New Member!!

Hello all,
I recently found myself behind the wheel of a 98 SR5 Tacoma. For years I had my baby, a minty 95 pickup that was recently totaled by an old man;( so I guess you could say I'm new to the "Tacoma World." The truck is pretty solid so far although she has her quirks. It definitely has its fair share of cosmetic character due to the chassis having 350k! The PO supposedly swapped a "lower mile" 3rz into the truck after blowing the original. When purchased, the truck had no power steering (still doesn't), a snapped sway bar end link, and overall tired blown out suspension. It had come with a Rough Country 6" with the IFS drop and all the other supporting modifications that would come in the kit. When replacing the suspension I decided to get rough country's 6" strut to replace the oem strut and spacer combo and replaced both the end links at the same time. I also got the 6" to match in the rear. I did the basic oil change, air filter, spark plug and wire tune up and she runs pretty solid! Still has some vacuum leaks which cause a rough/high idle due to the homemade intake from the PO. I'm convinced once I can get everything sealed she'll be running like a top.

Due to coming from the noisy, tappity, 22re, the 3rz runs much quieter and smoother as well as it has a few more hp. Due to this though, I feel every noise I hear coming from the engine/valvetrain is bad and something detrimental is happening to the motor. What's your guys' experience with this? Do your 3rz make their fair share of noises? I would say it's mainly just valve noise under load but wanting some input before I rip the valve cover off the check clearances.

Also after replacing my end links, I've noticed a distinct "popping" sound coming from the front end. Happens when accelerating, braking and turning. I've isolated the end links because I can feel and see it "pop" when compressing and decompressing the front suspension by hand. I've tightened them to spec, overtightened, and under tightened but can't seem to figure it out. Have you guys had experience with this? Could they just be too loose/tight?

Anyways, sorry for the lengthy post, especially in the new member forum. I felt this was the best way to introduce myself, my truck, and the problems that we have.

Located in the PNW and would love to see other builds from around here!

If this isn't appropriate please let me know so I can remove and post to the appropriate forums.

Thank you all, I'm excited to learn what I can and be a new member of the community!

 

Welcome you might want to consider copying this post and starting a new thread by clicking the ‘Forums’ tab at the top of this page and posting in the 1st Gen Tacoma section. You’re likely to get greater visibility and faster responses.

 

Welcome to TW!