First Tacoma for long-time Toyota fan

After a long, long hunt, I finally found a decent Taco. They're hard to come by in the PNW in decent shape ... everyone seems to want one and I don't blame them, but it means that high-mileage Tacos are still super pricey. Still, I managed to find EXACTLY what I was looking for:


It's a '98 base-trim V6 manual with a really nice Leer cap. 179k miles, well taken care of by the previous owner who was a firefighter. It has the split bench seat up front, so we'll see if that proves comfortable enough to keep. Needs a little deferred maintenance; it's due for a timing belt, has what looks like a small rear main seal leak, and needs front brakes. So a couple of weekends turning wrenches on it, which should be fun and not too pricey.

This is primarily going to be a camping/exploration rig, not a daily driver, so in the future I'm hoping to do a mild build on it. The previous owner put brand new OEM style shocks and Falken High Country A/Ts (which seem like ok, but not great, tires) on it, so I'll probably leave 'em on for a couple seasons since they ain't broke. I'd like to add a rear locker, either an e-locker retrofit or an ARB air locker. Perhaps a stouter skid plate and some sliders. Eventually I'd love a bumper/winch combo, some KO2s on steelies in a slightly taller size, and maybe OME suspension for a very mild lift.

Until then I'll just be base-lining the rig, getting it current on maintenance and seeing what it's capable of stock.

 

Welcome aboard and congrats on your find, you will find a ton of useful info on here as well as many ideas on mods for your truck.

 

Welcome to TW!

 

you might not have a rear main seal leak cause the oil filters on the 3.4l v6 engines blow oil all along the driver side engine block when you remove for oil change I would suspect the oil is probably left over spillage, when I did my own oil change on mine 3.4 I would stuff all kinds of rags under the filter before cracking it to sop up the overflow, but usually had to take it to the spray wash to clean it up cause I still got oil on my engine. the rear seals on those engines never go, its usually oil spillage from changing the oil

 

That's probably worth checking out before I drop the trans out! What are the chances it has something to do with the oil cooler? I have the tuna can style one, right? I know that some other cars with this general type of water-oil coolers have issues sealing to the block and to the filter. I think I'll take the truck to a wash bay and clean it up, then see where the leak appears from (if at all).

But yeah, this is a great point and good advice. I'll let you know what I found out. You might have just saved me a lot of work!

 

I don't know about the oil coolers, but my experience with 3.4l v6 engines is the rear main seal never fails under normal use, but I have had personal experience doing DIY oil changes and having the oil from removing the filter giving me a false impression of an oil leak, even after power washing the engine you may get drips of oil that hide themselves in the creavices . my 1st guess wouldn't be a main seal, takes some investigation with a flash light. I have had more of an issue with leaky valve cover gaskets on the 3.4l than anything else. take a look under the oil filter with a flash light to see if theres any oily wetness under that area then crawl under to follow the oil trail if any see where it goes

 

Welcome to TW...

 

That is in great shape! A truck that old up here in New England will have a tone of body rust and frame rot.... why can't we just use dirt instead of salt and worse salt brines....

 

I am from the Seattle area originally, so I'm not used to rust except stuff that was parked near the ocean. Then I lived in MI for three years ... it was like some alternate zombie world with half-eaten carcasses roaming the streets. Horrifying! Glad to be back where old trucks don't die early from rot. Come get a West Coast truck and limp it along with frequent undercarriage washes.

That being said, Michigan without salt on the roads ... no one would have ever gotten anywhere. It was totally essential to keep the roads open. Dual-edged sword. OTOH, in Seattle it snows an inch or two every few years. When that happens, city shuts down completely. It's hilarious.

 

I can't wait to head out to WA next year for a wedding! I want to drive but the Mrs shut that down in a hurry... still will see some awesome scenery! Buddy is in the navy and lives on Widbey island

 

Seattle has weird weather, I was there once for 2 weeks everyday I woke it would be dark overcast rainy, then at 12 noon the sun pops out and its nice, like clockwork

 

Seems you were right. I powerwashed the underside and it doesn't seem to be coming back. I'll keep an eye on it, but I think some oil did travel all the way back to the lowest point on the bellhousing. That's good news! The clutch is definitely running out of meat, so I will have to get in there at some point, but that's one less issue to worry about.

