Daily Driver Concerns

GilbertOz · Jan 28, 2023

tacomavan said: ↑

minimal impact i bet, most people arent enthusiasts who browse the forums and do their own routine maintenance. Most people just drive their toyota as a DD then take it to Valvoline instant oil change lol
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Yeah good point. I got a used 1999 2WD 2.4L taco with 142K miles on it in 2014 and DD'ed it for fully 7 years, never even learning to change the oil myself. Just took it to shops to do what little maintenance was needed. (Aside from oil changes, it needed a new starter, once. That's all.) It's now at ~180K miles.

It wasn't till I bought a 2014 AC V6 4.0 6MT about a year ago that I became interested in maintenance & went down the rabbit hole. In order to make DIY maint. smooth & easy you need a considerable investment in tools. A good rolling shop jack + stands (ideally, 4 of them,) socket set, extensions, impact driver, large fluid catch pan, funnels, etc. Besides cost you have to have space to store all that stuff, & a relatively flat, level space to conveniently work on vehicle, inside a garage in cold-weather climates, etc.

Probably some large fraction of the DIY-inclined Tacoma owners are already here on TW. Tacomaworld is the first google search result for "tacoma maintenance forum."

Naterx · Jan 28, 2023

GilbertOz said: ↑

260 working days @ 60 mi day = 15.6K a year, figure another 5K for personal use. Yes 20K a year is well above average, but if you aim at 350K life - 113K on it now = 237K remaining (at least, with decent maintenance) that's 12 years right there. And who knows, maybe you'll make 400 to 450K or more.

(Of course, this kind of optimistic projection assumes the truck has been taken care of half-decently up to this point, and not abused...)

Do all the fluids according to recommended service intervals or slightly more often -- especially oil & coolant -- don't drive it like a rental, & keep your fingers crossed.

Also be sure to check / change the PCV valve now & then. Recommended interval on a Taco V6 4.0L is every 30-50K miles. A $10-15 part on the engine itself (not a subsystem) that can cause major problems if it fails. Bad PCV = crank case overpressure can't be relieved = excessive pressure inside the crankcase --> seals can start leaking.

Here are two different videos about the what/why/how of PCV valves in general. Both narrators explain it clearly and in-depth. Video #1. Video #2.

Is yours the V6 or the 4-banger?
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V6

Naterx · Jan 28, 2023

IEsurfer said: ↑

I say enjoy it and drive it, not to sound cliche or morbid but the next 8 years of your life isn’t guaranteed (I mean hopefully you live long past that) worst case scenario if your engine takes a shit you can always rebuild or replace and if you drive the shit out of it, if and when that time comes you might be ready for a new rig anyway
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This is true man! Gonna enjoy my dream truck while I can.

Naterx · Jan 28, 2023

tacomavan said: ↑

^this

when you start talking 2nd vehicle so you're not DD'ing the taco, or really any "weekend fun vehicle", it pays to really sit down and do the realistic math on it. It takes a *lot* of resources to make a dedicated weekend fun vehicle out of a relatively new rig (<10 years). Even when you start talking 33's, suspension, armor, etc it typically makes better sense to just keep on DD'ing that rig vs. buying a 2nd and parking the taco.

also keep in mind we're talking about a depreciating asset that you may or may not be financing. Granted, probably the best vehicle to have in terms of depreciating asset but still...its not an e30 m3 or some other limited-production, high-demand vehicle.

so feel free to pour the miles on. Keep up regular maintenance and it will last you a long long time
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this bad boy is already paid off!

Naterx · Jan 28, 2023

GilbertOz said: ↑

Yeah good point. I got a used 1999 2WD 2.4L taco with 142K miles on it in 2014 and DD'ed it for fully 7 years, never even learning to change the oil myself. Just took it to shops to do what little maintenance was needed. (Aside from oil changes, it needed a new starter, once. That's all.) It's now at ~180K miles.

It wasn't till I bought a 2014 AC V6 4.0 6MT about a year ago that I became interested in maintenance & went down the rabbit hole. In order to make DIY maint. smooth & easy you need a considerable investment in tools. A good rolling shop jack + stands (ideally, 4 of them,) socket set, extensions, impact driver, large fluid catch pan, funnels, etc. Besides cost you have to have space to store all that stuff, & a relatively flat, level space to conveniently work on vehicle, inside a garage in cold-weather climates, etc.

Probably some large fraction of the DIY-inclined Tacoma owners are already here on TW. Tacomaworld is the first google search result for "tacoma maintenance forum."
Click to expand...

my brother in law lives next to me and is a mechanic at bmw. super glad he already owns or has access to anything ill ever need tool wise.

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