Timing chain And towing

Good morning from Colorado. Have a question out there for the die hards of Toyota tundras. Considering strongly to purchase a 2010 tundra from a little dealer in Northern Colorado. Tell me if I’m stupid and crazy please. I don’t want to pay 30 or $40,000 for a tundra no matter what they look like or how cool they are. I just can’t do that and justify the payments so I’m looking at tundras with high mileage 130 140 170,000 miles. Given all the research I’ve done these trucks run and run. With a timing chain I found out they will last the life of the motor theoretically. A question what about a truck that has high miles a tundra at high mileage is it still going to be worthy of towing? No fifth wheel or a yoke hitch trailer or something huge like a toy hauler but a flatbed trailer traveling from Colorado to Wyoming back-and-forth with a load. So I’m going to check out this tundra today it has 200,000 miles on it. Check this out. The owner is a one time owner it was his personal vehicle. The Carfax has recorded 76 scheduled visits during this 200,000 miles. This guy went straight to the Toyota dealership and had them do every service performed by them and he went by the book by the manual if it said do it he did it and he had Toyota do it for him. Everything is recorded documented the guy took such good care of this truck. They are asking 17,900 for this truck. I thought if I drain the differential and change the fluid maybe a little attitude would help and I should be good to go I don’t have to worry about the timing chain just routine maintenance things that come along maybe the typical brakes things like that but this guy had everything serviced according to the manual by the manufacture he never skipped a beat 76 recorded visits to the dealership and they were all routine maintenance that’s it. So I’m really considering offering them 17,000 even and see what they say. Maybe 17,500 at the most. My intentions are to put a shell on top use it for work and my tools and pull a trailer behind it when we move up to Wyoming we will have a few loads and I just wanna have a peace of mind it’s going to be able to handle that no problem. Any comments please thank you.

 

How much will your loaded trailer weigh?

Tongue weight?

SPP

 

The towing would probably be with a flatbed trailer dual axle the can you rent from U-Haul. The most I would put in there will be furniture. And then we have to move our garage gym Also but I would just do that in small amounts to keep the weight down. So I’m guessing maybe five or 6000 pounds from Broomfield up to Laramie.

 

Take me with you! If the valve train is quiet on startup the chain and tensioners are performing as designed. Load the trailer smartly and you’ll be fine. 200k can be getting into starter and alternator territory. Or they could both go another 200.

 

The chain itself will have stretched a bit and have some slack. Id recommend at least having the tensioners looked at and if theyr maxed out, swap the chain and tensioners. As for the load, as long as the weight is over the trailer axles and not all at the tongue, then you should be good to go.
https://youtu.be/w9Dgxe584Ss
Im sure you have seen this (we all have at least once) but its just a good reminder.

 

It sounds like the previous owner took care of the truck. That is one of the things I look for when buying a used vehicle. I would still look the truck over for common issues like cam tower leaks etc. Test drive it and make sure everything works like it should. If am that checks out I would not be afraid of it if the prices was fair and it is what you are looking for.

 

I would tow that trailer in that truck without hesitation. I would worry more about getting a flat tire than anything else.

However, $17500 with 200k on the clock is too high IMO.

 

I don't know what trucks around you are currently running. I paid $16k for my 08 with 180k on it 5 years ago. From prices being insane that sounds like a pretty good deal nowadays. I would have zero issue buying that truck and towing any load with it. I would expect some things to start failing in the next 100k like the starter, otherwise change the fluids and she'll run forever.

 

How does it sound on a cold start? The timing chain/tensioner issue seems to make for noisy cold starts, but I'm not sure anyone on here has had their engine jump timing. This would imply that you could live with the noise for a little while if it did happen.

I would definitely do a few drain and fills on the transmission to be sure that fluid is fresh and clean.

 

X2 drain and fill tranny a couple 3 times about a few hundred miles apart. Put some good 5w 30 in the engine, flush and fill the coolant. I would offer 16k and maybe settle on 16400, then use the difference to get a starter, drivebelt, u joints, thermostat, alternator, fuel pump, water pump, and a tensioner for some peace of mind traveling. Never fun to be stranded especially with tools on board or a trailer full of goods. Just my .02. Good luck!

 

The chain is designed to last the life time of the engine from what I have read and watched. And some people have pulled chain when they were servicing the tensioner at 200k miles and they said the chain had no stretch to it.

The red coolant from Toyota is destined to last 200k+ miles so if the previous owner kept up on the service, check the service history for any flushes done at how many miles ago.

One of the million mile tundra owners said he regretted swapping out the tranny because later on he learned he should have just flushed it and it would have probably been good.

Still I would check all gaskets and drive train including CV's for leaks and wiggle and check all electronics to make sure all is functional, check fluids for clarity and caps and under the caps for flakes and gunk when cold and do a cold start listen and make sure the air injection functions properly and there is no exhaust leaks or ticks or chain slaps on the cold start up.

