When to give it up?

I have a 2004 tundra I’ve owned since new. I just turned over 300,000 miles. I live in the Midwest and unfortunately I didn’t do any rust prevention. I’m fluid filming my 21’ tundra. The 04’ is rusting quickly now. That said it still runs down the road fine. I’ve still been putting 15,000 miles on it a year and it’s been my work and winter truck. Maintenance wise $ it needs the timing belt and water pump.

Problems I know it has: Trailer hitch is basically rusted off, bumper looks sketchy. Hole rusted in the resonator…it sounds throaty now. Two years ago the straps holding gas tank rusted through…it was early spring and messy out. Kid mechanic cracked the gas tank, new tank and straps aren’t exactly right…some movement, he didn’t quite get the fill connected right…it leaks filling. Some kind of problem in the front suspension causing excessive wear on the inside of the front tires, an alignment might fix it. Fuel door will soon rust off for the second time, probably needs a front brake job, rust coming above rear wheel wells on the exterior. Has around 30,000 left on the tires, and a new battery. Lots of rust on the frame but no gaping holes or any thing structural yet. I had the transmission flushed and serviced at 150k. It shifts and works fine. License and Ins are about $500 a year. It’s been a heck of a good truck.

I’m gonna drive it until I can’t but it needs the timing belt done and front brakes, I’d need to redo the bumper and trailer hitch. That work is probably equal to the value. There is no guarantee the truck will make it 2 years and 30k miles until I need new tires. What would you fix or not fix? Those of you with high mileage tundra’s when did you put it out to pasture? Did you rebuild it as you went. It was in the frame recall but the dealer said the frame was fine. If they would have put a new frame under it I probably could have driven it my whole life….

Thunderstorms moving through or I’d take some frame pics…otherwise it still looks good if you don’t look close though…

 

Paging the rust belt crew @Jack McCarthy @BroHon

 

Drive it and enjoy it until the last minute. As far as how long that is depends on the size of your wallet. I know I put a decent chunk of change into my tundra last year that others would not have, I don't care, I'm enjoying the truck I always wanted.

 

Sold my '02 Tacoma @300kmiles.

It was also in need of a timing belt/ water pump and the factory pearl black paint was starting fade/ craze. I sold it rather than keep it as a farm truck.
YMMV

 

Considering you have a secondary vehicle, I’d just do what you need to get by, specifically the brakes and timing belt. You can take your time in case you break a bolt and need to drill it out. Plenty of information and help here to get it done.

You may want to check for torn LCA bushings to see if it’s potentially causing your tire wear issue. Also, check for play in the wheel with the LCA jacked up on a floor jack.

 

Congrats on your 300k milestone!!! She looks Great!
If you really love her, show her by laying under her for hours with a huge tub of grease and caress every inch of the frame you can get your hands on... spray your choice of surface shield/fluid film where you can't reach.
That will buy you some time. I need to do this myself.
I am a couple clicks behind you @ 294k, love this truck... can't think of what I will ever replace her with, besides another FirstGen.

 

I'm at 332k and dropped at least 12k into mine, but it's been in TX its whole life so it's not really apples to apples. It's all about what you're willing to put up with. I'd keep it and spend a bit here and there, like a project truck.

 

How long have you owned it?
Can you imagine if you couldn't do the work yourself and had to hire it done? Maybe you have done that math
I have roughly $1800-2000 into mine, adding labor sends it into the salvage yard/crusher zone.
Congrats on Your 332k!

 

When to give it up?: When the cost of repairs exceeds the truck value.

 

My dad bought it new in 02, I bought it for $2500 in 10 and replaced shocks and tires, fixed the stereo, brakes, and a few misc things. Sold it back to him in 15 for $2500, then got it back for $0 in 18 and have had it since.

 

If that were the case I, as well as many others, should've given up long, long ago. Like I said, I'm at around $12k. I might be able to sell mine for $7500. And I'm gonna spend more.

 

Part it out...probably worth more in parts than a whole.

 

Wait so he paid you $2500 to take it off his hands. Nice. That's similar to the deal my dad gave me on my first Tacoma

 

In your situation it comes down to gambling. Timing belts on 4.7s have been known to go 200K miles. Unless you have 120K or more city miles or 150K highway miles, you could just gamble that it will last much longer. I don't believe in the 90K mile timing belts most people here are doing because I have looked at the ones I have removed in my 465K miles experience driving first gens. If it were mine I would continue to do oil changes, spray oil on the rust and keep driving it.
In the frontier days Indians were reputed to "take somebody else's dead horse, ride him another 200 miles then eat him". Part it out when it quits.

