1st Gen. Lunch Table - General Discussion

You should follow my blueprint on my build page. I was in the same situation as you almost 2 years ago. I was looking at new trucks, but didn’t like the Turd Gen body. Yeah the 5.7 engine is real nice, but everything else didn’t appeal (fugly front end, too big body, crap stereo, lower payload, big payments!).

Its taken about a year and a half and about $6k ‘freedom dollars’ in parts and labor to shake her down.

Front end rebuild by others and 4 new tires were $4300

New coil packs (8) $480

Various other stuff to long to explain. $1200


Next up in 2-3 years is the timing belt, cams seals, radiator, alternator, pulleys, etc.

Basically, everything between the front bumper and front of engine block all replaced at one time. $2k? By others?

Or under $1k DIY.

 

I did that with a car (but at an independent) back around 1996. Brought it back to new & I drove it for another decade. It was actually $3k back then, far cheaper than the $25 - $27 the dealer wanted for a new GMC truck. Everyone told me I was crazy, but it just made financial sense & I liked the car.

 

On a whim, Tundra & I stopped at the Toyota dealer yesterday (Saturday). Just wanted to try on a new Tacoma - see if it's grown into a 1st gen Tundra. Didn't have one on the floor. The T4R seemed interesting, but really fails as a truck bed w/ seats down. Could work w/ a trailer I guess. Went out to the used lot - everything locked. All the Tacoma's were 4 door w/ shortie beds - pointless to me. But they looked pretty cramped inside. New Tundra's too big. Meh, like what I got. Left w/o any sales people getting my digits for the win!

 

I'll definitely be referencing your build. I don't think I've seen anyone go so in depth bring an old truck back to life. The 1st Gen is pretty much the ideal truck in terms of size and power but I actually really like the 3rd gens, especially in the Platinum trim. The availability of aftermarket stuff to mod it for the fishing and backcountry travel we do is cool too. However, I've done the $500 - $600 per month truck payments in the past and I'm really enjoying not having them anymore.

I did the timing belt, water pump and cam seals just under 2 years ago, so that's done. Last year I put new shocks in, replaced the rusted out muffler, installed new headlight housings with LED bulbs and did the paint correction.

Right now I have a bit of a clunk in the front end I need to chase down. No matter what, I'm still on all original components up front other than 1 sway bar that was broken when I bought the truck and I replaced.

So the list as I see it is:

- Upper and lower ball joints
- Tie rods
- Sway bars
- CV boots/joints
- Steering rack bushings
- Battery and cables
- Block heater
- Glove box latch
- Replace the skid plate bolt I snapped off last fall
- Center bearing?
- Leaf springs?

 

That big payment was what deterred me from buying new. I looked at Ford packages (gasp) and they are through the roof once you add all your options up.

The Turd Gen is nice, even though @Darkness ,@bmf4069 and I give them a hard time. I just saw this 2002 as still a viable platform for at least 5 more years with some help. Crunching the numbers after 2 years and $6k in payouts I am way ahead in cost savings versus buying new.

One thing to keep in mind is the ‘free labor’ I put back into this truck. I’m guessing at least 100 hours of DIY time on various items ‘shops/garages’ don’t mess with. That number would not make this truck worthwhile to keep if others were involved.

Its been therapeutic, but getting tired of the challenge and looking to move on to something else.

Rebuilding your front end will really make your truck feel like its new again and hopefully fix your clunk.

 

I would like to see a new tundra and a new Tacoma front end side by side. I saw both drive past me last week and I could swear the Tacoma had a longer hood area. if that's the case then no wonder the newer Tundras look like snub-nosed pugs.



The other issue I have with the 07+ tundra is the slanted back window. Why not make it like the first gen Titan and square it off? I love that look on the Titan and don't like that part of the tundras at all.

Or like the first gen tundra

 

I only like the single cab short bed 2nd/3rd gens, not even sure they made a 3rd gen one. That version looks badass to me, others I'm not a fan of. To be fair though I really like the old pickups, to me the first gen is like a slightly roomier version.

 

The first gen to me is bascially a Tacoma with better numbers. I honestly love the size and the power is pretty well enough for what I do with my truck. They're really great trucks.

Adding spark plugs and refinishing the running boards to my list. I think I'm going to try using a roll on bedliner for the running boards. I'll have to do my annual windshield replacement this spring too. Oh, and I also need to do something about my heater knob since it doesn't turn all the way to the right. I think I need to adjust a cable or something.

Basic aesthetic stuff to do this year: repaint my grille since I never got around to finishing it properly last time, renew the rubber seals and trim, have the truck professionally detailed, buy custom fit Weathertech floor mats, driver footwell bulb swapped to LED, install LED bulbs in HVAC controls, replace tailights and cargo lights with LEDs, replace foglight bulbs with LEDs, clean out sunroof tracks, replace the missing cover on the windshield wiper bolt

If I have time and money, I'd also like to install a new headunit with a backup camera and Android Auto. It's probably time to upgrade to a newer remote start as well, though that's not a high priority item right now.

