The V6 engine in my Tacoma is the 3.4L 5VZ-FE. This is used in the Gen 1 Tacoma (1995 through 2004) as well as the 1996 through 2001 Forerunner.
Note that the 3.4 liter V6 in my Tacoma is a different engine than the 3.0 liter 1MZ-FE V6 engine used in my 1999 Gen 4 Camry
Dan's Toy shop is at 2502 E. Fort Lowell 620-1957 This is the SE corner of Tucson Blvd and Fort Lowell. I am told he used to work at one of the Toyota dealers. This is where I take my vehicles all of the time. Brian does a lot of work on my vehicles. He knows his stuff, but can be terse at times.
My friend Jeff Rill uses Lance at "Mercer automotive" at 1037 E. Miles,
and has for some time. He works mostly on Toyotas.
I called him 3/26/2008 and he sounds like a great guy.
696-9292
Dusty uses John at Tokyo Imports at 343 E. Prince, 887-3010. between Stone and 1st on the north side. When I asked about ABS brake problems, he redirected me to either the dealer, or to Dan's Toy shop.
The description is to find the interior fuse box (under the steering column on the drivers side). Remove the cover and remove a screw that holds the box in place. The flasher is behind the fuse box.
When the passenger side got the same way (soon afterwards) I decided to tackle it myself. I found someone selling the mechanism for $20 on Ebay, but ended up getting it for free because of some shipping screwup and the sellers desire to risk bad feedback. That latch lasted about 2 years, and now I am doing it again. This time I purchased a genuine Toyota part, paying $80 on Ebay.
It is September, 2009 and my service engine light has been on for a few weeks. The truck seems to run just fine, but while at the dealer for an oil change, I asked them to check the code and they tell me that I need a new emissions carbon canister. The dealer will charge $281 for the canister, and $150 to put it in. (They will deduct the $65 charge for reading out the codes from the labor when they do). I will need to get this done (or do something) before the next time I need to pass emissions in Arizona (since at emissions, they hook up a diagnostic tool and demand no outstanding codes before I will pass).
The canister is solely an emissions thing and sits between the gas tank and the throttle body as near as I can learn. Some people have removed it entirely and let the sensors and actuators dangle. Another fellow removed his and replaced the sensor with an appropriate resistor to ensure he gets no codes. The friendly guy at Autozone tells me that this canister is a dealer only item, which explains the inflated price for a can of carbon.
I ended up going to the dealer and spending the money for a new canister, but you should know that there are other options.
When your check engine light is on, that means that the computer (ECM or whatever you want to call it) has stored trouble codes. So get yourself an OBD scan code reader and let the computer do half of your work for you. I have found this thing worth the money, just for the convenience of using it right at home to diagnose problems. It is crazy not to own one of these things.
You can go to Autozone and they will hook their tool up and read the codes out for you, for FREE. They will even suggest a probable cause. I find it much more convenient to own my own scan tool and to do online searches for the code and vehicle. This often leads to useful repair stories for the same problem you are facing.
The tool to read the codes is called a "scan tool", and you can buy them for as little as $40 (so I did!). There are also ways to bend a paper clip and shove it into the right holes and count flashing lights, but my advice is to just buy a scan tool. Given that my dealer charges $65 to read out codes, this is money well spent, and peace of mind when you take your vehicle to the shop.
A scan tool is also the preferred way to clear the codes. OBD-II codes are standardized (many of them anyway) for 1996 and newser vehicles. OBD stands for On Board Diagnostic.
You can buy Scan tools at Amazon.com for prices ranging from $40 to $150 and more. The cheap unit (UIFtech) gets decent reviews and has the ability to clear the codes, but does not work with newer vehicles using the CAN protocol. The Equus 3030 looks like a great unit (for $60) and gets good reviews and works with both the older OBD-II and the newer CAN protocols. As of 2008, all newly manufactured vehicles are required to use CAN. I have not yet had to deal with CAN.
If you are a total cheapskate and don't have a tool, you can try the following process to clear codes. This is reported to work on some models of the Tacoma, but has yet to be verified on my 2000 model.
Here are links to a online lists of OBD-II trouble codes. Note that generic codes begin with P0xxx, Toytota specific codes begin with P1xxx.
Lance recommended the Old Man Emu kit, says that it is springs and shocks and other parts and in the usual configuration would give about 1 inch of lift (maybe). He emphasized that springs do wear out, and Land Rovers usually need new springs around 100,000 miles.
The best stock options for the Tacoma seem to be the Bilstein HD or the Bilstein 5100 series. The rear shocks have a different left and right. The passenger side rear shock is about an inch shorter. One guy measured a length of 12.5 inches compressed and 19.5 extended on the passenger side, and about an inch longer on the driver side.
Links:
Tom's Tacoma pages / tom@mmto.org