everything needs to be tested and reset and just a hassle

 

Dude, I'm telling you
I was a Chevy man all of my life... until I got a Chevy older than the early 90's
I don't even look at them any more

My Dad just bought a 99 Silverado 5.3 Vortec (like 2 weeks ago)
He called me up and told me it was spitting, sputtering, hesitating and carrying on
Having had the same issue with my 4.3 Vortec, I told him to unplug the EGR Valve and see what happens:
No more issues

The thing is; the dealer he bought it from completely cleaned the EGR Valve before he bought it
So, that means the passages are clogged
Only 50k on the freaking vehicle and it has clogged EGR passages (that, at least on my 4.3, requires disassembly of the engine)

I've already mentioned many of the other woes that go along with them...

I won't all out say don't buy a Chevy, cause I don't have experience with ones past the mid-90's that aren't Vortecs
But DO NOT BUY SOMETHING WITH A VORTEC!!

 

I've either owned or driven most of those. I love the 1st gen Tundra-right size and plenty of power, plus reliable. I think the 04-08 F-150 is the worst they ever made. Way too noisy and poor visibility, plus ugly IMO. I had an 04 Silverado Z71 with the 5.3 and had no issues, other than the TSB for the clunking intermediate steering shaft. It was a great truck-looked good and drove like a much smaller truck. I checked out a 2014 Silverado today and would take my 04 back over that ugly brick in a second. If the Taco can tow what you need at the right price, go for it. If not, look for a clean 1st gen Tundra. If you have to go domestic from that era, I'd take the Chevy based on looks and ease of driving, but the Ford might be more reliable if you can handle the ugliness and hard plastic interior.

 

my '08 has been bulletproof for 97,500 miles so far. almost traded it in for a tundra today, i just cant bring myself to get rid of the ol' girl.

 

Thanks guys, I decided to go with a 1st gen taco, 4door 4x4, and I'm going to go look at one with 108k miles tomorrow.

 

Not sure why you say anything with a vortec. The only vortech motors that suck to work on are the v6 with funky injection. The LS motors are reliable and stupid easy to work on.