 

Not what you're talking about I'm sure but wish I still had my old pkup….badass to me !

 

I do like those ones, when I saw this one on Dazed and Confused I wanted one so bad

 

@mcharfauros (or any 1st gen Tundra people) need a set of steering rack bushings?

My buddy with a 1st gen Tacoma ordered these by mistake.

Energy Suspension part#

$39 8.10104G Energy Suspension 810104G Steering Rack Bush for Tundra '00-'06, Model:8.10104G

8.10104G

Asking for $20 bucks
Located in San Diego

 

Found this lil guy floppin all around in the upper steering wheel area on our 5th gen 4Runner
@empty_lord or any other techs, know what it’s for or if I need to order a new one? It’s kinda weighted and has rubber ears that locate into part of the wheel frame but nothing that bolts it down

 

Steering wheel dampener? But that should be behind the airbag

 

It was right above the airbag area, right below the upper cover trim, it seemed to go across an electrical connector. But the rubber ears have failed and it was just floppin up there. Do I even need to worry about getting a new one?

 

It’s there to minimise vibrations in the wheel. If you don’t feel anything your fine

 

Thank you. I’ll try to keep an eye on it, it’s momma bears whip and she never mentions anything to me; got in this morning and sounded like 78 cents in nickles romping around in there when I made a turn.

 

What size.is.the axle nut I need to remove my CV from the hub? 35mm?

 

35

 

Appreciate it. All in shipped to 65473 Fort Leonard Wood, MO what we lookin’ at?

 

Thank you sir you are a gentleman and a scholar

 

I’m mildly triggered to assumed I’m
A scholar! I’m just a redneck in the wrong part of the country thank you much!


Lol, yea Toyota’s are 30mm cars, 35mm trucks. Except second gen tundras. Forget what size that is.

 

@FirstGenVol

Whats your call on the proper process for tomorrows work?

Truck finish feels pretty smoov right now as I clay barred, polished, and waxed it a few months back. She has some surface dirt that will be washed off first.

Should I clay bar again before doing the compound tomorrow? I don’t feel any diddy dots.

She really feels good and the depth is back on the compound area test spots done today.

Should I polish after the compound? Or just go straight to wax and skip polish?

 

Seems like you've already got a good foundation in place so no need to claybar unless you just want to. My understanding of clay is that it strips the old stuff off. I would do a good thorough wash, then compound and finish with wax. Polish would be nice but probably overkill. Just use a little less elbow grease with that compound. It will look nice!

 

Depending on how I feel I might do the polish. I watched a youtubes of a finisher guy and he used both, but said the Maguiars Compound is so good there is no need for the polish. Actually, I just remembered I have very little polish left so forget that. I don’t think my truck has ever been compounded before so I’m looking for great results based on the test areas today. I’ll be sealing using the Maguiars Ultimate Synthetic Wax as always. Nice smells!

 

I’ll be channeling my rival Martial Camp today in honor of Señor Miyagi.

Might even bust out a Crane Technique, or two, when doing the cab top.

 

You might want to budget for new LCAs and a full set of alignment cams as well. When the shocks were done, did they have to cut the lower bolts? Don't know how bad the corrosion is in your part of Alberta

 

My LCA's still look fine, but I'll have a close look at them once the snow frigs off. They didn't have to cut any bolts when they did my shocks. Corrosion isn't too bad in my area since they primarily use gravel the size of golf balls rather than salt. Paint ships and windshield cracks are bigger concerns.

 

The area of concern is actually those alignment cam bolts and the bushings in the LCAs that they run through. They have a nasty habit of seizing, and requiring a sawzall cut through the LCA mounting bolt to remove the LCA and start over. On mine, only one of the four where seized, at 127,000 miles with almost zero corrosion, but that still required new cam bolts for one side, as well as a new LCA. I replaced both just to have them lined up.

 

Do you have any independent shops you trust? I would not want to pay dealership pricing on this and suspension work isn't that complicated for other shops. Not sure if you remember but last summer I had the following installed, ICON c/o's, lower ball joints, outer tie rods, SPC UCA's with new upper ball joints and steering rack bushings. The dealership wanted around $1,400. A local 4x4 shop did it for $700 out the door. And honestly, you seem like a capable guy. I think you could knock out a lot of that list yourself. I was sailing until I got to the upper ball joints and then lost confidence. Next time I'll figure it out.

 

Yeah, I do have a shop that does decent work and will install parts I supply. I'll take the truck to the dealership for the inspection since the techs really know these trucks and the shop I go to is just a generic repair shop. I'm leaning towards MOOG parts for alot of things, but I need to do a bit more research. I'll do as much as I can but for me time is at a premium. Work is ramping up and I'll likely end up work 60+ hours a week for much of this year.