Taco experts!

[sentinal02]

Hey guys. friend of mine is looking at a 96 tacoma, 4x4 2.7L 4 cyl. i heard it run and it's got some kind of loud tap to it. seems to be rpm related as it's not there at idle, hits around something like 2K rpms and goes away as the rpms climb past that (these are all estimates since there's no tach to go by). the engine has 216K on it and the seller says the dealer told him it was probably a lifter, which i'm inclined to agree with. definitely sounds like it's on the top end. i know nothing about these engines so i figured i'd see what the experts have to say. :bdance: is this thing worth the $1500 that the guy said he'd take for it? or is the ticking a bomb waiting to happen? the rest of the truck is solid. frame is good, tranny shifts fine, 4wd works great, body is good, extended cab and the interior is near mint. i'd jump on it in a heart beat except for that tap. any insight guys?

[piercedtiger]

I'm no expert, but I when I was looking at a motor for my corolla (4cycl, 1.8L) it was around $1000 or so. I would assume you'd be looking around the same, give or take, if you HAD to replace the motor. If it's not a DD or you have a way to get it home if it dies I'd jump on it too! Hell, the tranny and 4wd system is probably worth more than the $1500! (new tranny in my 98 corolla was $1500 so.....) Especially since you say the interior, frame, tranny and 4wd are good. Even if you have to put a new motor in at some point it's probably a great deal.