98 Tacoma is my FIRST CAR! I have questions...

Hello everyone! I recently purchased an absolutely beautiful 1998 Tacoma from a family friend. Almost no rust, engine look beautiful, the bed is in amazing shape and she has a cap!!! I feel so insanely fortunate BUT I'm not a car person... I wanted to reach out to some seasoned Tacoma owners to see if anyone had some off the bat tips for keeping her in tip top shape! I live somewhere where the roads are salted to the MAX and so one of my first orders of business is going to be getting seat covers and floor mats. Can anyone recommend a good brand or website? I'm so excited for this next chapter!

 

Welcome to the great TW!

 

Check the frame really good for rust

And welcome to TW

 

Welcome to the forum

Congratulations on the truck

The first order of business is to check the frame for and protect it from rust.

These trucks don't wear out with reasonable care - they rust away.

 

The frame looks really good! It has been cared for really well so the rust is currently minimal. I know rust is a pretty common problem with these so feel free to shoo me off to google to research as I'm sure you all are tired of talking about it, but do you have any tips for rust prevention?

 

Any thick-film rust inhibitor is good, as long as you replenish it regularly (think a light touch-up once a year, and maybe have a shop redo it every ~5 years). You have to make sure to coat the inside of the frame as well.

Fluid Film, Woolwax, and Waxoyl are the big three recommendations - Fluid Film & Woolwax are both lanolin-based, and are... basically compatible, I don't think Waxoyl is compatible with the other two, but it seems to be somewhat superior and require a little less maintenance. On the other hand, I don't think you can really DIY Waxoyl (ready to be proven wrong), so if that's a dealbreaker, steer clear.

The other big maintenance item that doesn't show up in a maintenance schedule is the lower ball joints. Lots of folks will say if in doubt, change them out. I would say check them. You (or a mechanic, if you're not mechanically inclined) can do it very quickly, and if they're still in spec, there's no point in changing them out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bu2rQMxXV2M

There's a proper way I do it with a dial indicator (Maximum play .002" combined up and down) and a torque wrench, but honestly both ways work well enough, especially if you're not doing heavy trail rides.

 

Other than rust:

Replace the lower ball joints. They fail and when they do your front tire will slide under the vehicle it’s bad. Plenty of YouTube videos on how to do this task if you are handy. Otherwise get these replaced ASAP unless you know of the last time they were done.

Get the timing belt replaced. At least for the 5VZ-FE (The V6) if the belt snaps your car won’t run. In other engines if the belt snaps you’ll destroy the engine. Replace every 90k miles or 9 years.

Everything else is pretty standard. Check and replace if needed:
- Oil and filter
- Engine air filter
- Battery
- Power Steering Fluid
- Brake Fluid
- Transmission Fluid
- Rear and front differential fluid (only front diff if 4x4)
- Transfer case fluid (if 4x4)
- Coolant
- Spark plugs

Also grease the drive shaft if that hasn’t been done.

You should be able to find the maintenance intervals for all this stuff in a manual in a glove box.

Whenever I get a new car I usually at least do an oil/filter change and do as much of the list above as I can afford or as needs done.

seriously though do not skimp on those lower ball joints it’s unsafe for you and others one the road. I also wouldn’t skimp on the timing belt and engine oil/filter change. Everything else you could probably get away with just depends on how long you want it to last

 

Welcome!!!!!!

as seasoned member, OldSilver, says
These tacos are more like a project vehicle
Meaning
As long as you wrench on her/maintain her……you should get satisfaction

tons of help here
Couldn’t of made mine(kids 1st veh) roadworthy without TW
Cheers!

 

Welcome!!!
Get the ball joints checked or replaced. Then do a lot of reading here. There’s a a lot of good info on this forum and a lot of people willing to share knowledge.
Cheers!!

 

Welcome to TW.

Here's a forum for your 1st Gen, with lots of good info
https://www.tacomaworld.com/forums/1st-gen-tacomas-1995-2004.4/

 

Welcome and i hope you enjoy your truck. Nobody answered the floor mats and seat covers question. My floor mats are still good so not sure and I purchased my seat covers at Walmart dickie's brand. They are ok nothing special but they protect my nice seats. Have fun be safe. I'm kinda pragmatic with my taco.

 

Get rid of it......its just a money pit

 

True but at least welcome the new member

 

@O'Silver_Taco has a point in his comment. This first thing many new Taco owners want to do is go for mods like lift kits (or drop kits,) steroo systems, new bumpers and such. Your truck is 27 years old, even if well maintained at the very least rubber is hardening/decomposing and you'll spend a ton of money just in upkeep and maintenance, it is almost never ending. As mentioned above put your money into maintaining it and keeping it in good shape and it will give you a long life of service. Welcome to TW and dig around here, lots of info on just about anything you'll need to do.

 

Expertly Well Said ^^^^^

 

Ah! Y'all are the best! Thank you for all the tips... I will definitely get the ball joints checked but no I will not be getting rid of her
I will also check out the forum for 1st gens and thank you for the tip on seat covers!
I hope to post a pic when I pick her up next Thursday but until then I'll keep digging here for info!

 

Also from the salt belt.... and after three completely rotted frames I found the right preservation product. Get the frame coated with Waxoyl (or do it yourself). This depends a bit on any previous coatings, but Waxoyl works really well. I've had it on mine for 8 years. One product goes on the outside surface and a different product goes in the inside of the frame.

There are shops that do it, but it's easy to DIY either with a air compressor or they have aerosol cans.

https://www.waxoyl-usa.com/

Good luck -- post pics of truck..