Just got into the Tundra scene. What should i modify/change?

So far i have done every piece of lighting possible, a grille, and 2 inch spacers. I’m making my way out of the woods of recovering from my grandpa just leaving her sitting for 8 years and it demanding a new part for just about everything but the big stuff, transmission, engine, driveline, etc. I want to start making it fun. What should i add/change?

 

•lower ball joints
•timing belt/water pump
•Get rid of the spacers and go buy real suspension parts.

there's a thread. Someone will link it

 

Read this to catch the big stuff you need to know, update, watch out for: https://www.tundras.com/threads/so-you-wanna-buy-just-bought-a-1st-gen-tundra-eh.115928/

Not knowing whether it's 2WD or 4WD or the cab type, it's tough to tell you what to watch out for. Insufficient info.

 

^^THIS^^
Forget about the cosmetic fluff and get it to where it's 100% reliable and correct.

 

I'm pissed, there was actually a red AC with silver 10-hole alloys that popped up in my Facebook Marketplace feed within the last 24 hours and it had either 2" or 3" spacers on it. The wheels were sticking out, like, I imagine any time they drove thru a water puddle, they needed to wash the truck again. I barfed in my mouth a lil bit. I'm digging back thru and trying to find it now, but it appears the seller pulled the listing, or it's getting buried. And I was browsing in private/incognito so I can't pull up pics. I just remember the listing pic showed the truck in a long driveway shot from the rear driver corner of the truck. I meant to post a pic of it so others could puke a little too, but the last 24hr have been hectic.

 

Was not as bad as this one tho.

 

Some of these are shots at me I swear......My rear mud flaps are useless LOL but I don't wanna take them offf

edit:for those who don't know I have real suspension. Maybe.....

 

I have replaced these. I’m thinking about an adjustable air suspension to be able to change ride height but the spacers are far from permanent.

 

did you replace those with OEM/equivalent? If yes, then do ALL maintenance And GET RID OF THOSE LIFT SPACERS.
If no, replace with OEM or oem equivalent. If you use anything other than Toyota, Aisin, or Denso (depending on the parts) you will not be happy of the results.

then after all that swap in a twin turbo LS7.

 

Timing chain… wow. Mine is incredibly stock with 230k miles. I’ll be sure to replace that very soon. Now realizing i left out a lot of info it is a:
2002 Toyota Tundra SR5 Access Cab 2UZ V8 2wd 6 1/2 bed. My grandfather bequeathed it to me before his passing almost a year ago. Before that it sat for roughly 5-8 years. He’d start it 4-5 times a year and drive it maybe 10 but that’s all. I’ve had the rear diff changed out, the ball joints, control arms, etc everything myself and a mechanic could find inspected, fixed, or replaced. He inspected the frame for rust and said it didn’t have any, and i’ve inspected it and not found any, because we live in a very dry area. I didn’t like how low it rode so i had some spacers put on because i didn’t have the money at the time to get a better suspension. I’ve got all new fluids around and she runs great with it giving me an issue once a month or so. Been all through the ins and outs of it so i’m confident i can do the work on it. I was inexperienced but i have a buddy that likes to come work on it with me in exchange for beer. We’ve done things like new fuel pump, new spark plugs, coils, battery, serpentine belt, alternator, coolant, radiator, new headlights, tail lights, interior lighting, and more little things. She was in horrific shape and i’m happy to be bringing her back to life. Thank you all for the recommendations.

 

We did Denso/ Toyota OEM on it all minus timing chain. Nobody mentioned it to me until a bunch of posts today. I’ll take off the spacers soon

 

BELT

 

My bad lol thank you

 

So any more pics? We like pics!








Unless it's raptor lined and then we'll clown you first All in good fun though

 

Asking the real questions

 

If you didn't use OEM lower ball joints, you may not have her in one piece for long. The warnings are real. Some people have a real hard time believing it. Then they see the endless photo album of other people who failed to listen, and their wrecked trucks.

Three things kill these trucks:

• Not replacing the timing belt every 10yr/100k miles, you throw timing belt above 1k RPM, your engine can magically transform into a boat anchor easily
• Replacing lower ball joints with anything other than OEM and/or not using fresh OEM bolts with your new balljoints, here's what to expect
• Rust inside the frames which leads to stuff like this

There are other mistakes to be made. The laundry list is in that thread linked in reply #8 above.

 

First Gen Lower Ball Joint(LBJ) Failures | Toyota Tundra Forum (tundras.com)

 

some of the good pictures i have. Pardon the primer, i plan on paint soon. Looks so much better than how i got it. Sunfire Red turned to orange and peeled horrifically.

 

The entirety of the LBJ are fresh. Nothing before that was on it was reused.

 

Spend the money where it really counts. You can always work on paint later. You could do your whole truck for around $100 using this method. It's not great, but It works. https://www.tundras.com/threads/matting-the-hood-of-a-white-gen-1.123941/#post-3571455

 

My plan was and still is to fix all the pieces and whatnot that’ll kill me at 70mph, then the cosmetics. I hit that point of ‘i’m done with it now i can refresh it’ and then a part goes out.

 

It's not whether the lower balljoints are fresh. You cannot use anything except Toyota OEM lower ball joints when you replace them. This is why.

​

 

they are OEM

 

Anything that resides around the vehicle moving/engine running i have used OEM

 

Smart man.

 

Something else too, i’ve looked around but can’t find any lights that will bring ‘D’ back. Anybody know where i can buy a couple, as ‘P’ is out as well?

 

Taken again from the Tundras.com bible of everything you must know about 1st gen Tundras unless you want to piss someone off or be mocked mercilessly... see the last bullet point.

Lighting info ...

• If replacing your housings, be sure whatever you buy is "CAPA Certified", it's at least baseline not-garbage product. For brands that are higher-quality and will last longer, most offering CAPA certified options, go with Depo, or alternately EagleEyes, TYC, and some say Akkon make good product.
• If swapping to LED headlights or fog lights, the overwhelming majority of people have problems with high beams and fog lights working unless they purchase and add a resistor on at least one headlight so enough load is on the circuit - this may not be necessary if your headlight housings have the extra "teardrop light" in the corner of the housing. Problems have been reported with LED tail lights also, it's not just headlights. Some circuits require resistance that an LED won't deliver.
• Hyperflash problems are common after swapping LEDs into the turn signals. This can be solved installing a Diode Dynamics flashers (avoid the scAmazon knock-offs, buy direct).
• There are H4 mini-projectors available for our trucks, but you'll need to permanently modify the light housing, no oven-baking required, just remove the hat-shaped chrome shroud inside and install the light (detailed instructions). Likewise there are bake-in options for projectors. Check THIS REPLY for common headlight upgrage options, with links.
• For interior LEDs... There's a breakdown of interior light sizes over here. For climate control lighting updates, see here. Dash gauges for earlier 2000-2004 models with replaceable bulbs, check this. The later year model's dash gauges had on-board LEDs and are not replaceable without soldering, color not changeable without sanding the rear of the guage face. REMEMBER: LED lights are polarized. If you install them backwards, they won't light up! If you have one or more not lighting up, try popping out, rotating 180º, and reinstalling.