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Comments
koko: Test drive both and you will see for yourself.
1. my TRD is about as sloppy an ON-road vehicle as I've ever driven (lots of body roll, and inadequate jounce/rebound damping); the whole reason for getting involved on this list is to research its rear suspension's 'thud' which may very well be caused by weak rear springs (axle wrap), and why this particular truck has such a crappy ride.
2. unless you're planning on seriously airing your Taco out (ie, jumping) there's little benefit to a stiff suspension off-road. The name of the OR game is 'compliance' and 'articulation' at least for low speed 'wheeling, terms that are usually not used in conjunction with stiff suspensions. The more evenly you can distribute your 4 wheels' traction the more control you'll have. A stiff suspension will tend to favor one side of the vehicle over the other, and at least with an open diff the looser tire gets all the power (and spin) when doing serious 'wheeling. Also, a softer suspension will tend to transmit less energy to the chassis (more is absorbed by the springs), giving you a better ride on rough roads or trails.
On the other hand, to absorb serious jolts at speed you DO need a stiff suspension (and/or more wheel travel) to avoid bottoming. My guess is that Toyota marketing figured the former approach would appeal to most practical buyers.
By the way, if you have a lot of body roll on a TRD, something must be wrong. My 2000 barely leans at all even when I corner at high speed. Maybe the dealer just sold you a sticker for the TRD price. I suppose it's possible that Toyota made a change for the worse on the newer models but that doesn't make much sense.
Both my past 150 and current early Bronco use/used progressive springs.
I drove a TRD equipped Tundra, it was way too soft when compared to my 150 that had the 4" progressive coils and 6 Rancho 9000's.
-what are you used to driving? I've driven a fair number of pickups and except for a little bounciness from the back end on potholes, I've yet to find anything that rides as nice as the tacoma. especially when it comes to cornering.
As far as the while ride 'stiffness' issue goes- I stopped at Toyota and redid my bumper test. I was encouraged to learn my memory isn't failing me. Strictly speaking, spring rate or stiffness is defined as the force or load required to deflect a spring a certain distance. When I place my 165 lb on a TRD it moves say 2". When I repeat the test on a std truck, it only moves say 1". Ergo, the std truck is stiffer. Allowing the fact that the springs are probably progressive rate, the fact still remains that within the typical range of operation the TRD spring is SOFTer.
I will admit I did the bumper test 5 months ago before I was serious about a purchase. At the time I also thought the TRD was softer when I kneeled on the rear bumper. I drove a TRD six automatic. I can't find a non TRD six to drive. All the non TRD's in my area of CT are 4 cyl. I wanted to do as fair a comparison as possible because the salesman told me the six is smoother also.
My first one with out the TRD floated and wallowed like a Cadillac, I hated it, it was way too soft and felt like it was going to fall over in the corners. Off road it would dip and dive so bad that I would have to slow down to stop the oscillation because it started bobbing so bad it would bottom out in the sand. The TRD just rocks, goes through a dip and then looks for the next one, truly a racing suspension set up. I can go twice as fast on the sand and never bottom out.
As for load compression, I occasionally load her up with a full bed of mulch or dirt and I thought the TRD might hold a load higher up, but they both seem to ride at the same bumper height with a full load.
The folks that think TRD is softer, have you checked your tire pressure? Sounds like either it really isn't a TRD or maybe you've got some real soft tires. There is no way the TRD is softer, somethings not right there.
I was surprized at the 4 cyls power, it really is pretty good. It's downfall was noticed as soon as I started it up, noticably louder than the 6 cyl I just got out of. The 6 is also smoother over the road.
On the bumper test, this is just a guess because I've never tried it on both at the same time, but is it possible that because the TRD springs are progressive that their firmness is only felt on substantial bumps? I'm guessing a human pushing down on the bumper is a pretty minor and soft pushing compared to the weight of the whole truck pushing down on it during a big bump. Also pushing down by hand is quite slow compared to hitting a bump at driving speed. This also explains why the loaded ride doesn't seem any higher than on my old non-TRD. Just a thought.
