Pics of my (new to me) '04! Finally got to bring her home

minimal rust to none on the frame for my 08, my 2000 Tacoma did have some surface rust but that was it. Always looking for a first gen to pick up, currently have my eye on one in Arizona and might have to make a road trip if it does not sell.

 

I wish my Tacoma was that clean. Congratulations man. Gorgeous truck

 

if it had 250,000 miles like mine does I would say remove the s/c but with 25,000? SWEEEEET!!

 

Thanks guys!

I took some pics under the truck of the frame yesterday

 

So far the only issue I'm having with the truck is the A/C ...most of the time it works but there's a "hissing" sound coming from inside the dash when I have it blowing cold, and occasionally it get's pretty loud and the A/C won't blow cold.

It sounds like there's a leak in a hose or something, I'll take it in under the warranty I got for the truck when I bought it from Toyota. Not a big issue but the only one I'm having thus far.

 

Much rather score something like that vs. a 16......congrats.

 

Me too lol. I was looking at the '16s before I picked my '04 up but I could only swing a base model 4x4 (4cyl). With this truck, I got a fully loaded '04 for less than half the cost of what a 2016 would run me with the same mechanical specs.

Granted, the 2016's come with all kinds of fancy creature comforts but I never wanted those anyway.

 

What a find, almost seems to good to be true!

 

I know right...I'm being a little paranoid about it lol. Like there's gotta be some reason someone hardly ever drove it, let alone turned it in to a Toyota dealer as a trade-in when they probably could have made a killing selling it privately, especially with the s/c, headers, exhaust, etc.

Trying not to overthink it, hell she runs great...no problems except for the spotty A/C. I feel like the shifting is a little harsh but that's probably just because I'm used to the manual transmission on my tC coupe I had before (def a different feeling driving a standard shift truck than a coupe).


I tested the 4x4 system on a dirt lot yesterday and everything checked out as far as I could tell, and the rear locker engaged just as it should in 4lo. Only thing I noticed is that sometimes when I press the 4wd button on the side of the shifter, it doesn't engage until I roll forward a bit. That's normal, right? This is my first 4x4, my last Tacoma was a Prerunner.

Thanks again guys!

 

Sounds pretty solid man, drive it until the wheels fall off!!! That's my plan

 

Nice buy! All I can say is 'F-U' but in the most affectionate way possible.

 

She is a beauty but id be concerned about rusty sludge in the cooling system with that low of miles on a 12 year old truck. Was it just sitting? Or did some grandpa drive it to the grocery store once a week?

 

I'm not too familiar with the backstory, it was a trade-in at a Toyota dealership in San Diego last month and spent its whole life in Arizona prior to that. If it was a grandpa driving it, I'd have to give him props on adding the s/c, headers and exhaust, lol.

The dealership performed all the regular maintenance on it before I drove it off the lot, but this weekend I'm going to double check all the fluids myself. So far, I've put almost 500 miles on it and she's driven like a champ, no complaints except to me the shifting seems a bit harder than it should be...but I'm coming from a tC coupe so I might just not be used to the manual in a truck.

 

I only say that because my dad bought a 96 with about 40k and it drove fine for a long time until we were hauling with some weight in the bed. Started to overheat. So we pulled the radiator and coolant lines and there was a black sludge in all of it. Eventually got it flushed out and pulled the heads and nothing was cracked. Just something to think about. Low mileage isnt always a good thing because when mechanical parts arent moving/being lubed they can fail. But im sure yours is fine since it was from the dealer! Maybe im just jealous because my 02 has 270k miles haha

 

haha no worries, I appreciate the points of view even if they are cautious, I want to take every precaution I can with this truck to make sure I have it around for a long time. I'll be taking it by another mechanic friend of mine hopefully this weekend to make sure everything is in order, it got a clean bill of health from the Toyota dealership but it was an "as-is" sale, so you can't be too careful

 

awesome truck man!

 

Thank you! Puts a smile on my face every time I get in it

 

Update! Been driving her for a month now, other than a P0171 code that took forever to resolve (ended up being an uncapped port on my supercharger) she's been a dream of a truck. Some squeaks and creaks but I just see that as part of her personality

Been on a couple offroading trips already and have a big one planned next weekend. Oh, and I finally got around to taking the fugly chrome bull bar off this weekend...next on the list, blacking out all the chrome!

 

Also added a TRD grill emblem for an added 10 horsepower

 

Black in out the emblems keep it OE.