Upgrading to gen 2 from gen 1, what should I watch out for?

Hello all! I'm finally putting my 06 tundra out to pasture after breaking 2 leak springs and discovering a bad leak in the rear differential. The frame rust is so bad that I can't see putting more $ into it. I'm at 168,000 miles rt now. I've owned it for 10 years and it's been pretty reliable. Just replaced rotted brake lines, struts, SAIS bypass kit installed,and other normal maintenance items. I'm going to look at a 2008 Tundra with 97,000 miles on it. Are there any issues I should watch out for specifically on the gen2 Tundras that are inherent to the 5.7 L engine and updated design that I didn't see on my gen1 ? Did the gen2 trucks have fewer frame rust issues? Thanks for any help. This will be my 5th toyota I've purchased in my life and also the newest model after two 4 runners and 2 trucks including my trusty rusty gen 1 Tundra.

 

I researched the truck I'm looking at and found this service record related to the frame. The frame was never replaced. However, can anyone tell me what CRC stands for?

 

Also, the SAIS was replaced so that's good news.

 

Rust will still be the biggest problem. Fly to south and buy a clean truck.

 

CRC (corrosion resistant coating?). They only applied that stuff to the trucks that had frames in decent shape- so, good news I guess.
Things you should look out for (from what I experienced on my ‘07):
Leaking water pump
Make sure the transmission fluid has been replaced
You may also have to do the bypass kit for air induction pumps on this one.
You’re going to love the 5.7
Good luck with it!

 

CHECK FRAME FOR RUST
Many dealers used CRC to cover up rust to avoid replacing frames
Other then that just a good inspection of the truck 97k is nothing for milage on an 08 Tundra

 

97k is only 6k miles per year or so. Very low. Frame rust is #1 still unfortunately. The 5.7 can also have timing chain tensioner issues (rare) and cam tower leaks (more common, usually just some mild seepage with nothing to do). Other than that solid motors. Chances are unless the tires were recently replaced, they could be older date codes due to the low mileage per year. 2008 had the smaller gas tank and no brake controller for trailers I believe.

 

Bed rust is an issue. Especially if the truck has a bedliner.

 

Dead on fixnfly,, I took a ride to the dealership today(sunday) to do an inspection without a salesman hawking over me. Truck bed was completely gone due to rust behind the rear wheels. Also, the gas tank straps were ready to give out. Severly rusted. I already replaced those on my 2006. The SAIS was replaced according to the report on the toyota website vin search. They're asking $17,000 and it's really not in much better shape than my 06 gen1 I'm going to pass on this one. Thinking of trying Carmax to find a southern truck. I'm in wisconsin and everything here is going to be rotted out, at least in that price range.

 

Which part of Wisconsin are you from? I’m in the southwestern part of the state and have had much better luck in Iowa. Cedar Rapids and Cedar Falls seem to have some good options, and I purchased my truck in Dubuque.

 

Keep an eye out here..
https://www.tundras.com/forums/tundras-for-sale.100/

 

I'm in Southeastern Wisconsin j5. Have you just used craigslist or Facebook marketplace when searching?

 

Use Carfax to find out where the truck has been. Just because it's down south doesn't mean it's been there all it's life. Carfax will include everything from where it was sold to each time and location it was reregistered. When buying down south be aware of other issues. It's not really possible to look at it before buying it. If you are committed to flying or driving 1000 miles it's hard to back out as there's not likely to be dozens of them that fit what you want within driving distance that are all no rust southern trucks. People make it sound easy, 'just get a southern truck" yet it's more work than you would expect. BTW lots of northern rusted trucks end up down south.

 

Good advice.i do have a sister in Tucson so I would save on lodging in AZ anyway.

