New 2006 Tundra SR5 Owner Questions

Recently purchased a 2006 Toyota Tundra SR5 Automatic, and I’m needing some guidance on how to proceed getting to know the idiosyncrasies of this beautiful truck. I have never owned a truck, and this is somewhat my dream truck, so I want to take care of it however possible. It will be running my landscaping business and I need it to last 100k. Appreciate the help!

One of the first things I read about with this truck is the recall for the ball joint issue. In the documentation I was provided and in the carfax report there was no indication this ball joint issue was ever taken care of, but since the truck is at 150k I assumed this had already been done. Any tips on how I should make sure this is okay? I’ve read some horror stories with these models and the ball joints failing causing wrecks.

Also I have a question about my 4x4 system not engaging into Low 4WD. It flashes when I engage into low, or it just does nothing when I press it. High 4WD appears to work just fine. I have read some on this topic, and have found it can be a costly fix for the 4WD system. Where should I begin to fix the Low 4WD repair?

Lastly, after now driving the truck a few days I have noticed a very soft hardly noticeable grind sound from underneath the truck when driving. My guess would be suspension/wheels/tires, but if anyone could give any hints on this?

Thanks for any and all help with this

 

Please read this thread stickied to the top of the forum: https://www.tundras.com/threads/so-you-wanna-buy-just-bought-a-1st-gen-tundra-eh.115928/

It'll help you sign up for the Toyota Owners site where you can track recalls etc. It'll tell you about all the idiosyncracies you need to be aware of.

For 4WD, there's a billion threads on that here. If you don't use 4WD in these trucks, it eventually will go south, especially if you're in a salty climate. First you need to understand you can't get into 4LO by just punching the button. Please RTFM (read the f'n manual) so you understand how to use 4WD. If 4HI isn't working, which is a prerequisite to getting to 4LO, Check this. But it sounds like this may just be user error, and you don't know you need to be fully engaged in 4HI and in Neutral to hit 4LO.

For the grinding sound, can be any of a dozen things. Really would help if you could isolate if it's grinding in front or rear, and know the last time the driveline was lubed.

 

Crew cab or access cab?

 

Okay I am sorting through the recommended noob thread. I will post back with more info and pics today.

I do have a little rust I was already concerned about and I want you guys to look at the pics.

The truck is an Access Cab

 

Couple other things to keep this thread going hopefully:

• So should I worry about the ball joint recall on these models? The truck is at 156k. Should I have our mechanic take a look at them? For the record, there are no indications there is a ball joint issue, however I do know the very minimal constant grind type of noise could be suspension related, but it’s not the clunky sound I’ve had in the past on other vehicles like Subarus.
• The rust issue brought up in the noob thread is a bit of a concern to me, but I discussed this same issue with the dealership before purchasing with the shop manager, and he said they do thorough rust inspections of the frame etc. According to the dealership this truck was just traded in for a new Chevy truck (poor guy!), and they said the previous owner was reluctant to trade it in. However I’m not sure if that was just a sell or not. This truck came from a large nice Chevrolet dealership in Colorado Springs for what that’s worth.
• For the common timing belt issue mentioned on the noob thread, I want to get that checked. Should I have my mechanic check it? I’m semi-able to do work myself, but I lack a lot of tools. Also the timing belt was not listed anywhere on the carfax report.

 

I'm lazy and don't like re-typing, so just read this advice: https://www.tundras.com/threads/sooo-i-brought-home-a-low-mile-02-yesterday.120979/#post-3102798

Salted roads are close enough nearby. Sounds like a typical sales tactic. Show us some pics of the frame, and one shot of the engine bay. Also, if you want to know where something has been, do a VIN check to see where it was registered through its life. Also, snap a pic under the hood. The level of decay on alloy, and the amount of rust on the steel bits is a good indicator of where a vehicle lived.

All it takes is a 10mm socket to loosen/remove nuts on one or both timing covers to slip it back and inspect the belt yourself - you don't need to remove it fully. If you're uncertain of what to look for, snap pics. You're not going to hurt anything by popping off a timing cover, at least nothing I can think of. This should be your #1 concern right now.

If there's no evidence the timing belt was done, if there's any visible cracks in it, you'll want to do it STAT, get the Aisin kit which includes water pump, and consider doing tensioners (I can't remember if tensioners are in the kit). Whatever you do, if you hire out the work, which is perfectly OK to do, just make sure they use Denso or Aisin parts AND make sure they properly route the crankshaft position sensor wiring out of the way, using the little provision or whatever by the water pump, so it doesn't get nicked/severed by the serpentine belt.

