My “I’ve given up on cars” Toyota truck accountability thread.

Hi everyone!

I’m Tom, and I’m a german-car-aholic. It’s been a 29 year rollercoaster of super high emotions, super low emotions and bad financial decisions. This is my first step in hopefully better decisions. I still own a Touareg that failed spectacularly about a week and a half ago so that’ll need fixing and selling but I’m ready to be free… at least for a little while. Kidding aside, I don’t really regret any of it and my bad track day related financial decisions PALED in comparison to my friends with jeeps(no hate, off roading is expensive!) but I’m growing my business and am ready to not deal with cars for a while. Helps living in rural Vermont, all the truly fun roads are dirt and better experienced by bike(for me) anyway.

So the Touareg broke in a way that I’m not comfortable dealing with and after a VCDS scan and some reading on both Touareg and Cayenne boards I got even less comfortable because I couldn’t find a documented account of a similar failure. I’m typing this a week and a half after the failure and had I towed it to the dealer, they might have had a chance to look at it next week. Yeah, so a month or more in a rental was not going to work. So I bought a 172,000 mile Tundra(with a new frame and some other underneath bits) totally logical and sensible, right? I also drove for 16 hours and in two different rental cars to go get the thing… maybe I’m not off to such a good start with the whole “good decisions” thing.

So here’s my old man truck:

It’s a 2006 AC 4wd SR5. It seems stock, maybe has an aftermarket exhaust?? quiet at idle and highway speed but noticeable burble at 25-45mph. It looks stock underneath and I honestly hope I can only hear it in the cab and it’s not noticeable to others outside the truck. If it is, then that’ll have to be fixed too.

The Good:
As mentioned before, it has a new frame and other things like sway bars, brake hoses, lines, etc. The cab is super solid underneath and the bed is good aside from some rust around the tailgate hinge and the hinge on the gas door is also broken. The carfax was clean but unfortunately little service history. Body doesn’t look to have had any paintwork and interior is all there and free of smoke, vape juice stench, rips and stains. Even the foam cushion isn’t broken down on the drivers side. Passenger and rear seats look unused. Tires are newer unheard of generic brand-but way less sketchy in the snow than the ones on the rental frontier I was driving for a week! Brake rotors are new. It drives like it has an lsd in the back; so I’ve got that going for me, which is nice.

The Bad:
It has it!! So the frame and some other things are new, aaaand so is the paint that someone applied to the things underneath that aren’t new. Things like upper and lower control arms as well as brake calipers, drums and associated backing plates. It’s actually done fairly neatly with little to no over spray so there’s that. Engine bay is not super pretty but not super ugly either; could use a bit of a clean(I kind of appreciate the honesty of leaving it as-is.) VCGs are not leaking but a closer inspection indicates some “weeping” of possibly one of the cam seals on the drivers side. Speaking of cam seals, there is no timing belt history so that’ll need doing sooner rather than later. It has a slight drift to the right. No Germans were involved with the braking system on this vehicle, none, at all; the brakes are not confidence inspiring not even a little bit. They work but the pedal feel is, um, yeah… In addition to no timing belt history, I have no records of lower ball joints either. That looks like a spectacularly inconvenient failure that I’d like to avoid. There’s a bunch of rust behind the rear bumper; IIRC, there’s a crossmember behind it that unbolts. Also, someone punched a hole the the bumper backing into a trailer. There are a couple of lightbulbs out; small(maybe DRL?) one in the driver headlight, one of the bed lights and the center HVAC bulb. Headlights are getting a tiny bit of haze and the drivers front turn signal has condensation. Third brake light/bed light looks like it will break when I replace the aforementioned bulb. I lied about the interior being all there; the knob on the dash dimmer rheostat is missing. That’s it, honest this time. Technically, the rear view mirror is there, but it’s broken. The low washer fluid light is on but the reservoir is full(guessing a bad sensor.) And the TPMS light is flashing. All in all it seems like a slightly above average 16 year old, 170k, pick up truck that was purchased at a tiny used car lot just up the road from Watkins Glen that does no advertising other than Craigslist.

Purpose of the Accountability thread:
To keep track of stuff, entertain myself and others, make new friends and, ya know, stay accountable and on top of maintenance and hopefully avoid spectacular failures at inconvenient times(like winter, in Vermont, when the bike commuting option is not too appealing.)

Tasks to Complete:
This list is currently under construction, please excuse the mess.
Maintenance to catch up on:
-Timing belt/water pump and associated tensioners
-Transmission drain and fill; still learning about this and trying to decide when and if I’ll drop the pan clean it out and change the filter.
-Transfer case and f&r differential fluid change
-Power steering fluid change

Suspension:
-First and foremost, take the wheels off and more closely inspect what is new(er) and what needs replacing. The shock absorbers do still control the body motions well enough so I’m hoping to defer replacing those for at least a bit. We’ll just have to se what there is to see.
-Lower ball joints; hopefully the rest of the front end is not too bad and it will make sense just to replace these by themselves for the time being.

