Just bought 1996 tacoma 4x4 LX for my lady.

My lady has been wanting a toyota 4 wheel drive since she first saw one. She is now the proud owner of a 96 with 265000 on it. It has the v6 with an automatic.
We know it is going to need the timing belt changed, last changed about 140 thousand miles ago, but what else should I be concerned with and looking at?
The ball joints and steering joints all seem tight and it tracks straight down the road with little correction needed.
The AC does not seem to work and when the button is pushed it does not light up.
Other than that it seems to run strong and mostly be in good shape.
Looking forward to getting feedback and starting some modifications to enhance the rig.
Wishing you all a GREAT day.
J & K

 

Welcome to TW

 

Welcome aboard

 

Welcome to TW!!

 

i got nothing other check out the 1st GEN section and the search Bar in the upper left...good luck man and post some pics of the rig when you can

 

Welcome bud!
I have a 96 2.4 2x4
Header can crack,
Check distributor for any oil leak,
The ECU went out on me and I had that problem with the AC

It can be the Compressor Fuse or the compressor itself in regards to your a/c

 

Welcome to TacomaWorld!

 

Not a Tacoma but my first car was a cheap old Volvo with AC that didn't work when I bought it.

We jumped the AC relay to kick on the compressor to see if it was working when we started diagnosing the problem and it turned out the only issue was with the dash switch. Jumping the compressor can be a good quick way to assess what is/isn't working with your AC before digging deeper. In my case when we jumped it everything worked perfectly so we just replaced the faulty switch and were good to go.

 

Here are some pics of the new ride.
As you can see by the last image the first load we hauled in the bed was a 12 pack of Widmer Hefeweizen. A great NW brew.

We are taking her to our mechanic and he is going over it completely so we know what we got ourselves into. I will keep you all updated.

 

Welcome to TW!!

Glad more girls are into 4x4's & wheeling

 

Man no offense but your lady looks like a dog.

But seriously congrats on the new ride.

 

She was a little tired that day...

 

Welcome to The Forum!

 

nice little ride man, enjoy!! and that Hef in the bed is also very good!!

 

Welcome to TW!

 

Nice truck! Welcome from another newbie.

 

Just got back from the mechanic who gave her a full inspections. Other than the known need to replace the timing belt the only thing was valve cover gaskets. I haven't had a chance to look but there is no oil on the ground and I don't see any smoke or smell anything so I don't think it's to bad.
Everything else checked out ok. He said it was in terrific shape for the mileage and had been very well taken care of. The A/C problem was just a fuse as I had hoped so she blows cold as well as hot now.

 

Good!!

 

how much is the valve cover gaskets to replace?

 

If I have someone else do it somewhere between 400 and 500. Much less if I do it myself. I'm going to see how bad it looks before I decide.
I also know it is due for a timing belt, water pump, etc. I knew that when purchasing it. That I already figured into the purchase price so it was budgeted for.