What Have You Done To Your 2nd Gen Tacoma Today?

Ran (2) 2ga cables from engine compartment to rear driver's side bed cubby for my OBA/rear andersen setup. I loomed them in TechFlex ahead of time and it was a massive PITA. No pictures because I got all ornery.

 

How long of a wire did you use? I’ve been looking into permanently wiring my

$165 Smittybilt 2781 Smittybilt 5.65 CFM Air Compressor - 2781

Smittybilt 2781 back there. I’m also curious how/where you ran the wiring through to the back.

 

25 ft(I bought some HD jumper cables on Amazon.) I came in from passenger tailight harness and followed the main harness forward to the filler neck then ran along the top of the frame. I then came up under the brake booster then under the fuse box.

 

Holy smokes that’s more wire than I expected! I do appreciate the info tho!

 

Crawled underneath and found that my trans coolant lines are leaking. Again. Had one replaced last winter bc it rusted thru. So, do I drop a few thousand into trans lines, rear wheel bearing, tires, tie rod ends, ac leak, and a muffler? Or trade in time…hmmm

 

Alrighty TW,

I plan on going 35’s on my 2013 Tacoma. But that plan is when I need nee tires which would be in a year or two. I have a canopy with a rooftop tent on top as well as a slime build front bumper. I also have sliders. I eventually plan on getting a winch and a rear bumper (95lbs) eventually.

I plan on re-gearing within the next few weeks as my “2023” mod of the year for my truck. I am currently running Falken Wildpeaks 305/70/16.

Should I re-gear to 4.88s or 5.29s?

Respectfully.

**this is also my daily and I do not drive “slow” **

 

If it is paid off, the repairs will be cheaper than a new car or used car. You will have a car payment again.

 

It’s almost paid off. Will be this summer. Problem is I see the rear wheel bearing should run me $600-1200, tires $1,000, steering shaft $75+install, muffler $50-150+install, trans cooler line $400 (that’s what it cost last year when the same problem happened on a different line), AC service $500-1500 maybe? Also noticed she seems to be slipping when climbing a steep snow bank in high gear. Like a lot of gas, with a whining noise like it doesn’t wanna lock up torque converter. I figure if it needs a TC, that’s another $800-1500 in work. So $2000-6000 in work maybe? Ugh idk. End of the day it’s a 13 year old New England truck so nothings easy

 

Course the other issue is the prices right now. I bought this for $18k. It was 5 years old with 57k miles. A 5 year old 57k mile taco now is like $30-35k

 

Understand your problem. $6K is only 1/5th of $30K so pick your poison. At least you know the history of your current truck compared to a used truck. I have the same issue with my suspension. need to replace about everything. Plus add on the mods I want to complete when I have it apart. Good luck with your choice.

 

Thanks man. Honestly it’s the torque converter/trans/engine I’m most worried about. If one of those goes then there goes my resale value too. So it’s a risk to hold on yk? Maybe I should just take it in and see what service thinks is causing my vibes. I love my truck but dumping thousands into a 123k mile 13 year old base model stings a bit. $6k is a third of the purchase price lmao

 

Out with the old earl and in with the new earl.

 

Yeah that's a tough one. Vehicles are a black hole we pour money into. I like to keep my vehicles long term as long as they don't become a major money pit. I was casually looking for a second gen starting back in 2017-18 as our 2003 Nissan pathfinder was getting worn out. The used prices here pre-pandemic were steadily rising. I didn't want a new truck with payments. I dragged my feet then the pandemic came along. 2nd gen prices were getting even more ridiculous. In the fall of 2020 I made the decision to buy new as used were only 2-3K difference between new and they were offering 1.9% factory rates for 72 months. Made the decision a little easier. It can be a very hard decision sometimes whether or not to cut your losses and move on. Have you looked at what your truck is worth? Some folks have been shocked what dealers are paying for their old trucks. Although Interest rates are rising fast so that has been softening the market a bit.

 

Yeah KBB seems pretty far off tbh. Says my trade in, if it’s in “fair condition,” is like $6-7k and private sale 8-10k but I see older single cabs than mine, with more miles, listed at $14-15k range private sale and 16-20k from dealers all the time.

2012 Tacoma 4wd 123k miles=$6500 trade-in? Seems like a lowball

knowing the issues my truck has I think I’d be lucky to get 4 or 5k for it??

