DIY Maintenance Schedule / Products / Tips List

I'm a relatively new truck owner (4WD 2014 Tundra Crewmax Limited; purchased in 2021). I'm new to working on my own vehicle, but my hope is to do more maintenance at home to save money, learn more about my truck, and to spend time working (and learning together) with my teenage sons.

We used some helpful threads here to change the oil and filter about six months ago, which wound up working (mostly) well (...except for an embarrassingly large oil spill from tipping over the used oil bucket!)

Can any of you share your DIY schedule / products / best practices for other "at home maintenance" you perform?

(For example, how often should I perform things like brake fluid flush, coolant flush, and power steering fluid exchange? What other services should I be planning to do at home?)

 

Welcome!
I mainly just wait for the maintenance warning to come on (every 5k mi). That’s the que for oil and tire rotation. I just did the power steering fluid exchange (80k mi) just because it looked dirty.
Trans, diff and transfer case fluids are every 60k, maybe more if you tow. Don’t forget to grease your u-joints.
Keep in mind everyone drives their trucks differently, and everyone is gonna have an opinion whether it coincides with the manual or not. So check your manual, too.

 

-Oil & Filter: every 5k miles or 6mo.

-Transmission Fluid (drain/fill): every 60k mi. or 6yrs. (Toyota ATF WS)
https://www.tundras.com/threads/2020-transmission-drain-and-fill.88720/
* Page 2 of this thread has a great how to video*

-Coolant: (1st time) 100k or 5yrs. (2nd time, on) every 50k or 5yrs. (Toyota SLLC)
https://www.tundras.com/threads/coolant-flush.122259/
*Good how to video in this thread too*

-Differentials: every 30k mi (75w-90)

- Transfer Case: every 30k mi (Redline MT-LV)

-Power Steering Fluid Exchange: every 60k mi(Dex III ATF)

-Brake Fluid, change every 3 years (Dot III)
https://youtu.be/jpiXOBRkZs4?si=KveFnb0PsUjtFOxf

-Sparks Plugs: every 120k (OE)

 

Great post.

Would suggest investing in a toyota filter housing tool as well.

 

Indeed. I've got the

$30 MotivX MX2320 Motivx Tools Oil Filter Wrench for Toyota Camry, Tundra, Tacoma, 4Runner, RAV4 and More - 64mm 14 Flute Precision CNC Machined Aluminum Oil Filter Removal Tool

MotivX MX2320 one, and it works quite well, and is a real nice tool

 

So I use auto transmission fluid in place of the power steering fluid?

 

Yes, many Toyota models use ATF in place of standard transmission fluid. At the end of the day ATF is basically a form of a hydraulic fluid, and our trucks have hydraulic power steering.

Both my 1st Gen Tacoma and my 2018 Tundra call for Dex III ATF in the power steering systems.

 

So valvoline max life (red bottle) is good to use?

 

As long as it says it's Dexron III or Dex III yes

 

I'm going to tackle everything except for the transmission (it intimidates me a little still, need to do a little more research) plus replace 5 wheels studs on the front that a shop stripped(SMH).

 

I get being intimidated by the transmission but honestly it's not bad at all. Err on the side of overfilling it (by adding an extra 1/2 quart beyond what drains), then crack the check plug open right when the pan temp reads 100°F, and let it diminish to a trickle, then seal it and call it a day.

 

What temp reader to you use?

 

I'd suggest the

$14 Veepeak Mini Bluetooth OBD II Scanner for Android ONLY, Auto Check Engine Light Code Reader Car Diagnostic Scan Tool

Veepeak OBDII dongle and the free Car Scanner ELM OBD2 app for your phone (Android). It's simple to set up and you can see ATF temp, coolant temp, etc. Most scan tools that will give ATF temp are well north of $100 and the Veepeak is $14. If you need iOS, then you can spend a few more dollars on the nicer Veepeak (I think that's the right version) and get the iOS version of the Scanner app.

 

I use Scan Gauge II