1996 TOYOTA TACOMA maintenance

Publication No. OM35704U
Part No. 01999-35704
Printed in Japan 15- 9810- 00
Quick index If a service reminder indicator or warning buzzer comes on 49 . . . . .
If your vehicle will not start 119
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
If your engine stalls while driving 122 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
If your vehicle overheats 122
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
If you have a flat tire 123
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
If your vehicle needs to be towed 131 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tips for driving during break- in period 98 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
How to start the engine 109
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
General maintenance 142
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Complete index 193
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Gas station information
Fuel type: UNLEADED gasoline, Research Octane Number 91 (Octane Rating 87)
or higher.
See page 98 for detailed information.
Fuel tank capacity: Two- wheel drive models
57 L (15.1 gal., 12.5 Imp.gal.)
Four- wheel drive models
68 L (18.0 gal., 15.0 Imp. gal.)
Engine oil: API SH, ''Energy- Conserving II'' multigrade engine oil or ILSAC mult igrade
engine oil is recommended.
See page 156 for detailed information.
Tire information: See pages 159 through 163.
Tire pressure: See page 183. T-
8
I

98
When driving off-road or in
rugged terrain, do not drive at ex- cessive speeds, jump the vehicle,
or strike objects, etc. This may cause loss of control or vehicle rol-
lover. You are also risking expen-
sive damage to your vehicle's sus-
pension and chassis. Drive gently and avoid high speeds.
Your vehicle does not need an elaborate
break-in. But following a few simple tips
for the first 1600 km (1000 miles) can add
to the future economy and long life of your vehicle:
Do not drive over 88 km/h (55 mph).
Run the engine at moderate speed be- tween 2000 and 4000 rpm.
Avoid full-throttle starts.
Try to avoid hard stops during the first
300 km (200 miles).
Do not drive slowly with the manual
transmission in a high gear.
Do not drive for a long time at any
single speed, either fast or slow.
Do not tow a trailer during the first 800
km (500 miles)
Four-wheel drive models with free-
wheeling hubs onlyÐ For the first 500 km (300 miles):
We recommend that you use high range,
two-wheel drive, with both free-wheeling
hubs engaged. For information on thefour-wheel drive system and the front hubs, see Four-wheel drive systemº in Chapter 1-6. FUEL TYPE
Your new vehicle must use only un-
leaded gasoline.
To help prevent gas station mixups, your
Toyota has a new smaller fuel tank open- ing.
The special nozzle on pumps with un-
leaded fuel will fit it, but the larger stan-
dard nozzle on pumps with leaded gas will
not.
Do not use leaded gasoline. Use of
leaded gasoline will cause the
three-way catalytic converter to lose its effectiveness and theemission control system to func- tion improperly. Also, this can in-crease maintenance costs.
NOTICE
OCTANE NUMBER
Select Research Octane Number 91
(Octane Rating 87) or higher.
Use of unleaded fuel with an octane num- ber or rating lower than stated above will
cause persistent heavy knocking. If se-
vere, this will lead to engine damage.
Fuel
Break-in period

100
The three-way catalytic converter is
an emission control device installed in
the exhaust system.
The purpose is to reduce pollutants in the exhaust gas.
CAUTION!
Keep people and combustible ma- terials away from the exhaust pipe
while the engine is running. The
exhaust gas is very hot.
Do not drive, idle or park your ve-
hicle over anything that might
burn easily such as grass, leaves, paper or rags.
A large amount of unburned gases
flowing into the three-way catalytic
converter may cause it to overheat and create a fire hazard. To preventthis and other damage, observe the following precautions:
Use only unleaded gasoline.
Do not drive with an extremely lowfuel level; running out of fuelcould cause the engine to misfire,
creating an excessive load on the
three-way catalytic converter.
Do not allow the engine to run atidle speed for more than 20 min- utes.
Avoid racing the engine.
Do not push-start or pull-start
your vehicle.
Do not turn off the ignition whilethe vehicle is moving.
NOTICEKeep your engine in good running
order. Malfunctions in the engine
electrical system, electronic igni-
tion system/distributor ignitionsystem or fuel systems could
cause an extremely high three-way catalytic converter tempera-ture.
If the engine becomes difficult to
start or stalls frequently, take your
vehicle in for a check-up as soon
as possible. Remember, your To- yota dealer knows your vehicleand its three-way catalytic con-
verter system best.
To ensure that the three-way cata-lytic converter and the entire
emission control system operateproperly, your vehicle must re-ceive the periodic inspections re-
quired by the Toyota Maintenance
Schedule. For scheduled mainte- nance information, refer to the
separate Owner's Manual Sup-plement/Maintenance Scheduleº.
Three-way catalytic converter

