Need help deciding 05 vs 06 DC Tundra

What's up Toyo fam,

I'm an owner of an 89 Pickup truck and plan to buy an 05 or 06 Tundra DC.

I've found two trucks for sale that I'm debating:
2006 Tundra in great condition. No rust (truck spent most of it's time in South Carolina). Timing belt replaced around 100K miles.
178K miles.
$14,250

2005 Tundra. New engine w/ only 6K miles. Odometer reads 240K miles. Timing belt, O2 sensors, Water pump replaced. also has a new paint job.
$12K

Would you have any concerns about buying the 05 with a new engine? I've asked the seller if it's a certified Toyota engine. He's supposed to get back to me later today.

 

You don't mention how the frame is rust-wise on the higher-mile truck.

I personally prefer less baggage with my trucks. You know these engines will last 500k-1000k miles, so wtf did the previous owner do to kill the engine in the other truck. Furthermore, if they managed to kill the engine, what damage did they do to other stuff? This is not something you want to think about later while chasing gremlins. Furthermore, why the repaint? Was that to hide something? I'm left wth more questions than answers and suspicious af knowing how shady some humans can be.

$2.2k is a nominal difference considering the mileage and baggage differences. You're really not going to see much difference between '05 and '06.

I'd be interested to know if both trucks are the same cab configuration (regular / access /double) and how they're optioned. Leather? Steering wheel controls? 2WD vs 4WD? Those are the little comfort and functional differences that'll make a difference for you in the long run.

Welcome to the forum!

 

Thanks, Shifty!

Great ?'s. Both trucks have no rust. both are the double cab and 4WD. the higher mileage truck has no rust b/c it was a South Carolina truck and has been in the NC mtns for the last 3 years.

That's my main concern about the 05 - is why did the engine die in the first place...is there something going on that might be unkown.

 

Taking into account what both you and @shifty` have said, I'm down to having the 06 in the lead BUT I'll have a better feel once you share some pics of both....cause we love pics !

 

I mean, you'll never know the answer to that question until you buy the truck. But you'll always have that niggling thought in the back of your craw that happened. Not only that, but the owner(s) of the higher-mile truck had 140k more miles to screw any number of other things up. Beyond that, who did the engine swap, and what's the history of the engine they put in? If you've read the laundry list of gotchas and ahas members here went through swapping engines... whew, it's a lot. That's all gonna be on you after purchase if you get that truck.

In light of that, I think the question you need to ask yourself is, "Is it worth 15-20% more initial buy-in price to have less unknowns and potential gotchas?"

If you're not doing the work yourself, it costs $1500-2000 just to do the timing belt and water pump, for perspective. Did the new engine get one at install, or was it a bolt-up, no-maintenance-done swap? Who knows?!

I dunno. If it were me, I'd go with the lower-mile truck solely because there's less unknown history, less baggage involved.

If this were a case where the swapped-motor truck were going for $7k-9k, I'd have a lot tougher time with this. $12k is way too much money for that history.

 

Do you want a wet fart or a dry turd? Secretly, you want an AC. Preferably ‘00-‘02 where things are simple.

 

You went there didn't ya....DC for the win

 

How many miles on this “new” engine?

 

My personal rule has always been no to new engines in cars/trucks/boats, but that's just me. What did the previous owner do that it needed a new engine, where was the engine sourced, who installed it, did they know what they are doing, how many miles are really on the engine, etc? Too many questions for my personal risk level. For reference my recently purchased 2004 2wd DC with 160k was $10k and needed new brakes and the timing belt done. That 2006 is due for another timing belt already.

 

Ha!! I need the double cab. We have 3 kids and I want to be able to use this for family camping trips.

But thanks for your honest turd opinion.

 

Dlowry81 - to answer your questions and to update everyone.

The 05 truck has a new engine installed by a local garage (not a toyota dealership). Engine was new and only has 6K miles on it. Engine came from O'Reilys Auto.

And for the 06 truck - , are you saying the timing belt will need to be replaced soon if that was done around 100K miles? the truck currently has 178K miles.

Thanks!

 

6K miles

 

If my owner's manual memory serves correctly, timing belt is due every 9yrs or 90k miles, whichever comes first. Recommended to consider doing the water pump and tensioners while in there. You can get away with 10yr/100k option, and some members have even made it to 200k+ on the original, but if it snaps it's catastrophic failure, time for a new engine (which could be what happened with the other truck, never know!)

I learned something new today. LAPS sell replacement 2UZ engines. I had no idea.

 

Timing belt is every 90k so you're coming up on it before long, but it's each to their own. I know some guys don't follow the recommended interval. I can't talk myself into pushing the risk, but again that's just me.

