1st Gen Tundra Frame/Rust Advice

Hi Everyone, long time reader, but new to the forum. I'm actively hunting a 05-06 tundra crew cab, 4wd, no rust ( as everyone else is of course). I'm in talks with a gentleman with a 2006 crew cab, and I'm aware of what to ask and look but feel hesitant with easily identifying how bad a frame is or not. The truck I'm looking at is from Virginia with 201,000, priced at 10,500.00, what's everyone's thoughts on the frame? thanks!

 

Welcome. Start HERE!

Pics don't look bad, but I'm just a guy in Texas looking at a screen. You need to learn what to look for and go see it yourself.

 

thank you Sir, I've read it many times! I have it printed out! hahaha First time posting but long time reader! Just hard trying to try and buy something I cant drive to see, I'm trying to make the best judgement by pictures to then make the commitment to fly for review.

 

Just from the pics you supplied, it wouldn't scare me away. My undercarriage looks better, but the posted truck looks much better than others I've seen on here. I don't see anything to cause me concern.

 

Thank you for you're response it's much appreciated, Hopefully I'll be posting newly purchased truck pics soon.

 

From what I can see, not much concern since it’s mostly surface rust. However, you may want to capture the inside of the frame rail at these two points. The frame should be perfectly straight and I see there’s the characteristic bulge of delamination going on in these two areas. Can’t be sure unless you take a photo.

 

Those pics don't look bad compared to lots of the carnage we see on here. Certainly worth a look in person. But that one definitely advances to the next round of the "Looking for a first gen" playoffs.

 

I've give it a 7-8 out of 10. I don't see anything there requiring immedaite attention, and while @Jack McCarthy is 100% correct with what he's recommending, you can technically pop in new stiffeners if bad. Price/etc. sounds good.

However, point of note: You need to very carefully, very closely look at the framerail where it kicks up at an angle, just below the master cylinder. This is a common fracture/failure point, even on frames that look this clean.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy that at the price point for one of my kids, but I'd expect the timing belt/water pump/tensioner would be done (although for the price, it may be asking/expecting a bit much)

 

Seconding this. That price point isn't terrible, but you may have $2-3k in deferred maintenance, minimum, depending on what's been done.

 

Thanks guys, my goal is a daily driver for me and my family, I've seen a lot of primo trucks pass by before I was ready, now that I'm ready of course I'm not finding one, I think I'm gonna hold off and wait it out. I'm ok with spending 15,000.00 but again I'm hoping to get into something very solid with a lot of the big ticket replacement items done.

 

I personally think you're freaking crazy if you pass that up. Unless it's totally trashed on the interior. But I can't look at it in person, maybe the body is smashed up and interior is moldy and ripped to shreds, so I'm missing the bigger picture.

But if you pass on that because you think it's rusty or too far gone, that's better than 9 out of 10 trucks in my area where rust isn't even a problem. Hell, that has less rust on it than @FirstGenVol's Knoxville TN truck which has virtually no rust to really speak of.

 

So you are looking for basically exactly what I was looking for in terms of needing a dependable daily that is already in good shape. I was picky about some things, but had to give on others. The thought that you'll find a pristine first gen with everything you want and all the maintenance up to date is a long shot. Musts for me were 4.7, 4wd, clean frame, double cab, black or salsa or gray. I got a truck that was very solid with big ticket items all done, but I did end up with an 04 instead of an 05 or 06 which would have been preferable. And mine wasn't cheap. I don't like to broadcast cost, but it was between $10.5k and $15k. And I started with 180k miles. I didn't get the best deal ever, which I am aware of, but the pro was that I no longer had to think about it. Which is worth something, for sure. A lot just depends on your timeline. I was ready for a truck and ready to quit looking and that was worth a few grand to me.

 

you hit it right on the head, the musts are 4.7, 4wd, clean frame, double cab, I'm not partial to leather vs cloth or any color in particular. However I very much fall in line with willing to pony up a few extra grand to find a truck with the big ticket items replaced, and a truck read to roll and be happy with what I have. I feel the truck I posted is almost there but he's not sure when the timing belt was done, he thinks he remembers having it done ( not on the carfax) and I feel there'd be quite a bit of costs to catch it up to where I'd like it.

 

They will usually put a sticker on the air filter box when they do the timing belt. Could ask him to check. I think the timing belt kits come with a sticker for the tech.

 

You can buy the stickers for under $5 online, so I always warn people: Presence of sticker isn’t a confirmation of work. Ask for receipts, or inspect the belt. Also, beware of non-Aisin branded stickers. Toyota’s recommended service interval is based on the owner using Toyota (/Aisin, Denso, Advics, etc.) OEM parts. Aftermarket parts don’t need to be made to OEM standards on longevity, and as we’ve seen with lower ball joints, they typically aren’t.

 

So just buy the sticker and save yourself the money, time and hassle of doing the job

 

To add my two cents to what shifty is stating here... I bought a GX470 in 2020 and from an acquaintance and I got a stack of receipts. Timing belt had been done but when I called the garage that did the work, I never got a solid answer on what was exactly replaced and what brand parts were used so I was planning to proactively replace the following summer. That spring at 34k miles and 4 years after the timing belt and water pump had been replaced , the water pump bearing failed and the GX overheated. Fortunately no damage was done but it was a "GMB" brand WP TB which is only $20 cheaper than the Aisin kit on Rock Auto. I already knew the "lesson" but it did emphasize the advice to only use the Aisin/Toyota/Lexus kit.

