Is this 05 TRD AC 4.7 worth keeping? (New member looking for advice)

Thanks, Shifty! Would you recommend short oil change intervals for the first couple? Any other tips for the motor? I read through your thread. Some of the ignition coils we’re starting to crack when I was putting new iridium plugs in there, since the densos are expensive, I will change those as they break.

My plan currently is to keep it, wire wheel, fluid film, change all belts and fluids, do the LBJs and drive her consistently from there. If for some reason I don’t like it, I should be able to get back 80%+ of the $ I put into it, so not much risk. Will keep you guys posted.

 

Not really "my thread", only one person can post a thread. Quite a few of us worked to build it up. I get PMs a couple dozen times a year to make updates, add/remove content. It's really a community thread. I'm not the expert, but plenty of experts chimed in to build that thread.

In that thread, 2nd reply, you'll find a bulleted list of "what to do" after you buy the truck. Consider it a "setting a maintenance baseline" so you have a definitive starting point.

I can't make recommendations on whether short interval OC is needed w/o seeing under the valve covers. If there's sludge and varnish, sure. But I also wouldn't go ham and pop off the valve covers unless they're leaking and need repair. And given the level of rust I'm seeing, I'd hope it's not the case, but you may snap a valve cover bolt or two on removal, you wouldn't be the first. Seems like about 1 in 20 is the current ratio for unlucky victims there.

Note on the coil packs. Cracks don't mean much. Note the cross-section; only the copper parts are carrying power, and if it's the boots that are cracked you can buy replacement boot pack from Denso a hell of a lot cheaper, this is the part for V8 trucks.

 

I'm pretty late to the party here, but I definitely wouldn't sell your truck. It's got a lot of life left in it.

I'm from the midwest too- and the battle with salt and rust is very real. I've used both fluid film and Blaster surface shield on my frame, and I like surface shield more. I use a LOT, you should too. More info in this post.

As Shifty said above, maintenance schedule. A lot of people get into the "it's a Toyota, it'll be fine!" mentality, and do no maintenance besides oil changes. It sure sounds like you know not to do that, but I can't reiterate enough that a little bit of attention and an hour or two of extra work can make the difference between a good running truck and a great running truck.

Another reason why I don't think you should sell it is because there are little (or no) vehicles that can match the capability, reliability, ease of maintenance, and value that a first gen offers. When people come on here and ask "should I sell my truck??", I'm always hesitant to say yes.

 

Quick update: I found an independent Lexus/Toyota specialist in town. He’s personally owned a couple 1st Gen tundras that both died of rust cancer here. He said I have 5+ years on the frame easily, likely 8+ years with some elbow grease. Core frame is solid. He said he hasn’t seen a better truck for under $15k within 200 miles and he’s looking himself for his son. I paid $12k after taxes and fees. He recommended starting with all fluids, belts and pulleys and tensioners, thermostat, new radiator, and the lower ball joints (I acquired OEM parts for this). This was in line with my expectations but a relief. Will let you all know if we run into any other hiccups.

So I have started by removing the battery and wire wheeling and sanding under it. Got new oem battery hold down. Cleaned and polished what I could in the engine bay. Then spent 5 ours this morning wire wheeling and sanding the frame. I’m getting down to bare clean hard metal pretty easily. Four cans of fluid film so far. There are spots I don’t like, but the areas of importance seem solid. I will continue to bathe it in lanolin, and be watching each year for touch ups.

Found front and rear 4600 bilsteins for $350 shipped, couldnt resist. I will be around $15K all in with purchase, parts, and labor. Not the best deal, but hoping for plenty more life left. Ready to start enjoying the truck! Driving around town, it’s so smooth and straight. Nice ride.

Thank you for everyone’s input, will keep you posted

 

this guy lives somewhere in the Milky Way now back off Mr internet stalker

 

What I do is wait until August and put the truck on jack stands outside with tires off and rotors covered and pressure wash it diligently, especially at the frame lamination seams. Then I let it dry 10 days in hot dry weather before I spray the Fluid Film. On the frame lamination seams I come back a day later and spray them again so more of it will ooze in. I also coat the rear axle housing.
Then it's good for at least 2 Montana winters.
When I painted one of my trucks 3 years a go I replaced the bed so it was a great time to doctor up the frame rails.

 

I am originally from northern Minnesota and now live in NJ so rust has been an issue I've dealt with. I want to highlight what @FiatRunner recommended. You really need to use a lot Fluid Film, more than you can dispense from an aerosol can. There are cheap sprayers with attachments on Amazon that are well reviewed or get the Wool wax sprayer with long attachments and 360 spray tip. You'll want to spray the entire underside of your truck, including bed, fenders/body panels, engine bay, wheel wells, and inner boxed frame rails to protect against aerosolized salt spray which goes everywhere and gets into everything crack/seam. Do the spraying early to midsummer rather than later in the fall when things are already cool. The heat soak of summer will promote creeping of fluid film. Think about spraying 2 gallons plus (8 quarts). I did this last year and I just found a few areas I still missed. Pop off all the body plugs and spray into these areas. Scrape off all of the loose rust and then fluid film it. Don't waste your time repainting. You'll never get all of the rust off without a massive undertaking. There is a YouTube channel, Repair Geek, and he covers all of this in detail in videos over 5-7 years. I'd also recommend a video by South Main Auto (he lives in upstate NY) in which he covers how to spray. I can look it up if you like . Spray cans will not properly get the job done.....just my 2 cents!

