Well, as I bragged on my truck in thread about what makes a 23 year old truck worth $11,000, so I was going to give an update, then it spun in to lots of detail and I figured I would just start a new thread so see what people have to say.
The engine on my 1997 Tacoma looks to need a major overhaul/replacement at 298,000 miles (the speedometer ran significantly slow for about 100K of that, so I assume the actual mileage is higher).
Anyway, it had started burning oil about 40K miles ago, not enough to need to add more between changes, but enough to be noticeable. It had also developed a habit of running low on coolant with no obvious leak (needing 1-2 gallons extra per year, so not a huge leak). Then last winter it developed a small leak in the exhaust at the flange just forward of the catalytic converter. Then a few months ago it started to have a misfire at idle only, but drove fine with no detectable power loss.
Anyway, I finally got around to trying to fix everything. Compression was ok for a 300k engine (115, 90, 115, 120). Interestingly cylinder 3 was the one with the misfire, but cylinder 2 had low relative compression (new compression should be 180, so all 4 are low). I changed the spark plugs, and cylinder 3's plug was clean and wet while the other three looked appropriate. After the sparkplug change the misfire at idle resolved, so I figured I had fixed it. Decided I would take a closer look at the exhaust flange and try to clean up the mating surfaces to fix the small leak. That was when I noticed coolant dripping from the flange. Then, after about 5 minuets of idling the misfire returned. The engine still runs smooth when revved above idle RPM, however now there is also a knock when the engine slows back down to idle RPM (but only while slowing back down).
The oil is still good (no frothy or milky appearance). It could be a combination of a bad exhaust manifold gasket and a bad fuel injector on cylinder 3. Or it could be the head gasket is going or worse a cracked block/head.
I guess the question is, is the number 3 injector letting too much fuel flow and flooding the number 3 cylinder, or is a small amount of coolant getting into the number 3 cylinder and fouling combustion during low flow conditions. Guess I could swap the number 3 and number 4 injector and see if the misfire migrates.
Unfortunately I don't have the time or the work space to rebuild an engine and there is no one I trust in Anchorage that does it. Crossing my fingers and investing time and money in hoping the problems are distinct sounds like clouded judgement to me. Shipping things to the lower 48 adds too much cost. After researching, the only rebuilt engine I would want would come from Yota Tech, and at $6,000 for a long block 2.7L (before any of the costs of swapping them) that solution is not supper appealing at the moment.
I still think the trucks are awesome. Here is a list of everything that has been replaced due to failure on it that are not normal maintenance.
-Radiator x1
-Clutch master and slave cylinders (only the slave gave out, but I decided to go ahead and replace the master while I was at it)
-Heater core valve x3
-Valve cover gasket x1
-Tie rod ends (all 4 replaced once)
-U-joint x1
-Locks (all 4, but only the drivers door and gas cap where giving me problems)
-Both inside door handles
-Parking break cable
-Drivers side external door handle
-Drivers and passengers female portion of seat belt buckle
Things that are currently broken and need replacement not discussed above.
-Oxygen sensors
-Cup holder
-Hood needs to be painted due to chips and minor rust
I have been wanting a 4x4 that can hold my family, and I really wanted a manual. I put a deposit down on a Tacoma TRD Off-Road as it is surprisingly hard to find manual vehicles any more (in trucks you can get the Tacoma or the Jeep Gladiator with an MT, having driven a jeep, I don't trust them long term). Currently used prices are higher than MSRP on the Taco's.
The engine on my 1997 Tacoma looks to need a major overhaul/replacement at 298,000 miles (the speedometer ran significantly slow for about 100K of that, so I assume the actual mileage is higher).
Anyway, it had started burning oil about 40K miles ago, not enough to need to add more between changes, but enough to be noticeable. It had also developed a habit of running low on coolant with no obvious leak (needing 1-2 gallons extra per year, so not a huge leak). Then last winter it developed a small leak in the exhaust at the flange just forward of the catalytic converter. Then a few months ago it started to have a misfire at idle only, but drove fine with no detectable power loss.
Anyway, I finally got around to trying to fix everything. Compression was ok for a 300k engine (115, 90, 115, 120). Interestingly cylinder 3 was the one with the misfire, but cylinder 2 had low relative compression (new compression should be 180, so all 4 are low). I changed the spark plugs, and cylinder 3's plug was clean and wet while the other three looked appropriate. After the sparkplug change the misfire at idle resolved, so I figured I had fixed it. Decided I would take a closer look at the exhaust flange and try to clean up the mating surfaces to fix the small leak. That was when I noticed coolant dripping from the flange. Then, after about 5 minuets of idling the misfire returned. The engine still runs smooth when revved above idle RPM, however now there is also a knock when the engine slows back down to idle RPM (but only while slowing back down).
The oil is still good (no frothy or milky appearance). It could be a combination of a bad exhaust manifold gasket and a bad fuel injector on cylinder 3. Or it could be the head gasket is going or worse a cracked block/head.
I guess the question is, is the number 3 injector letting too much fuel flow and flooding the number 3 cylinder, or is a small amount of coolant getting into the number 3 cylinder and fouling combustion during low flow conditions. Guess I could swap the number 3 and number 4 injector and see if the misfire migrates.
Unfortunately I don't have the time or the work space to rebuild an engine and there is no one I trust in Anchorage that does it. Crossing my fingers and investing time and money in hoping the problems are distinct sounds like clouded judgement to me. Shipping things to the lower 48 adds too much cost. After researching, the only rebuilt engine I would want would come from Yota Tech, and at $6,000 for a long block 2.7L (before any of the costs of swapping them) that solution is not supper appealing at the moment.
I still think the trucks are awesome. Here is a list of everything that has been replaced due to failure on it that are not normal maintenance.
-Radiator x1
-Clutch master and slave cylinders (only the slave gave out, but I decided to go ahead and replace the master while I was at it)
-Heater core valve x3
-Valve cover gasket x1
-Tie rod ends (all 4 replaced once)
-U-joint x1
-Locks (all 4, but only the drivers door and gas cap where giving me problems)
-Both inside door handles
-Parking break cable
-Drivers side external door handle
-Drivers and passengers female portion of seat belt buckle
Things that are currently broken and need replacement not discussed above.
-Oxygen sensors
-Cup holder
-Hood needs to be painted due to chips and minor rust
I have been wanting a 4x4 that can hold my family, and I really wanted a manual. I put a deposit down on a Tacoma TRD Off-Road as it is surprisingly hard to find manual vehicles any more (in trucks you can get the Tacoma or the Jeep Gladiator with an MT, having driven a jeep, I don't trust them long term). Currently used prices are higher than MSRP on the Taco's.
I guess a new Toyota is no longer an option.