Check the age of the alternator and battery.

Test drive it!

GL HF

 

If the brake fluid looks like coffee instead of the normal vegetable oil color, the maintenance hadn't been done correctly.

 

My 2011 has 474K and I carry heavy loads and occasionally pull a utility trailer loaded with job materials. No issues with timing chain. Alternator went out at 232K and again around 425K. Replaced starter around 370K. Never serviced the transmission. You shouldn’t have any issues especially with a one owner well maintained Tundra. I say make the best deal you can and get that truck.

 

Almost 400K miles on my 2005 Tundra 4.7 only thing I've replaced non-maintenance on my engine to date is my valve cover gaskets last summer so no complaints whatsoever on my 4.7 or my 3 belt/pump changes (4th soon).

For those buying a used Tundra don't let Belts vs Chain maintenance decide for you though. Truth is anything after 120k on a chain is actually barrowed time anyway. Just beware thats an actual fact... Most miles I had one go was my 1980 Toy pickup at 180k. Not a long single row overhead valve chain like todays but a short less complex setup with double row chain. I should have changed it much sooner because like most other owners who lived it, mine wore a hole through my cover too..lol

Seems most people take Toys recommendation "Timing chain lasts the life of the vehicle" to say "just ignore the chain altogether". Well' when it lets go suddenly and destroys their interference engine well then its true' it did last the life of the vehicle without several grand in your pocket to rebuild/replace your engine your truck may pretty much be done...lol

Sorry but most people I talked to have no idea their Tundra engine is still Interference and some argued "It has no belt now so' it cannot be interference" and "Toyota would never do that chit"...yada yada Kill the messenger..lol
Well' news flash it is an interference engine and its chain will trash your engine if chains ignored as Toy (sort of) says to do.
Most chains actually stretch, gear teeth wear then chain slides off the gears then trashes the engine fwiw. Sometimes you hear it coming but many times you never will.
I've seen Hyd tensioners totally seize in place at 100k too. The stem rusts so they no longer move in/out to keep the chain/belt tight which causes it to slide off. Mostly seen on very low mile engines around salt.

Just because some people are ignorant to the facts of timing chain/component life and push their limits to extreme doesn't mean every chain will work longer than 120k because test after tests show chains/components fail to stay within proper spec soon after that so its all luck from then on out. Especially on any truck that tows/hauls a lot which stretches the chain/belt more it gets even less chain life.
I personally saw vehicles with over 200k miles on timing belts their owners never knew to change but would never leave one on to see if I can do it too?

"Car makers tell us all that our timing chains will lasts the life of our vehicles?" Yep' sure do!!
But what most folks don't understand is the "average" life of a vehicle is just 11yrs and 150k mi even with proper maintenance. Thats according to consumer reports not car makers. No' because if you take a good look at the maintenance schedule inside your trucks manual you actually see it stops at 100k miles. Humm?
That pretty much tells you what Toyota believes "the life of your vehicle" really means to them. So' thats what they really mean when they say that.

Cars Life Expectancy-
https://onhike.com/finding-a-car-with-a-long-life-expectancy/133061/

One of the worlds largest chain makers posted this in 2019 because people are pushing chain limits and destroying engines:
https://www.cloyes.com/timing-chain...n normally needs,there is a specific problem.

SKF: Timing belts vs chains?
https://vehicleaftermarket.skf.com/ie/en/blog/skf-mechanic/timing-belt-vs-timing-chain

 

Well there ya go!

Seems that irrefutable, internet science has spoken and proven I am just a dumb animal yet again.

I had no idea 2 our 3 vehicles were living on borrowed time, With a timing chain bomb set to explode.

My '89 5 series has ~340k miles and is driven fairly aggressively. I will heed your warning and retire that vehicle immediately.

Do you think that still have a month or two on my 160k mile Tundra? Sounds like I need to unload it ASAP and stick the next ignorant fool with this time bomb of a pickup truck.

My wife's KL Cherokee only has 70k on the clock, so at least you have given me confident, warm fuzzies regarding the reliability of that glorious Pentestar V6. With all of your quality sources I feel this motor is guaranteed to make it another 50k before I have to get rid of it too.

 

Maybe you should get CarShield seeing that Iced-Tee highly recommends it……end sarcasm

 

Haha.

They call me Ice-Tre. I MADE Ice-cube AND Ice-t

......How many car shields are able to be applied to one single vehicle? More is better, right?

 

I think the only things they cover are canuder valves, muffler bearings, and blinker fluid reservoirs. Everything else has to go through a diagnostic phase that the vehicle owner has to pay for. One of my friends got burned by them when the motor in his 2019 Sanata Fe bit the dust at 105K. He payed over a grand in diagnosing fees before he finally figured out they had no intention of covering the cost of a motor.