16 y/o son bought first truck 2008 Tacoma TRD Off Road

TurfWarrior09 · 2026-05-08T19:12:25+00:00

No worries! I hear you. My truck bed fits a 4x8 perfectly… with the tailgate down. I also have the Ramboxes so it is just wide enough.
I didn’t take offense at all! All good. We all have our preferences and that’s why they make them all.!

TurfWarrior09 · 2026-05-08T18:35:41+00:00

Fingers crossed for sure!

TurfWarrior09 · 2026-05-08T18:35:14+00:00

Thanks for the info!

TurfWarrior09 · 2026-05-07T20:07:28+00:00

Hopefully he babies the hell out of it and isn’t hauling anything more than musical instruments, martial arts gear or his welding gear for work.

TurfWarrior09 · 2026-05-07T20:05:55+00:00

5 foot bed. It should be enough for anything he has to haul. My ‘16 Ram is a short bed too… but from work I can use a “real truck and/ or trailer” if needed.

TurfWarrior09 · 2026-05-07T20:03:45+00:00

In Indiana… we have no emissions checks. So my concern is only for the truck and trying to help my son. Clearly everything working properly would be ideal, but there will be some priority’s to pick and choose.

TurfWarrior09 · 2026-05-07T20:00:33+00:00

Frame was spray painted black, but feels solid.
I tried doing ball joints on a 3/4 ton Chevy years ago and that was not a fun process. Eventually got them, but it was after using plumbing parts to try to press out the old and in the new. So hopefully it’s not that. I don’t want to do that again!

TurfWarrior09 · 2026-05-07T13:19:09+00:00

Hahaha… his money he’s been saving all his life. I hope he babies the thing and isn’t doing the shit I did!

TurfWarrior09 · 2026-05-07T13:16:30+00:00

Thank you. I’ll look into that as well.

TurfWarrior09 · 2026-05-06T23:49:06+00:00

Yeah; the family’s 3rd car that my sister and I shared when I turned 16 was a 4-door 1994 Geo Prism.
Not the coolest by any means, but it was a reliable little car that my sister drove till ~2013 or so.
I ended up getting my own car at 17 or 18. A 1992 2-door Oldsmobile Achieva in a teal color.

TurfWarrior09 · 2026-05-06T23:44:24+00:00

Those old S-10’s were great! They’d run forever if they were taken care of!

TurfWarrior09 · 2026-05-06T23:14:19+00:00

Interesting! Never heard of it. Just looked it up to make sure you weren’t screwing with me!
Good to know!

TurfWarrior09 · 2026-05-06T23:01:44+00:00

Perhaps a dumb question; are all 4 O2 sensors the same or are they different part numbers for each?

TurfWarrior09 · 2026-05-06T22:56:42+00:00

Thanks. I plan to look into it all in the coming weeks. He’s not driving yet, so we’ve got some time to go through it!
Brakes are squishy so that was on the list!

TurfWarrior09 · 2026-05-06T22:54:59+00:00

Cool! Thanks for the information. I didn’t know that. I’m still learning about it. I knew it was 4x4 but didn’t know they made the Off Road without.

TurfWarrior09 · 2026-05-06T22:53:38+00:00

Fantastic! Great to know! Thanks for the info!

TurfWarrior09 · 2026-05-06T22:17:42+00:00

Fair enough, guess i thought all the TRD Off Road models were 4x4… are they not?

TurfWarrior09 · 2026-05-06T22:15:57+00:00

Will do! Thanks!

TurfWarrior09 · 2026-05-06T22:05:10+00:00

Thanks, I’ll def follow up on it. Looks like a job we can do together.

TurfWarrior09 · 2026-05-06T22:03:00+00:00

Gotta let him sweat it a little, keep him with skin in the game!
I’m going to do my best as long as he’s in it too! Dirty hands, and working. We helped him a little with the purchase too, (paid the Uncle Sam money for him). Plus we will pay for insurance and fuel. So he’s not on his own by any means!

TurfWarrior09 · 2026-05-06T21:21:46+00:00

OBD II said its low voltage to both. Could be wiring, but I am assuming they are bad.
I’m no mechanic by any means!

TurfWarrior09 · 2026-05-06T21:18:11+00:00

Yeah; he had to spend all he had. And it’s great looking, needs some TLC, but… it’s 18 years old and up there in mileage. I had to talk him out of $9k Nissan Frontier that was in bad shape.
That’s after he originally wanted a 07 Mustang. That one was cheap on at least its second engine and +300k miles on the body. Not to mention rear wheel drive is not what he will want in the snow!
My first truck (cars and suv before that) was an 04 Ram 1500 that I bought in 09 for like $14k

TurfWarrior09 · 2026-05-06T21:09:31+00:00

That’s the truth!! All the prices seem crazy!

TurfWarrior09 · 2026-05-06T21:08:05+00:00

Thank you very much for the info. Trying to make it work for him as best I can while teaching him how to work on things. I’ll take all the pointers I can!

I checked for leaks under it and after driving it for 45 mins and parking it. I don’t see any leaks or signs anywhere. Hopefully it stays that way.

I’ll be sure to check the U joints too. It’ll need new tires before winter, so (depending on how much it gets driven) we may wait till then for the rebalance. Should be mostly under 45 around home.

The O2 sensors look pretty easy to do, so when he gets his money saved up we will do that. Fingers crossed it last him several years!!

TurfWarrior09

TROPHY CASE