Should I buy this '07 Tacoma

In the end I bought it. Wasn't perfect. The paint is absolute crap with overspray and coagulation of drops in spots but that is the only thing obviously wrong with it - he painted it himself with a sprayer... It drove back, a thousand miles without issues. It was loud - the droning noise from these mud tires, along with the 3" spacer-only lift, made for not the most comfortable ride but I didn't buy this thing for long road trips. I put earbuds in (to muffle the noise) and listened to an entire 10+ hour audio book, as the radio has no bluetooth, not even an AUX plug. New head unit & trim are in the near future.

Now the fun begins, I would like us to keep this thing for a long time and have started composing a list of items I would like to do to it. I wouldn't mind throwing another $3-4-5k into it to make it last & enjoyable while having, including some lighter off-roading to reach camping spots. My wife has a 2-year old 4-runner which has about $25k worth of upgrades on it. I didn't do the upgrades, original owner did before I bought it when it was a year old. However due to cost and how nice it is we feel bad beating the 4runner up in the mountains. Yes we are those people unfortunately. I'm not going to feel too bad about scratching or getting a small dent in the Tacoma though.

The topper will be the first thing to be removed and the tailgate will get re-installed. One issue is the tailgate is the original shiny red color still. Not sure the paint is worth addressing for the entire vehicle, but I am open to suggestions as to what you would do to it and in what order, given the budget? Found a new grill on craigslist and new headlamp assemblies to replace the very hazed ones on it. Remove the spacer lift and get a cheap OME or Bilstein setup? Again, new to this, but excited to get cracking, any and all suggestions welcome.

 

Some people have sprayed the complete truck with bed liner paint. I guess if you don’t mind the Mad Max beyond thunder dome look, it could be an option.

 

looks like a new frame.
Or the owner did a lot of maintenance.
I did not read all posts but the cam adjusters, shit looks new?

 

I'd make sure the droning is all tires and not wheel or needle bearings. Mine had droning that the PO said was tires but I figured was wheel bearings. I think needle bearings go quiet in 4wd.

Congrats on it, though. Glad it worked out for you.

 

This could be the single greatest idea I've heard yet. Just went down the rabbit hole watching videos and looking at pictures of bedliner sprayed vehicles. I don't know if I have the time and patience for a DIY project so I will inquire at local shops in the next few days - what they would charge to prep and apply. Thanks!

 

I have an appointment tomorrow morning to drop it off at a local Toyota mechanic to go over it and examine the condition in detail. I will ask them to check out the droning. Thanks.

 

You really should of did this BEFORE you bought it ^ good luck O.P.

 

You weren't lying. Not my first mistake in life, certainly won't be the last. I just tend to trust people a little too much and didn't do the homework.

Just got it back. They say it needs Engine Timing Cover Gasket job. Apparently a common failure for these pre-2009 4.0L V6. Quote is $2,462 + $234 for optional water pump replacement. Looks like the labor is $1,716 of this amount. So total of $2,700 here plus tax.

Also needs a muffler, which I expected. That quote is $960 incl labor, plus tax. These two together, including tax are $4k.

Not really a good deal any more. But I have it now, and might as well make the best of it. What do you guys think, are either of these DIY? I have to assume muffler is, but will have to do some research on the first one. When the labor charge is that large, I have to think this is a pretty involved job.

 

I'm sure it is DIY for the right person, it depends on your capability. There's gotta be threads here on it if you google it, assuming it is "a common failure of these pre-2009 4.0L V6".

What made them come to that conclusion and what's the urgency? Was this a dealership quote? It sounds pretty high, so if you want to have that service done I would ask around at different shops what they'd quote for the same service, or even bring it somewhere for a second opinion.

 

I would think that these task would be easy to do at home, after all we do have YouTube and Tacoma World.
Look at it this way, you figured out how to buy a vehicle 1000 miles from home, how hard can it be to twist a few bolts in your own garage.

 

Practically no 2007 Tacoma is going to be perfect but this one looks well-bought. Relatively low mileage, overall good condition and an original owner who knows what he is talking about. Congratulations!

 

for the muffler, it might be worth looking for a take off on here, CL, or other internet sights.

 

Don't be too hard on yourself for trusting the seller to disclose the timing cover gasket, you asking a lot of good questions on TW about the frame, sharing photos that many buyers never think about doing, if that was a problem you would basically have a giant paperweight.

 

Very interesting that in pic 4 that there is an expansion joint attached by four U bolts in front of the muffler. Not right or wrong, just unusual. They are usualy found on generators or boats (High vibration applications) and welded in place, I would check to see if its leaking or remove it if you are having the muffler replaced.

 

Droning is definitely the tires. I had a set. For 5,000 miles before they went to shit. Cupped really bad and alignment was within spec. There loud as piss. Thankfully the tire shop bought them back and hooked me up with some Falkens.

 

My 07 timing cover has leaked if you could call it that do years. One day I'm gonna put gasket sealer there. 170,000 and just front wheel bearings at around 100,000 done to truck. Good luck to you

 

The leak, if it leaves a puddle overnight, then yes is should be done. It really depends on how much of a leak you can live comfortably with. Heck I had a radiator that needed a gallon for every 5 minutes of driving. Of course once it got that bad I fixed it.

The muffler, again it's what you can live with. Being loud won't hurt anything. I'm willing to bet someone has one that'll fit taking up space in their garage they'll love to get rid of for cheap. Post in want to buy. Theres this patch thing someone told me about. He got it to work but I didn't have any luck with it because it's supposed to melt to the pipe and cool to harden as a patch. The piece I put it on was shaking with the engine so it wouldn't bond.

Repair shops are in business to make money, not say you don't need to spend any money on it. Unless you took it to someone you truly trust, I'd be looking close at their recommendations.

 

Thank you. I realized I worried too much about the most expensive item on here, the timing cover leak. Leak is there and oil is making it to the bottom of the engine and onto the transmission, but it is not making it to the ground. I am not sure what you mean by leaking over the exhaust as I am hard pressed to see how it would get on the exhaust from the angles I was looking at it.

I did order the muffler and intermediate pipe from Amazon, Walker as suggested, $160 total including a clamp and the spring bolts. Cheaper than any other stores online that I could find. Rockauto has great prices, but shipping for the exact same components was $63, making the total over $200. Still $160 in parts and doesn't look that hard to replace the muffler and get it hung, beats the $1k quote.

Thanks all for the encouragement and advice.

 

Its just a patch job, it is where the intermediate exhaust pipe would go. I will remove it and replace with the parts I just ordered to do the muffler.

 

LOL - yes, it seems like it is the tires. Since I didn't buy them I would probably be stuck with them even if they cupped and went bad. They are insanely loud at highway speeds. But we will use them the way they are while they last. I could barely even find Centennial Dirt Commander on the internet - maybe Sears and Ebay...

That is a good looking truck with the black wheels and nice new tires.

Edit - I just realized those are the Dirt Commanders. Ha. At least they look good if they suck for their primary purpose.