What year Gen-2 had what issues

I'm giving my '96 Tacoma to my son in... yikes, in exactly 7 days. I'm pretty sure I'm going to wait and get a '16 Tacoma. But... I've been kicking around the idea of getting something older, with <100k miles, in good shape. I'm in no hurry, I could wait all summer looking for a good deal.

But with Gen-2, I don't want to step into a frame-rust disaster. Or the "steering shake" ("drive shake" -- whatever it is) issue. Could someone post a what years have the frame-rust issue? I read about it enough to scare me, but have never seen a nice year-by-year guide. Maybe it is already posted somewhere.

What would be great would be:

2005:
2006: frame rust
2007: frame rust
2008: frame rust, drive vibration
2009: drive vibration
2010: some_other_thing
2011: <etc>


Thanks.

 

from reading thread on TW all the frames rust - from personal experience all frame from 2000 - my 2000 they bought back because the frame rusted thru - that was a gen 1 - now they are replacing all the gen 2 frame.

 

My 2nd generation frame is completely rust free. Toyota is not replacing "ALL" the gen 2 frames.

 

Every thing in every marquee has some kind of problem. Just some worse than others. Frame rust started with Gen1 trucks, it's not exclusive to Gen2. Also greatly depends on where the vehicle lived and how used.

I appreciate your interest in 'quirks' by year. But it would be helpful to mention what features you want on the truck. There may be some things that are related to motor, transmission, 4WD, certain electronic accessories, etc etc. to know about as well.

How you plan to use the truck (stock, modded, lifted etc) factor in as well.

And when someone reports an issue, ask for clarification on how the truck was modded, used, maintained. Sometimes things are related to 'user error' (mods gone wrong). Sometimes not.

As in any used vehicle shopping, once you determine must have features, nice to have features and budget, it's important to pick something that has well documented records and passes a thorough mechanical inspection.

 

Wow. This shows you how ignorant I am. I thought it was very specific, as in years 20xx through 20yy.

I need a 6cyl, 4wd, double cab, short bed. Prefer a manual. I live in CO and would likely purchase a vehicle that has lived in CO. The truck would be used 95% of the time on pavement or snow -- short commute, or driving into the mountains to hike/bike/snowshoe/ski <== Because this is why we live in CO . And just a few times a year it would be off-road -- nothing serious -- to get to a semi-remote trail-head. Very little towing.

I guess the real answer is going to be: whatever I look at, I'll just need to make sure during the mechanical inspection to also look carefully and ask about frame rust.

 

no double cab manual

 

What?? Nooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Check the frame in the rear just above the rubber snubberrs and see if it's shiny, these trucks tend to bottom out, especially if they haven't has the TSB springs installed. If it has been bottoming, count your spring leaves. stock is 2 leaves and an overload, TSB is 3 leaves and an overload.

Next, listen for ticking on acceleration, some models developed cracks in the exhaust manifold.