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Polishing a turd: Fixing up my $1,500 1998 Tacoma

Discussion in '1st Gen. Tacomas (1995-2004)' started by dlister70, Jan 16, 2021.

  1. Jan 16, 2021 at 2:48 PM
    #1
    dlister70

    dlister70 [OP] Well-Known Member

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    I decided that I wanted to document what I've been doing to my Tacoma for my own records. I enjoy reading other people's ongoing work on their trucks, so I thought I'd add another thread that does that. I have no illusions that this is going to be a show truck when I get done. But this thing needed a lot of love when I got it, and I'm trying to fix things little by little until there's nothing that is bugging me about it.

    It looked like the previous owner had hit a deer or something based on the front end damage. I found a receipt for a new windshield in the glove box. And the radiator looks new too. The grill is currently being held on with zip ties and the headlights are pointing in odd directions.

    But the frame was awesome! This truck was originally in Hawaii according to Carfax, so I doubt that it saw much road salt in it's early life. It's been in Illinois for the last ten years or so, but the frame is really nice still.

    This is what it looked like when I bought it:

    122853546_3411237648962640_813700144564788975_n.jpg 122887278_3411237752295963_1611746433610514828_n.jpg 122891539_3411237382296000_7134902814996825973_n.jpg
    122900043_3411237295629342_5621956097622597780_n.jpg
    122991839_3411237462295992_5684904446206155596_n.jpg
     
    Last edited: Jan 16, 2021
  2. Jan 16, 2021 at 3:00 PM
    #2
    dlister70

    dlister70 [OP] Well-Known Member

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    On the test drive, I could feel the truck pulling right whenever I braked. The owner said that it was probably a caliper issue, and that seemed reasonable. One of the first things I did was get new calipers, pads, and rotors. $201.52 from Amazon. Got them installed, but the pulling didn't stop. I also had a bad shimmy on the highway driving home that was pretty rough. It turned out to be because the bolts holding the passenger side suspension together were barely screwed in. I took it to an alignment shop and they got the bolts fixed and gave me an alignment. $230 to the alignment shop. They also got a stuck bolt out for me that I broke off while installing new shocks.

    Here's the bolts that were barely in which were causing the shimmy problem and the pulling to the right when braking problem:

    bolts.jpg

    New front and rear KYB Excel-G shocks from Amazon $124.02:

    0030 IMG_0937.jpg

    0043 IMG_0957.jpg

    I'm already $555.54 into repairs at this point, bringing the total cost of the truck to $2055.54
     
    Last edited: Jan 17, 2021
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  3. Jan 16, 2021 at 3:12 PM
    #3
    dlister70

    dlister70 [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Next up, I wanted to tackle the oil leak that seemed to be coming from the valve cover gasket:

    valvecoverleak.jpg

    I ordered a valve cover gasket and spark plug grommets, as well as a new PCV valve and grommet from Amazon. $41 total.

    0066 IMG_1076.jpg

    I thought it looked pretty good for 233,000 miles. But the gasket definitely had cracks:

    0069 IMG_1079.jpg

    And the old rubber washers on the valve cover bolts were in pretty rough shape:

    0076 IMG_1086.jpg

    I took the valve cover down to the car wash and pressure washed it while I had it off. Once I got everything back together, my leak seemed to be gone and there was a little less oil all over the engine bay:

    0078 IMG_1143.jpg

    Pretty cheap fix overall, but took a bit of time. The spark plug grommets were a pain to remove. They were pretty brittle and kept breaking whenever I'd pull on them with pliers, so I don't think I got any of them out in once piece.
     
  4. Jan 16, 2021 at 3:25 PM
    #4
    dlister70

    dlister70 [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Next up, I replaced the spark plugs, wires, and coils. I got the wires and coils from Amazon. Everything that I was finding at local part stores was more expensive, and I wasn't in a hurry, so I was fine waiting a couple days for the parts. I did get the spark plugs from Advance Auto locally. I wanted to get Denso for the coil packs too, but it was like $79 apiece for those and the two pack of ENA was only $39, so I cheaped out there. I guess if they don't last me, I'll go OEM next time, but they seem to be working so far.