Is your 4 cyl an auto or stick?
Leo
My '97 was also an extra cab 4x4 but not with the TRD or SR5 packages. I got that one as stripped as I could and later regretting the lack of options, so I traded it in a little early and got my '99 which I love. 30,000 trouble free miles and I'm going to buy this one when the lease is up in September.
This truck has been great, handling more like a car than a truck. Except for the stiff suspension (TRD), I have experienced a smooth jitter/vibration free ride - until my 15,000 service.
I have been back to the dealer three times and they've rebalanced all four tires, but claim there is nothing else wrong with the vehicle. Yet, I know I'm not crazy, and the vibration in the steering wheel (and the whole truck) is real.
Anyone have any suggestion as to what they did or didn't do?
This weekend we were on our way to see my folks when the thermostat did get up to the red. I was going up the grade outside of Baker, CA and got off the interstate at Halloran Summit. As soon as we started downhill the temp dropped to normal. In Baker we ran the car for about 15 minutes at idle and another 5 minutes with the throttle open, but the temp didn't go up at all. As soon as we started up the Halloran grade again (without A/C on) the temp went up again. It dropped as soon as we turned the heat on.
We had a new thermostat put in when we got to Vegas, but it made no difference. Yesterday's trip back was miserable - the only way to keep the temp down was to run the heater pretty much full blast, and that's not fun when the world's tallest thermometer indicated that the temp in Baker was 93 degrees!
The antifreeze and oil levels were fine. What (since it isn't the thermostat) el;se could it be? Has any other Tacoma owner had similar problems? By the way, it does have 62,000 miles on it.
Thanks for any help and suggestions!
Toyota aluminum rims are tricky to properly balance. Most tire balancing machines use the lug nut holes as the attachment point to mount the tire to the machine. The problem is these lug holes are not neccesarily symetrical on these rims. If they balance the tire using the lug holes, it will almost certainly be off-balance.
There is a "cone" type of adaptor they need to put on the machine that uses the large hole in the center of the rim as the centering point.
Everytime I take my tires in for balancing, I make sure they know about this adaptor and use it. I've gotten my local Goodyear shop to do a pretty good job of it, although it never lasts for more than 2-3 thousand miles before the shimmy returns, but it's not bad and I just live with it. The shimmy occurs exactly at 62 mph and goes away above 65mph and is very slight.
By the way, I have 30k on my Wranglers and they barley look worn, but I have regularly rotated and balanced every 5k (because of the shimmy) and I watch my pressure, so I'm sure that has a lot to do with the excellent wear I'm getting.
I might have over simplified my descriptions above, I was just trying to get the basics across, I'm not a tire expert.
Would the increase in wheel size effect the performance.
Increasing the wheel diameter will certainly affect you: throw the speedometer off, potentially less gas milage. Also, if you go with too big a tire, you need to regear (gas milage issue).
It says the wheels should be mounted by the lugs for proper balance.
Lately I have been hearing an electrical buzzing type noise coming from under the engine (at least thats where its sounds like its coming from when in the drivers seat). It is there sporadically, but seems to be more prevalent when accelerating. I dont notice any change in performance from the truck, but I am curious.
Any comments??
Thanks
PS its a 96 STD cab Tacoma RWD
The truck has run fine with no shimmy problems since then for 30,000 more miles - through many tire rotations since (but no re-balancing, I learned my lesson - if it's not broke don't try to fix it). Hope this helps!
BTW, I will probably hit 150K this month - no blue smoke & still really wants to run! Can't believe this is a 9-year old truck. I'll keep changing the oil & filter and I hope it will ocntinue to be good to me.
- Paul
About the GSA's, I wasn't real crazy about them, but I have to admit they are wearing very well and will easily go past 50k, so I'll keep them and the minor shimmy until it's time to replace them.
Thanks,
Chris
This is the first vehicle I've ever owned that has had any unusual maintenance situation. I can't believe that an 18 month old vehicle would have a dead radiator, no matter how many miles it has on it. My 11 year old Nissan hardbody still had the original radiator in it when I sold it 2 years ago with 290,000 miles on it!
