05' FGT DC

I think I found her. Seems 'very clean' and I am planning a road trip this week to greet her in person. What do you think? I was told there is a small bit of rust around the cross member but that it has been there since current owner acquired her - fluid film treated and hasn't been a problem. (see pic) engine bay looks clean and timing belt has been changed and new water pump. LBJ have not been replaced, but I am getting them(a new set - OEM) in the sale which seems fantastic. Also getting cv axles. a spare tonneau cover and the box topper. truck has 180,000miles. Let me know if you see anything I dont!

 

Keep looking

 

Why does one shock look like a blue and yellow billy, and the other like a black hitachi? There’s some serious delam at the rear frame overlap stiffner. The spare looks like it was just salvaged off the coast of Maine and mounted up. More questions than answers here, but so far, meh.

 

Can’t say about the shock - I couldn’t upload a video in here - but the frame looked solid outside of the two pics I have posted. Everything he has has been documented as well. Pretty thorough - no question the spare rim looks like absolute hell

 

The thing was just hosed down when the pictures were taken; which makes the rust look not so rusty. But it’s still there. As stated above. Some heavy delamination in the pics. I hope you haven’t paid yet.

 

Haven’t paid yet Chris. Just looking but I’ve been talking to this seller for a while and trying to get down to see it. I have some
Videos but I couldn’t upload them

 

From the exterior, it looks great. Paint and body from what is pictured looks great. Wheels and tires look great. Topper and toneau, freakin great. I assume the interior looks about like the exterior?

The rear shocks are two different makes, thats odd but who knows why.
The spare looks like its been in a salt environment all its life.
The rear frame clip doesnt look bad in the recently hosed down pic but its definitely hard to see in the shadows under a truck with a wet frame
The rear chunk looks surprisingly good, look at the U-bolts good and see if they have wrench marks on them to see if they've been removed to indicate the axle has been swapped out.
The frame stiffener brace where the frame turns up is certainly delaminated, how bad it really is going to be is hard to tell, the pictures again are less than stellar.
If you need a nice truck to ride around and look pretty, this one is nice if the price is right.
If you need a nice truck to tow trailers and load down heavy, i would DEFINITELY think twice, the frame brace / stiffener is a critical component to keeping the frame straight when you put tongue weight on the rear hitch or weight in the bed. I have seen more than one of these bend the frame from being loaded too heavy when those frame stiffeners are compromised.

 

Interior is very clean - all new leather seats, not smoked in. At this time I wont be towing much. I have a trailer but the only thing's at this time I'd be towing are rental things/items from Home Depot. Appreciate all the feedback gang!

 

The truck WILL tow stuff, dont be scared of a single axle 12ft trailer and a lawn mower, i mean dont load it down with a 22ft car hauler and an SUV pulled up nose heavy. Dont make the rear of the truck squat more than 3-4", otherwise you're putting a lotta tongue weight on the hitch which is putting stress on the frame where it turns up which is exactly where those frame braces are and why they are there. They will tow, but be mindful and dont put a crap ton of tongue weight on it. Mine quite literally stays hooked to a trailer, but if you'll notice the weight is positioned over the axles, keeping a lot of tongue weight off the truck. I am towing stuff but not overloading the frame of the truck.

 

Be patient they are out there. Checkout TN, GA, AL

 

I saw one in the PNW - 1 owner/no rust/immaculate for like $19grand - and I called on it over a weekend and it had sold within a few hours to a guy in Florida. They are out there no question, but have to pounce.

 

OP,

Test drive should always be to a garage that'll check the computer and get it up on a lift to look at the frame. If you aren't in a hurry, I'd look elsewhere.

***
I have a 2006 DC V8 4x4 and she tows an 18 foot 2 axle trailer a couple of times a month. The load on it is usually close to 2000 pounds so about 4,000 pounds towed max. I always get the lighter mower up front with the heavier mower over the axles. Mine seems to do fine but gas mileage goes down to about 10 mpg towing these WV hills.

 

seller has a mechanic in his town he takes it to. I could always run it by - seller has all the receipts and has done a good job documenting everything I feel. Test drive is a no brainer. I have to drive 9 hours to get there. trying to figure all that out haha

 

altho it'll cost an xtra $1k [depending on ur location], instead of 9hr drive, find one in desert-dry SW; make it a vacation/biz trip.
quite a few w/in 750 mi's of san diego.

https://sandiego.craigslist.org/search/cta#search=2~gallery~0

PS: You would be wise to buy a CARFAX before ANY price negotiations; Carfax may not disclose everything about the vehicle, but theyre fairly up to date on Title transfers. That will give you a good idea ofwhere truck spent most of its life [hurricane, saltroad states]. Might also show maintence stops and "reported accidents".

