Got my Tacoma back!

After 11 long years and 145,000 added miles..... I got my Tacoma back.

Short story is in 2001 traded my Taco to my cousin for his 97 Mustang GT.
KBB was about equal and always wanted a mustang so we swapped...

Added 17" factory rims, cobra headlights and factory leather. I ended up making more problems using the wrong shop to install my Bilstiens and urethane energy susp bushings. Had the clutch replaced at the ford dealer and inherited a constant chirp between gears. Window regulator went out and that was the last straw. Girlfriend convinced me to buy a new car... a sporty but sensible Acura RSX Type S since I drive a lot for work.

Fast fwd 6 more years...
My cousin asks me if I want the truck back. I said it depends $$. Says I can have it for $1 since he would rather keep it with the family than get lowballed by a dealer. I say "awesome" I'll be by Sunday to pick it up.

We spend some time going over the truck. I am in shock most of the time. I look at the radiator and see a leak on the passenger side. I turn the engine over and I am forewarned there is a flapping noise coming from behind the timing cover. He says he thinks its the timing belt from what the repair shop told him. He's says he has been driving it all the previous week to work about 30 mi away. After some reminiscing I get in and am on my way.

As I drive home I listen closely to the sound, contemplate the freeway and then decide side streets for a little while longer. I drive about 2 more miles and get to a very busy downtown area. I'm stopped at a light and all of a sudden the engine stops and check engine light comes on. 2 and a half hours later I am being towed back home wondering what I just got myself into.

After several worst case quotes from independent repair shops (between $3-4K to tear down the whole motor), I spent a few days researching the problem and this website. I find out my Taco has a non-interference engine. I then got lucky and got the best $ from a local Toyota dealer and got:
Timing belt, water pump, idler pulleys, tensioners, thermostat, new radiator, valve cover gaskets, spark plugs, intake - plenum gaskets, synthetic oil change, transmission flush for $2,200.

I asked to see the timing belt and it was in shreds, not broke though, actually ended up wrapping itself around the crank shaft and stopped the engine. Pretty good for 185,000 on the same belt. Engine sounds brand new now. I wish it only looked as good as it sounded.

Since then and with the help of this site...
- Had the seals on the transfer case replaced at Toyota
- Clutch bushing replaced at Toyota - made it worse.
- Had Toyota HQ replace the seat belt as "Goodwill" - has a grey belt now but oh well it was free.
- Tore out the entire interior and cleaned 11 years of Bull Mastif hair and dog odor.
- After some rain and finding my floorboards soaked - Replaced the windshield and found my leak source (lots of rust).
- Took the center portion of the dash out and washed out 11 years of spilled cokes. I think this was the last year Toyota put drink holders in front of vents.
- Rebuilt my gas door lock (after it disintegrated at the gas pump) with some wd-40 and about 30 mins wrestling with the spring.
- Took out the bed-liner and about 10 pounds of gravel and dirt underneath. Looks brand new under there.
- Found out Alpine wont fix my single disk cd player. Plus they don't make CD changers anymore. Sucks.

Okay so that wasn't really a short story.

Jeff

 

Nice and welcome to TW

Post some pics up.

 

Welcome!

 

Its not much to look at but here some pics: