Advice on preventive maintenance regarding coolant leaks in engine (4cyl - high mileage)

I saw a post earlier on here in which OP had the 1st gen 2.7L with about 250k miles and a coolant leak in the engine. It got me wondering about mines, and trying to find out the best ways to prevent such a thing from happening.

I'm asking for anyone on here who is knowledgeable in such things to please let me know on what specific maintenance would best help prevent such a thing from happening to one of these engines. Thank you!

 

timing belt/water pump change kit would be a good start if they haven't been replaced along with coolant exchange.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/OEM-Timing...002|Model:Tacoma|Make:Toyota&_trkparms=ispr=1

 

That is for V6. 2.7 does not have it.
The only thing really bad related to the coolant leak is head gasket. Keep coolant in good condition (flush the system as required and use Toyota red) and never let the engine overheat. The head gasket will go eventually anyway (mine was at 302k) and no maintenance will stop it.

Water pump in 2.7 is very robust and you will only need to replace it when it goes (my at 320k miles is still as good as new). Same with thermostat. Basically the only preventive maintenance is flushing cooling system and using Toyota Red every 50-100k miles. And fix what is broken.

 

I agree with above.

 

I concur.