 

A wire wheel isn't going to cut it, you need a needle scaler. You have rust scale (where it's bubbled up, not just surface rust) in many spots that a wire wheel isn't going to remove -- it's just going to polish the scale. Also, a needle scaler will reach lots of places a wire wheel cannot. I had to remove rust from my frame before treating it, and let me tell you there are LOTS of tight places you need to get to.

Here are two great videos that show the difference:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogtA1Ryv4ng

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMR_OaEN5ec

 

+1

I used POR-15 on mine. It was a total waste of time, effort, and money. It started peeling after a couple of years, making it worse than if it wasn't there.

 

Looking at the frame pictures, if you cleaned up the rust and coated it, I don't see why you'd not get 10 years out of it (at least judging by where I live).

 

Update for y’all:

I’m about $15k into the truck. She’s running great. Here’s what we’ve done so far:

• Belts and pulleys and tensioners, full aisin kit with water pump
• Cleaned and treated battery terminals
• Remove battery, scrubbed out rust under battery, treated with wool wax, installed new battery
• 8 new iridium ngks. Original ignition coils work fine.
• New denso radiator and hoses
• New oem bolts and drain plugs and crush washers throughout
• New oem LBJs
• New 4600 bilsteins front and back (ride feels way stiffer, nice improvement)
• New fluids/oils almost everywhere: t case (new oem seal as well since there was a leak), both diffs, coolant, steering, windshield, synthetic oil and oem filter. Haven’t done the brake fluid yet, will do so when I do the brakes this summer.
  • I did the tranny drain and fill for the closed system. Went just fine. Drained a gallon, added about 5 quarts, and it drained the extra quart once I got it up to temperature. That means the level was good. Also, when I dropped the fluid, it was bright red. It was already shifting well, and I noticed no improvement. The dealer did a transmission service 60,000 miles ago. I’m at 12X,XXX miles.
• Replaced all bulbs with LEDs
  
• Vacuumed and cleaned everything, clean AC coils, and blower fan
• Rotated tires, and pumped them up to 40 psi for the summer (it has newer ltx defenders, white wall out of course)
• sprayed wool wax everywhere metal underneath after cleaning up what I could. Been through 12 cans so far, did the inside of the frame rails, etc. Got the spray head attachment with multi directional hoses for the cans. I’m sure I missed some spots, but will keep spraying and praying. I can probably do more needle scaler, it was just a ton of work, will keep an eye on it, but it seems really solid underneath, so I kinda slowed down on it. Will get back to you once I have more projects complete.
• Added sea foam and marine stabilizer fuel injector clean to the fresh tank of gas
• All windows, blinkers, lights, etc are working well
• Added mobile phone charger
• Ozone machine 4x nights in a row, she smells much better now after cleaning
• 4x4 hi and lo are working well
• Washed and waxed exterior. Buffed chrome bumpers. Treated and shined exterior plastics.
  • I’m going to buff out any oxidization on the headlights at some point, it’s not bad, but want it lookin fresh

Outstanding issues:

• I get the clunk sometimes when coming to stop sign even after greasing all the drivetrain points, bummer.
• it probably needs new brakes all around, but I plan to replace the front rotors and pads this summer, and also clean and lube up the rear drums, maybe replace the drums with oems
• There are a couple small holes in the seats that I’m going to glue and fix
• The stupid wind/rain guards are kinda coming unglued, need to maybe get those resealed. I wonder if this truck takes in any water during the rain, thankfully I garage it, but wonder about the seals/plastics

Overall, she drives straight, seems smooth, fun to drive, guzzles up that gas, roars upon startup, runs and idles nicely, ac blows cold. About 20 hours of my labor so far, in it about $15,000 usd. I’m hoping for 10+ years with her! Thanks for your help so far, will stay in touch

 

Good point, will drop some pics when I get a chance

 

The pollen dust is already starting to build up on her, but here she is:

 

Looking good!

 

Now you have a $15K truck that will probably last as long as a new $50K one.

 

Here’s hoping! But even if it lasts half as long, it’ll still be decent value. IMHO, it drives better than most my friends trucks that are newer, but I like simple work trucks

 

Where did the truck live and how much rust on the frame? Are you doing all the mechanical work or paying mechanics? These trucks are a better deal if you can do your only maintenance.

 

It lived in a place where they use chemicals on the roads during winter You can see the pics at the beginning of this thread. The rust isn’t ideal, but the structure is not compromised.

I’m doing most the labor, but suspension work and timing belt was done by Lexus certified friend. These trucks are pretty simple and affordable to work on if you have the tools and patience