Looking @ a T100, couple of questions (1 Viewer)

[dman93]

My neighbor is selling his T100 (bought a Tundra) and I checked it out, as I'm looking for a truck and find the T100 appealing (my other interest is to get a 100-series). I owned an 80-series for many years but this is the first Toy truck I've driven in decades. Two questions:
- Both CV boots are totally torn. The owner felt he didn't need to repair them since he's "not doing any hard core 4 wheeling" but obviously with ADD (no manual hubs) the axles are spinning all the time, right? I did some tight turns and no clicks or clunks. Boots, CV's or even axles aren't expensive but I'd like some knowledge of potential problems as bargaining chips.
- Second, shifting in and out of 4wd was very difficult. A high physical effort was needed to move the lever and frankly I couldn't easily tell what positions which were which by feel. Any attempt to shift on the fly would have led to a crash. Is this typical? This truck is an automatic with the 4wd shifter quite far forward and difficult to reach, especially with the force needed to move it. This felt like a linkage issue, not the actual transfer case engagement. I tried shifting to neutral, moving slowly in gear etc and it was all equally difficult. I have owned part-time 4wd's with lever actuated transfer cases in the past, and drive a manual trans car but this was painful. This truck had split-bench front seats and the transfer case shifter seems further forward than photos I've seen of 5-speed T100's. Is there extra linkage going back to the transfer case on these?

Thanks - dman93

 

[90FJ]

CVs are sensitive to grease so I'd plan on replacing them, get underneath and check the linkage obviously, sniff test the tranny fluid.

Why are the boots torn up? Is it lifted/leveled? If that's the case you'll need to address that because it will simply happen again. Either lower torsion bars or dif drop.

I had a '98 5-speed 4x4, the 3.4 is one of the great powerplants and the T100 is one of the best trucks Toyota ever made IMO, I've had both iterations of the Tundras including a '14 and I'd trade back to my T100 in a heartbeat if it wasn't for family needing a 4 door.

 

[dman93]

Truck is stock height and has "small" (245/875-16) tires. I am pretty sure the truck has never really been off-road, just ski runs to Tahoe and occasional work use (owner told me he was pulling stumps recently). I am surprised the boots are so torn - not just a gap but split all the way around so each boot is in two pieces. I presume the wheel bearings are sealed outboard from the CV's so other than doing PM during the replacement, the torn boots won't affect the bearings.

Any ideas on the sticky transfer case shifting?

Thanks - dman93

 

[jynx]

Even the T should have a direct shift T-case. I don't know of any Toyotas with linkage, just forward shift or top shift. I think the case should have it's own drain/ fill plug and should use standard gear oil, at least I think that is correct but will check the FSM for my 4runner as the drivetrains are very similar.

If it is that difficult to shift could be that it hasn't been used and needs to be cycled, or could be the tip of a larger problem. Since it is a buddy I might see about a fluid drain and refill just to see what you see. Most likely it just needs to be shifted some to lube everything up.

 

[SC T100]

If the transfer case shifter seat is the same configuration as the manual trucks' transfer cases, it's extremely likely the shifter bushing has totaly disintegrated.

You might want to pull the shifter and inspect the bushing (it's probably in the form of greasy rubber dust at this point). That may cure the hard shifting, or at least rule out the cheapest and easiest fix. The Marlin Crawler blue shifter seat works for the manual trans t-cases, so it may work for the auto cases as well, but someone will have to confirm that for you.

As for the boots...mine were the same way when I bought my truck. I had a family member Toyota master tech fix them, so i haven't done them myself, but I don't believe torn boots can contaminate the hubs and wheel bearings. But I will say it might not be a bad idea to pull the hubs and inspect and repack the front wheel bearings if you do buy the truck. It's a fairly tedious job that requires a 54mm socket and the correct FSM procedure to preload and correctly torque the hubs back down, but it will provide peace of mind and ensure the bearings stay happy.

 

[Cracker]

How many miles on it?

I would grab the diff-side CV end, on the driver's side, and see if it wiggles around more than the passenger one.
Also try wiping the grease/dirt from it AND the side of the diff around it, then look for seeping diff lube.
If either of these is present, plan on replacing the inner needle bearing in the diff on the driver's side, as well as the oil seal.

When Toyota introduced the ADD system, making the front axles ALWAYS turning when driving, they had to add an inner needle bearing to the carrier, where the CV inner axle engages the carrier. (Personally I dont like this design)

It seems once you get to 90-100K or over, this inner needle bearing needs replacing, just as you would normally need to change your wheel bearing. If left too long, I'm sure this could cause premature wearing/failure of the carrier side bearings...Which would mean having to pull and open the diff to replace...
I dont know if the passenger side would need it as often, since there is an intermediate shaft on that side, so that side doesnt see the same types of angular stress that the driver's side has, where the CV shaft itself goes straight into the carrier.

I wouldnt doubt that running a lift on the front magnifies the issue.
So the one you're looking at is stock height, at least thats good news...

 

[SIZZLE]

I would tread very carefully. Anyone who has let an obvious piece of maintenance go unattended would make me question what else has been let go.

