|
Re: Used Tacoma Watch List
"Paul." <paul.blomberg@cox.net> wrote:[color=blue]
>I'll be looking at a used Tacoma this weekend for son #2. Any hints on
>particular problems with this vintage truck that I should pay particular
>attention to?
>
>'99 Tacoma 3.4l Xtra Cab; Auto Trans, TRD 4WD; 116,000 miles (timing belt
>has not been changed yet); ps; pb; keyless entry
>[/color]
Pretty reliable rigs. As long as it hasn't been abused, there shouldn't be any
real problems...the powertrains on the Tacos are pretty unkillable. Make sure
the ride is what you're looking for -- Tacos have a very in-your-face road feel.
Gas mileage on a V6 is also going to be pretty lousy (17/20 sticker), so be
prepared.
You have the usual problems with paint chipping in the rear quarterpanels
(although the wider front mudflaps on the TRDs alleviate that somewhat). Most
Tacos have a certain percentage of rattling manifold heat shields (there was a
TSB on it, but no recall)...hardly major. If you purchase, you may want to
have a good tire shop make sure the wheels were balanced correctly -- the Taco
wheels are lug-centric, instead of the more usual hub-centric, so some shops
still balance the wheels incorrectly. Also check the paint on the wheel
decorations -- for some reason, the paint on the wheel decorations
self-destructs pretty early.
The timing belt interval on the 1999 Taco V6 is 90K miles, so it's getting up
there a bit, but not horribly so. If that 116K is mostly highway miles, I'd be
tempted to let 'er slide some more.
|
Linear Mode