I have discovered that I seem to have the dreaded slip joint rattle in the steering column. It seems the accepted fix is a tack weld that might affect how the steering column collapses in a crash. I've been looking around for some other fix that doesn't involve welding this joint. Anyone know if there's an alternative?

 

the rattle or looseness is the way they come from the factory its not something that developes over time or wear, the rattle you hear may also be the dash which is very common in GEN1, I would bet its the dash rattling not the steering column. the looseness in the steering column is usually associated with the steering rack bushings, which can be replaced with polyurethane ones which is a hard job to do on your own, I took my truck to a shop to have mine put on it helped slightly with the loose feeling in the wheel, one item you can replace yourself easily and inexpensively is the sway bar bushings, with polyurethane ones this helped my truck feel tighter up front when driving and cornering,very easy to do just unbolt and replace them don't even have to jack up the front at all.

 

I'm not hearing it so much as feeling it. About 1.5 inches of steering wheel play, rattling and wandering over bumps, clanking over big bumps. Sounds like the slip joint issue, not a bushing issue, based on what I've read in this thread which describes my problem to a T. I grabbed my steering column and moved the wheel, and sure enough there's play and a clunk. My dad's '98 Tacoma doesn't do this, but mine clearly does, so it's not normal.

So, is there an alternate fix for the slip joint that doesn't involve welding? If not, I'll get it welded.

 

I had a 2004 Tacoma trd 260k miles when I got rid of it im familiar with what the dude in that article is talking about, but I never considered it an annoyance to drive me to the extent of ripping apart the dash and welding the collapsable part of the driveshaft. nor could I imagine that after doing this that the truck all of a sudden becomes a more crisper steering vehicle by doing so, lots of dudes on these sites are really over the top and anal about things that are normal in the truck, and justify doing crazy shit like the dude in the article by saying its all of a sudden a road handling Porsche after doing MY fix. The clanking over speed bumps is probably the suspension parts probably worn sway bar bushings or shock absorbers need replacing. Look at the front rubber sway bar bushings that are bolted to the frame with u clamps grab one and tug it mine were worn out and the bar would clunk metal to metal on the frame going clunk when the suspension flexed up and down. I never considered on my truck 04 that I had a steering shaft problem, the dude said he had 39k miles on his 04 and that this is some kind of major issue on lots of GEN1 trucks is really not true, dude was over anal with a lot of time on his hands to do the tack job, I would look for worn replacable suspension parts with the mileage on your truck before embarking on ripping apart the steering column.

 

so dope! Good catch my friend

 

Welcome to the TW,nice find,congrats.

 

So, it turns out you were exactly right. I didn't end up trying anything with the steering column, but after putting on new front shocks I took it to an alignment shop. The rack was moving around so much in the bushings, which had been destroyed by oil leaks and so forth, that they couldn't align it. There's also a very small leak on one side inside the steering bellows, which I was just going to live with, but now I think it's worth replacing. It's totally play in the steering rack bushings that's causing the steering issues.

In one respect it's a relief, since now I know what's going on. OTOH it's another expense and some more time in the garage to swap out the rack, so there's that.

I'll definitely upgrade to the poly bushings. I don't want to have to do this again in a few years. I'll do the sways and so forth while I'm in there, the end link bushings look like black sponges. Thankfully my ball joints and control arm bushings look ok, so I can wait on that.

 

if you are leaking out ATF fluid you could try to replace the fluid with a Stop- leak type formula it may slow down the weeping of the ATF fluid,there are pros and cons using this stuff but if your backs against the wall where you don't have the funds to replace the rack it might be worth a try http://transmissionrepairguy.com/transmission-fluid-leak/ http://www.valvoline.com/our-products/automatic-transmission-products/maxlife-transmission-stop-leak most tacomas use a Dexron II or III for power steering fluid