    NGK V-Power plugs: $14
    Denso wires: $38
    ENA Coil packs (set of 2): $39

    This was all pretty straight forward, and I didn't take many pics. I did take a couple of the spark plugs, because they seemed a little oily.

    0085 IMG_1150.jpg

    0092 IMG_1157.jpg
     
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  5. Jan 16, 2021 at 3:27 PM
    #5
    StevenP

    StevenP Well-Known Member

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    Right on man, I wish I could find one of these for 1500! Subbed to see where you take it :thumbsup:
     
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  6. Jan 16, 2021 at 3:41 PM
    #6
    dlister70

    dlister70 [OP] Well-Known Member

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    A previous owner had cut out the foam in the bench seat, I'm assuming to fit a sub woofer or something behind the seat? But they also cut some of the metal support back there, and as such, my right side kept "falling" into the fabric when I was driving. It was very uncomfortable. I made a trip to the junkyard and found a seat with matching fabric. It had the cutout for the shifter on the floor instead of on the column like mine, but I didn't mind that. At least it had good back support!

    0009 IMG_0857.jpg

    0049 IMG_0965.jpg
    0050 IMG_0966.jpg

    While I had the seat out, I washed the carpet a little. It had several spills on it from over the years. I just used a scrub brush and some dawn detergent in a bucket. Not a great job, but I didn't spend a whole lot of time on it either. It wasn't entirely dry yet in the "after" picture so it looks like I added new stains, but it was just wet!

    0053 IMG_0969.jpg
    0055 IMG_0971.jpg
     
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  7. Jan 16, 2021 at 3:52 PM
    #7
    dlister70

    dlister70 [OP] Well-Known Member

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    I also grabbed some misc parts from the junkyard to replace several missing or broken pieces in the cab. The passenger window crank knob was a washer and a bolt, so I grabbed the closest one I could find. It wasn't quite the right color of desert sand or whatever the interior is called, but it was close enough.

    0046 IMG_0962.jpg

    The belt buckles were in rough shape too, so I replaced all of those.

    0048 IMG_0964.jpg

    Both of the middle vent directional covers were missing, so I grabbed a couple of those. They ended up being free as there was no price listed in the junkyards computer for those! I also grabbed the missing climate control knob that you can see in this picture off of an old Toyota pickup as none of the Tacomas had theirs still left. I found the pickup with barely any parts left in it, but just one of those knobs was left so I grabbed it and it was the same one as in the Tacos.

    0047 IMG_0963.jpg

    Overall, I only spent $25 for the bench seat, the knobs, the window crank, and the vent covers. Oh I also grabbed a replacement cover for this:

    0103 IMG_1182.jpg
     
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  8. Jan 16, 2021 at 4:01 PM
    #8
    dlister70

    dlister70 [OP] Well-Known Member

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    One thing that I was lacking was some tunes. The previous owner had straight up cut the wires behind the deck unit, so the stereo was just a visual piece and not a functional one. It turned out, that there were no speakers in the doors either. I hadn't thought to test out the stereo on the test drive, so I guess that's my fault.. but seriously, who takes the speakers out of the damn truck when they sell it? I guess people who sell $1500 Tacos.. :)

    I got a bluetooth Sony stereo and some JBL speakers from Best Buy on their black friday week sale. Total cost was $226.26 installed. It's not going to turn any heads with the sound, but I thought that it came out sounding really good for just two speakers.

    I bought a little USB stick to put songs on as it plays from USB or Bluetooth but doesn't have a CD player. I ended up mostly just playing music from my phone over bluetooth, but the little USB stick has all the songs from my old 80 gig iPod on it, and it's no bigger than my thumbnail. Crazy how small and cheap storage has gotten.

    https://www.bestbuy.com/site/sony-i...ite-radio-ready-black/6196729.p?skuId=6196729

    https://www.bestbuy.com/site/jbl-gx...lene-cones-pair-black/6283672.p?skuId=6283672

    0202 IMG_1986.jpg

    At this point, I was up to $2,601 total cost.
     
