New to the tacoma world

About to pull the trigger on a 2007 crew cab 2wd prerunner with the 4.0.
Truck has 156000 miles and looks clean. What should I watch out for? 1 owner and he claims to have had all regular maintenance done. What are the main issues I should focus on. I am a auto estimator by trade so I know what to look for with body lines/repairs but unsure about any known mechanical problems. It is for my 16yr old so I want something reliable.
Going to look at it tomorrow. Thanks yall!

 

Welcome to TW…you sure he wouldn’t like a 22 or 23 better

 

Haha! My first car was a 76 for Granada that my parents bought new and I got after my sister wrecked it in 1987. He is lucky I don't have it still.

 

Look for frame rust. If left unchecked from the previous owner you are going to regret your purchase rather quickly.

 

Luckily I am down south so usually that is not an issue, gonna visually check the frame and run a carfax before I pull the trigger to see where it was registered before, incase it was up north.

 

This, inspect the underside of the truck and frame carefully even in areas where rust normally isn't a problem rusted out vehicles sometimes still end up there.

Not many known major mechanical problems with the 4.0 drivetrain providing maintenance is kept up with.
Timing covers are known to leak behind the power steering pump so you may want to check that as it's quite a job to reseal.
If it's advertised as a TRD Offroad make sure it actually is as many people put stickers on non TRD trucks and unsuspecting buyers buy it and learn later that they don't actually have a TRD truck.

 

If the Tacoma passes a thorough inspect for rust, and if everything else checks out and you buy it.
I wouldn't trust anyone about the "full maintenance". Start fresh and change all the fluids. Serpentine belt, spart plugs.

 

Both of those ++1

Check for rust carefully. Poke your head under the hood with a flashlight. Make sure the truck is what its advertised at (get familiar with the different packages and how to tell what from what) If all looks good, when purchased, go through the truck front to back and do all the maintenance (all fluids including coolant, power steering, brake, serpentine belt, air filter, spark plugs, transmission, rear axle etc etc) to have a good starting point and many many easy on the mind reliable miles.

07's are a great year. No 05-06 issues, pretty bare bones when it comes to extra electronics (like stability control / traction control / side airbags - i believe there were options for all of those in this year but very rare).

for a new driver an 07 6 lug prerunner is gonna be one hell of a nice truck IMO.

 

Just bought the same vehicle for my 16 year old.

I noticed the output shaft seal needs to be replaced.




208k miles on it.

I believe 160k were hwy miles.
EDIT: 1st 60k were hwy miles.

 

What year model. It’s not uncommon for 2009 and earlier models. They changed the seal design to correct this issue.

https://www.tsbsearch.com/Toyota/T-SB-0173-09

 

2007

 

Yeah. It was a known issue.
It shouldn’t be too bad to replace.
There’s been a few members here replace there. Just be sure you get the updated seal.

Somewhere on this forum, there is a whole thread dedicated to it.

 

I am new to Tacos. Been waiting a year to buy one for my son.

I saw the leak tonight before I bought it thinking it was just a seal issue.

glad I was right.

The engine purs like a kitten.

paid $10,500

 

You picked a good truck.
Don’t let the leak discourage you.

I found the post.
New part # is in the link below.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/new-tsb.45728/

 

Thanks I was already searching for it…excited to take good care of this one and teach my son in the process.

 

Welcome to the forum!

Ask to see stated records of: "claims to have had all regular maintenance done..." Hardcopy Paper records. If he can't produce them: walk away.

 

When you check the frame for rust look especially close to where the frame goes by the exhaust manifold over the axle on the driver side.

 

Yep, frame rust is the only major issue I can think of with these trucks. (05-06 had a possible head gasket issue)

At 150k, you might need a bunch of small things, like u-joints (if the truck was on bad roads/off-road a lot). But i don't think 07 had any major issues. You'll just need to keep an eye on everything and inspect the whole truck thoroughly. That isn't too many miles, she is just middle aged.

 

Especially check the hardest part to see, right bye the gas tank at the curve in the frame on both sides.

 

Records are pointless, inspect everything yourself. I've seen people fake records. It's easy.

A good inspection, including compression check, etc is priceless and all the clues will tell you the truth. I let the vehicle talk to me. I don't need anyone or a receipt to tell me what is wrong with a vehicle.