New Tacoma

Hi-

I just bought a 2003 Tacoma double cab 4x4 with the V6, (auto trans) truck has 90k miles. i have a 2011 Tundra also.

I have spent right much money in this truck, new CV axles, ball joints, belt changed, transmission flush. I now have everything to do the diff and transfer case change. I changed the oil and filter the other day, the filter wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be. Every time I get under the truck I find a new torn boot or something needing replaced. I just found a steering boot cracked on the drivers side, I cleaned the boot, pumped new grease in getting it around the joint (luckily the tear is on the outer portion of the boot) and silicon ed it shut. I know this isn't ideal but I've forked out over $2500 on it this month after paying 14k for it.

I have a question for you guys, I have searched it but mainly see numbers and not pictures, what is the normal temp for the engine. I'll post a picture, this was driving to work,, around 70° out. Also the truck idles around 1200 for roughly 4 minutes and then drops down below 1k RPM, I assume that's okay? Thanks guys and I look forward to looking and learning from you guys...

 

4 minutes sounds about right.. Maybe a hair longer than me but that's no biggie, but that also depends on how cold it is. Its just warming up. Your temp gauge runs a bit warmer than me, at the same outside temp. Mine sits dead half at full operating temp. I like your gauge. Mine (04) doesnt have trans lights... I use a bafx obd2 bluetooth scanner that reads my tranny temps.

 

My 03 prerunner v6 does not have the trans lights either..Is this 4x4 only?

 

That is the exact position my '04, 3.4 sits at. On the ScanGaugeII, it is reading 191*. You are good.

+1 on the RPM on start ups. Doesn't your Tundra do that too? Mine does.

 

Thanks for the response, yeah the Tundra does it...I guess I'm just a little gun shy with this truck. Like I said it's been nothing but problems since I bought it March 10th. Not big problems but enough to cost me that money. I like my stuff right and I'd rather ask you guys than someone who doesn't know or just assume it's okay....Thanks again, I really appreciate it....

So nobody knocked me on the silicone on the boot, I'm guessing that's an okay temp, fix?

One other thing....transmission shifts good, I notice around 40mph it shifts kinda slow and then seems to almost shift again, a little faster right at 45 or so, I assume that's OD...Like I said I'm not usually such a nut but this sucker has had me down in the dumps with the issues. I know it will be an awesome ride once I get the bugs out...I wanted it to drive to work, knock around in and keep miles off the Tundra. I'd like to hand it down to my son when he gets of age which is 5 years from now but I probably won't have 120k miles on it by then....

 

Silicone on the boot? Hell man whatever works... I used two cds to reflect light off my dying headlights to reconnect the alternator wire in an old datsun 4x4 years ago. Had no flash light. used duct tape and tie wire (bailing wire) to plug a hole in a radiator hose and did about 90 miles with no problems. It goes on and on. Ask away, thats what we're here for....not sure about the tranny though, wish i could help. 5 years from now that truck will be fine. Just keep up the tlc obviously..

 

Why would I knock you. I tore a boot on my previous Tacoma at 26k. Figured I would change it when the CV joint failed. It made it to 300k. Once that grease was all flung out, I never gave it another thought

 

Thanks again guys, I do keep up with the maintenance. The CV axles boot was tore so I replaced those. The guy had added two leveling kits, this put everything in a bind. The CV axle would come away from the diff so he told me he had someone weld an extension on the CV axle. I knew that wasn't going to float with me driving my son around so I had that replaced a week after buying it. I think the transmission is okay, this will show how paranoid I have became with this thing...I had the transmission flushed , the ticket showed Dexron III, I know this calls for that T IV fluid, I asked him about it and he says he hit the wrong button on the register...I believe him and then again I don't haha...Soooo now I "think" the tranny is shifting funny....I'm sure it is okay..I thought about adding some of that Lubegard stuff but I'm kind of weary about adding stuff to the truck like that....and I don't know if it's okay to add if the right stuff is in there....

 

Id just dump it and do it again, myself. Good learning experience for the kid too, right? When i first got my tacoma (an 04 in 04, second owner, with 2716 miles on the odo. 167k today) i brought it back thinking it had an exhaust leak. It was just how it sounded. The first major tune up i did at 50k, took so long that nite, partly due to my schedule, i dumped a quart of oil in the tranny. I bit freaked, dumped the fluid, filled it with the appropriate fluid and put 110k on it, with no problems.just new car jitters, i tuink my friend..

 

Haha sounds right to me...I do a lot of stuff myself, now by no means am I the guy to rebuild the motor but I have done right much...It just seems that I have let this get the best of me. We have had a lot going on too, new job, laid off after 14 years at a pharma company, house is for sale, and I have just let these small problems times themselves by 10! To make it worst, I changed all the oil and filters on my other vehicles too, 2003 Trailblazer, no problems and the 2011 Tundra, 30k miles, dag on if it doesn't look like something is leaking out of that, maybe around the water pump...not a big leak but you could tell it had been wet. Maybe I spilled some washer fluid, I don't know. I cleaned it off, marked the coolant level with it cold and will keep an eye on it...

I came from the Dodge Ram, nothing but problems there, bought two brand new and couldn't get 25k miles out of them...major problems not nothing like I'm having here...