barkeywayne

After many years and a million-odd miles of 70's/80's 20R & 22R's I recently purchased a 98 Tacoma 2WD XCab with the 2RZ 2.4L motor. I was wondering if there are any known weaknesses in this motor and how the cam(s) are driven (belt, gear, chain) and what the replacement interval is for the camdrive system? It has 67K miles on it now and if my previous Toyo pickup history is any indication I hope to see at least 250K on it while I own it. Thanks!

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amusement

2.4L has a chain driven cam.

I had 135K on my old 95 Taco before I sold it.
lessons learned from my 2.4

Do not use any PTFE or teflon oil additives

I put slick 50 and it built up over time ruining the engine.

I am unaware of any weakness. It's a very solid I-4.

barkeywayne

I have never run any oil additives, what kind of problems did they cause? I am running Cast 10W40 semi-synthetic in the 98 now. Did you ever change your timing chain in that 135K? Glad to hear the 2RZ is another good I-4, I would hope Toyota didn't replace the near bulletproof 22R's with a dud.

amusement

PTFE builds up on the cylinder walls and rings, valve guides and rods and bearings resulting in Teflon sludge. The sludge acts as a shield and creates abnormal wear.

Castrol is one of the best (if not the best) synthetic oils on the market. Many Yota members use it religiously

I sold the Taco @ 135K miles. There were no issues with the timing chain . The former Taco had no ABS and that really sucked. Breaking was horrible it felt like all drums. Later this year, I will buy a used 2wd Taco with a 2.7L I-4 to be my daily driver. Both 2.4 and 2.7 are great four bangers

, Amusement

barkeywayne

That's interesting about the oil additives, I have always been a little leery of them. I have always been a Castrol fan and decided to try the Syntec blend on this truck and am planning on staying with it. I've been getting anywhere from 26-28 mpg with the 2.4L/5 speed combo. Good luck with your used truck hunt, I bought this 98 for $5,750 with 65K miles and in excellent condition. I think I got a deal but we'll see how I feel in a few years.