good or bad

so i got this truck in march. my first truck ever. i got a toyota i mean y not look at all the proof of them being good truck. well this thing has cost me close to 1000 bucks since then. i just got my muffler and tailpipe fixed. now the air bag warning light is on. local shop said the air bag module is bad. 800 and some odd dallors. the truck is a 1995.5 with 170 on it. did toyota make lemmons or is it that time that stuff starts going bad? will it end soon or hard to tell? sell it or keep it?

 

Most likely its going to be issues do to age and your truck being obd1 (?), I would take a look at the cost of keeping ot running v cost of trade pr sale toward newer truck. You might look at used parts for repairs on modules and electronics to save a few bucks.
I had a 97 nissan i limped along for years on minimal cost for repairs but i never had to stop fixing a few things. If you can fix it and like fixing it go for it. If not.... its your call.
Its it 4wd? Might find a buyer looking for a trail rig....

 

sounds like the previous owner didn't take care of the truck, but every manufacturer has lemons. Your's is probably not a lemon if it has made it this far.

Not sure why the muffler/tailpipe would need replacing. Was it cracked?

But anyway, any car with 170k on the clock is going to need some TLC in the way of full tune up (oil,trans, rear diff, p/s, plugs check brakes, change belts)

 

Stuff wears out. Stuff breaks. If you skip a proper pre purchase inspection, or can't do 80% of 'normal' work yourself, any high mileage vehicle is likely to cost you money to get in shape and keep rolling.

No one can answer your question (keep or sell) accurately, because you don't offer enough info to properly evaluate. No pictures, no other conditional information. Not even what you had to spend the 1st $1k on, much less how much you paid for it or anything else.

I spend that much on many used cars just for brakes, tires, all fluids, belts and hoses just to bring the vehicle up to my standards of dependability. For my stock class autox cars I can spend more than that just on a suspension refresh. But I know they need those things going in, and the purchase price reflects that.

If I pay a 'needs nothing' price (like I did on my Tacoma) I get a 'needs nothing' vehicle.

 

yes its 4wd. list of fixed. cats, exhaust manifold, 4wd solenoid

 

I have a hard time believing that the air bag module is bad. In almost every instance when that light comes on it is a bad connection to a sensor. there are many. In the seatbelt, under the seat, in the front of the engine compartment, to name a few.

Did the dealer actually hook up the TechStream program to your truck? Did he actually do a system check? If he did do a check, the TS program would have told him which sensor had tripped the SRS ECU.

The truck is 19 yrs old. Start simple and cheap. unplug and plug in all connectors that you can find and plug them back in. All the connectors for the air bag (SRS) are bright yellow, as will as their wires.

It is a best practice to do this with the battery disconnected. You don't need to have the ECU reset. The SRS ECU does a continuity check every time you start the truck. If one or more sensor is not communicating with the ECU, the light gets turned on. If all connections are good, then the test passes and the light remains off and the system is functional.

One other thing that is worth meantioning, there is a spiral cable in the steering column behind the air bag. These do wear out or can get broke if you turn the wheel to far one direction. this happens when someone forgets to lock the steering wheel when they get a power steering rack replaced. Not common, but can happen.

If the module is in fact bad, you can have the original rebuilt. you can send them to this company. $50 and they will have your original back in 3 days. I've used them many times.
http://www.google.com/aclk?sa=l&ai=...w.myairbags.com/airbag-light.php&ved=0CBMQ0Qw

Like I said, start cheap and simple. If you have the invoice for that repair, I'd be curious if they did a complete system scan. Some dealers treat the SRS as a liability. They would rather throw parts at it or quote you a huge price to make you go away. They know with that old of a vehicle, there is a good chance that you will be coming back with the same symptom. they are required to make the repairs free if it did not fix it the first time. Its easier to just try to get you to pass on having the repairs done in the first place.

 

Excellent advice!

Sounds like a seasoned voice of experience.

 

Damn this is a good post.

 

It's 20 years old, this is part of owning an older truck. Every make and model has it's lemons. Just try and ride it out, they are good trucks if you take care of em.

 

we going to try and ride it out. i just get pissed at car trouble fast

 

I got the problem were the SRS light blinks for 5 minuets then goes solid?? does that give me a hint to the problem?

 

Does your horn still work? It could always be a clock spring

 

Never run into that one. When you have any dash light that blinks, it wants you to give it immediate attention. SRS lights are either on or off generally. I'm sub'd to see if any other pro's can comment.

Are you confusing the ABS light with the SRS (air bag) light? The ABS light will blink if there is a problem with the anti-lock brake system.

Lastly, are you running any OBD scan tool that you leave plugged in? May be an issue with the pins on the plug.

 

No its the SRS light. I was on a long drive when i first noticed it. it blinked for about 15 miles then went solid. I already disconnected the battery and let it sit for about 15 min before reconnecting it, thinking it would reset something. Then the light would either blink for a few minuets before going solid or just blinked till i turned the truck off.
i wiggled some of the connections under the dash around till it got dark.(gonna do a better job tomorrow) the horn and cruse control still works so i don't think its the clock spring.
Im looking all over forums now tying to find troubling shooting tips.
I am not running a OBD tool (would that help?)


the blinking pattern is on for a second and off a second.

Im going to try to go through the attached file tomorrow and see if that helps

 

Using the attached sheets below and a piece of wire i connected the TC and CG terminals together and the SRS light blinked the code 62. Witch i found in the service manual to be a short somewhere in the passenger seatbelt pre tensioner.

I attached all the sheets that i used to find the code and what the code means.

I'm going to tare it apart latter to see if its a loose wire before buying a new seat belt assembly. ($250)

If anyone has tips I can always use them!

 

well, if its anything like my taco its gonna be a long ride.

 

Get a 2nd opinion on the air bag module. Could just be a bad connection.

There's always going to be maintenance cost. Give the old girl some love and she'll repay you, and hopefully be the good reliable tough truck it's proven to be.