Taco (gen 2) write up...350k crossed & jamming to 400k

We have cousins up in Bend!

 

I was in bend yesterday...go there often...lovely place
& today I went snowboarding at mt shasta...more towards you
my Tacoma takes me everywhere....gotta love our trucks!

when I came out from the ski park, there were three other tacos parked next to me
taco's united!

 

I appreciate the write-up, OP, and the time you took to type all of that out. It’s a testament to the care you’ve taken in preserving your truck and a reflection of the same. I vote to keep the truck and keep on driving it. At a certain mileage you just have to hang on to it and see how long it can go, and you’re definitely in that mileage range. It’s the same with my work truck, a 1998 T100. My Dad bought it new at the end of 1998 — according to the Toyota salesman 1 of 3 left in North America before Toyota discontinued them. He used it as a delivery truck for 18 years, and put 685,000 miles on the little 2.7l. Then, it went to me and I use it as my low-key get to work truck. It finally crapped out at 701,000 miles. I had the engine rebuilt by a work friend for ~$2K, and I’m driving it again. Currently at 706,500 miles, and getting 22 mpg. The stupid thing is a part of the family, haha. So yeah, I vote keep your truck and drive it.

 

kind words & thanks for the read bud!
my kids feel the same way... the taco is part of the family
just gotta keep going until major engine or tranny issues arise...then I will turn it into a monster truck for fun & off roading
currently its my daily drive...so I wanna go to 400k or 500k before I retire her to playtime use only

amazing to hear the 700k marker on your end
good work & keep going

 

Great write up.

 

I like your plan and much appreciated, Sir!

 

thanks for the read/comment
much appreciated!
I need to get to Mammoth...hear you guys got hellllla snow

 

Well done Sir! An inspiration

 

what a journey it has been...like no other....thanks for the comment friend!

 

Great post! To be honest, I haven't kept up 100% with perfect maintenance. Life got in the way and I haven't established good habits. I change the oil (Mobile 1/Mobile filter) every 5K and do the rear diff (2WD) every 30K. Filters, wiper blades, and that's about it. at 100K and just changed the front brakes and pads myself.
I'm going to download your maintenance schedule and use it to do some catch up work. Thanks for such a great post!

 

thanks bud!
I was really bad the 1st 90k miles too....just did the oil every 5k miles & tires at 60k
when I hit 90k the truck was still running great so I decided to keep her & started doing the maint.

 

found this (kinda dated) & found it interesting

https://www.hardworkingtrucks.com/r...ruck-to-make-list-of-300k-plus-mile-vehicles/

 

finally a major issue (2 actually) arose after 300k miles

In dec (2018) I started to notice a strange noise (some what like an exhaust leak) while decelerating from 60mph down to 40mph.
After research & checking my truck I found a very sloppy connection where the front cv axle met the front diff (on drivers side). Found a worn factory needle bearing (carrier bearing) located inside the front diff. In trying to find/solve this issue, I also ended up replacing both front wheel bearings (which were fine, btw). Now I had become overly concerned about noises from under the truck, & noticed another strange noise. I was hearing a howling sound when decelerating between 50-70mph, most audible/noticable/demonstratable at 60mph. This sound was coming from the rear of the truck. I again ended up changing both rear wheel bearing in an attempt to resolve the howl, but the howl persisted. I created a thread about this howl-
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/rear-end-howl-whine-at-60mph-no-more-howl-issue-solved.597315/

the howl was a worn pinion bearing/race

in a nutshell, I replaced all 4 wheel bearing, the needle bearing (replaced with ECGS bushing), & replaced the rear diff (aka 3rd member) with a rebuilt unit from ECGS (love those guys!) with with solid spacer instead of the crush spacer.

my unicorn has been down graded to standard horse, lol
update on mileage....about to turn 307k

 

replacement 3rd member from ECGS....installed yesterday & no more howl

 

When are you going to do your 0-60 with the new engine oil so we can see how much faster new engine oil makes your truck! lol

 

I think you spend too much time on TW, & you really need to find some other thread
I know you love blackstone & long oil change intervals, lol

I was actually planning on NOT doing the 0-60 mph time test before & after an oil change
(I had the howl to deal with & was not sure if the truck was up to the task, fixed the howl yesterday though)
but just because you brought it up, ITS BACK ON

when I hit 310k its gonna happen
Im sure you will be in the front row when I post the results
(I am not going to fix the results, as someone else posted)

I dont think the fresh oil is going to make the truck as race car if thats where you think I am heading with this,
but I do feel a noticable improvement in take off speed right after a fresh oil change vs after the oil has 4000-5000 miles on it
I also notice the motor revs better at high engine speed & holds gears longer after used oil is replaced with fresh oil

from a numbers perspective (& this is a educated guess here)
I suspect my truck does 0-60mph in 8 sec on used oil & 0-60mph in 7.5 sec with fresh oil
when I do the real test, we will see the actual numbers

if I am wrong, I will admit it....not trying to fix the test

 

haha looking forward to it!

 

internet trolls, makes a person not want to use the internet

 

I am absolutely curious about your test!

I have not heard of this claim that new engine oil will make your vehicle faster!

 

me too.....I have done 64 oil changes on my taco & everytime its feels faster for 500-1000 miles after the oil is changed
maybe it is just in my head, so I am going to validate the feeling with actual time/speed testing

I will keep the variables as identical as possible (same weight in truck, same road, same time of day/temp)
I am going the record the process (in car video of the dash as I go from 0-60) both before & after for your viewing

this will be fun

again, I dont think its a major difference (maybe a 1/4 or 1/2 sec)
its a fractional improvement at best I suspect, but I can feel it

the test will tell
I am sure some think I will fix the test in my favor, to you I say WRONGO
I am an honest guy & can admit when I am off