My Grandpa's 1996 2.4L

Well boys and girls, this is my first post at Tacoma World, so I thought I'd introduce y'all to my grandfather's Tacoma.

My grandpa passed away very unexpectedly in May of last year due to undiagnosed stage 4 pancreatic cancer. My father and aunt, as co-executors of his estate, decided to gift me his truck which I am very thankful for. I finally was able to make the trip back home to bring back the truck, and just got it back from the mechanic a few days ago. Anyways here's what the truck looked like on its first snow day last weekend:



It's a Pewter Pearl 1996 2WD 2.4L Tacoma LX with automatic transmission, A/C, and only 45,000 miles on it. Apparently my grandpa bought the truck new in July of 1996 and only drove it to church, the hardware store, and to get groceries. The exterior is mostly still shiny and new with only a couple of bumps in the front bumper.

Now for the bad news. I always knew my grandpa was thrifty; he was one of twelve children, and grew up on a farm in North Dakota during the depression. Since he didn't like to spend money where he didn't need to, there was a considerable amount of maintenance that had been neglected on the truck. Almost everything on the truck was original, including the 18 year old timing belt which was almost falling to pieces after my drive home.

The most worrying thing is that it looks like my grandpa very rarely changed the oil. My mechanic says that all of the valves were covered in a sooty residue as a result. He added an engine treatment to the new oil that will hopefully clear out all the gunk and get rid of the various worrisome engine noises. One noise in particular that bothers me is tapping noise that only happens at warm idle and gets louder when I sit at idle for a minute or so but then goes away under acceleration. Hopefully it's just valve noise and not something far more serious like piston slap or a knocking connecting rod or wrist pin.

 

Probably a little stuck, run some MMO oil in it. Other option B12 chemtool great stuff but dont leave in too long, it can eat seals.

 

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but the 2.4 is a 22re. I thought the 22re had a timing chain, not a belt. The plastic guides for the chain were always the worry. Anyway, food for thought.


John L
Bethlehem, GA
01 Tacoma DC 4wd

 

Nice rig. FYI, your motor is the 2vz-fe which does have a timing belt. (I'm pretty sure). I'd just replace all your fluids, check your brakes and replace all your belts. Those motors are pretty reliable, so after that, you will have a lot of good miles left in the rig.

 

sounds like you got lucky with the oil not being changed regularly. lube it up and she'll run like a dime piece!

 

Really nice truck!!! Besides the moldings, this truck is exactly the same as the truck we had back in high school. Eventually sold it to a relative, then he sold the truck when he no longer needed it. Now I'm back in a first gen.

BTW - when I was searching for the truck I have now, I recall reading that the V6 models have timing belts while the 4 cylinders have timing chains. Also, states the same in this thread:

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/te...belt-timing-chain-all-toyotas-toyota-com.html

 

It's actually the 2RZ-FE. And after doing a little down and dirty research (someone please confirm) both 1st Gen 4-bangers had timing chains.

 

Yes it is a 2rz and it has a timing chain, Good luck with the truck. I am working on my grandpa's 88 nissan truck that has been sitting since 03, it is a lot of work but at least I have something to remember him by.

 

It is a 2RZ. I had the same truck in a 97 model. In fact I have an aftermarket water pump and timing chain kit sitting in the garage for it I never installed. Mine had 216K on it. If you want them let me know.

 

Interesting, my mechanic said he had to change all of the belts and I'm pretty sure he mentioned the timing belt specifically, but maybe he was talking about the serpentine belt being especially bad.

 

First off, welcome to TW. Sorry to hear about your grandpa, but his passing brought you here, so it's not all bad. There are 3 different belts on our 2.4 2RZ-FE, the A/C belt, the alternator belt, and the power steering belts. The four cylinder 2.4 and 2.7 both have timing chains. Sounds like you've got a little valve ticking due to the truck sitting. Change the oil in 2-3k miles and you should be good. Let us know how it goes. Nice truck btw, really clean.

 

I had a Cherokee one time that was all gunky when I pulled the valve cover. I literally used a spoon and got about half a cup of dried oil out. Not fun.
Nice looking truck though!

 

I had a 96, my son drives it now. Over 250,000 and it runs strong. Welcome!

 

I have a 1996 with 227k it’s needed a lot I got my transmission rebuilt but the motor feels healthy put some good mobile 1 oil in her and break her in worst thing a Toyota can do is sit only way you kill them