2nd Gen Maintenance Questions/Concerns..

Hey guys,

Noticed a few things today when I was replacing my uni balls in my UCAs today. First of all, I noticed that the front passenger side of my engine was pretty grimey. I am a little concerned that there is an oil leak? (Pictures to follow). Is this normal? Also, I noticed that there were two tiny little dings in my brake disk. Ive had real noisy brakes lately so I wonder if this is the cause? The parts that dont come in contact with the pads are also pretty dam rusty, when should you replace rotors? Finally, is there any way to easily (well.. more easily) degrease the engine? Tips, tricks, etc.

Thanks to whoever can answer some of my questions!

!

 

Dammit! totally forgot to attach them! One sec..

 

I'm going to guess you timing chain cover is leaking. If most of the oil and grime were down low I'd say your crankshaft seal is leaking, although that's still a possibility.

Clean it all up with engine degreaser (and hot water preferably), then you can see a little better where it's coming from.

 

Gothchya. Its hard to tell where its been coming from since its been like that for a while. I will degrease and see if I can see where its happening. I know it IS a problem, but how bad of a problem would either of those be? I am sure they would both be pretty costly to fix...

 

Definitely replace your serpentine belt as well! I doubt the nicks in the rotor are causing the noise, but new rotors and pads are cheap insurance...

 

That looks like my engine before I had the dealer suggest to replace the timing cover rtv gasket. Had them do it (we bought a warranty with the truck through our credit union) 114,528 miles on truck. Coverage and cost of warranty 5 years or 50,000 miles $2,000, total cost of repair from dealer $1,658.xx, only paid $30 for "fluids" as warranty doesn't cover that. Also, might be having a head gasket replaced soon as I can hear bubbling when I first start the truck, my truck sucks fluid from the coolant reservoir, no coolant leaks anywhere around the truck, also have an intermittent misfire on the code reader for cylinder 6, and it's a known issue for the '05 and '06 years between cylinders 5 and 6.

 

OP how many miles on the truck? And yes, that serpentine belt is looking very old and worn, original maybe?

 

Got 165,500 on her now. Is serpentine a PITA to replace?

 

Not hard at all... Follow the routing diagram sticker. Find the belt tensioner/pully, use a socket + extension. Make sure you get the grooves lines up everywhere before you start it up again. I prefer Gates belts.

Edit: some good how-to videos on YouTube. Watch as many as needed until you think you understand how to do the job and understand how it works.

 

Great... I cant afford that right now. Is what the dealer suggested what fixed this problem? Also, I have had the same problem with the coolant bubling, but usually only when its cold outside. I have just been told this is due to air stuck in the hoses and what not. You think this is a gasket failure? Is the misfire connected to this issue? Maybe I will have to get my codes read soon. Could you hear the misfire? or does it go unnoticed?

 

Yup got rid of the oil leak and they told me it's an issue with a lot of trucks cause the gasket wasn't applied properly at the factory in the left lower corner of the cover, not sure how true that is.
I can't hear the misfire and only found out about it cause I wanted to see if the truck had any codes stored because I thought I was having an ABS issue. Misfire isn't connected to the timing cover gasket issue, but is connected to the head gasket issue. Haven't had the head gasket checked due to taking way too long to do the lower ball joints. Truck has been on jack stands for a couple weeks.

 

IF you decide to do the brakes, a lot of guys seem to like the Powerstop Discs and pads set.

 

Those the ones that come in a set from Amazon for like $150. I don't know much about brands for brakes so I just want to make the right choice when I do get them. They pretty easy to do?

 

Dam that's too bad. Seems Toyota has too many problems at the factory that start wreaking havoc later on down the road. Sucks to have to worry about this kind of stuff. I'll get my OBD codes read soon and see what I can find out. Till then I'll degrease the engine and see where the leak is coming from. How long can these leaks go without causing much bigger problems?

 

As long as you check the oil level and it's not gushing out like crazy you should be good. If you do a weekly check/PMCS or if you check stuff coming off the trail add it to the list.

 

Remember, it's a 12 year old truck, regardless of mileage, all brands, not just Toyota, can be expected to have issues. Toyota has way fewer that any other brand IMO. You've got one of the better build trucks with quality parts and fairly easily repaired. It pays to learn as much as possible about your truck. I try to fix everything myself, but even if you don't, you'll at least understand the job with the help on Tacoma World!

 

Very simple. Full instructions are also included on how to break them in properly.

 

I had a slight leak around my timing cover (which is common on these trucks) that lasted from about 20k till 80-90k. It never showed on the dipstick, and then dried up completely.

 

+1

I got a pair them off Rock Auto for $84. Open up a paypal credit account, add something to get it over $100 and you get 6 months to pay it off with no interest.

*EDIT*
JBR1121XPR
http://www.rockauto.com/?carcode=3310144&parttype=1896

A little more expensive now, $92 for the pair.