 

6k miles on a remanned long block? Does it have vvt-I? Any pics of the 05 engine?

 

I guess my other question would also be, why is someone selling the truck just 6k after a full engine overhaul? That's a chunk of cash to sink into a vehicle only to turn around and sell it a few thousand miles later, on a truck that must've seen a lot of commuting. What's got their ass so chapped they're inspired to sell after an event like that?

 

I've asked for a picture of the 05 engine. I should get that in about 1-2 hours from now (seller is at work). and I'm not sure what you mean by "remanned long block".

The reason he is selling it is b/c he bought a car for better gas mileage to commute to and from work and no longer drives the truck. And he shared the engine was replaced in Dec. of 2020. Only 6K miles in the last 1.5 years. I'll post the pic when I get it later this afternoon.

 

that's a great ?...he said it's b/c he bought a car for better gas mileage for his commute to and from work.

And thanks for the info regarding the timing belt.

 

Local auto parts store typically doesn't sell new engines from the manufacturer. Chances are they're picking it up from someone who remanufactured (remanned, rebuilt-as-new) it. Many of the parts you buy at the LAPS can be or are remanned.

 

I'd rather buy a Gen 1 Tundra with a lot more miles & typical wear & tear, that has great, or at least good service record history over one that has some question marks.
Re-paint / re-power / new transmission / accident w/ body work etc. are red flags for me.
Also I look to see if the truck was used for trailering . . . especially if I see electric brake controllers that were installed in the cab . . . that tells me the previous owner was 'possibly' towing near the trucks max capacity, or perhaps even 'over' . . . so excessive transmission, brake, rear-end wear could 'possibly' be expected.
That's just my take . . . YMMV.

 

New engine and new paint would be flags for me. Likley not a certified toyota engine. New paint always makes me wonder....could have a ton of bondo, poor prep, materials.

 

Go with the 06...a great last year of an amazing generation of truck! Budget another $1400 for a timing belt job in today's market...I am suggesting the price as my 2005 4th gen 4runner with the 2uz is getting a timing belt at 88k mile next Wednesday and I was quoted this price as a starting point...

 

That number's pretty much on-point. Some here on the 1st gen subforum with 2UZ found reputable shops as low as $1250, around ATL I'm looking at $1600 for my preferred shop to do everything, including tensioners and water pump. Last time I had the truck at the dealership, I asked out of curiosity, stealership wants $2200 to do only the belt, $3100 for everything.

 

Wow, you guys are going to some expensive ass shops. Had my timing belt and water pump done along with all the other belts and new hoses for just under 900$. Though I didn't take it to the dealership so that might explain why.

 

Huh, what brand of parts are they using? That's a damn good price from what I'm seeing over here, it's tough to get below a 4-digit number without using aftermarket (non-Aisin, non-Denso) parts. I could get to $900 if I supply a kit and let them handle the fill-in parts or go to a sketchier shop.

I haven't checked with LexTechs over here yet. But assume they'd be going OEM parts and it'd be $600-800 in parts and $600-800 in labor (Guesstimating around $200 @ 3-4 hours) also, which still comes out around the same #

 

Fellas, I have the pics of the new engine in the 05. Here ya go:

 

That's a tough one! I've owned 05 and 06 but all stock and way lower miles. $2250 less $ and new engine sounds more attractive to me.

 

Maybe they got a new block only, and had someone move everything over? That looks like a 240k mile engine still

Color of the fluids in reservoirs isn't promising, another nod to potential of lack of maintenance. On the positive, looks like a pretty new, beefy cable between the pos batt lead and the fuse/relay box, but that could also be a nod to the vehicle recently having power issues, which could be an undisclosed reason they're selling.

The one thing I'd share, as the owner of a white truck whose paint was equally chalked out, something you may not otherwise consider. All of Toyota's non-metallic, solid-color paints are single stage and, if not properly cared for, will chalk out bigtime. You'll never get that thing shiny inside and out.

I'd almost recommend that, if the other truck has metallic paint job, go with that one instead. Only thing to say there is the green metallic and red metallic trucks have notoriety for clearcoat failures on the hood, roof, and fender flares.

 

First that isn't a 6k mile motor. That truck as all sorts of red flags. As others have said if the 06 looks good and has decent service records then buy it and change the timing belt, water pump, etc. The prices others have quoted for the timing belt is spot on, but I've got no experience and changed my Tundra and wife's Sequoia recently so my advice is save the money and do it yourself.

 

My guy I don't know a lot but I know that ain't a new frickin engine.