AND, please inform yourself of what you're getting into- spend a few hours w/fav adult beverage and read this before you dive in; you'll thank us all later...
[but maybe you already know the deep end of the pool; in that case, pretend I never posted.]

https://www.tundras.com/threads/so-you-wanna-buy-just-bought-a-1st-gen-tundra-
eh.115928/page-7#post-3898698

 

I flew to sandy eggo to buy our 4r after getting a pre purchase inspection and then drove it home

 

btw: I just purchased mine a year ago, 3 weeks ago; since then Ive tracked the market mostly in SoCal; theres no shortage of "light-use FGTs" out here [almost the suburban fashion accessory]. AND, there are apparently quite a few "perfect FGTs", some of which are being 'flipped' by speculators [re-sellers] w/crazy inflated asking. I would not ever consider anything over $12-14k [even if I had 2x that to spend]....theres just too many 'light use' FGTs out here to choose from. Yes, prices have trended up a bit over last 18mo's, but what hasnt?
In the end, its a 20yr old Toyota, but still a 20 yr old.

 

... wife is giving me the serious "this 20 year old truck is going to break any minute if we buy it" vibes....... any advice fellas? lol I found another '04 up in the PNW low miles/super clean, but like $10K more. nut punch

 

She not wrong, but she’s not right either. It is a 20 year old truck. Chances you buy it, do nothing to it, and get another 5-10 years out of it are slim. A 20 year old truck is gonna need some periodic love. Many of the parts are 20+ years old and have already lived a full life of usefulness. It’s amazing how well built these are though. Most of my truck is original. Alternator, AC system, power steering system, transmission etc. almost all original parts with no failures. If any of them failed tomorrow, I wouldn’t be mad at it. A part that lasts for 20+ years did a great job. There’s also the maintenance aspect. Timing belts, brakes, fluids etc. it feels different paying someone thousands of dollars to do maintenance work on a 20 year old truck vs a 4 year old truck. If you’re handy and can work on these yourself, they make decent financial sense. If you’re going to rely on a mechanic or the dealer, it’s gonna get spendy. Still way cheaper than a new truck, but spendy.

 

Just going to warn you. If the purchase price is a stretch, the mainetenance is going to finish you off. These are not vehicles for people without money to spend. Even if you can do your own maintenance, you need parts. And if it's your daily driver, you may not be able to have a lot of 'down time' and will need to use a shop just so the job is done faster.

If you can do your own work, I'd set aside 2-3k just for 'stuff'. For example, if the LBJ's weren't done, chances other suspension stuff is original and due for replacement. You may not need it, but if you do....
If you can't do your own work, double that.

 

That's why I was going to keep the outback I currently drive - solid vehicle - but I am very sick of driving this thing. LOL I can be handy and take care of most maintenance but and this forum is an AMAZING resource along with youtube these days. Helps to have some gear head friends too. But that is exactly what my wife was saying. this will be a daily and it's going to break on your way to work - I think positive so I'm not banking on that, but fully realize that could happen to any vehicle. Has anyone (hypothetically of course) ever just gone and bought a 1GT and it magically shows up in the driveway and your wife divorces you? chops off your arm? leg? genitals? Keep you posted.

 

All jokes aside though, Mrs Mamba was PISSED when I brought home our first camper. She remembers it differently, but I remember her saying things like "I hope you enjoy sleeping in that thing alone, because you'll be doing a lot of it". 3 weeks later she's on Pinterest picking out curtains and starting a "camping" Amazon wish list.

 

Honestly, if the timing belt, LBJ's and maybe radiator are done, I would not be too worried about being stranded on my way to work.

But it WILL need stuff doing. Who sells a perfectly working truck that's probably paid off? Unless they need the money. And if they need the money, what didn't get done?

 

just curious: would you lean 2004 or 2005/2006 ? I know they upped the HP/tq in the '05, but Torque increased not by much between those years.

 

I think the 2005/6 get an extra gear in the transmission too. But the 2004 engine is simpler, doesn't have Secondary Air Injection, another pricey thing that can go wrong. You can bypass it, but that's not legal in some states. I've heard anecdotal evidence also that the 2004 and under are more forgiving if a timing belt goes. Not sure how true that is.

 

yup, 5 speed on the 05/06. I found what looks to be a solid '04. got to get the wife on board tho. I love these trucks

 

'O4 is a good year. Last year of the aluminum intake and transmission dip stick.
Good luck!

 

I do stuff like this from time to time
Mine gets piss't but the red in her face eventually wears off
She likes to play the quiet game when she's mad, but sometimes when the mad turns to worse i get an ear full.
Eventually she calms down and realizes it was a good decision even though at the initial purchase point she swore i was the most stupid MF'er alive.

 

I guess I am lucky. My FGT journey started because we needed to get our son a car. I reckoned he could have my wifes CX5, she could get my Forester and I would just get a Crown Vic as I don't drive a whole lot and I had one of those years ago and miss the lazy V8. She is the one who suggested the 3rd vehicle should be a truck. As new trucks are insane, I knew it would need to be a much older one and the only one I would trust was a Toyota. Taco's were stupid money and so went for the FGT. Proper V8, going to hold value and really IMHO the best gen. So it was technically her decision anyway!