Their loss, my gain: The RustyMcTee Story

Wanted to start a build thread for my 2003 SR5 AccessCab 4x4 v6 182k. Affectionately known as "the Tundee."

Got a great deal -- $3500. Saw the post 6 hours after it went up. Asked for some pics of the frame and headed down the next day.


FB Listing.


Inspecting the car before purchase. Body is in GREAT shape. Clear coat may be going on hood and roof, but it's just starting. Interior was perfect. No grim, dirt or scratches. They did have a husky which required 3 hours of vacuuming though lol.

Frame looked crusty but not too bad. Exhaust leak, weeping valve covers, frayed belts.

This couple got the truck 6 months prior for $7k. I guess they wanted it to sell fast. Or put the info into KBB wrong. Not sure what they were thinking.


I also found the listing from the dealership that had the truck before the folks I got it from.

But there's more...

A couple days after its officially registered, I swing by my local Toyota dealership for some ATF. They run the VIN. Airbags and... What's this... a frame???

Fast forward 3 months, I've been driving around town in a 2021 Tundra rental paid for by the dealership all winter.

Pick my truck back up ($13k bill covered by corporate) and the adventure continues.


3 months later, new frame

Shoutout to the guys over in the frame replacement thread for documenting their experiences there.
https://www.tundras.com/threads/early-1st-gen-2000-2003-tundra-frame-replacement-faq.54331/

Apparently, May 2022 is the last month (according to a service advisor at this dealership) where they will accept rusty frames. This truck may be one of the last frames to have been successfully recalled. I should get some scratch tickets...

 

Found a bigass cap on FB. $200. Needs new lifters. Haven't wired in the 3rd brake light yet.

 

More pics of frame replacement.

Dealership also included lower control arms, some shock mounts and the brake valve assembly.

They broke my exahust and e-brake in the process but those losses were probably just accelerated by the frame replacement. Both were rusty and need TLC.

 

First wave of maintenance:

• Oil change
• Transfer case fluid change (75w-90)
• Front/rear diff (75w-90)
• AT drain and fill (Toyota ATF)
• Greased axle
• 3x cans of fluid film

All the belts were on death's door. No maintenance records for the timing belt either. Engine was weeping from valve covers and I cracked the left one tightening it down (doh!). Gotta get a sensitive torque wrench for engine stuff in the future.

I got most of these parts before I knew it needed a frame so they sat in the bed for awhile. Ran out of time and had a local shop do the work. $900. Probably for the best, I can only work in a parking lot. My new goal is to do the timing belt myself at 282k!

• Used OEM Left Valve Cover
• GATES K040338 - AC belt
• GATES K040420 - Fan / Power Steering
• TOYOTA - Thermostat & Gasket
• TOYOTA 17176-62040 - x2 intake plenum gasket
• TOYOTA 11188-62010 - x2 cam plugs
• TOYOTA 90210-05007 - x16 Valve Cover Washer Seals
• TOYOTA - x16 Valve Cover Bolts
• TOYOTA 11213-62020 - x2 Valve Cover Gaskets
• TOYOTA 11193-70010 - x6 Spark Plug Seals
• TOYOTA - x6 Spark Plugs
• TOYOTA FIPG sealant

GATES TCKWP271C {TCKWP271A, WPK42254} - Timing belt & waterpump kit w/ tensioners, etc.
A note on this Gates kit... be sure to look at your water pump before getting a kit. I mistakenly got one "w/o oil cooler" on RockAuto. It's missing a an important nipple. Not sure what the deal is with all that. I guess there's other versions of the truck with no oil cooler. If anyone wants the waterpump, pay for shipping and buy me a beer, it's yours! See pic below.

Top: original
Bottom: incorrect replacement -- see the difference?


Got 5 outta 6 spark plugs back from the shop (not sure where the 6th went lol). Looks like someone replaced a couple of the originals. Haynes manual recommends dual gapped NGK plugs. The newer single gapped plugs look pretty torched.


Durafit camo seat covers. Center console was the hardest to fit. It's still not as tight as the rest, but I don't mind.

 

Nice score.

 

Thats pretty wild actually.

How's that thing pull with the 3.4L V6 in there?

Great truck for a daily.

 

Cant believe there was zero grim. That was really lucky!

 

We'll find out. Just got the ballhead in through the bumper. I found a OEM hitch on fb marketplace but am out of town for awhile and couldn't pick it up before I left. Also found a front hitch.

I have a small boat and an equipment trailer that I'll drag around.

 

I don't ever get on the builds thread so I missed this one. Looks like frame was made about an hour and a half from me. Figure that's probably where they are all coming from. That's where mine came from. Metalsa Owensboro.

Take a gander up in your body mounts and also pull your front tow hooks off and you may find unpainted metal you might want to take care of.

Surprised it ran right with those plugs in it. AFAIK the v6 requires dual strap plugs.

Seat covers look nice. I'm not much of a camo guy but they seem to fit well.

Does that cap fit perfect or is it from another truck? Still not a bad deal for $200

 

Owner history I've pieced together:
1) dealership guy til 30k
2) another guy til 90k
3) DIYer who put on 90k. Missed frame recall
4) private dealer briefly
5) 6mo 2k miles
6) me

The DIYer got a little funky with things. No record of the timing belt but it was replaced. He replaced a couple of coil packs and put in those single gapped spark plugs, which like you said, are not recommended. I wonder if he was diagnosing some ignition issues.

It looks like he's replaced the radiator too. Its a denso. Looks newish? I know denso is OEM but the original radiator would be branded Toyota, similar to the coil packs?

I'll definitely take a look at the paint. That's super cool they made it so close to you.

Cap is about a half inch too long but its close enough for my taste. I was thinking of putting a red vinyl stripe on the sides to "color match" it a bit more.

 

Getting ready for the next wave of fixes.

High Priority:
E-brake (cable is rusted apart and hardware is junk)

Steering rack (all power steering fluid practically drains out every other day haha)

Rotors and pads (rotors rusted and making noise)

Exhaust (3" gap behind the cat, loud as hell)

Radiator hoses (cracked, leaking)

Mid Priority:
CV axles (look really rusty and some grease splatters)

Upper control arms (rusty. Everything around its been replaced. Bushings are old)

Sway bar links (looking pretty bad right now)

Upgrades:
Bilstein 4600 Shocks front and rear ($300). Can be used with OEM coils

I'm wondering about coils. Worth just doing a refurb/paint job on the OEMS? I like the idea of having every suspension piece looking clean.

Any thing else that makes sense to do while I'm in the wheels?

Also, since all the rubber is starting to go, I wonder what else I should look at. Axle support bushing?