I'm looking at a low mileage 1996 Tacoma 4wd 3.4L 5speed that has been sitting in impound for 4 years. Wasn't prepped to be parked for so long, hasn't been touched (other than being moved around the yard) since it was impounded.

If I were to become the owner of this truck, what are my steps to bring it back to life? I've got a few ideas (service all fluids, battery, etc) but want to hear what y'all have to say.

What would you do?

 

wheel it...


its a toyota.


i wouldnt be the least bit surprised if it fires right up and purrs like a kitten even running on 4 year old gas. new gas, injector cleaner and oil flush, then enjoy your new truck

 

I agree with Tofer...Change the fluids and enjoy.

 

I bought it: http://www.publicsurplus.com/sms/auc...iew?auc=353943
Probably not going to o wheeling right away, even if it could, I'd rather baby it for a couple weeks to make sure it'll last me 20 years.

Rec's on a good shop in Eugene, Oregon to have the truck towed to for a bit of "resurrection" servicing? What all should I have done?

 

i would replace the tires.

 

go watch davidsfarm on youtube some of them cars are in worse shape and start just fine on old gas

 

Well you might get lucky but 90% chance your going to need a battery and change fluids and if they have not dry rotted a new set of tires too. Other than that just hope she burns the old gas and shes good to go. The best thing to do though is to drain the gas tank and fill it back up with fresh gas.

 

x2 They will probably be junk. You will probably have to replace at least the rotors or possibly cut them.

Nice score!!

 

Spark Plugs

Drain the gas tank and refill with high octane and with some fuel system cleaner..

Timing belt water pump

Fuel filter

Coolant backFLUSH

Air filter.

Fr/RR diff fluids transmission and Tcase..

Oil and again after 1500 just to be safe..


That should do it, Then you can wheel the piss out of it..

Trust me that engine is a monster and should be fine..

 

thats a cherry truck! i was expecting something that had been impounded after some sort of off road police pursuit. Good score. All i can add is to make sure there arent any mouse nests in the air box!

 

So the posting on the auction site was a little misleading... turns out the vehicle was confiscated 4 years ago but has been used and maintained by the city of Eugene for the past 4 years. The motor pool guy I talked to said they've put 16k miles on it in the 4 years, mostly doing police surveillance. So no worries about the truck being filled with old fluids, bad gas, and rotted rubber - just donut crumbs! I am so stoked! Gonna have to bring it back from Eugene on some rough roads!

 

in that case--really good score.

But for future reference--Marvel mystery oil down the spark plug holes and let it sit overnight. Then start