Brakes:
-Discovered yesterday the parking brake does basically nothing and given what the outside of the drum and backing plate look like, I’m just gonna load up the parts cannon and replace all of it.
-Front calipers look ugly under the paint. What’s the community consensus on OE from Toyota vs. raybestos/acdelco/etc?
-parts list goes here

Interior:
-Rearview mirror replacement
-Replace knob for dash light rheostat
-Replace HVAC bulbs
-I’d like a new head unit with built in nav and Apple car play. But since I’ll be more local than not for the next year nav isn’t a super high priority. And I bought an Bluetooth fm modulator at a truck stop for 30$ it works just fine at home due to a lack of OTA radio. So that’ll do for now
-General cleaning. Its really not bad but armor all was definitely used from time to time throughout its life so it needs some proper cleaning with non shiny/greasy products.

Body:

-Third brake/bed lamp lens and bulb replacement
-Clean and recondition headlamp lenses
-Repair or replace drivers front turn signal(condensation)
-Remove side steps; they collect slush and mud so they’ve gotta go.
-I really like the look of the trucks without fender flares so I will look into removing those as well.
-The hitch is rusty behind the bumper; this needs to be addressed but not high priority right now.

Hopes and Dreams:
Probably will be crushed by reality but hey, I can still dream! Also, more later see above.

Mods:
Are all terrain tires a mod if I actually drive on all of the terrains?

Thanks for the forum everyone, used it a bit when considering and learning more about the truck. Hope I can make a meaningful contribution to the community, or at the very least be moderately entertaining(same thing I promise my students!)

It’s been a bit since I’ve been active on car forums and I need to figure out a few things like posting a pic and saving as a draft so please excuse the incomplete first post, promise I’ll get it properly finished tomorrow but right now adulting awaits.

Be well everyone,
Tom

 

Welcome from the AZ desert.

 

Nice lookin truck Tom and Welcome....

 

Hi from So Cal Tom,
I’m new here just this week too, and also just bought an older Tundra (2005 Double cab).

You’ll never regret buying one of these trucks. They have some quirks but are solid, reliable and have past the point of depreciation.

Sorry to hear about your Touareg, I’ve always loved some of the VW’s and Volvos, but they’re all great until suddenly THEYRE NOT, so I’ve always steered clear.

If your a German fan dipping your toe into Toyotas you won’t be disappointed. I’m your opposite though, a longtime Toyota fan (I have three Toyota trucks right now) and always have one German car around.

 

Welcome aboard. This a good place to hang around. The first gen crowd is a pretty tight bunch with a wealth of knowledge.

I’m a big fan of vw’s here recently. I daily an 04 Jetta tdi 5 speed manual and my wife drives a 2010 Jetta sport wagon tdi w with a “breathing treatment”. She gave up her 07 sequoia for the wagon. I kept my tundra and bought the mk4 in addition too

 

Thank you Beau! Greetings from Vermont! I love the Arizona desert, Patagonia and the San Rafael Valley are a home away from home for me. I have some very dear friends, the kind who feel like family, that work hard to make that place as special as it is.

 

Thank you for the warm welcome all

 

Thank you Jimmy, much appreciated.

Technically I’m not “new” to Toyotas. In 1996 I bought an 80 something Camry for 200$ also due to a broken, American that time, car!! Said Camry required a 250$ exhaust before I drove it home 2hrs on I-95 from dc to Richmond va. The exhaust didn’t actually happen til the day after I got it home…. my fellow citizens were not impressed… I def felt like a jerk. Oh well, I was 20 and broke. Good times, for real. It was the worst car I ever owned but so many stories; life was lived with that thing. Had a Mk7 Golf R, best car I’ve ever owned; no stories, it just did all the things it was expected to do well but it did them absolutely brilliantly but that’s it.

Kidding and philosophizing aside, I’m new to Toyota truck ownership but they’re so ubiquitous in my community, both locally and with so many of my bike industry friends that there was no question where I was going when the time was right. Looking forward to catching this truck up on maintenance and start collecting some good stories!

Also, totally not mad about the Touareg, it’s been great; 3 cross country trips and numerous other mtb trips some very light off roading, my first experience owning and properly using all terrain tires. Put 90k on it in 5 and a bit years. 150k miles right now. I’ll get it fixed and it’ll be a fine high school kid car for up here(wicked safe in a crash and easy/safe to drive in all the different snow/mud/slush/less than awesome pavement we have up here) probably closer to the capital where the dealer is though. Whatever breaks next will probably be less than head gaskets on the most common high school kid car.

Thank you for the kind welcome, hope your 05 treats you well.

tom

 

Welcome, I previously worked as a Porsche mechanic at a dealer that also serviced VW's. Having worked on many VW's, I can safely say they are not reliable (compared to toyota and honda) and over engineered. Not over engineered in the sense of reliability, over engineered as in overcomplicated for little to no gain in function. I would never recommend buying a VW to anyone lol, it may look pretty but it will cost you.

 

Hiya Thomás!!