 

Here are several pics:

 

It's definitely seen salt, surely. Not the worst frame I've seen, and nowhere near as bad as most of the NE USA trucks we see on here. Looks more like a Utah truck to me.

One other place to check is anywhere inside the framerails you find a frame stiffener riveted in, to see if things are delaminating.

This is actually pretty normal/fairly OK:

https://www.tundras.com/threads/wha...t-gen-tundra-today.2558/page-816#post-2030174

This is what they look like when they delaminate:

https://www.tundras.com/threads/wha...t-gen-tundra-today.2558/page-816#post-2030295

There's better pictures of the stiffeners elsewhere, I just can't find them in 1-2 minutes so I'm giving up.


I highly recommend checking out @N84434's thread for other examples of rust, midway between OK and hazardous: https://www.tundras.com/threads/my-2001-trd-access-cab-repair-modify-thread.71679/

 

Thanks for the info! Really appreciate it!

So with this rust midway between OK and hazardous, can I theoretically drive this truck for another 100k with proper maintenance? It will be a daily work truck that only tows light loads in a 10 foot utility trailer, driving perhaps 30-50 miles a day M-F.

Also reading through the noob info more and WOW that’s a lot to consider! I’m not sure you can really buy a car and even begin to cover everything beforehand!

Another worry of mine is if the previous owners (4 I believe) knew to install only OEM parts like ball joints! How should I go about this?? I will say I avoid highways altogether as it is, so I will never be driving at speeds more than 45-50.

 

Sorry, I wasn't saying your truck was halfway between ok and hazardous, I was saying @N84434's truck was, and some of it was teetering on the brink of hazardous.

What I'm seeing with your truck isn't horrendous. I think if you just address the rust that's there, wire wheel it, use a rust conversion primer, and topcoat it with satin black Rustoleum, you could easily get several hundred thousands of miles out of it. Just leaving it as-is, I don't see why you couldn't get another 5+ years and 100k-200k miles.

There's a reason that thread exists. We all got tired of re-typing it out because so many people came to ask, and so many other people came who got completely f'n ripped off with total rust buckets that couldn't pass their local inspections.

I mean, you may be able to snap some pics of what you've got, and someone on here can make an educated guess about them. Sucks you don't have service history, but I get it. It's hard enough to get that from 1 owner, much less the 3rd or 4th in.

The one LCA I'm looking at above - your 3rd pic? - looks a little skinny-ish to me, but the amount of rust on it also tells me it's been there for about the same time as everything else, probably, so maybe it's OEM? If you're really in question about it, seriously, $90-120/ea side if I recall, and you'll want 4 fresh bolts per side. It's cheap insurance, and if you can do the work yourself with OEM parts, it's just the cost of sweat and potential busted knuckles.

 

Agreed, the OP frame isn't all that bad. A little cleaning and some rust prevention will go along way with this one.

 

That brake fluid sitting in the reservoir looks like it's ready to be recycled... you may want to add a brake fluid change to the list of things to be done..

 

I would add battery maintenance also….clean terminals and add some felt terminal protectors. 1st Gens love good batt juice !

 

Here are pics of the ball joints:

 

If someone could please look at the above pics and let me know how the ball joints look, and if they look like OEM ball joints.

Now that I’ve driven a little more I can give more details on the sound mentioned above. It’s more of a very light tire rub kind of sound with a whirring type of sound like it’s happening as the wheel turns. Although the sound is gone at slow speeds, but cruising at 20-30 it’s noticeable, and not noticeable at higher speeds 50+. It’s difficult to tell but it sounds like it’s coming from driver side front. It’s possible it’s getting louder the more I drive, but I can’t tell for sure yet.

I’m going to have our mechanic look at the timing belt, and can you tel me what looking at it should cost roundabouts?

 

Timing job is around $12-1600.

 

Looks like they've been changed but possibly original bolts.

The missing screw holding the joint cover cover makes me think they're possibly aftermarket. Which may be no good.

 

That noise you're describing could very well be a failing wheel bearing. Is it a wah wah wah wah wah sound? It can be hard to identify which wheel is the culprit without an outside observer listening as you roll by slowly. You can also jack up the front/back end of the truck and spin the wheels.

