Rust question about possible purchase

I’m a new member who was a previous owner of a 98 TRD extra cab 3.4 L manual purchased new. I’ve got the itch to get another first Gen Tacoma. I came across one at a dealer in Utah with 77,000 miles. It’s an extra cab TRD With the 3.4 L engine and five speed manual transmission. It looks incredibly clean, but there is some rust on the frame near the rear springs. I’m trying to figure out how to upload pictures from my phone.

 

If you live close, go inspect it with a hammer and probe.

If the dealer won't allow that, keep looking.

 

The dealer is actually in Provo, Utah and I live in Tucson Arizona. I do have a friend who lives in Provo, but he won’t be in town until Monday. It seems almost like too good deal to pass up, but I appreciate doing the diligence and regarding the frame.

 

see you got the pics up. It looks like it's worth a visit, we've certainly seen a lot worse. The other area to closely check is the boxed part up by the catalytic converter.

If that and the spring hanger locations are solid, some clean up and preventative work may be all that's required.

 

Where I come from we call this Rust Free...

Seriously, there is super mild surface rust. There is no need for a hammer test. It's totally fine from my view point. I flew across the country to buy mine is this same condition from Seatle (drove to New England). The surface rust will not advance much in Tucson. Just coat the inside and outside if you're a stickler (like me) and enjoy it.

 

I'd take that unseen if the deal is too good to pass up. The frame looks good, some surface rust but these are 20+ year old trucks, very few are without any rust.

 

Thanks for the input. I should add that this Tacoma comes with a dealer installed TRD supercharger. It's an option I could live without. I'm wondering how the supercharger affects gas mileage. I assume it will require running premium. The dealer is fine with letting my friend from Provo check out the Tacoma on Monday, but he won't hold it till then without a $300 security deposit.

 

The dealers asking $21,000. I've been watching bring a trailer for a few weeks and haven't seen anything comparable.

 

That might be a tough sell to this crowd, but you gotta expect to pay a premium if it checks off all of your check boxes.

It doesn't for me. Especially the replacement frame part. My guess is that the body has more rust than we can see.

 

Quite the Odd things going on in some of those pics
Such as how the protective frame coating looks completely Gone on the inner passenger mid section
IDK

 

I appreciate the catch on the replacement frame part. I'll cool my jets for now and let my friend check it out on Monday. He's a practical minded diehard Toyota guy. He'll give an honest appraisal and set me straight when he checks out the frame. I bummed that the rest of the truck looks so nice, but the frame has suffered the fate of many 1st gen Taco's, despite low miles in relatively arid Utah.

 

I didn't see you say anything about a replaced frame... did the dealer mention that? Look for the vin sticker on the front outer passenger side behind tire. If it has that it is original frame. Frame is great here -- if the rest is as good as you say $21k isn't far off for 77kmi if the truck is otherwise original with nice interior etc. The super charger might lower marketability so maybe a point to negotiate on.

 

Get a picture of the side of the frame between the front leaf spring pivot and the top of the wheel well. Leaf spring mount looks clean from the front - if the corners are clean on any plate (like the bent plate spring mounts) it’s a positive sign.

 

Absolutely agree with Pb here
If anything, the SC should bring asking price down.
This hefty modification brings up a HUGE list of concerns that dealer/seller could not answer….or Ad-Lib an answer depending on the buyer

Who installed
When installed
Upgraded FP?
Injectors?
Tuned? By Who?

the SC brings up a colossal list of things to consider spending $21k

SC could be done by reputable vendor and be bullet proof…..or not.

frame looks good thou

 

Actually, the TRD SC was installed by the Toyota dealership when the truck was new prior to sale. I believe that Tacomas were not shipped from the factory with TRD Supercharger, that they were all installed at Toyota dealerships as an option

 

Correct. And there’s no way to tune a 1st Gen unless it had a piggyback or full standalone ECU and there’s no need for any different parts besides maybe some colder spark plugs and a 170* thermostat. That’s not saying it’s not worth it to get things to help fueling and timing, but with a stock size pulley and an engine that doesn’t ping too bad at low rpm / high gear, it wouldn’t matter a whole lot. It was made to be a bolt on (again not saying it won’t benefit from something like a 7th injector / AEM / Haltech) but @1997tacomav6 had a lot of miles on his sc installed by a dealer with no issues before he upgraded fuel and timing.

That said, 21k is a premium and then some. Mileage isn’t as important as age with some things like vacuum hoses, belts, wheel bearings (more related to climate for wear than anything), bushings, and seals. Any 20+ year old truck will need quite a bit of maintenance to make rock solid.

For 21k you could get a decent 2nd Gen that has the same power as a sc’d 1st Gen with

* more room
* better lower ball joint design
* easier wheel bearing replacement
* better rear axle seal design
* better seats
* better HVAC
* better stereo (minor improvement)
* fits larger tires without modification

I love both gens and own both. But at the given price point a 2nd Gen makes more sense imo.

 

gen2 are made with Cheap plastic trimmings that break rather easily and costly to replace
gen2 headlight housings are Cheap made, wear too easily and costly to replace
gen2 rust and rott so hard in the front area if you wheel on salt-laden winter roads without protection and extra cleaning of that accumulated slopp that gets into there
it cost me more than 300$ to replace that rotted engine undercover splash shield that had baseball sized rott holes and roached welded nuts holding it into place

gen2 road, engine and wind noise is near non-existent at high speeds, which is a +++ compared to gen1
in my relatives 4bangar AT gen2 single cab i find it exceptionally quiet at speeds of 70-100mph
the old gen1 at those speeds the wind and engine noise is quite noticeable