Best year TACO?

SSWaters

SSWaters

Old Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2005
Location
Kannapolis
Been thinking about replacing my daily driver, 4 door model, back and forth on highway, pickup parts & steel, very little off roading, got the jeep to tear up for that. So, I'm zeroing in on Taco's.
From what I've read so far;

02 year model is best?
Manual shift T-case
Throttle by cable
6 or 4 cyl - both good
smaller size truck before they turned into a Dakota sized truck
Less plastic
Manual is good, does the auto last?
Frame recall, spray coat or demand replacement?
Lower A arms have they all been replaced?
Rear axle housing pinhole corrosion, is it just the bowl? Weld on a bowl and you're good?

Help me with some input, looking at them with around 100K miles on them, what's the "gotcha" with these trucks?

How come I have to log in to see my on questions? New setup is quirky.
 
There should be no major "gotcha's", I would definetly look for a manual, the automatics rob a ton of power, neither the 2.7 or 3.4 is a powerhouse, but the automatic just makes them that much worse (worse mileage as well). If you just plan to DD it and not really do any modifications to it (lift or larger tires), I would suggest the 4cyl. They make decent power, and get slightly better mileage than the V6. My 95.5 with the 4cylinder had decent power, it pulled 35's with 4.10 gears fine, didn't have much power in 5th gear though (evenutally went to 39.5's and 4.10's, but had dual cases for off road).

If the timing belt/water pump hasn't been done (V6), then the pump likely will seep slightly, not a big deal though, just leaves some crusty junk behind the timing cover. The V6 is a non-interference engine, so if the belt breaks all it will do is leave you stranded, I think the 4cyl is non interference as well, but I have heard of people running well over 300K on the factory belt (4cyl).

The rear frame is weak, I think they may have fixed this by 2002, but if you don't plan to wheel or haul alot, it shouldn't be a problem. Look at the frame behind where the box frame stops to see the condition, you likely won't find one that is bent.

RUST can be an issue, but unless the truck has been dropped in a mudhole or in salty areas, you probably won't see a problem. Not sure what year model the rust buy-back stopped, may have covered the 2002's, but it is good for 15 years from original date of sale.

If you are tall (or wide), then you might not like the interior room. I am 6'6" and skinny, my wife's 4runner (1999) has no legroom (I consider good legroom when I can fully straighten my legs), and no headroom, I'd hate to rollover in it, my head hits the roof sitting in the seat...

That said, you won't find a better truck than a Tacoma, any year model 1995.5-2003 is about the same, might have some slight differences in options, but engine/trans will basically be the same.
 
I've looked at Frontiers and Colorados also, but seems like they have issues also. Looks like Tacoma has higher resale, Frontier good if you get a manual, Colorado has gremlins from what I read online and eats up front tires?
 
The frame rust recall was for 95.5-2000. You come out real good if you have rust issues though. It has to be registered to you for one year before you can cash in but they give you 1.5 times the excellent blue book value for it. So if you find one I would at least consider it as some kind of investment.
 
Scott, you are a big boy and you sit flat on the floor in the tacos. My head almost rubs the celing in them and you are taller than me. I am sure you have spent some time in one.
I put a TON of HARD miles on my 4 banger/auto Colarado, and never had any issues at at. To be honest, I ran the crap out of it like I hated it. I was very impressed with it. It pulled like a tractor, I even towed the race car over to Mooresville a couple times (after I put small air bags on the rear). FWIW you can get one pretty cheap and the 4 doors look good too.
 
I like the looks of the 4 door Colorado, like that it's USA Chevy money regardless of where it's built. Did you have front tire problems like I read on the net? The only Colorado I was ever in was yours at the dirt track that time.

Wait, I'll just see ya tomorrow anyway, don't try to kill anybody else at your house before then.
 
Naw, no tire problems. It has the same front end as my Trailblazer and its good too. Funny you should mention killing people at the house. I picked up a loaded d60 axle with the cherry picker tonight and when dad pulled the trailer out from under it he about dragged the whole mess down the hill and into the road. LOL.
 
Back
Top