102The amount of engine oil consumed
depends on
the viscosity of the oil, the
quality of the oil and the conditions
the vehicle is driven under.
More oil is consumed by high-speed driv-
ing and frequent acceleration and decel- eration.
A new engine consumes more oil, since
its pistons, piston rings and cylinder walls
have not become conditioned.
When judging the amount of oil con-
sumption, note that the oil may be- come diluted and make it difficult to
judge the true level accurately.
As an example, if a vehicle is used for re-
peated short trips, and consumes a nor- mal amount of oil, the dipstick may not
show any drop in the oil level at all, even
after 1000 km (600 miles) or more. This is
because the oil is gradually becoming di-
luted with the fuel or moisture, making it
appear that the oil level has not changed.
The diluting ingredients evaporate out
when the vehicle is then driven at high
speeds, as on an expressway, making it appear that oil is excessively consumed
after driving as high speeds. IMPORTANCE OF ENGINE OIL LEVEL CHECK
One of the most important points in proper vehicle maintenance is to keep the engine
oil at the optimum level so that oil function
will
not be impaired. Therefore, it is essen-
tial that the oil level be checked regularly.
Toyota recommends that the oil level be checked every time you refuel the vehicle.
Failure to check the oil level
regularly could lead to serious
engine trouble due to insufficient oil.
NOTICE
For detailed information on the oil level
check, see Checking the engine oil levelº
in Chapter 7-2.
Your engine is fitted with twin ground electrode spark plugs.
Use only twin ground electrode
spark plugs for your engine perfor-
mance.
NOTICE
Twin ground electrode spark plugs (5VZ-FE engine)

11 2
CAUTION
Always observe the following pre-
cautions to minimize the risk of seri-
ous personal injury or damage to
your vehicle: Drive carefully when off the road.
Do not take unnecessary risks by
driving in dangerous places.
Do not grip the steering wheel
spokes when driving off-road. A
bad bump could jerk the wheel and
injure your hands. Keep both
hands and especially your thumbs
on the outside of the rim.
Always check your brakes for ef-
fectiveness immediately after driv-
ing in sand, mud, water or snow.
After driving through tall grass,
mud, rock, sand, rivers, etc., check
that there is no grass, bush, paper,
rags, stone, sand, etc. adhering or
trapped on the underbody. Clear
off any such matter from the un-
derbody. If the vehicle is used with
these materials trapped or adher-
ing to the underbody, a breakdown
or fire could occur.
The driver and all passengers
should fasten their seat belts
whenever the vehicle is moving.!

If driving through water, such aswhen crossing shallow streams,
first check the depth of the waterand the bottom of the river bed forfirmness. Drive slowly and avoid
deep water.
Take all necessary safety mea-sures to ensure that damage to the
engine or other components does not occur.
Water entering the engine air in-take will cause severe engine dam-
age.
Water can wash the grease fromwheel bearings, causing rusting and premature failure, and mayalso enter the differential, trans-
mission and transfer case, reduc-ing the gear oil's lubricating quali-ties.
Sand and mud that has accumu-
lated in brake drums and aroundbrake discs may affect braking ef-
ficiency and may damage brake system components.
Always perform a maintenance in-spection after each day of of f-road
driving that has taken you through rough terrain, sand, mud, or water.
For scheduled maintenance infor-mation, refer to the separate
Owner 's Manual Supplement/
Maintenance Scheduleº.
NOTICEMake sure you have ethylene-glycol
antifreeze in the radiator.
Do not use alcohol type antifreeze.
NOTICE
Check the condition of the battery and cables. Cold temperatures reduce the capacity of
any battery, so it must be in top shape to provide enough power for winter starting.Chapter 7-3 tells you how to visually in-
spect the battery. Your Toyota dealer and
most service stations will be pleased tocheck the level of charge.
Make sure the engine oil viscosity is
suitable for the cold weather.
See Chapter 7-2 for recommended vis-
cosity. Leaving a heavy summer oil in your
vehicle during winter months may cause
harder starting. If you are not sure about
which oil to use, call your Toyota dealerÐ
he will be pleased to help. Keep the door locks from freezing. Squirt lock de-icer or glycerine into the
locks to keep them from freezing. To open
a frozen lock, try heating the key before in-serting it.
Winter driving tips

