HELP: I Bought an Overweight Overlander

[shade]

If I do spring for a new transmission, do I risk the brand new perfectly tuned transmission ripping apart the older driveshaft, transfer case, etc.? The mechanic here mentioned that it could have a ripple effect throughout the vehicle - not sure if he’s being honest or just trying to milk me for all he can...

Once the rear axle (and differential & bearings & brakes?) are replaced, and the transmission is replaced (rebuilt / whatever), the U-joints would be the next obvious points of failure. Relatively cheap, and definitely in need of inspection based on what you've said.

So ... how's the front suspension? ?

 

[Deleted member 9101]

Maybe, but the 2nd gen Tacoma automatic transmission is considered to be robust in OEM form. Failures are rare, even among the severely burdened Tacomas wandering these forums.

Meh... OEM and Robust are not two words that are used together very often....lol.

Performance parts offer durability that OEM parts can only dream of...and usually for the cost or even cheaper.

 

[shade]

Meh... OEM and Robust are not two words that are used together very often....lol.

Performance parts offer durability that OEM parts can only dream of...and usually for the cost or even cheaper.

I singled out that AT for a reason. It was also used in the Tundra, and for all the complaints about the Tacoma, AT failures are rare.

 

[luthj]

So ... how's the front suspension? ?

Ignoring the terrible lower BJ clunking at your own peril.

 

[shade]

Ignoring the terrible lower BJ clunking at your own peril.

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Now you're just being mean.

Seriously, though. If the rear end was hurting, and with that many miles, there's a good chance the front has enough wear for concern if original parts are still in service.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Ignoring the terrible lower BJ clunking at your own peril.

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That's a completely different situation. The 1st gen Tacoma lower BJ design was fundamentally flawed and was changed on the 2nd gen. The LBJ is no longer in tension so if it fails it collapses instead of separates.

It is critical that 1st gen Taco owners stay on top of them and it's generally recommended to only use OEM LBJs on them as well. There's also a recall on 2000-2004 Tacomas due to a batch of defective OE parts (the supplier apparently nicked them when assembling). They'll give you new ones and an alignment. They should have done that when they were replacing the rotted frame, though...

 

[roving1]

You bought a POS, not a lemon. It's 14 years old truck with 137,000 miles ... thinking that it will not need major repairs is silly. Despite what the internet tells you... Toyota's do not go for ever with no repairs....lol.

Harsh much?

I bought a high mileage Taco from an expo member then immediately took it on a coast to coast trip, took probably 5 other long distance trips, drove it to Central Mexico for a work trip, and then back to Michigan. Every trip involving hundreds of miles of challenging lo range travel with heavy loads. So almost 3 years and 30K of travel with the only field fix being a radiator cap before I tore things apart for upgrades recently. No "internet" involved other to arrange the sale.

I don't need the internet to tell me that of the 6 people I know with 2000 era Rangers all of them blew up or became a nightmare to maintain and not one of them is still on the road while I still commute to work in one 2002 2wd Tacoma and drive anywhere to any country in another 2002 4wd Tacoma.

I am not a fanboy. My current 4WD Taco was almost a 90's 4.9 F-150 with a manual that got sold before I could buy it. I would have trusted that thing to be as reliable as the Taco I wound up with. I actually don't like anything Toyota makes now and very much like newer offerings from other makes if I wasn't too cheap to spend money on a new vehicle, and I didn't hate most new vehicle features.

But it's a bit silly to pretend every 14 year old vehicle is a POS and its also silly to pretend that in different eras of time there is not clear demonstrable differences in reliability and longevity between brands and even models and engines within brands.

I think OP hit some bad luck and bought an incredibly heavily used and to some degree abused vehicle. Also OP you should skip dealers and take it to drive-train specialists or find a friendly off road shop.

 

[reaver]

While I don't disagree with your post, I would like to add that there is absolutely no way to know if a used vehicle is going to be reliable. You can make an educated guess...but certainty is impossiable.

I completely agree. The same ultimately applies to new vehicles as well, just to a lesser degree. The point I was trying to make was that the best you can do is to try and mitigate the risk by doing your homework.

 

[luthj]

Crap, the toyota bros have descended!

Seriously though, there is no reason to pollute this thread in defense of toyota. Cars break. Happens.

 

[shade]

Crap the toyota bros have descended!

Seriously though, there is not reason to pollute this thread in defense of toyota. Cars break. Happens.

Spoken like a true M-B owner.
Or is it a GM now? Chrysler? It's hard to keep up.

I hope @Ziro is finding some relief in this thread, as well as a few alternatives worth considering. I can understand the concern; that's a lot of money to spend early in ownership.

 

[luthj]

I hope @Ziro is finding some relief in this thread, as well as a few alternatives worth considering. I can understand the concern; that's a lot of money to spend early in ownership.

Indeed. The good news is, that unless they are really unlucky the truck should go another 100k without major incident. Assuming repairs are done well, and ideally some weight is removed.

 

[shade]

Indeed. The good news is, that unless they are really unlucky the truck should go another 100k without major incident. Assuming repairs are done well, and ideally some weight is removed.

That's actually my plan. By the time my truck reaches it's first 100,000 of your miles, I'll have refurbished the areas of concern. It has to last until the 5th gen Tacoma crushes all pretenders to the throne.

 

[Ziro]

Really appreciate the help guys, looks like we’re gonna bite the bullet, buy the new transmission, try to slash some weight - anyone in Texas in need of a nice pair of sliders, a full size spare, and perhaps some maxtrax?

we’ve come to the conclusion that when the axle bent and the rear wheel locked up, and we forced it by rocking it back and forth we blew the transmission - which may or may not have been in a sensitive state, impossible to say at this point. Hopefully this is the last of the costly repairs...

 

[roving1]

Ignoring the terrible lower BJ clunking at your own peril.

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Not for nothing but that is a 5 lug 2wd truck that someone turned into a Bro-Runner. Components are completely different and weaker than on 4WD. Although 4WD should not be ignored either

 

[shade]

Really appreciate the help guys, looks like we’re gonna bite the bullet, buy the new transmission, try to slash some weight - anyone in Texas in need of a nice pair of sliders, a full size spare, and perhaps some maxtrax?

we’ve come to the conclusion that when the axle bent and the rear wheel locked up, and we forced it by rocking it back and forth we blew the transmission - which may or may not have been in a sensitive state, impossible to say at this point. Hopefully this is the last of the costly repairs...

Good luck. One benefit of a dealership repair should be a decent warranty, along with a selection of Toyota shops worldwide.