 

Yeah I typically check carfax along with searching for specific Toyota dealerships. I believe there’s 23 in Wisconsin and I just kinda check their used inventory on a regular basis based on the locations within 100 miles of me

 

Smart Toyota in Madison has a good looking 2013 that would be great if the price came down a little, and there’s a dealership in Janesville that looks like it’s got a CrewMax for a decent price

 

Thanks again j5, question... should I avoid the 4.6 v8 they put in the tundras . I found a 2018 with that engine.

 

I’m not too familiar with the 4.6 - more so with the 4.7 and the 5.7. From what I’ve read though, it’s based on the 5.7 just with a shorter piston stroke. This could in theory increase the life of the engine and provide slightly better gas mileage (maybe 2 mpg improvement) but your towing capacity would be cut. In terms of reliability, you should be fine with any of the three engines, but the 5.7’s power is nice imo

 

Nothing wrong with the 4L V8s, just respect their limits.

 

Sounds like the 4.6 had fewer cam tower leakage issues? What would I look for while shopping trucks that would indicate the cams might be leaking? Is that a very expensive repair if it does happen down the road?

 

Im not sure they had a lower percentage of failures, just less of them overall. Same motor, different displacement. Repair is stupid expensive at the dealer. I see $3.5-5k being tossed around on here.

 

Wow! Any preventive maintenance that can be done to prevent the problem? I'm thinking no.

 

Nope. Typically a cam tower “leak” is more of a mild weep and no repair is done. Occasional cleaning of the weeped oil.

 

Well, I did bite the bullet and purchase the 2013 Tundra 5.7 from madison dealership. 96.000 miles. What really swayed me towards this truck was that it was a one owner vehicle and the previous owner was super anal about taking the truck in for scheduled maintenance per toyota recommendations. He originally purchased it at the same dealership. The dealer installed new tires, new front rotors, pads, and calipers. I get 2 yrs of oil changes and tire rotations thru toyota as well as a 6000 mi power train/engine warranty. I found all the information on the maintenance done on the truck on toyota.com owners website.what seems odd to me is that it appears the previous owner never had the transmission/ frnt&rear diff/ transfer case fluids changed. Also no record of a radiator flush and fill. He was super anal about having all the other service inspections and recommended service interval repairs done. I don't even see any notes from the service department where they made recommendations to have those fluids changed out on the truck. I guess I'll have to go ahead and pay to have all that done by my mecanic.

 

Sounds like the previous owner wasn’t educated on maintenance that he/she would only do maintenance that was suggested. I find it interesting that the calipers needed replacement I can see the pads and possibly rotors

 

I had to replace my calipers on my 06 Tundra at 110000 and my last 4tunner . Not unusual.

 

I don't honestly believe a dealer wouldn't recommend transmission and gear lube fluid changes to a customer who regularly brings they're vehicle in for service. I thought Toyota had a pretty good rep for their auto repair services , albeit very expensive.

 

I called the dealer that did all the scheduled maintenance on my 2013 Tundra I just bought. They said they don't normally recommend changing the transmission and differential fluids to their customers until they reach 100,000 miles. I'm at 97,000 so I'll be getting that done in addition to a coolant flush and fill. I'm trying to figure out what to do with my old 2006 Tundra. I have no idea what it's worth with the broken rear leaf spring and leaking rear differential. It's got 168,000 miles. Really sucks because I've put so much $ into it in the last 3 months. All new brake lines, new master brake cylinder, new struts, one new front brake caliper, 2 new front axles, one new front wheel bearing, , the list goes on and on. I'm losing my ass on this truck after owning it for 7 years and putting 46,000 miles on it.

 

Plenty of folks on here to help you price/sell your 06. Provide a good description, history, and plethora of pictures (especially the frame). We also have a marketplace on here if you wanted to put on there as well anywhere else.

Also, post pictures of your new truck! (it gives us story closure lol)

 

My new (to me) Tundra. 2013 5.7 L 96,000 miles... already working on rustproofing the underbody. Especially the rear diff! Also getting transmission and frnt/rear diff fluids changed out very soon.