11 6MAINTENANCE
If you tow a trailer, your vehicle will re-
quire more frequent maintenance due
to the additional load. For this informa-
tion, please refer to the scheduled
maintenance information in the Own-
er 's Manual Supplement/Maintenance Scheduleº.
Retighten all fixing bolts of the towing
ball and bracket after approximately
1000 km (600 miles) of trailer driving.
PRE-T OWING SAFETY CHECK Check that your vehicle remains level
when a loaded or unloaded trailer is
hitched. Do not drive if the vehicle has
an abnormal nose-up or nose-down
condition, and check for improper
tongue load, overload, worn suspen-
sion or other possible causes.
Make sure the trailer cargo is securely
loaded so that it cannot shift.
Check that your rear view mirrors con-
form to any applicable federal, state/
provincial or local regulation. If not,
install the rear view mirrors required
for towing purpose. TRAILER TOWING TIPS
When towing a trailer, your vehicle will
handle differently than when not tow-
ing. The three main causes of vehicle
trailer accidents are driver error, exces-
sive speed and improper trailer loading.
Keep these in mind when towing:
Before starting out, check operation of
the lights and all vehicle-trailer con-
nections. After driving a short dis-
tance, stop and recheck the lights and
connections. Before actually towing a
trailer, practice turning, stopping and
backing with a trailer in an area away
from traffic until you learn the feel.
Backing w ith a trailer is difficult and re-
quires practice. Grip the bottom of the steering wheel and move your hand to
the left to move the trailer to the left. Move your hand to the right to move
the trailer to the right. (This procedureis generally opposite to that when
backing without a trailer). Also, just
turn the steering wheel a little at a time,
avoiding sharp or prolonged turning. Have someone guide you when back-
ing to reduce the risk of an accident.
Because stopping distance may be in-
creased, vehicle-to-vehicle distance
should be increased when towing a
trailer. For each 16 km/h (10 mph) ofspeed, allow at least one vehicle and
trailer length between you and the ve-
hicle ahead. Avoid sudden braking as you may skid, resulting in jackknifing
and loss of control. This is especially
true on wet or slippery surfaces.
Avoid jerky starts or sudden accelera-tion. If your vehicle has manual trans-
mission, prevent excessive clutch slip-
page by keeping engine rpm low and
not racing the engine. Always start out
in first gear.
Avoid jerky steering and sharp turns.
The trailer could hit your vehicle in a
tight turn. Slow down before making a
turn to avoid the necessity of suddenbraking.
Remember that when making a turn,the trailer wheels will be closer than the vehicle wheels to the inside of the
turn. Therefore, compensate for this
by making a larger than normal turning
radius with your vehicle.

