TOYOTA TACOMA 2004 Owners Manual (in English)

’04 Tacoma U (L/O 0309)
253
2004 TACOMA from Sep. ’03 Prod. (OM35814U)
To remove the spare tire:1. Insert the end of the jack handle into the lowering screw and turn
it counterclockwise.
2. After the tire is lowered completely to the ground, remove the holding
bracket.
When storing the spare tire, put it in
place with the outer side of the wheel
facing up. Then secure the tire, taking
care that the tire goes straight up
without catching on any other part, to
prevent it from flying forward during
a collision or sudden braking.Xtracab models
Double cab models 1. Get the required tools and
spare tire.
1 Tool bag
2Jack
To prepare yourself for an emergency,
you should familiarize yourself with
the use of the jack, each of the tools
and their storage locations.
—Required tools and spare tire
(xtracab and double cab
models)

’04 Tacoma U (L/O 0309)
254
2004 TACOMA from Sep. ’03 Prod. (OM35814U)
Turn the jack joint by hand.
To rem ov e: Tur n the joint in direction
1 until the jack is free.
To store: Turn the joint in direction 2
until the jack is fi rmly secured to pre-
vent it flying forward during a collision
or sudden braking.To remove the spare tire:
1. Put a jack handle, jack handle ex- tension and jack handle end to-
gether as shown in the illustration.
1 Jack handle end
2 Jack handle extension
3 Jack handle
NOTICE
Tighten all joints securely.
Otherwise, the extension may
come off and it may damage
the paint or vehicle body.
2. Insert the end of the jack handle
end into the lowering screw and
turn it counterclockwise with the
handle.
3. After the tire is lowered completely to the ground, remove the holding
bracket.
When storing the spare tire, put it in
place with the outer side of the wheel
facing up. Then secure the tire, taking
care that the tire goes straight up
without catching on any other part, to
prevent it from flying forward during
a collision or sudden braking.

’04 Tacoma U (L/O 0309)
255
2004 TACOMA from Sep. ’03 Prod. (OM35814U)
2. Block the wheel diagonally op-posite the flat tire to keep the
vehicle from rolling when it is
jacked up.
When blocking the wheel, place a
wheel block in front of one of the front
wheels or behind one of the rear
wheels.Ty p e A
Ty p e B
Ty p e C
Ty p e D
—Blocking the wheel —Removing wheel ornament

’04 Tacoma U (L/O 0309)
256
2004 TACOMA from Sep. ’03 Prod. (OM35814U)
Ty p e E
3. Remove the wheel ornament.
Pry off the wheel ornament, using the
beveled end of the wheel nut wrench
as shown.
CAUTION
Do not try to pull off the orna-
ment by hand. Take due care in
handling the ornament to avoid
unexpected personal injury.
4. Loosen all the wheel nuts.
Always loosen the wheel nuts before
raising the vehicle.
Turn the wheel nuts counterclockwise
to loosen. To get maximum leverage,
fit the wrench to the nut so that the
handle is on the right side, as shown
above. Grab the wrench near the end
of the handle and pull up on the han-
dle. Be careful that the wrench does
not slip off the nut.
Do not remove the nuts yet—just un-
screw them about one −half turn.
CAUTION
Never use oil or grease on the
bolts or nuts. The nuts may loose
and the wheels may fall off,
which could cause a serious ac-
cident.
—Loosening wheel nuts

’04 Tacoma U (L/O 0309)
257
2004 TACOMA from Sep. ’03 Prod. (OM35814U)
Rear
Front
Twowheel drive models except
Pre Runner
RearFront
Fourwheel drive models and
Pre Runner 5. Position the jack at the correct
jack point as shown.
Make sure the jack is positioned on
a level and solid place.
JACK POINTS:
Tw o −wheel drive models except Pre
Runner
Front—Under the frame side rail
Rear—Under the rear axle housing
Four −wheel drive models and Pre
Runner
Front—Under the front suspension cross member
Rear—Under the rear axle housing
Specified
jack point
NOTICE
Only put the jack to the speci-
fied jack point; otherwise your
vehicle may be damaged.
—Positioning the jack

’04 Tacoma U (L/O 0309)
258
2004 TACOMA from Sep. ’03 Prod. (OM35814U)
Xtra−cab and double cab models—
Put a jack handle, jack handle exten-
sion and jack handle end together as
shown in the illustration.
1 Jack handle end
2 Jack handle extension
3 Jack handle
NOTICE
Tighten all joints securely.
Otherwise, the extension may
come off and it may damage
the paint or vehicle body.
6. After making sure that no oneis in the vehicle, raise it high
enough so that the spare tire
can be installed.
Remember you will need more ground
clearance when putting on the spare
tire than when removing the flat tire.
Regular cab models—To raise the ve-
hicle, insert the jack handle into the
jack (it is a loose fit) and turn it clock-
wise. As the jack touches the vehicle
and begins to lift, double− check that
it is properly positioned. Xtra
−cab and double cab models—To
raise the vehicle, in sert the jack han-
dle end with the extension into the
jack (it is a loose fit) and turn it clock-
wise with the handle. As the jack
touches the vehicle and begins to lift,
double −check that it is properly posi-
tioned.
CAUTION
Never get under the vehicle when
the vehicle is supported by the
jack alone.
—Raising your vehicle

