Hey all, last week a kid ran a yield sign and totaled my 1993 Limited Extended Cab 4X4. I had it for around 10 years and it was a great, extremely dependable truck. I loved it and I'm going to miss it, but figured I'd upgrade to a Tacoma or possibly an early 2000-2004 V8 4X4 Tundra.I'm just curious whether there's anything issues in particular to look for in a 95.5-2004 4X4 Tacoma? Do they have head gasket issues like the earlier 6 cyl? I'm also curious as to how dependable these are, and what kind of MPG I might expect out of the 4X4s?

Any info will be appreciated.

Here's the last I seen of my 93:


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Ouch! Sorry to see that.

Read around on the 3.4. They're seeming to be more reliable and longer lasting than the 22R.
Great trucks, great engines. Mine has 200,000 and seems like a new truck. Frame
rust is the thing to watch out for. Not much of an issue in Cali, unless the truck came
from somewhere else.

19mpg highway, 15-17 town. I get 14 towing a 17' camper trailer.

 

I once read that the first year of the 2nd gen Tacoma(2005-2006) had a weak part in the front suspension/steering that was fixed the next year.
The 3.4 V6 engine(the 5VZ-FE) which began in the Tacoma and 3rd gen 4Runners in 1996 was Toyota's first super-reliable V6, with no common defects or durability issues like the head gasket failures in the previous 3.0 V6. The 3.4 showed up in the Tacoma, 4Runner, late T100, and early Tundra. Check on 4runner and Tundra forums to see if the later V6 engines have any bad rep.
I'm getting the same gas mileage from my 1997 3.4/5 speed 4Runner that I got with my '91 reg cab 22RE 4WD truck, if that helps.
FYI: Your old truck was a 3rd generation 4WD truck(89-95), which is contemporary with the 2nd gen 4Runner(90-95).

 

I'd say that the common weakest parts of the 1996-2002 4Runner, 1995-2004 Tacoma, and the 1999-2005 Tundra are the LH/RH Lower Ball Joints. However, if you replace them with OEM parts and have those installed correctly, then you're good to go for another 100,000 miles.

The second weakest part is the stock ATF cooler built inside the radiator of the A/T trannnies. there have been many cases of milkshakes, the mixing of the engine coolant and the ATF due to the failure of the built-in ATF cooler inside the radiator. However, if the radiator is still good, you can install a B&M ATF cooler and bypass the stock ATF cooler, thereby eliminating the milkshake risk.

 

Excellent information guys, I appreciate the input. Glad to hear the head gaskets ain't an issue with the 3.4 and glad to hear MPG has improved as well. I heard about the Tundra milkshakes, just wasn't sure how that was happening until now. Good stuff to know, many thanks!