11 8Getting
more kilometers/mileage from a li-
ter/gallon of fuel is easyÐjust take it easy.
It will help make your vehicle last longer,
too. Here are some specific tips on how to
save money on both fuel and repairs: Keep your tires inflated at the cor- rect pressure. Underinflation causes
tire wear and wastes fuel. See Chapter
7-2 for instructions.
Do not carry unneeded weight in
your vehicle. Excess weight puts a
heavier load on the engine, causinggreater fuel consumption.
Avoid lengthy warm-up idling.
Once the engine is running smoothly,
begin drivingÐbut gently. Remember,
however, that on cold winter days this
may take a little longer.
Accelerate slowly and smoothly.
Avoid jackrabbit starts. Get into high
gear as quickly as possible.
Avoid long engine idling. If you have
a long wait and you are not in traffic, it
is better to turn off the engine and start
again later.
Avoid engine lug or overrevving.
Use a gear position suitable for the
road on which you are travelling.
Avoid continuous speeding up and
slowing down. Stop-and-go driving
wastes fuel.
Avoid unnecessary stopping and braking. Maintain a steady pace. Try
to time the traffic signals so you only
need to stop as little as possible or take
advantage of through streets to avoid
traffic lights. Keep a proper distance
from other vehicles to avoid suddenbraking. This will also reduce wear onyour brakes.
Avoid heavy traffic or traffic jams
whenever possible.
Do not rest your foot on the clutch
or brake pedal. This causes needless
wear, overheating and poor fuel econ-
omy.
Maintain a moderate speed on highways. The faster you drive, the
greater the fuel consumption. By re-
ducing your speed, you will cut down
on fuel consumption.
Keep the front wheels in properalignment. Avoid hitting the curb and
slow down on rough roads. Improper
alignment not only causes faster tire
wear but also puts an extra load on the
engine, which, in turn, wastes fuel.
Keep the bottom of your vehicle
free from mud, etc. This not only
lessens weight but also helps prevent corrosion.
Keep your vehicle tuned-up and in
top shape. A dirty air cleaner, improp-
er valve clearance, dirty plugs, dirty oil
and grease, brakes not adjusted, etc.
all lower engine performance and con-
tribute to poor fuel economy. For lon-
ger life of all parts and lower operating
costs, keep all maintenance work on
schedule, and if you often drive under severe conditions, see that your ve-
hicle receives more frequent mainte-nance. (For scheduled maintenance
information, please refer to the sepa-
rate Owner's Manual Supplement/
Maintenance Scheduleº).
CAUTION
Never turn off the engine to coast
down hills. Your power steering and
brake booster will not function with-
out the engine running. Also, the
emission control system operates
properly only when the engine is
running.!
How to save fuel and make your
vehicle last longer, too

Part 6Maintenance requirements
141
VEHICLE
MAINTENANCE AND CARE
Maintenance requirements
General maintenance
Does your vehicle need repairing?
For scheduled maintenance information, please refer to the
separate Owner's ManualSupplement/MaintenanceScheduleº.
Your Toyota vehicle has been designed
for fewer maintenance requirements with longer service intervals to save both your
time and money. However, each regular
maintenance, as well as day-to-day
care, is more important than ever before
to ensure smooth, and trouble-free, safe,
and economical drivings.
It is the owner's responsibility to make sure
the specified maintenance, including
general maintenance service, is per-
formed. Note that both the new vehicle
and emission control system warranties
specify that proper maintenance and care
must be performed. See Owner's Guide,
Owner 's Manual Supplement or W arranty
Booklet for complete warranty informa-tion.
General maintenance General maintenance items are those
day-to-day care practices that are impor-
tant to your vehicle for proper operation.
It is the owner's responsibility to ensure
that the general maintenance items are
performed regularly.
These checks or inspections can be done
either by yourself or a qualified technician,
or if you prefer, your Toyota dealer will be
pleased to do them at a nominal cost. Scheduled maintenance
The scheduled maintenance items listed
in the Owner's Manual Supplement/
Maintenance Scheduleº are those re-
quired to be serviced at regular intervals.
For details of your maintenance schedule,
read the separate Owner's Manual Sup- plement/Maintenance Scheduleº.
It is recommended that any replace-
ment parts used for maintenance or
for the repair of the emission control
system be Toyota supplied.
The owner may elect to use non-Toyo- ta supplied parts for replacement pur-
poses without invalidating the emis-
sion control system warranty.
However, use of replacement parts
which are not of equivalent quality
may impair the effectiveness of the
emission control systems.
You may also elect to have mainte-
nance, replacement, or repair of the
emission control devices and system
performed by any automotive repair
establishment or individual without
invalidating this warranty. See Own-
er's Guide, Owner's Manual Supple-
ment or Warranty Booklet for complete
warranty information.