At about 260,000 miles my 2.7L in my 2000 Tacoma hydro-locked. Before that, the Tacoma had been "just a truck" but at the moment white smoke surrounded it in the Ranch & Home parking lot, I realized I loved that truck. Determined to get it back on (and off) the road, I started spending money.

Thanks to a mechanic friend/neighbor interested in earning extra cash, the engine was pulled, professionally rebuilt, reinstalled and I was on my way.
For a while... I noticed the engine was getting warm but wasn't ever pegging the temperature gauge so I checked fluids and continued using it on short jaunts. Soon it blew a head gasket.
We (the neighbor) pulled the head, sent it to the shop to be checked, and replaced the radiator. My old radiator weighed twice as much as the new one so 'that' problem was solved.
On the road again.

Soon there was a bit of a 'tic' in the engine and my mechanic was working long hours so wasn't able to listen to it right away. It was running great and oil level was perfect so I continued onward. On a hunting trip, 2 hours drive into the mountains, someone asked if I had a diesel engine in my Tacoma. I made it home, drove 2 miles more to the hardware store, then brought it home on a trailer.

At this point, I am more determined than ever to get this darned truck running and turn it into my hunting truck... So we (the neighbor) look into the problem and find the engine is WAY out of time. Pull off the cover and discover a small piece of metal laying in the top. The dowel pin holding the timing chain gear in place on the overhead cam shaft has sheared! A $1.95 part failed shutting down the engine and bending 2 valves. Put a minor ding in the top of a piston too.

So the head goes back to the shop (we're now on a fist name basis) where they replace the bent valves and perform some secret rituals to make it work again. The lifelong engine rebuild guy says he has never seen that dowel pin fail before. He looked very surprised. Original neighbor/mechanic is working insane hours again so I hire unemployed neighbor/mechanic to put it all back together.

It's running great! I'm using it for errands and local coyote hunting, everything works. Woo hooo! THEN,,, I go out back, get in and start it to warm it up. Later go out back and drive it to the front so my hunting buddy can load his things into the back when he arrives. He arrives, I go outside and immediately break off the @#$%^&* door handle when I try to get in the driver's door!

I fixed that myself by replacing the handle on both sides using dorman parts. Also replaced the plastic sheet inside (original had been reduced to confetti).

I hope nothing else goes wrong for a good long while because I may shoot it if it craps out on me real soon.

 

Attachment when rogue and Advanced Edit doesn't let me remove the attachment. May need Admin help.

 

Wrong forum.

 

DANG!