How much work to do?

Ok so I'm still working on the truck I bought a few months ago and I've found myself falling into a big dark hole of "well, if I'm going to replace this, I might as well replace this while I'm there." And I'm not rich so I need to know where to stop. novel alert this might get long

Starting in the front end. I got stuck a couple months ago in the spring melt in what's basically quicksand gravel mix, had a big rock my tire kinda jammed up on and afterwards noticed that my front right strut seemed shorter than the left. It also broke a sway bar link and the other link popped off while I was driving down the highway, so I replaced those. I had been planning a level kit anyways so I just went ahead and ordered Bilstein 5100s since they seemed the easiest and cheapest solution. Had a shop look at it just to make sure there wasn't anything else I was missing and they told me the spring had been over compressed. Problem is that the previous owner replaced the stock springs with a unistrut or whatever you call it when its a spring shock combined. So now I had no factory springs to use. The shop also told me that my bolts in my UCA and LCA were pretty rusted and that I should replace those while I'm there as well and at that point should just do a lift if I wanted to. Also mentioned the fact that these LBJs don't hold up well which I've heard lots of people on here mention as well.

So I decided to sit on it for a bit, when the shop lifted up my truck it kinda stretched the spring back out somehow and the ride evened out a bit.

Then I was driving and started to hear a whine and noticed my PS fluid was low, topped it off and a few days later was low again. Thought maybe I just didn't put enough in then it started really leaking and I crawled underneath and saw a lot of drips coming from the tie rod on the right side, maybe the gravel got that too but either way pretty sure my steering rack is gonna need to be replaced too.

I also had a pretty big dent in the bed along with some rust and was able to find a bed for free that looks super clean. So I'm taking off the bed next week, going over the whole frame with some POR 15 to take care of the rust issue that I also have. The truck came from Michigan and while it's not the worst I've seen its not great either. So I want to try and make it last, the truck only has 140,000 miles on it. I ordered Bilstein 5100s for the rear as well just to replace the shocks and figured if I have the bed off I should do that anyways.

Well, the leafs are rusty to say the least and I plan to add a topper and a rack with a rooftop tent so I'm wondering if I should get some new HD leafs? I was originally thinking an AAL but people seem to say the HD are better? and like I said if the bed is off I want to do everything I can while I'm there.

So now my question is this:
Should I ditch the 5100s up front and just try to go with something like an OME 2" lift? Get new UCAs and hardware, replace the LCAs since the bushings seem to be a pain to do and it's not that much more to just get a whole new rust proof aftermarket lower.

https://www.1aauto.com/2004-07-toyo...bbAamN1NbqUcm-vyBlCFZbTFMlA02MRRoCu1wQAvD_BwE

those are $185

A lot of people on this site have mentioned SPC UCAs, those are like $640 but would also replace the upper ball joint. And would do new bolts at same time.

I think I should replace the LBJs too if I'm doing all this

I noticed that my brakes don't have the dust shield on them either, is that something I should put back on? Is it important? I live in Colorado up in the mountains where we get lots of snow, don't know if that matters.

I replaced the driver side inner and outer tie rod when I got the truck, so just replace the passenger outter tie rod since the steering rack comes with inners. Anybody got any experience with steering racks? Rocky auto has a few in the $250-$300 range. OEM seems super expensive. 1Aauto has one for around $350

I also noticed some axel grease being flung from both my CV boots, seems like a common problem with a clamp on there? So maybe get new boots and re grease them?

Wheel bearings seem fine and I don't want to just start replacing stuff for no reason so is there any reason I should think about those?

So that's basically what I'm considering for the front
OME 2.5" lift (coils), SPC UCA, new LBJ, new LCA, new steering rack, new outer tied rod, new hardware for both CAs. CV axel boots, Brake dust covers.

Anything I'm missing?

