Found a nice 2000

I offered $6K but seller was firm at $6800. I was more firm at $6500 and bought the truck at $6500. I filled the truck up and drove it 220 miles home. Truck drives great and no regrets at this time. Paint has little to no fading and body is very straight with very few dings. All CV boots look great. Clutch feels good, shifter is smooth Truck does have a small oil leak but pretty sure its the valve cover. Seller assured me it doesn't drip on driveway. No surprises with the truck except the A/C light bulbs are out. It feels like it floats a bit due to shocks. Steering feels pretty tight with little to no play. Time will tell if this was a wise investment.

I plan to order an Amazon chrome rear bumper, remove the camper shell, replace the A/C bulbs and investigate the driver door speaker(not working).

I have a 98 Camry with 320K(bought with 88K) on it and it has become fun to how many miles the wife and I put on it. Now I have a high mileage truck to see how many I can put on it. I'm a bit surprised to see how many Toyota owners are afraid of miles, however I really appreciate everyone's input on this.

 

It's a nice truck !!! How is the truck on hills? My 4cylinder is a dog but it has larg tires I guess and a auto tranny

 

Thanks man. I actually went up the steepest hill in my area on the way home last night. I down shifted to 4th and was able to keep the 55mph speed limit at ~half throttle(guessing). I also filled up with gas before I got home and got 20.6 mpg. I'm happy with that since we were going 75 mph most of the way home. I'm really glad to have gotten 4.30 gears but I will not be going up in tire size in order to keep this thug as practical as possible. Tires on it are 265/75r15.

 

Aftermarket chrome will rust fast again. Back bumper may have been already changed.
I like the chrome (in the minority, I know) but have aftermarket on front and they looked like crap quick.

 

I like the stock look of the chrome too. I ordered the TKY bumper from Amazon this morning. Reviews were really good. I may spray something on the inside of the bumper to attempt to prolong life.

 

Update. The original floor mats were under another set of floor mats and they cleaned up really well.


Amazon rear bumper is installed. Very happy with the fitment and quality of the bumper. While I had the bumper off, I went ahead and removed the towing hitch to inspect and treat some minor rust. I also removed and treated rust on the hitch and will reinstall the hitch.

My local alignment shop inspected the front end. They showed me how the steering rack bushing is allowing the rack to slide and also that the inner tie rods have some play. I have ordered Energy Suspension rack bushing kit. I also bought Napa inner tie rods and lower ball joints. Lower ball joints looked fine but he suggested that I replace them since I can't confirm that they have been replaced.

I have also ordered front and rear KYB Gas-Adjusts. I know there are much better shocks, but I have had great experience with KYB on other vehicles and for $199 total I'm hoping I'll be happy with them. I also purchased a Toytech strut spacer for the driver side.

I plan to install all these parts myself. I have a strut compressor and have done this before.

I also purchased a Felpro valve cover gasket(with grommets) and plan to check the valve clearance(never done this before). Kit didn't come with spark plug gaskets though.

 

Energy Suspension rack bushings installed today. Also did the shocks on all 4 corners.

I suspect that the old front shocks have 290K on them. I believe the seller(original owner) said he put shocks on rear. I went with KYB to add a bit of stability to the truck. Big difference in the handling. I've used KYB on a Camry and a Camaro and been pleased with them. I'm pretty happy with them, but I do wish I would have researched a bit more before I purchased them. I'm not sure they were the best shock for the money for a DD. Truck will stay stock height.

Pics say it all, the old shocks are past the point of being good. I already have a spring compressor and just reused my OEM springs. I also installed the Toytech spacer on the drivers side.

 

I think you found a good truck.
What is stock height, center of hub straight up to bottom of the fender?
I just replaced my negative leafs with a chevy donor pack. I wondering how much in over stock height i am (24.5" in rear now)

 

Thanks. I'm very happy with it.

Height is right around 36" from ground to fender well with 265/75r15's. I'll try to measure like you asked when I get home.

 

My truck is a 2002 Xtracab SR5 4-cyl 2.7L automatic stock. Bought it with 80,000 miles on it end of 2016 and it had way more rust than yours! Spent its whole life in New England, though.

 

Nice Truck OP, looks like the interior was well taken care of, and no frame rust.

had no idea, my 99 is all power.

 

I spent 5k for my Tacoma. It just had the whole front diff blow on the previous owner. 170k miles 2.7L manual transmission with 4.30 gearing and 32x11.5 tires which were brand new. Granted the cab has more ware and tare, and there are three small rust spots on the body. But $2000 more for a truck with 130k more miles??? That is a hard pill to swallow.

 

Classy move shitting on the OP's decision after you know he bought it. He also bought it for $6500, so your math may be off a bit.

 

Crap.... My bad. I got confused.... My bad.

 

oh its all good, i see what happened. Anyway, these trucks are like the energizer bunny. Well maintained 1-owner is important. Cheers everyone, happy friday.

 

What I thought happened someone besides OP bought a Tacoma for 6500....

 

My '99 TRD had them. I thought I was so spoiled because I had power windows, locks, and cruise.

My, how times have changed.

 

AZ here, whats rust?

 

Think of it like cancer, but for cars. Once it gets a toehold, you're screwed.

 

The southwest is the promised land for 1st gens...no rust at all unless you frequent the beach dunes.