Hi-

I have a 95 Tacoma 4x4 2.7L AT w/ 138,000 that i have put a significant amount of money into, in the short 2 1/2 years I have owned it. The HG blew in the first month, I just had a used T-case installed and pretty much everything in between.

Part of the problem, I think, is this software glitch in the ECU that causes a lot of vibration and shudder at idle. There is a TSB on it. This may account for the driveshaft and T-case, unsure, but I'm freaked out every time I come to a stop anymore that something else major is on the horizon.

I could get a used ECU and HOPE that it isn't one with this issue or I could sell the truck and get another one. Here is my dilemma.

There is a '96 4x4 At with 31,000 mi. within a couple of hours of me for $6,900 in mint cond. but I would need to act quickly. In addition to wanting some feedback on this truck, I'm looking for opinions on the following:

* 1990's Tacoma vs. early 2000's?
*AT or MT?
* 4cyl. or 6 cyl?

Thanks, really appreciate any feedback~

 

I really love my 97, love how it look and how it drives. I have a 5-speed and love it and 3.4 liter which is fantastic. I like how mine has retained some of the simplicity that youll find in the older trucks by having manual everything, but mechanically it is pretty much the same all the way up to 2003. It hasn't been to hard to work on and I have never had major problems yet at 230,000 miles (knock on wood) I paid 6k for mine when it had 138,000 on it, so 6,900 doesn't sound to bad for one with only 31,000. I wonder why it has so few miles? Did it sit for a few years?

 

I guess it had 2 owners, both of which drove it for a few miles daily!