Then in the back, my springs look pretty flat and they don't appear to have any sort of bumper on them, is that bad? Would new HD springs be necessary or should even bother? Maybe just get these and then AAL later if the tent and topper make it sag? I was planning on just using the 5100's I already ordered and then trying to sell the 5100's from the front or maybe see if I could still return them?

https://www.generalspringkc.com/200...x4-driver-side-rear-leaf-spring-4-3-1-leaves/

I'll try to add as many pics as I have, sorry for the super long post. I should add I'm an artist, I make pottery, and travel a lot in the summer for shows and want to be able to sleep in the tent on forest service roads, do some light trail stuff mainly just to camp but still need comfortable highway truck. I pull a raft trailer a lot but nothing too heavy. Like I said I'm not rich so trying to save as much money as possible and do it all myself but also want to just do the work once and not have to be crawling around under the truck and fixing something again in a few months. I have the luxury of still having my old T100 so I can work on this and not need it as a daily driver for now.

 

The entire underneath of that truck needs a powerwashing. Covered in mud, silt, quicksand or whatever. Traps moisture and accelerates corrosion. Once it's clean you can assess the condition of the frame suspension components and decide if its worth throwing more money at it. If it is, anything that makes it drive or ride is worth replacing. Some expensive bits there like steering rack, I wouldn't entertain that without seeing the whole thing. I'm seeing some significant rust scaling and maybe some frame perforation.....

 

So you’re saying depending on the shape of it all you would maybe consider just not doing any of that work?

 

With all that rust on there I wouldn't put a lot of work into it.

As said. I would put my thoughts on cleaning it first.

Careful doing so though. You will hit gas and brake lines and be in a world of shit before long

Your first purchase should be a set of goggles and a wire brush or a sand blaster

 

I’ll throw in my opinion….I am in agreement with @KNABORES or you can go the easy way out and put “lipstick on a pig”

 

Looks like the rear axle seal on your driver's side is shot too.

 

Clean everything very thoroughly like others have suggested. Clean and paint your rear diff cover with POR15 or similar to keep the housing from rotting out as quickly before it's too late. Go over every inch of that frame with a fine tooth comb and look for rust holes or very weak areas to determine the best plan of action. I'd recommend at the very least to fluid film everything or if you're up for it, POR-15 everything.

I don't think the 2004s qualify for frame replacement anymore but I could be wrong. Go to toyota.com/owners make an account and put in your vin and see if your truck has any recalls open and you can also see prior service history.

 

I'm with the others. Clean it up thoroughly. Get it up in the air, if you can, and start pokin', proddin', yankin' and pullin'. Find worn and/or loose components. Be practical, for now at least, and concentrate on making the truck safe and reliable for you then go from there.

 

Here’s some thoughts;
1) Don’t fix anything that’s not broke.
2) Follow the above advice about cleaning and rust control.
3) Stay with OEM and stock for now with everything you can. Save the mods for after you have established the truck is solid and stable.
4) After you have the true problems fixed, get 5K to 10k miles on the truck and re-evaluate your need for mods.

The way you have described your plan to use this truck you might well find it does everything you need without the stuff you are talking about and can save a bunch of money.

 

Yeah sorry its pretty dirty and that doesn't help and the iPhone camera seems to make the rust look worse than it was. I was under it for a while before I bought it and everything I could find seemed to just be surface rust, no soft spots or holes. But you're right I should look at the frame recall just in case. I've put a few thousand miles on the truck this summer already, drove it back from Michigan (about 20 hours close to 2,000 miles) and then a lot of trips this summer. Most recent a 1,000 mile trip to Jackson hole and back and no problems while on the trip. I think most of the problems stemmed from when I got stuck. I'll be taking the bed off this week and will update and just do the minimum for now. Thanks

 

Also what makes you say the rear axel seal is bad? You mean the seal at the end by the drum brakes? I don't see any fluid or grease there. I'm not the most experienced when it comes to working on vehicles. I've done a lot of things once and love to learn just still pretty green compared to some of you guys.

 

+1 on pulling the bed and doing the paint on the frame and rear suspension. After that slather it all in grease under there for long term protection. The other thing that takes these trucks out is a broken timing belt so make sure it is good also. That seems to be about it. Rust, timing belts, accidents are the things that kill these trucks.