What do I do with my new-to-me used Tacoma?

Hey everyone, picked up a 2002 Tacoma Prerunner 4cyl 2WD with 230k miles a couple weeks ago. The truck runs great, has no oil leaks, and has a hell of a service record that has been handed down since the first owner that bought it from the dealer. I'm the fourth owner.

First thing I did was change the oil on it. Next, I'll be changing the spark plugs. I'm trying to learn about car mechanics as I've heard this is a pretty easy car to learn on, but I'm basically starting off from preschool level knowledge. Some advice would be appreciated.

A buddy recommended picking up the Haynes manual and getting an OBDII which I'll be getting soon. What else can I do right now to make this thing last? Appreciate any input

 

Welcome to the Forum.

Lower Balljoints, grease driveshaft.

 

^^^ That. Read up on here about the lower ball joints and why they should be changed at least every 70K at best every 30K.

Did you give the frame the rust test? Crawl under with a ball peen hammer, tap along the frame, especially the rear around the shocks/spring mount points. You should hear a nice metal ping throughout.

Start looking at bushings and shocks unless they've been changed recently. On external inspection they might look OK but the rubber is over 21 years old, it makes a big difference. Same with steering rack bushings and the various carriers on the propeller/drive shaft.

 

Thanks to both of you for the recs. I've read about the issues with the lower ball joints. The shocks definitely need to be replaced so I'll tackle both plus the other suspension components at the same time.

The truck has been in FL its entire life. I looked as best as I could and didn't notice any aggressive rusting but didn't know about that test so I'll give that a shot, too.

 

Plug it into an OBD2 scanner and see if anything pops up. I'd do all the fluids (and I mean all of them), lower ball joints, change the steering rack bushings and LCA bushings while I'm doing the LBJ's. Check the suspension, check bearings.

 

Drive Smile repeat as necessary. congrats

 

Establish your own maintenance baseline. Replace all fluids, belts, spark plugs, air filter, LBJs, inspect all the hoses, check steering, suspension and drive train components for play. You have lots of maintenance records but you don’t know the quality of materials and workmanship. In my case I was stoked that I had records of every service since the truck rolled off the lot but in later years the previous owner went to a local shop and whoever had deals on cheap oil changes. I found a radiator hose clamp hadn’t been replaced after a coolant flush and the oil drain plug was hand tight and sealed with permatex instead of 10-cent crush washer. I was lucky the truck didn’t bleed out on the drive home. I don’t think the driveshaft was ever greased and all the service invoices said there were no grease fittings found. Power steering had been flushed but they used power steering fluid rather than ATF. Maybe not a big deal but I have to believe Toyota put “use ATF” and not “whatever you have handy” on the top of the power steering pump for a reason. Not trying to make you paranoid but even with the best of intentions a lot can happen to these trucks over the years and the only way to make sure it’s done right is to do it yourself.

Edit: post some pictures of your new baby!

 

YouTube is your friend. You can find all sorts of repair videos there. Watch twice, repair once. Your Tacoma is a great car to learn mechanics on. You will need a set of metric tools.

 

The perfect machine. Congrats!

 

Find yourself a copy of the Factory Service Manual (google search "1st gen tacoma FSM") you will be able to find a link to a zip file... I haven't looked at a Haynes manual for these trucks, but the FSM is easily available and straight from the source.

OBDII- a lot of folks like the bluetooth + mobile app approach. I have a ScanGauge II and I like it. Mounting options aren't great (mine lives double sided taped to the trim in front of the shift levers). But having the fluid temps and other info always displayed is nice.

 

https://spikerengineering.com/product-category/mounts

I've got one of these and it's great. Kinda spendy for a metal bracket but it's rock solid and well thought out.

 

They are nice! but they require that you have the handle on the pillar, and not all trucks sold have them. I also find pillar gauges distracting.

 

https://web.archive.org/web/20101127005714/http://ncttora.com/fsm/2003/2003_FSM.zip

 

thanks for the advice! I downloaded the FSM a few weeks ago, looking forward to using it. Also planning on getting a OBDII. The scan gauge looks a bit pricey but probably a good reason for that. I’ll keep shopping around

 

it’s helped a bunch already! My A/C just stopped blowing cold air this morning so getting ready to get back on there again…

 

Thanks for your insights. I changed the oil but all the other fluid look like they’re in really good condition. Would you still change them?

The guy I bought from told me he was going to change the shocks but never got around to it so figured I’d do that and LBJs myself. The original owner had them replaced by the dealer when it was recalled but that was 2003. They’re probably due to be replaced right?

 

Yes, I would still change everything. I like to have fresh fluid on all my vehicles. You never know what you'll find when you buy a used vehicle.

I would say yes if they had over 100k miles. There's a way to check and see if they have play. But if you're going to refresh everything then it's one of those "might as well while I'm in there" scenarios lol.

With swapping the LBJ's, you can go ahead and change the steering rack bushings since you're basically more than halfway there to remove the steering rack. You don't have to completely remove the steering rack, you can remove the bolts to the crossmember and pull it far enough to be able to remove the bushings and install the new ones. That's what I did.

I also removed the LCA's and installed bushings because the truck was in pieces anyway. Lol. In your case you're adding fresh shocks, so the LCA is just one bolt to remove.

After all that you'll have a fresh front end and driving it will feel like a brand new vehicle.

 

Thanks for all that. I don't want to overwhelm myself too much since I'm very new to all this so seems like the best approach for me would be to swap the LBJs while replacing the shocks and stop there. Does this kit look ok in terms of quality?

TrueDrive 2002 Toyota Tacoma Pre Runner 4 Cyl 2.7L - Front, Driver and Passenger Side Suspension Kit, includes Ball Joint, Loaded Strut, and Tie Rod End KIT-031117-18 (carparts.com)

 

That looks like a bunch of low quality parts. I'd suggest purchasing OEM Toyota parts if you want them to last.

 

Thanks, definitely want them to last. I'll make sure to get OEM