 

I assume, from your post, that you do not do any, or all, your own mechanical work. For those that do all their own work the costs of the listed repairs are substantially less. As a 13 year old New England truck body and frame rust will be a huge determining factor with the actual value of the truck. Clean regular cab Tacomas are getting to be a rare thing. There is a big market for these trucks. Unfortunately KBB and NADA treat regular and extended cabs like red headed step children. Don't let those values influence your decision. Also recognize that "asking" prices are not the same as "selling" prices. The rear wheel bearing and trans cooler line prices you list are ridiculously high. You can find brand new take-off tires on FB or CL for around $400. I would get a deep scan to see if any transmission codes come up. Sometimes a good transmission and TC fluid and filter change can fix issues. The best truck I ever owned was a 2000 reg cab Prerunner. I started having an issue with shifting. Codes came up as solenoids. Bought a new set for $100. When I dropped the pan I found a tiny broken solenoid wire. Fixed the wire and transmission was still shifting great at 225k miles the last time I saw it. I would check local TW to see if someone locally, that works on trucks, can help you fix some of these issues. You might save quite a bit of money. You would be surprised how many people are willing to help for a few bucks and a case of beverages. Don't sell yourself short.

 

Yeah Imo the truck is more rust-free than a lot of 2012s on the road here. I mean I’ve seen trucks as new as 2014-2015 with huge rust holes in the body. And yeah it seems like the reg cab is worth a lot more than kbb lists, due to the enthusiasts. Even if 15k is someone’s asking price, and they get 13k, that’s still quite a bit more than the $8k that KBB claims it’s worth. I mean that’s like a 38% difference between kbb and actual price.

I do my own stuff when I can. Spark plugs, rear leaf springs, rear shocks, head unit, brake calipers/pads/rotors, front wheel bearings, stuff like that. Done a power steering line and a vacuum hub eliminator my ford before and had the front end of my motorcycle all apart and put back together in my garage. So I’m not an expert but not as inept as you might think. I just don’t have the ability to rebuild a trans if it comes down to it. And I don’t have a press for the rear wheel bearing. And last year it was $400 to have the trans cooler line replaced by my dealer bc the trans is one of the few things I don’t mess with

 

I appreciate the input though. I guess the smart thing to do would be to see if any codes come up on a deep scan bc there’s no CEL at all right now. It’s just frustrating not knowing what’s causing what problems.

edit: also, the rear wheel bearing I was reading online is supposedly a massive pain and people on the forums were saying to expect $800-1200 minimum for rear wheel bearing. I’m just going off what I can find

 

I was by no means considering you to be inept. Replacing a transmission line is something non-intrusive that you can do yourself. I am fortunate that I was trained to be a mechanic when I was young although I switched careers early. Now, with the influx of youtube videos, most people can do repairs that were once mostly done at shops. If it was my truck I would pull the brakes, axles and seals and take the axles to a shop and just pay them to remove the old bearings and press on the new ones. I would do the rest of the work since I don't have a press. That would save hundreds in labor. I would hope you have a garage to work in. The worst part of that job, for you, would be dealing with the potential rusty assembly bolts to get the brakes/axle flange bolts out. You would need a ton of liquid wrench and a torch to get everything loose. Unfortunately your truck would be out of commission for a couple of days. Putting it back together and bleeding the brakes will be much easier than the disassembly process. This is something you should never need to do again or, at least, not for several years. I am frugal so anything I can do to save hundreds I will do myself. Being older and retired what I save in dollars I usually make up for in bloody knuckles and several days of pain recovery. It is always worth it.

 

I hear ya man. No offense taken. I do have a garage but I live with my parents at the moment (I’m 25 and apartments are $1500-2000 for a 1 bed or studio in my area so I’m trying to be frugal)

I’m most worried about the trans. Is it normal for it to rev way high when climbing a steep snow bank in 2 high and sound like tires spinning in first gear on an auto? I just had assumed the tc would try to lock up yk?

 

Not a transmission expert. Maybe someone with experience can chime in on that. Also search for "torque converter" or "transmission" on tw and maybe there are more helpful threads here. I haven't rebuilt or gone inside an automatic transmission in decades (except for fluid, filters or solenoids). I would think, for the money you anticipate spending, for a tc replacement, that you could find a low mileage complete used or rebuilt transmission (i.e. carpartplanet.com, etc).