’04 Tacoma U (L/O 0309)
259
2004 TACOMA from Sep. ’03 Prod. (OM35814U)
7. Remove the wheel nuts andchange tires.
Lift the flat tire straight off and put it
aside.
Roll the spare wheel into position and
align the holes in the wheel with the
bolts. Then lift up the wheel and get
at least the top bolt started through
its hole. Wiggle the tire and press it
back over the other bolts.Before putting on wheels, remove any
corrosion on the mounting surfaces
with a wire brush or such. Installation
of wheels without good metal− to−met-
al contact at the mounting surface can
cause wheel nuts to loosen and
eventually cause a wheel to come off
while driving.8. Reinstall all the wheel nuts fin- ger tight.
Reinstall the wheel nuts (tapered end
inward) and tighten them as much as
you can by hand. Press back on the
tire back and see if you can tighten
them more.
—Changing wheels —Reinstalling wheel nuts

’04 Tacoma U (L/O 0309)
260
2004 TACOMA from Sep. ’03 Prod. (OM35814U)
CAUTION
Never use oil or grease on the
bolts or nuts. Doing so may lead
to overtightening the nuts and
damaging the bolts. The nuts
may loose and the wheels may
fall off, which could cause a seri-
ous accident. If there is oil or
grease on any bolt or nut, clean
it.
Twowheel drive models except
Pre Runner
Fourwheel drive models and
Pre Runner9. Lower the vehicle completely
and tighten the wheel nuts.
Regular cab models—Turn the jack
handle counterclockwise to lower the
vehicle.
Xtra −cab and double cab models—
Turn the jack handle end with the ex-
tension counterclockwise with handle
to lower the vehicle, making sure the
handle remains firmly fitted onto the
jack handle extension.
Use only the wheel nut wrench and
turn it clockwise to tighten the nuts.
Do not use other tools or any addition-
al leverage other than your hands,
such as a hammer, pipe or your foot.
Make sure the wrench is securely en-
gaged over the nut.
Tighten each nut a little at a time in
the order shown. Repeat the process
until all the nuts are tight.
—Lowering your vehicle

’04 Tacoma U (L/O 0309)
261
2004 TACOMA from Sep. ’03 Prod. (OM35814U)
CAUTION
When lowering the vehicle,
make sure all portions of your
body and all other persons
around will not be injured as
the vehicle is lowered to the
ground.
 Have the wheel nuts tightened
with torque wrench to 110 N·m
(11.5 kgf·m, 83 ft·lbf), as soon
as possible after changing
wheels. Otherwise, the nuts
may loosen and the wheels
may fall off, which could cause
a serious accident.
10.Reinstall the wheel ornament.
Put the wheel ornament into position
and then tap it firmly with the side or
heel of your hand to snap it into place.
CAUTION
Take due care in handling the or-
nament to avoid unexpected per-
sonal injury.
11. Check the air pressure of the re-
placed tire.
Adjust the air pressu re to the specifi-
cation designated in Section 8. If the
pressure is lower, drive slowly to the
nearest service station and fill to the
correct pressure.
Do not forget to reinstall the tire infla-
tion valve cap as dirt and moisture
could get into th e valve core and
possibly cause air leakage. If the cap
is missing, have a new one put on as
soon as possible.
12.Restow all the tools, jack and flat tire securely.
As soon after changing wheels as
possible, tighten the wheel nuts to the
torque specified in Section 8 with a
torque wrench. Have a technician re-
pair the flat tire.
—Reinstalling wheel ornament —After changing wheels

’04 Tacoma U (L/O 0309)
262
2004 TACOMA from Sep. ’03 Prod. (OM35814U)
CAUTION
Before driving, make sure all the
tools, jack and flat tire are se-
curely in place in their storage
location to reduce the possibility
of personal injury during a colli-
sion or sudden braking.
If your vehicle becomes stuck in snow,
mud, sand, etc., then you may attempt
to rock the vehicle free by moving it
forward and backward.
If your vehicle is equipped with the
“AUTO LSD” system, you can use it in
this situation. (For details, see “AUTO
LSD system” in Section 17.)
If your vehicle is equipped with the dif-
ferential lock system, you can use it in
this situation. (For details, see “Rear
differential lock system” in Section
17.)
CAUTION
Do not attempt to rock the vehicle
free by moving it forward and back-
ward if people or objects are any-
where near the vehicle. During the
rocking operation the vehicle may
suddenly move forward or backward
as it becomes unstuck, causing injury
or damage to nearby people or ob-
jects.
NOTICE
If you rock your vehicle, observe the
following precautions to prevent dam-
age to the transmission and other
parts.
Do not depress the accelerator ped-
al while shifting the selector lever
or before the transmission is com-
pletely shifted to forward or reverse
gear.
 Do not race the engine and avoid
spinning the wheels.
 If your vehicle remains stuck after
rocking the vehicle several times,
consider other ways such as tow-
ing.
If your vehicle becomes stuck