Beastly4.2

Good evening everyone. Lemme start by thanking all of you who’ve contributed to these conversations over the years. I’ve been able to do some of the basics in the past on both of my ‘04 2.7 6Spd’s and my S6 Avant with your help. I come to you today as I’m seriously considering a 4.2L 2004 Allroad...

The good- Its a 1 owner with less than 75k miles on it at a fair price. It’s repair records seem to indicate it was owned by someone wealthy that brought it exclusively to the dealership for maintenance for his 16 years of ownership. The price is under 10k and the condition appears to be very good for a car it’s age.

The questions I have- According to Carfax, it’s had the transmission tailshaft seal replaced 3x since 2012, which raised an eyebrow for me, as I know that’s near the torque converter, and I never had to have that seal replaced with combined 4-5 years of ownership with my other two allroads.

I also know that the chains have a finite finite shelf life, and at 16 years this chain may have lived a full life. This would be a second vehicle for me, and we all know that you don’t buy an allroad for reliability. I guess what I’m looking for and would be greatful to revive is a vote of confidence or against this purchase as I would plan to use it for heading to our camp 70 miles each way most weekends, instead of taking the 13 MPG Tundra. I also just miss the allroad and love the exhaust bites of the 4.2. I have a feeling this one hasn’t been driven hard at all which makes me all the more inclined to take a chance, but I just wanted to see if anyone out there had any strong feelings one way or another.

I read that the ‘04 and ‘05’s got upgraded torque converters, but wanted to check on that as well. I know the gripe with my S6 Avant was that the engine torque output was maxing out the transmission max threshold, causing a bunch of this autos to fail. If the 4.2 tip ever did go, I’d seriously consider doing the 6sp. conversion, especially if the price were comparable.

I'm not going down the 2.7T route again, but a one owner 4.2 seems hard to pass up. I can weather the suspension issues, but torque converters going bad left and right and new transmissions often aren’t something I could find every couple of years. Thanks for the input in advance, and happy 2021 everyone.

PetrolBear

Hello!
"The questions I have- According to Carfax, it’s had the transmission tailshaft seal replaced 3x since 2012, which raised an eyebrow for me, as I know that’s near the torque converter, and I never had to have that seal replaced with combined 4-5 years of ownership with my other two allroads."
It is not normal. It should had been an implementation failure several times, no other explanation I could raise.

In case I would meet such an offer here in Europe (complete history, one owner, very good condition, fair price) I would not hesitate at all. And I would sell the Tundra with its 13mpg which sounds quite terrible. Simply, not worth to keep it.
About the chains? 75k miles is nothing. Normally there might be needed to change the chain(-tensioners) way above the 75k. Around 100k in case it was driven regularly hard and at around 160-200k if it was driven regularly mild/soft. I have these infos from 4.2 AR owners.

Rowingmurphy

I went for a low miles 2004 4.2 tip a couple of years ago. You're not going to save much on gas vs the Tundra. I previously owned an 03 2.7T 6MT, an '04 2.7T 6MT and an '05 2.7T tiptronic. The transmission in the 4.2 is supposedly the same as on the 2.7T, but it shifts much better, both up and down. None of that annoying lag when you slow for a turn then try to accelerate smoothly. The 4.2 finds itself in the right gear and applies its hefty torque in a dignified manner. Unless you flog it, in which case it applies its hefty torque with vigor.

I was considering a 6MT conversion, but my car isn't as pristine as you'd want to invest that kind of time and money in.

Right now it need to have the engine pulled to change the drive for the a.c. This would be the time to go for the conversion, but i'm undecided.

P.m. me and let me know if you bought it.