    Last edited: Jan 17, 2021
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  9. Jan 16, 2021 at 4:07 PM
    #9
    dlister70

    dlister70 [OP] Well-Known Member

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    The windshield wiper fluid wouldn't work, so when I was at the junkyard I got a replacement switch out of a higher trim Tacoma. Mine didn't have the intermittent wipers, so I got a switch that did. Talk about a luxury upgrade! :)

    The switch didn't fix the problem, so I bought a new pump and got it installed. Now I could hear the pump coming on, but still no fluid coming out! Finally I checked the nozzles and they were clogged with the spray paint that the dude had painted the hood with. I few jabs with a safety pin, and I had working windshield wiper fluid again. I changed the wipers too because they were old and brittle.

    0216 IMG_2001.jpg

    Total cost was $50 for this day. $25 for the pump, $15 for the blades (buy one, get one for $1 sale!) and $10 for the wiper switch from the junkyard.
     
    Last edited: Jan 17, 2021
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  10. Jan 16, 2021 at 4:08 PM
    #10
    Tacotsubo

    Tacotsubo Mediocre at best

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    It's a turd alright. But hey man congrats on the find. Looks like a fun project. :thumbsup:
     
  11. Jan 16, 2021 at 4:10 PM
    #11
    Kevins60

    Kevins60 axle wrap tells me my rear brakes are working

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    Bringing a 1st gen back from the edge of the abyss. There can be no nobler endeavor. Keep us posted.
     
  12. Jan 16, 2021 at 4:12 PM
    #12
    dlister70

    dlister70 [OP] Well-Known Member

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    The radiator fan had one blade broken off, and another severely cracked and about to come off. I assume this happened with the deer hit (or whatever they hit). I grabbed a fan blade at the junkyard for $5, but I couldn't for the life of me get it installed. I didn't have enough clearance to get the fan blade off because the radiator was in the way. I borrowed one of those clutch removal kits for the fan clutch thinking that maybe I could take the clutch off, swap the fans, and put it back on that way, as it didn't look like I had to pull the clutch off as far as I had to pull the fan off.

    I struggled with the clutch for awhile, but I couldn't get it off. I was frustrated that what I thought would be a cheap and easy fix was taking half of my day off, so I took it to a mechanic and had him install the fan. It ended up being pricier than I thought it would be. $185 to install the blade and he also tightened up some stuff that was making the belt pulleys squeak.

    I was kind of annoyed that my $5 fix had turned into a $190 fix. I guess I should have just taken the radiator off.
     
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  13. Jan 16, 2021 at 4:18 PM
    #13
    Steves104x4

    Steves104x4 Well-Known Member

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    BUCKLE UP! It makes it harder for Aliens to pull you out of your Truck.
    Good job!
     
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  14. Jan 16, 2021 at 4:19 PM
    #14
    dlister70

    dlister70 [OP] Well-Known Member

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    My seat belt kept getting slammed in the door. It wasn't retracting without a lot of coaxing. I pulled some belts from my go-to taco at the junkyard, but they were different than mine. I bit the bullet and bought a new driver side belt from a dealer. $161.69 shipped. Whoa nellie, this was my favorite upgrade by far. No more struggling to put the seat belt on EVERY SINGLE TIME I DROVE IT. And no more slamming it in the door. It was expensive for a beater truck, but worth every penny.

    0146 IMG_1529.jpg
    0147 IMG_1530.jpg
     
  15. Jan 16, 2021 at 4:26 PM
    #15
    dlister70

    dlister70 [OP] Well-Known Member

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    I took it to a muffler shop and had them re-weld a spot that had a dime sized hole in it from a previous poorly done weld. That made the ride much quieter, and only cost $30. I also got a new brake pedal cover because mine was bare metal, that was $5.90 from Amazon. And I got some genuine toyota oil filters from the dealership and changed the oil. I didn't keep the receipt for the oil filters, but I'm thinking they were around $10-$12 each.

