1997 Toyota Tacoma HELP

[TaCoMa974x4]

Purshaced a 1997 toyota tacoma 4x4 v6 3.4 liter. bought it from a friend and knew the last 4 years history of the vehicle. a rod bearing cap bolt broke. of course cauesing the enige to fly all to crap. now seeing that the bearings and everything in the motor that is only at 125,000 miles. look brand new still without any wear what so ever. i am gonna say the bolt breaking caused the whole problem. so that to me wiht the bolt being broke straight off and not at a angle would mean it would be a defect in toyotas bolt. these rod bear cap bolts have forged ends on them. ok i understand that the warrenty is of course out on this truck. but i also understand that this broke because of defect and not of neglict of the engine or from driving. so i have filed a claim wiht toyota. and notified the dealer near me. for the last few days they have been throwing me back and forth to the 1-800-331-4331 number and the hickory toyota dealer ship in north carolina. today i was called and told the regional serivce manager would have to look at the case. and they REFUSE to give me contact info for him. says he comes to the dealership every month or two and i would have to wait until he arrived. so i called the 1-800-go-toyota number they are unable to give regional info out. and said i would have to file a claim to get intouch with him. which i had already done. so why is this guy JIM POPE is his name so hard to get ahold of. and why should i have to wait up to 2 months to get ahold of him? and then leave it up to THEM which could care les sabout my problem to contact me. SOOOOO i am in search of contact info to regional department. hopefully for North Carolina. any of you guys help? i just want a COMPATENT person to look at my trucks motor and broke part. any fool can see what has happen. any help will be helpful thanks

[Hossy]

Reps come to the dealer usually when several cars are scheduled for the rep to look at. Not a specicic day a month.
And i'm not calling you a liar, but i've never seen a v6 brake a rod bolt. Seen several of the 4cyl. 5fse engines do that. What number rod was it? Well good luck.

[TaCoMa974x4]

would have been the 3rd rod. then taking most of the 4th out with it. I would not have expected this to happen either. I like toyot aand still think they make good cars. but its hard to mass produce cars and sometimes not have defects in a few or alot of the cars. same truck had the head gasket recall which was fixed in 1999. this isnt a recall or a normal thing that happens i am sure. just asking for sum one to atleast take the time to look at my claim.

[TaCoMa974x4]

Here You go look at the pictures of the desribed probelm http://www.geocities.com/toyota_94_97/Toyota.html theres a link on the left to pictures of the bolt

[Greasygreg]

wesley, i wish you the best of luck on your silver tounging conversation with the rep.Gotta tell ya though,if that happened at my dealership,and your rig was out of warranty, we'd quote you a price on an engine, labor and tell you to oterwise,pound rocks. But..let us know what THEY tell you okay?

[AFP520]

so you want toyota to fix your truck as a warranty/recall claim even though your friend sold it to you? if it was a recall, why didn't your friend ever get it fixed?

just because he's a friend and you say you know the vehicles history doesnt mean something couldn't have happened that caused the engine damage... checkout all toyota truck recalls http://www.alldata.com/recall/make/Toyota_Truck.html

i took a quick gander and i didnt see any engine related recalls... especially since the 5VZ hasnt changed much in the 9 years its been in Tacomas, 4-Runners, Tundras, T-100s... i love my 5VZ though!

good luck though

[TaCoMa974x4]

Thanks for the comments. its not a recall i am sure of that. and i do understand the warrenty is off. but i am a toyota person and supporter. and at 125,000 a toyota still should be going. i bought the truck from my close friend. I knew the trucks history before i bought it from him. And i gues sof a matter of fact he bought it from a guy he worked from. which was the orignial owner. so i am the third owner. AFP520 nice truck by the way. i also have a 1994 toyota pickup. i have had for 6 years. 150,000 on it still runs like new. the inside of this 5VZ engine in the 97 Tacoma. looks NEW looks like it was put ogether the day before it blew up. theres NO visable wear in the engine. i just would like Toyota to look a the engine and see if they can help. ya know if i was just gave a good short block i would be tickled to death. and GreasyGreg. even after u told me to pound rocks i then would go to the person above u and try again lol. i not asking for a dealership to look at it. i asking for a rep or sumone in a higher position to view my engine and problem. if the was any NEGLECT of any kind in this engine you could tell it from worn parts. there are no worn parts. bearings even the crank itself look BRAND NEW. but there is a bolt that has been broke. and looks to been broke for a while to have the coloring it has in it.