Rear Differential Completely Destroyed at 25,000 kilometers.

GM generally does make a good drive train. Stuff happens, but in general, you can get 250,000+ miles out of almost any GM RWD vehicle with a V6 or V8.

As far as fuel, I had a 2002 Silverado that got about 20mpgs on the highway. I had a 2002 Z28 that would turn the quarter mile at 104mph in under 13.5 seconds (bad driver) and still knock down 28mpgs on the way back from Texas when I bought it.

GM RWD vehicles with a V6 or V8 are generally pretty solid and the SBC and LSx engines are actually quite good.

 

Impressions are everything.

 

These experiences mirror my own. I come from a GM family and I had a break from Toyota trucks where I drove Z-71 Silverados (I hate towing with small trucks). The 05 Chevy I sold before buying this truck had been to hell and back with close to 200K miles on it. It seriously still ran like the day I bought it and never spent a single night in the shop. Used no oil, and transmission shifted well. I drove it for 11 years and sold it for $11K which went toward the TRD.

 

572 BBC!!!!!!

 

Judge a book by the cover eh?

 

Yep. Right or wrong, it's exactly what people tend to do every single day.

Any business owner that turns a blind eye to that fact is acting stupidly.

 

I dont know many people who dont. That's business 101.

 

Profiling is bad mmm'kay

 

Pot. Calling. Black.

 

Apparently so are pronouns.

 

Sure. My point was that quality work is quality work and it can come from many places or not.

 

Yes I own a few Turkish made shotguns. One of them is junk and another is one of my favorite guns, quality, fit and finish for price it is possibly the best shotgun I own-- it hasn't let me down and I've probably put 3000 shells through it over the past 4 years.

 

Oh certainly so. I don't think anyone disputed that.

Still, impressions do count. Humans are wired to make initial visual assessments.

 

Oh how I agree with this statement. I was the proud owner of a 2002 Jeep TJ with the 4.0 and a manual at one point. Life changed, family grew and it went away. Years later I got the hankering for another Jeep so I bought a 2011 2 door JK with the 3.8L Caravan motor paired with the 42rle. What a pile of shit drivetrain. Freeway onramps were monumental challenges on 33" tires and 3.73 gears. That was a light vehicle in comparison to my fellow Jeep owners that had the same setup or 3.21 gears in the JK Unlimited with larger tires. That 4.0L in the TJ was buttery smooth and pulled like a freight train compared to that horrid 3.8L V6. By the time FCA pulled their heads out of their asses and released the 3.6L Pentastar 24V V6 for the Wrangler line, it was too late, there was no way I was rolling all of my equity from that 2011 into a brand new Jeep to get away from that doggy slowboat Jeep. To make matters worse, the Pentastar had three driver side head revisions and a recall before they got it working properly.

What I'm trying to say is that from a perspective of a guy who has suffered through other lousy brands, this truck is a dream! The only truck I would say that met or exceeded my pleasure with this truck was my 98 Ford Ranger with the 3.0 and a manual. I had 115k miles on that truck, traded it in for my TJ 13 years ago, saw it in my neighborhood at a house that was still being built a year ago. One of the tradesmen was driving it and I checked the odometer and it was sitting at 53k so unless that guy drove it only 38k in 14 years, he had rolled it over and it was at 253k which is pretty impressive for a Ford. I hope to have the same longevity with this truck.

 

Absolutely. I do think that if something is important, more than visual is required and visuals can be misleading.

@smitty99 I had a 5 shot conversion performed on a Ruger Bisley by Jack Huntington. I used him based on feedback from others. The gun I received was top notch work. Just a beautiful combination of quality craftsmanship and art.

Later, I got to stop by his shop and visit. The shop wasn't spic and span, had different various projects in the shop..... It probably wouldn't have met the quality requirements mentioned in this thread, but the truth is he is one of a handful of gunsmiths who have the ability to do this kind of work.

 

Amen brother!!! It was a sad day in Jeepland! I was running 35's without a re-gear...still working with my therapist on getting over the on ramp experiences!!!

 

Answers:

1. Every place that snows. The slightest slope with 3" of snow requires 4wd. People get stuck at the bottom of their own driveways in snow all the time.

2. Haha, are you serious?

3. Shift on the fly has been around for 30 years.

If you live in FL and have a 2wd, no worries. If you're in Utah and have a 4wd, reading your owners manual will open a whole new world for you and your Tacoma.

 

Wanted to read through most of this before posting. There is NO way that damage can be attributed to any thing the OP did (unless he pulled the plug and dropped a bolt or something in there). This is the third catastrophic rear diff failure I have read about and if Toyota corporate is not looking for the common denominator they are putting their heads in a noose. By the way, has anyone with a 4 banger had the rear diff howl?

 

Agree, he should be able to do smokey burn outs all day an not have the thing explode like that. It should be strong enough that traction is the limiting factor. Hell, most good axles will snap a shaft before popping a diff.