Name - James
Location - Bay Area
Truck - 1997 2WD XE 5 Spd
Mileage - 196,XXX
My brother in law bought a new 4Runner and gave my dad his 2 wd Tacoma single cab so I was given his hardbody. Im pretty excited, when I was a teenager looking for my first truck I had my eye on this but couldn't afford a new car. I bought my 2nd favorite truck at the time which was a 1985 S10 Blazer Tahoe.
Anyways... Truck is 99% oem and needs a ton of work. Its been neglected most of its life, since it was mostly a commuter vehicle. Regular maintenance was hardly ever done and its starting to show. Its almost scary to drive, and I cant believe my 70 year old father in law was driving it. I've been with my now wife for almost 18 years and I have never seen him wash it. When I was working at Goodyear I would do his oil changes for free just to make sure it was done at all haha.
When I got the truck these were the noticeable problems
The shocks are gone
ball joints are there, but useless
steering has a clunking sound
tires are 9 years old and cracking. all 4 slowly leak about 3-5 psi per day
front brakes squeak and pull a bit
has a high idle (1100 rpms)
has a slight rattle and cold start
leaking oil from pretty much every place possible
Its starting to rust
That's what I know SO FAR.. But here she is.
I have been working on it for a few months now in my garage. Between my work schedule, kids and the usual house "honey do list I only work on it 45 mins to an hour here and there.
Ill follow this post with what I've done so far to catch up to its current status.