 

It’s more of a soft whoosh whoosh whoosh rubbing sound with an occasional light clunkier type noise.

There is no off feeling to the wheel when driving, very smooth.

 

So far I’m scheduling our mechanic to inspect the following:

• Timing Belt - what should just inspecting it cost?
• Ball joints - Is this something they can reliably check? I will just replace if there is a question mark, since it’s not worth the risk imo, but please chime in on what I should do
• Possible wheel bearing check from the sound mentioned above. Is this something they can check reliably?

 

And again, I spoke with the shop manager at the dealership I purchased the truck from and he assured me they do thorough inspections of the trucks they get traded in and of course then sell.

Would this be enough for me to rely on the timing belt health or any of the other possible suspension issues like ball joints? I’m just not familiar with how thorough and reliable these mechanics are at these dealerships.

 

To the last two, if you have a jack, you can check those, no problem. It's actually really, really easy. I tend to agree that does sound very wheel-bearing-ish.

DO NOT let your mechanic install anything except OEM balljoints. Please listen to me and others who'll tell you this. They may recommend others like MOOG. DO NOT do it.

Check the video in this thread: https://www.tundras.com/threads/2005-tundra-double-cab-driveshaft.119068/page-2#post-3085408

Then check this reply for more diagnostic details: https://www.tundras.com/threads/2005-tundra-double-cab-driveshaft.119068/page-2#post-3085409

 

They have limited liability, so they'll do the bare minimum required to ensure you won't die in a fiery crash in the next 1-2 months. You should not trust their input beyond that, because there's virtually nothing legally requiring to do so.

 

Would you recommend for me to purchase the OEM parts on RockAuto myself? I know it may save me money on parts, but I really just want them buying/installing the OEM parts.

 

I mean, If they can guarantee to honor your request to use (specifically) Denso or Aisin parts, then I'd go with it.

If they can't guarantee it, then order your parts elsewhere and hand off.

 

You can't buy Toyota OEM lower ball joints on RA as far as I know.

 

Make sure you do a timing belt, water pump, fluids change on your "new to you" Tundra. I acquired mine last summer and did all fluids, filter, spark plugs, timing belt, water pump, pulley, cam seals, belts and hoses just for peace of mind. The truck will give you many more years of good reliable service. Like others said, make sure you use Toyota recommended parts. There are reasons WHY our 20-30 year old Tundras outlast MOST American made vehicles, as they were made at a higher standard with quality parts to begin with.

My truck spent most of its life in Utah--hailing from Texas originally. Had very little frame rust (thankfully). Last year I climbed under with goggles and a respirator in my driveway and used a wire brush to clear off light flaking rust spots, and then used an air compressor to blow off the dust. Then I sprayed it with a few cans of bed liner from Walmart. I have used the stuff on other trucks in the past and it holds up pretty well. Just a peace of mind protecting against the winter salt ya'll get out your way.

 

Update on the truck. Just got the truck in this week to a local mechanic and he said the timing belt, ball joints, wheel bearings all have been recently changed. For what its worth the also said the brake fluid was clean.

While this is obviously great news, I still do not know if the ball joints are OEM, and they could not figure out what the sound was mentioned above. Should I just spend the cash to get the LBJs done? We are not really in a great financial place to be doing that, as I’ve just moved our business to another state, but I will if you insist.

More from the sound we are trying to detect. Maybe a light to moderate shoo shoo shoo from the left front, and again the mechanics couldn’t figure it out today. Becomes more pronounced at times, and seems to disappear every few minutes.

Thanks for the help y’all! I hope you get paid for this!

 

Also forgot to mention how my mechanics assessment of the ball joints didn’t really match up with your look at the picture above with the rust on the ball joint showing its age. Any more on this too?

 

That's because I typed "LBJ" but I meant "LCA". Sometimes I get distracted with calls while I'm typing and I don't read it back later.

If you want to compare what's on there w/OEM, https://parts.toyota.com/p/toyota_2...t-Left--Front--Lower/63550271/4334039595.html

Meanwhile, I meant to mention this earlier too ... notice the problem here? Got a lil' fastener missing. Did your mechanic point it out?

I doubt it's the cause of your noise. Without having an external set of ears to listen for the noise, or a camera under there, it'll be hard to track. Wheel bearing, maybe?

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