 

My requirements were similar. I wanted a Double Cab, 2005/2006, prefer cloth to leather (it's usually in better shape) and most importantly, the 4.7.
However, I wanted 2WD not 4WD. Less to go wrong and it's a pavement princess. If it snows in Houston, I'll use the Subaru. Also of course a clean frame and body. Color not that important, but did not want white and prefer not silver.
The big three must do maintenance items (LBJ, Radiator, Timing Belt Kit) I anticipated having to anyway. Even if they were done in the past, without clear evidence of a qualified shop doing it with the correct parts, it may as well have not been done at all. Sure, people can do it themselves, but I can't trust that.
I also paid over 10.5 and less than 15, for a 149k miler in a really nice clean metallic green (think it is called Timberland Mica?). I hear that color can be faded etc at this time, but mine looks great. I know I could have got one cheaper eventually, but this one really seemed to check all the boxes, it meant I could stop looking and I kinda liked the color.

 

To your point, I initially wanted 2WD also, and wanted either the Thunder Grey, the dark metallic grey, or ideally Salsa Pearl or whatever. That was before I knew about the clearcoat peel issues. 2WD because I planned to lower the truck like I typically do with most of my vehicles, sport suspension. It had to be an AC b/c the DC wouldn't fit in my garage. I wanted the two extra full size seats for when the kids were bigger, and sunroof and vertical rolldown window out back, but I also didn't want to drive something that resembled a Ford Explorer Sport-trac.

I looked for months with no luck (pre-pandemic, before prices ballooned) and what finally popped up was a white 4WD Limited AC in an adjacent state with ~60k miles, so I jumped at it. It needed a fair bit of work, but my OTD price was probably closer to $13k/14k, I don't remember. I traded a '12-'13 Camry with "celebrity" frame damage (fully repaired, painted, by dealership) and around $4k in cash, then drove off like I stole it.

That's a lot of words to say, "Looking back on what I thought I wanted, and looked at my truck now, I realize I didn't know WTF I actually wanted, and couldn't be happier with what I got!" Especially the white paint, not having clearcoat has made paint correction, risk of clearcoat peeling failures, and painting body parts soooo much easier for me than dealing with multi-stage paint!

Anyway, point being, if you focus on the critical stuff: i.e. frame is solid, no accidents, no mold/mildew signs in the interior, no major body damage, and at least decent maintenance (even if the big ticket stuff like TB/WP/tensioners/pulleys aren't done), the rest will fall into place. But I can't stress enough: Clean frame. If DC is what you need, skip the trucks with VSC ("Auto LSD") and if you plan to offroad, hunt for something with RSCA disable button in the dash, or no RSCA (side curtain airbags).

 

I did not realize that. People will always find a way to scam.

I unfortunately have a non-OEM belt. It's a Gates belt. I've heard that the belt is good actually, but the water pump et al. are all made by the lowest Chinese bidder, so beware. I've got about 40k on the belt and its kit, so I'll keep an eye on it. Low threshold to do it early I guess.

I'm going to be in for a clutch before too much longer too. I've got 230k on the factory clutch, but it's still great.

 

Shifty, this is a newb question but as for the VSC, did that start in 2004.5? Was it an option from 2004.5-2006 so some may have it and some may not? Or was it standard on all 2006 models? I was mainly sticking with the 05-06 due to the additional gear and slightly added hp, do to the possibly of very little amount of towing I would be doing.

 

My 2006 DC doesn't have VSC, so I imagine it's optional.

 

I think it's a double cab/DC only thing, so '04-'06. I haven't personally seen it on AC or RC trucks. @BubbaW was kind enough to post up brochures and major features by year which may help isolate this (via this thread, which you read), though I'm not sure what they'd call it in the brochures.

 

Quick question not trying to hijack this thread. I’m looking at an 05 DC 4WD with the Auto LSD, (picture shown). What makes them a not so good option? I’m not too familiar with the system on the first gen’s. I know it can be an expensive fix but Is the system known to have issues?

 

It’s that unicorn of a master cylinder. Yours looks in good shape and the fluid looks new. When they go bad it’s around $1K for the part if you can even find it.

 

My 2006 Double Cab does not have VSC, so it wasn't a standard thing for 2006.

 

I just replaced the one on my Land Cruiser...$1,800 list/$1,300 at Ourisman. They can be rebuilt, but I opted for all new.

 

Yeah, unfortunate. I couldn't verify the authenticity of the sticker on my truck, so I had the job done. Sticker said it had been done ~50k miles back, but the Carfax report, which was extensive, didn't exactly confirm it. It talked about serpentine belt and drive belts being done at the same time. That sounded suspiciously like they meant "timing belt", but I couldn't confirm, and the Carfax mileage of that service didn't line up exactly with the sticker. For peace of mind, I had the job done. Turned out it likely had already been done, but there was no way to know without opening it up, and it always would have bugged me. Plus the mechanic found a pulley bearing that was starting to go. And I definitely didn't see documentation of a water pump replacement. Truck had 225,000 when I bought it.

Don't write the clutch off before its time! I bought my 3.4, 98 Tacoma with 190,000 miles, original clutch. I sold it at 330,000 miles, original clutch. And I did quite a bit of towing. If the truck has been driven for most of its life by someone who's good with a clutch, there's no reason yours is about to go anytime soon.

 

Fortunately my sticker lines up well with a Carfax entry. But I think the water pump and other things in the kit are a little lower quality so I will probably replace a little early. I had almost the same mileage when I got my truck as you.

Great to hear about the clutch. My fly wheel has probably gotten really hot and melted a little at some point. I get some slipping when I start from a stop. It doesn't really bother me much, but it'll only get worse. That might force my hand before I even need a clutch. Clutch seems to be in really good shape though.

 

Nice.

Ah, yeah. Still a good run for an original clutch.

Too bad about the water pump. I don't know about Gates for timing belts but they're definitely plenty good quality for accessory belts.