 

[dman93]

Hi - thanks for the recent replies. I decided to pass on this one - for a couple of reasons - but didn't feel encouraged by lack of what to me was obvious maintenance, despite oil change records. But I REALLY like the T100 size and simplicity compared to Gen2 Tacoma or Tundra. By the way, I did wheel bearings on my 80 so I suspect the IFS trucks aren't much different - big socket and torque wrench for preload.

Thanks - dman93

 

[MoCoNative]

After 207,000 miles my transfer shifter is still stiff. I got the truck at 118K, it was really stiff in and out of 4wd. I don't think it was ever used enough, has gotten better through my use. My truck came from ALB NM to Boulder CO, so I don't think it saw much 4wd use until it got to me, now it sees in and out for 6 months of the year. In contrast, my FJ-60 with 240K miles is getting very hard to shift 4wd, at least out of 4wd, and that is due to wear on the shiftcollar and such from lots of 4wd use.

I suspect it has been shifted very little.

Actually to me, this truck does not sound that bad, depending on miles. Change the fluids, CV axles are partial day to replace while you have the front end taken apart for wheel bearings. Front bearings are pretty much identical procedure to an 80 series. Brakes and stuff all very similar. I've hardly touched my engine. Did the timing belt, awhile ago. Replaced the waterpump while I was in there, it was perfect at 140K miles, put in new plugs for the hell of it. I had to replace the rear ujoints at that time too, one was kind of bad. I getting ready to do the front wheel bearings and front brakes in the next week or so, and both of my transfer seals are leaking, so a quick reseal is needed. But honestly they are pretty bullet proof.

 

[dman93]

After 207,000 miles my transfer shifter is still stiff. I got the truck at 118K, it was really stiff in and out of 4wd.

I'm waffling. May give them a lowball offer and see where that goes. On a scale of 1-10, 1 being easy, if my 80 shifter (just high to low, off course, with full-time 4wd) was a 2, this T100 was a 9.

I drove an '04 5 speed V6 Taco at a local used car lot today, 135K miles and it felt peppier and smoother than this auto T100. And it was detailed to like-new condition. But they were asking over 2x what the T100 us listed at (the Taco is a TRD). That will pay for a lot of CV joints and shifter bushings.

-dman93

 

[SIZZLE]

I think the 5 sp is superior in these drivetrains. Especially in the mountains, the extra gear is nice. Did any T100s come with manuals?

 

[Redgrrr]

Yup a five speed.

Harder to find but they are out there

 

[SC T100]

I'm waffling. May give them a lowball offer and see where that goes.
I drove an '04 5 speed V6 Taco at a local used car lot today, 135K miles and it felt peppier and smoother than this auto T100. And it was detailed to like-new condition. But they were asking over 2x what the T100 us listed at (the Taco is a TRD).

Lowball while letting them know what is needed isn't a bad idea. Get a quote from a shop for the needed work and use that as well...regardless of whether you do the work yourself or not.

The Tacoma 5speed will feel much faster than an auto T100...same engine, but the T100 is a much heavier truck with a slushbox...manuals always make vehicles feel faster since you get to put more torque down per rev. My T100 5-speed feels fine. And detailing is just elbow grease...I personally don't like paying a ton more for simple cleaning.

My T100 was a fixer-upper, and oce things were taken care of it has been an exceptional vehicle.

 

[dman93]

I drove a few Tacomas and realized that the T100 is really in a nice sweet spot of size, power, configuration. Also a better value in our local market, where Tacos with similar mileage are near double the cost. So I bought it for a fair price. Thanks for the guidance and I'm sure I'll have more questions.

-dman93

 

[paulyoung1969]

I had a '96 T100 ExtraCab, 3.4L and column shifted auto. Had the cloth interior and a split bench in the front. When I said good bye she probably had a little over 380,000 on the the clock. It was a nice truck and it was used for work. Put heavy duty leaf springs and shocks on the rear and had a 1000lb lift gate on the back with an eighth-inch piece of steel covering the bed floor. Can't speak for a 4WD version as mine was only a pusher, but she did her job and did it well. I constantly had her overloaded and the only rest was for refueling. Serviced at regular (ok almost regular) intervals and replaced nothing but tires. As I recall the 3.4L returned pretty decent MPGs as well, polar opposite from my 97 4Runner Limited with the same powerplant. Enjoy your truck, treat her well, and she will be good to you. I have had many Toyotas over the years and even though my T100 was more of a plain-Jane, she bears my fondest memories.

 

[SIZZLE]

^ I love stories like this

 

[dman93]

Did a bunch of cleanup and fixed the passenger side window switch ... disassembled the driver side switch assembly and cleaned up all the contacts, putting my points file to use for the first time in about 35 years. It's amazing to me that this '90's Toyota stuff can still be disassembled. All screws and robust snap-fits, no heatstaking here. And thanks to poke-yoke you can't reassemble it wrong. This stuff is easy and fun for me, but I'm actually going to have a local shop do the CV boots and change all the fluids. I'm getting to old for the greasy dirty stuff under the truck.