T100

[jonathon]

Unless something changes I’ll be picking up a clean T100. It’s got a lot of highway miles but it’s super clean and has the 5VZ-FE. I’m going to keep it stock and use it for forest trips. It’s been well maintained and there are no glaring issues. Anything I should plan taking care of or be aware of?

 

[plh]

Excellent, I've been keeping my eyes open for one for about 6 months. Most are priced high for what you get. Hope you got a fair deal.

 

[eblau]

I've been beating the crap out of one for about 2 years now. Nothing but pure excellence so far. I did just put an idler arm on it though because the ball joint was about to fall out. Great trucks and a roomy cab unlike their taco/ pickup contemporaries.

 

[Series1Rangie]

If it’s like the Tundra, I know some things are and some aren’t, keep an eye on the lower ball joints. They’re WEAR items. Like often.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jonathon]

Should have it in my possession next week. I did get to drive it and it is a sweet driving truck that has been well maintained and never abused. It needs nothing but a driver seat belt and a tailgate bolt. This truck is truly a survivor.

 

[phsycle]

I have a family member who’s had a ‘99 T100 since new. Zero issues, although not a ton of mile for its age either. Good trucks.

 

[jonathon]

From all the reading I’ve done the chassis has more in common with the 86-95 US market pickup while the drive train is the same as the 1st gen Tacoma or 3rd gen T4R.

This example has 269k on it but it’s pretty much all highway. The engine is clean with no leaks. The transmission fluid is pink and smells fresh. Every works as it should. About the only things I saw it needed were a seat belt and the original shocks relaced.

The steering felt light and vague to me. Is that typical for the torsion bar IFS 4x4 trucks?

 

[eblau]

The steering on these are like the 86-94 trucks with a steering box, pitman arm, idler arm and drag link. The idler arm is the usual suspect when the steering gets a little vague, the telltale sign is you are constantly correcting the steering on the highway to get to go straight. I'd take a look there first by having someone turn the steering back and forth with it running while you watch for play in the shaft on the idler bracket or balljoint. Any play here changes the toe angle and makes them steer like crap.

 

[aknightinak]

The idler arm is the most likely first suspect, and it is an Achilles heel but also a pretty simple R&I and doesn't necessitate an alignment afterward as the rest of the linkage does. I kept two and did rebuilds; the dealer here was good about keeping all the bushings on hand.

At 269K with "vague" steering, I'd just get the whole front end off the ground, inspect all of it carefully, and give it whatever love it wants. It should go another forever. Maybe the PO got some greaseable rod ends into it, but none of that stuff was serviceable from the dealer other than to replace it, and that's a lot of miles, highway or no. There was a centerlink recall on those, too; I'm guessing that was done?

 

[Regcabguy]

My friend scored a regular cab with the 8' bed. He's short so he fits in the cab. 4x4. Super reliable little trucks. Another friend had a reg cab 8' bed 2wd. 4 banger with super tall gears. Manual trans. Slow as molasses but it ran 300K when it was totaled. Toyota builds the most reliable vehicle out there. One thing pray you don't get t-boned. They crumple in an accident.

 

[dman93]

I had one for a couple of years before I bought my Tacoma and I still miss the size and simplicity. As I recall there was a recall on either the idler arm or pitman arm; in any case, after new shocks and steering stabilizer, tie rod ends and lower ball joints, mine felt really good at almost 200K miles, with similar steering feel and stability to the new TRD OffRoad Taco which replaced it. Unfortunately the powertrain, drivetrain and suspension design is a weird hybrid of previous-gen pickup and Tacoma parts, with a few unique features so aftermarket upgrades are more challenging. Keep it stock and OEM or part store parts are readily available, except for interior trim. Congratulations and have fun!

 

[Kpack]

My dad has had a '95 T100 for probably 20 years now. Well over 300K miles on it currently. It's been all over the western US and Baja, much of it on pavement and much of it on very primitive roads or no roads. A few major things had to be addressed during that time....head gasket once, insufficient transmission cooler, and cracked rear axle housing (just swapped the whole thing for one from a junkyard). It could use some other work right now, but the thing just keeps on running. It'll never die.

 

[jonathon]

Picked it up today. Have to say it’s an awesome truck. Records indicate it’s had an idler arm in the last 10k. Needs a few little things but nothing major.

I am want to service the diffs. Are the drain and fill plug washers for the rear the same as the Tundra and Tacoma with the 8.4” rear?

 

[Tex68w]

There's one local to me for sale with 500K miles on the clock and it's still in great condition.

 

[jonathon]

The more I drive it the more I think it’s got a lot of life left in it. I have my 2019 Ram 2500 for long trips so the T100 will be used on local day and overnight trips.

First maintenance items are the transmission, diffs, and transfer case. That’s next weeks goal. Next month it will get a set of Bilstein 4600 shocks. After that I don’t know what else to. Everything else has records indicating it’s been taken care of. The Nokian Rotiiva ATs are at 80% and seem to be pretty good. Guess I need to put the miles on it now.