suspension costs

[topherbecker]

Hey
Newbie here. Thinking of getting a 95 tacoma. Found one in my price range <$4k and took it to the dealer for prepurchase inspection. It's a 95 with 190K miles on the 4 cyl 2.7L engine. Here's the list of repairs needed

rear main oil seal is blown (don't think owner is aware as there is no oil on dipstick...ie. it doesn't appear that he's been topping off)
leaf broken in both rear leaf springs
front left shock absorber leaking
front left lower ball joint loose
cat convertor cover loose
tires worn out

1) Toyota quoted me $580 or therebouts for EACH leaf spring pack. Holy $hit! What could I expect to pay aftermarket? Could I just replace the broken leaf? Is this a repair I could do myself? I'm no mechanic, but I'm pretty competent mechanically speaking.

2) Is it reasonable to just keep topping off the oil or does the seal need to be fixed? Owner says no oil on his driveway. But there wasn't even enough oil in the engine to hit the 'min' on the dipstick. So I don't think HE'S been topping it off. Which means there's no way to know how fast the leak is. Toyota guy gave me an off the cuff estimate of $1000 to fix. That sound right?

3) Is the shock an easy thing to replace? Can I do it myself?

thanks
chris

(oh and if anyone knows of a tacoma or older pickup for sale in the DC area, please email me at becker DOT c AT gmail DOT com. I'm looking for a 4x4 for under $4K. Doesn't need to be in great cosmetic shape. But should be mechanically sound.)

 

[KliersLC]

Pass!

That truck sounds like it has been abused and you don't know how long it has been run with low or no oil or how hard. I am not familiar with the taco susp but holy cow! Both sides broke. That coupled with the leaking shock and bad ball joints stinks of some serious airborne time. The 3000 that you will drop into this truck immediately would be better spent on a slightly higher priced but better maintained pickup. The mechanic aspects are not that bad if you are a 2-3 banana but the bigger issue is how worn out the rest of the truck is.
If you buy this you will regret it.


IMHO

Good luck
Dan

Oh and did I mention DON'T BUY IT

 

[tonkota]

find another Taco. There are millions out there, why settle for one with possible major engine damage?

The rear main on my 3F was leaking, then it blew and now I am replacing the engine. And even doing all the work myself (not the machining), it's still a lot of $$$$.

95 was the first year for the taco.

 

[bkg]

Run far and fast... But not because of the leafs - there's a TSB out for them. Toyota should replace them for free. But I agree with the other statements...

 

[topherbecker]

find another Taco. There are millions out there, why settle for one with possible major engine damage?

There may be a million where you live but around here they are REALLY hard to come by. I attribute this to the very large hispanic population in DC. For whatever reason, hispanics primarily purchase toyotas as utility vehicles. If you think this is a generalization, come to my neighborhood sometime and see how many hispanics you see driving F150s. Anyhow, the demand is very high and supply very low.

I keep my eye on cars.com, autotrader, and the Washington Post. Are there other resources I am missing? Any sites like ih8mud that are devoted to tacomas or toy pickups?
thanks
chris

 

[KliersLC]

Pirate4x4 and yotatach and 4x4wire

 

[Texx]

Sounds like he seriously beat that thing...rear seal leaking means new clutch...with everything else, I'm out of this one.