 

Thanks for the welcome. I respect your experience, but still like the German stuff. Had to spend a few hours on the freeway to the outer Boston ‘burbs today and envy isn’t the right word but damn that stuff just drives so right, and the ergonomics!!!! I’m definitely going to miss the comfort on cross country trips. I too worked as a vw/Audi mechanic and for me, it depends on who’s asking and what they’re asking about. All in all the reliability is average, they’re good til about 120-150k. The non enthusiast approved ones last even longer. Not as easy as a Toyota or Honda but they drive so much better, and fit tall people comfortably. There are so many cars that drive poorly and have worse reliability than the Germans…. owning one of those would be awful!! Also, I do, and have for years, recommend Toyota and Honda to most people that ask me. I’ll likely have something from ze Germans in the future, not sure what or when. Or maybe go crazy with some weird old French car; Citroen suspension would be perfect for Vermont dirt! I’m a gear head at heart and prolly will never truly give up on cars; the title and first paragraph were mostly meant to be funny. Anyway, for now it’s Toyota truck time!

So todays installment of living with my tundra included lots of interstate driving. Finished the new Tim Dorsey audio book(hilarious, btw) on the trip. When that was done, drove up a bunch of dirt/mud/ice/snow roads to my buddies farm to help with his bike while the dogs played. And cleaned the windshield and side windows and installed the wiper blades I bought yesterday. None of that was on the accountability list, oh well. Also started watching timing videos to psyche myself up for it!!!

 

As far as confidence in the feel and operation of suspension, i'd give the German cars top ranks over everyone. From the lowly Jetta to a 911, their suspension dynamics and feel from the factory beat everyone else. It was amazing to see the difference. We always joked that Ford was the VW of the America's because they engineered things that never made sense. I recall when I started working on the A3-A8, the number of engines each platform was offered in.

 

Hi Tom! have you looked at this thread yet? https://www.tundras.com/threads/so-you-wanna-buy-just-bought-a-1st-gen-tundra-eh.115928/ theres a ton of useful information in there.
I believe you can inspect the timing belt with relative ease (by just removing the cover.)
As far as your transmission goes I'd only recommend draining and filling, the 05s and 06s stopped using a dipstick for the transmission and went to the sealed transmission. Kind of a pain to refill. I drained and filled mine at 150k and have had no issues.
It may not be a bad idea to check the coloration of your radiator if its a dark brown turtle shellish color it may not be a bad idea to swap it out, I got OEM (Denso) from Napa for like $200 after getting stuck on 95 just south of woodbridge and had to have a buddy tow me to a parking lot to repair haha

As for your lack of maintenance documentation did you download the toyota owners app? You just need your vin and you may be able to find more service history listed there. I use this as a valuable resource to document anything I do to my truck.....I'd like to print all of it one day to put in a binder to keep in the back of the truck.....probably for my grandkids in 30ish years or so

Your truck looks great! Hope you enjoy it!

 

So it’s clearly been a bit and I’ve got all the usual “adulting” excuses. But I have finally made some progress and figured I’d share. A big thank you to the forum; it’s been incredibly useful for quick answers to questions and good advice on parts and diy guides as well.

I decided to do the timing belt work first because I thought it would be the most challenging and the brakes and suspension would be straightforward so that’d be my “desert.” I. Was. Wrong.

Pulled the hood because of a low ceiling in the garage


uncovered the timing belt service sticker. been about 10yrs and 100k so just in time!


That job went pretty well with the help from the 1a auto and Timmy the tool man videos. I used the Aisin kit with water pump from rock auto(per shifty’s commandment!) as well as a denso radiator. I used the local dealer for the thermostat, fipg and coolant. The rusty suspension required another order from ourisman Toyota in Richmond so I added some oe upper and lower radiator hoses for some dollars less than decent ones from napa. Speaking of Napa, $30/gal for premixed antifreeze at the dealer is lame, so I finished off the coolant change with some pentofrost equivalent from my local store. This reminds me; if in the unlikely event anyone is reading this in the NEK of VT, the counterhumans at the St.J napa are rock stars! Thank you for your kindness gents. Finished up the job with new oe air and oil filters and used liqimoly noegen 5/30 oil with some of their “motor oil saver” additive to hopefully slow the seepy valve covers til spring.

a pile of money:


Long story short; it didn’t all make it onto the truck at this point. But enough did to make the truck better to drive and the brakes are way safer now. What actually got installed: the aforementioned time belt work, the front shock absorbers and springs, the front and rear brakes, the passenger side lower ball joint, p/s outer tie rod, p/s sway bar link, 4 new 265/70/17 falken wildpeak tires, 4 new scamazon centercaps, and one rear view mirror and a replacement knob for the dimmer switch.

I need new knuckles/uprights/whatever. It took 4 hours and 4 trips to Napa to get one broken lbj bolt out of the pass side. Two of the bolts on the drivers side are not interested in moving at all. They will break. Fortunately, it’s updated and there is no play at this time. Also, the camber adjusters are frozen, so I get to buy a sawsall. That will not only be fun but useful for cutting the nuts off of the rear shock absorbers. Awesome. The truck need to be moved in time for holiday guests so I also still need to change the remaining driveline and power steering fluids.