My truck is an 02/4wd/V6/5spd. I have had it for about six months and basically love it. It came with a factory installed class III, 5000# tow hitch with installed wiring. I have recently found out that Toyota installs a 5000# hitch at the factory on a vehicle that is set up from the factory only to tow 3500#. I believe this is very deceptive.
Since my hitch also has the sticker on it that indicates a 5000# capacity and that it was factory installed, I figured the truck was fully rated to tow 5000#. Seems reasonable, right? Wrong. On page 210 of the owners manual there is reference to a "towing package". This towing package is said to include a cooling fan clutch with a green paint swatch on it. If you have the orange paint swatch, the manual states that you do not have this towing package. Well, I again figured I must have the green fan clutch since I got the factory tow hitch and there was no such "option" as anything called a towing package. Wrong again. I have the orange fan clutch and the manual states that my towing capacity is therefore limited to 3500#.
Upon researching the matter further I have found out that there is a Toyota Technical Service Bulletin (AX0040-01) dated 9/21/01 that addresses this issue. My Toyota dealer, where I bought the truck, gave me a ration of crap when I asked to see this TSB. Apparently the dealer feels such information is provided only for the dealers use and that customers/owners have no need or right to see it. After a much heated discussion that included others at the dealership, I was told I would be able to get a copy "later". I obtained it the following day. The TSB is applicable to all 02 tacoma 4x4 and prerunners with V6 engines. It indicates that a special "high speed" fan fluid coupling is necessary to increase the towing capacity from 3500 to 5000#. Such a part is NOT covered by warranty and is the poor customers responsibility if he wants to fully utilize his factory installed 5000# tow hitch. The cost of this part (Toyota #16210-62011) is $124.80. I have no idea what the labor costs might be as I would not have the dealership change the oil, let alone install a different fan clutch...I think that much of 'em
I am not pleased with this particular matter but such is life I guess. I almost bought an FX4. Glad I didn't now.
Rod
I haven't taken it to the dealer yet but was wondering if anyone else has experienced this noise?
Toyota quoted me $187 to fix it without even taking the door apart to look at the switch. They simply stated that they would have to put in a new master-switch.
Has anybody here had this problem or taken a door apart and looked at the switch? Is it really all one unit, necessitating a costly master-switch replacement? I was thinking of blowing the switch out with compressed air but don't want to make the problem any worse.
Hi plutonius,
I wouldn't be as eager as Toyota to condemn the master switch without a little diagnostics. It is easy for them just to continue replacing assemblies by trial and error until they get it right...at your cost of course
The power windows on my 02 Taco are probably no different than yours. On mine, the driver's side switch (in the master switch assy) works in conjunction with the passenger side switch. If the passenger side switch is not making a good connection in the neutral position, then the passenger window will not work from the driver's side even if the master switch assembly is working fine. If this is the case, the passenger side switch would work the window properly by itself but would not permit the drivers side switch to function properly for that window.
The Toyota service manual for the 02 shows that the driver's side switch is, indeed, a part of one complete master switch assembly that also includes the window lock/unlock switches. I have not personally had a door apart to actually see one though. If you would like to do your own switch continuity checks, email me and I may be able to help out.
Rod
The fact that I can only raise but now lower the window tends to make me think there is maybe debris in the switch which is blocking a connection (a real possibility, my doors have been exposed to a lot of dust and water). Maybe I'll try to blow out the switch with compressed air before conducting a continuity test. I'll keep you posted on what happens.
I was very surprised and pleased to hear this afternoon that they would cover it! Maybe I will get a bit of return on the extended warranty I bought (I know, a new radiator doesn't cost as much as the warranty did, but I'm happy that I don't have to pay for it right now). Anyway, I no longer think that all dealership service departments, and Toyota in particular, are there to rip off their customers.
The point is that it seems common for the part to need replacement even if only one part goes bad.