    I think that about does it on things that I've bought for the truck so far. Total investment is sitting around $3028 on parts and labor according to my spreadsheet, but I may have forgot to put something in. I figure that I can hopefully sell it for $3,000 if I had to, and I certainly don't think that I could find another truck for $3,000 with the new parts that I've put on, let alone a Toyota, so I feel ok with spending $1500 more upgrading a $1500 truck.
     
    Last edited: Jan 17, 2021
  16. Jan 16, 2021 at 4:38 PM
    #16
    dlister70

    dlister70 [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Oh, I forgot this. Early on when I first bought the truck, I noticed that the license plate lights weren't working. I bought replacement bulbs, and when I got down to replace them, I found this:

    0020 IMG_0927.jpg

    0026 IMG_0933.jpg


    0024 IMG_0931.jpg

    That's right, they had taped an LED flashlight (with packing tape!) into place instead of the license plate light.

    I clicked on the flashlight, and it worked! I thought that surely meant that the wiring on the actual lights must be messed up, but I replaced the bulbs and they worked just fine. I really want to know the back story on this one. Like, both bulbs are out but for some reason you NEED to get it working and you can't spend the $3 on new bulbs, or don't have access to them, so you rig it up with the flashlight in your glove box and then never get back to fixing it? Really weird. To get the flashlight mounted, they had to ruin the cover that goes over the light, so I swapped those off of my old rusted out Toyota pickup before I sold it. The pickup never had license plate lights, not sure if by design or a previous owner had cut them out, but they weren't there, so the covers were pristine.
     
  17. Jan 16, 2021 at 4:44 PM
    #17
    StevenP

    StevenP Well-Known Member

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    Flashlight mod!!! :rofl: So good lol
     
  18. Jan 16, 2021 at 4:57 PM
    #18
    dlister70

    dlister70 [OP] Well-Known Member

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    My next project is to tackle the paint. It was very poorly applied, and it seems they lost interest with the green stripe, as it's only the driver side but the passenger side was just black! Also some paint comes off every time I go to the car wash!

    I started out with denatured alcohol and rags because it was supposed to be more gentle than lacquer thinner, but it wasn't really taking it off. I figured if the lacquer thinner damaged the original paint underneath, then I could always just raptor liner the whole thing, so then I tried lacquer thinner on rags. That worked ok, but over time I've found that the best results are from a plastic putty knife and spraying the lacquer thinner in a squirt bottle. I spray the spot and scrape at it with the putty knife while spraying more as needed, then wipe off the residue with a rag and repeat. Little by little, I've gotten the hood and the passenger side cleaned off, and about half of the driver side. Under all the spray paint (and rolled on house paint in some spots!), there is a nice Toyota Evergreen (color code 751). It's got some knicks and scratches, but so far I haven't uncovered anything that would make me want to cover it with the bad paint job that was over the top of it! The hood is the worst, with some big chips out of the paint. If I could find the same color hood at the junkyard, I'd go ahead and replace it, but for now, I'm fine with the chunks out of the paint. I also grabbed some Toyota emblems at the junkyard for whenever I get the paint to where I like it and can get them installed.

    hoodpaint.jpg

    0125 IMG_1462.jpg

    0126 IMG_1463.jpg

    0154 IMG_1537.jpg


    hoodpaint2.jpg

    0174 IMG_1609.jpg
     
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  19. Jan 16, 2021 at 4:58 PM
    #19
    dlister70

    dlister70 [OP] Well-Known Member

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    I believe it was. Sadly, I ruined the flashlight during the de-installation process. It also turned out to be glued in there in addition to the tape.
     
    Last edited: Jan 17, 2021
  20. Jan 16, 2021 at 5:10 PM
    #20
    dlister70

    dlister70 [OP] Well-Known Member

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    I haven't finished on the driver side yet. The green stripe is off the door, and most of the bed now. All 4 of the wheels were spray painted black when I got it. 3 of them came right off at the car wash, but for some reason the 4th one still hasn't come off yet. They must have used a different paint on that one, or actually prepped it!


    0177 IMG_1612.jpg

    0178 IMG_1819.jpg

    driverside.jpg
     
    Last edited: Jan 16, 2021
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