New to Tacomas, just bought a 2001, any advice/tips welcome

Hi guys,

I recently picked up a 2001 double cab that was for sale here on the forum. The truck is exceptionally clean and was very well maintained, but I was wondering if there is anything I should look out for maintenance wise or just in general. I am a typical back yard mechanic and came from the Jeep world. I had a TJ on built dana 44 axles, 35's, 4 linked, tons of armor - basically an off road-only trail rig, which I got rid of for the Tacoma. I don't have any desire to take the Tacoma off road since it is just too nice to beat up. The frame on the Tacoma was replaced by the dealer in 2012 and is in very nice shape, but I was wondering if there are any spots on the body that typically rust out? Last weekend I sprayed the inner rocker panels with an anti rust coating from Eastwood Co. and I'd like to clean up a few spots on the underside of the bed. Is there anything else I should be looking for? For example, on the Jeep 4.0 it is typical for the header to crack over time. Anything quirky like that with the Tacoma? From what I've read it sounds like Tacomas run forever, so I hope this truck lasts a while if I take care of it.

thanks,
Dan





specs on the Tacoma are - 3" toytec lift and 285/70/17's

 

if it was a forum member here chances are they took good care of it knowing the truck. did they give you any maintenance records? if not then fluids would be a good start.

 

X2.

 

You could replace those fugly bro wheels

 

Ah yes, sorry I should have mentioned that the previous owner did all scheduled maintenance. The truck has 155,000 miles on it, major recent maintenance includes all fluids, timing belt, water pump, coolant flush, plugs/wires, and a few other small items. I also just replaced both front axles since the boots were leaking on both sides and I wasn't sure how long they had been like that.

 

I like my fugly bro wheels! .... altho I have to say the truck needs to be re-geared. These tires are way to big/heavy for stock gears on the highway.

 

Any idea how much that is going to cost you to regear? I'm looking at a 2001 and it needs to be as well.

 

Nice truck, really clean. congrats!

You have 4.10 gearing? Probably need to go to 4.88s with your auto trans to get the pep back. Also wondering how bad you are rubbing with the 285/70/17s ?.. I was considering running some SEMA 17s as my street wheels and trying to decide on tire size.

 

thanks! Yes, I'm pretty sure I have 4.10 gears and I was also thinking 4.88s. I don't have any rubbing issues with the 285/70's, but to be honest I don't know the specs on the wheels in terms of offset. I'm also not sure if the previous owner trimmed the flares or anything. The wheels are 17x9 Fuel Mavericks.

 

I asked a local shop and they gave me a rough quote of $1,000. The gear sets are about $250 per axle, so the whole job could be pretty expensive

 

BALL JOINTS...... I'm not yelling but those are notoriously bad and fail. There was a recall years back

 

When I got mine I cleaned the PCV out and did all the fluids. Seems like you're pretty good to go to me.

 

Thanks for the heads up! I will take a look at mine.

 

That is one beautiful truck. I bet the tires give you a rough ride on the highway.

 

I bet you can get bigger tires. LOL

 

Common rust spots are above the rear wheels (under flares). Think the most problematic things on these trucks are the clock and non returning seatbelt ahaha.

 

anyone else just notice the driver's side has the lower section painted/undercoat and the passenger side does not?

any info on this or diff date pics?

 

Boy oh boy thats a beautiful truck. Working on getting mine looking like that.

 

Great looking truck, awesome color, nice stance. The wheels look good on the truck with the aggressive tread.

 

Good eye. The pics were taken a few days apart. I plastidipped the lower rocker panels to prevent stone chips since I don't have mud flaps.