 

The rust is the problem. Everything else is just a maintenance backlog. And none of it matters if you decide you want to keep it bad enough. I definitely understand wanting to hear other people's opinion, but it comes down to you.

I just sold my Tacoma. 1998, 330,000 miles. Nothing more than superficial rust. Was starting to run a maintenance backlog. I planned to keep it forever. Friend in college bought it brand new. I sat shotgun on a lot of road trips in college and after, in that truck. Another friend of mine bought it from him. Then I bought it. Put 140,000 miles on it. Started to worry it had major problems I couldn't currently afford, and it was my daily driver, so I started looking for a lower mileage suv as a daily driver. Take the pressure off the Tacoma, do work as I could afford it, without the stress of needing it to get me around. Keep it forever, turn it into a true recreational vehicle. Thing has been in my life since my late teens.

But then I started looking at vehicles...set a price range, looked at Subies, Hondas, Toyota suvs. Suddenly 1st gen Tundras started popping up in my price range...I can't justify two trucks. A recreational truck and an suv daily driver, sure, but not two 20+ year old trucks. It's amazing how fast I switched from "keep the Tacoma forever" to "I'm going to sell this thing".

Anyway, it's all up to your needs. The Tacoma wasn't rusty. Anything it needed was strictly mechanical. But still, over the course of about a week I had decided I was going to buy a Tundra and sell the Tacoma. Yes there will come a day when I wish I still had it, but I can say that for every vehicle I've ever sold.

Only kind of vehicle I really think is worth keeping forever is an older classic, like an FJ40 or first gen Toyota 4x4.

The first gen Tacoma and first gen Tundras are truly special trucks. But they aren't like true "classic" cars. They're exceptional trucks, great for recreation and daily life. But for me anyway, not something worth sweating. When their usefulness is expired, time to move on. Unless you're skilled in body work, it might be a lost cause.

If you had one of the gems here with under 200,000 miles, no rust, impeccable maintenance...yeah, see if you can keep it forever. Yours sounds like it may have crossed a threshold...unless you have a lot of time and $ to invest, it's just going to take up space.

 

More pics of rust….i think I did the timing belt last around 194,000. I guess the door lock tumblers are wore out and the ignition switch is close….the only structural rust failure is the trailer hitch. I don’t see any other frame holes.

 

I'm so glad I live where I do...

Yep, all that stuff goes.

My Tacoma gave me a particular amount of trouble in the 270,000 mile range. Door locks, actuators, handles. 02 sensors. Ignition cylinder. Lost a rear axle bearing, one & only time it left me stranded on the side of the road needing a tow truck. There were a couple stretches where a ton of things seemed to hit their life expectancy. Then things evened out again.

There's no doubt that at 20+ years and 300,000+miles, it's going to be one thing after another. It will nickel & dime you, even if you'd kept up on all maintenance. That's the point of life it's at.

I know the feeling, because it's exactly what I went through with the Tacoma. Maintenance backlog, one thing after another. Solid truck will a ton of life still left, but getting to be more of a project than I was willing to take on.

 

The rust that really matters most is along the gas tank are where the frame is laminated. That's where they bust. I would spray fluid film on the rear axle now and then to prevent getting a pinhole and losing all the oil.
What I do with my first gens is I remove the wheels and put it on jack stands outdoors, pressure wash underneath, in all the nooks and crannies. I do this in hot dry season and let it sit a week, then take 8 cans of fluid film and drown all the rust, making sure to inject it in the laminations.
You might get another 5 years out of that truck. The bankers will hate you for depriving them of all that interest.
GLTU

 

Love that LSD sticker hanging on.

 

Damn, dude; that pumpkin! I sort of wonder if the fill plug will come off or if it’s seized by the rust.

I’d be inclined to take an angle grinder to it and coat what ever good metal you have left underneath with POR-15.

 

That truck is to far gone to be putting any money into, I would use it has a beater and drive it until it dies.

 

Was just thinking the exact same thing.

At that point I'd probably drive the truck until something structural came up then part it or find a frame donor.

 

Well I got another 6k out of it. In November I started having a slight vibration. Through the magic of YouTube I was able to determine it was a needle bearing in the front cvt axel. A mechanic I use looked at it and he said I need to hang it up and not put any more $$ into it. I was hoping she would get me through the winter. Something in the front end is causing tire cupping and now it has a steady growl. The frame is getting sketchy now too. I was jacking it up to check the front wheel bearings and noticed a new hole. Today I hauled some stuff in the bed and picked up a corn planter part, put about 150 miles on it. It felt a little sketchy the last 25 miles home. I decided I’m going to drive it to the farm this week and have the wife pick me up and leave it as an around the place work truck with minimal road use.

I think it’s too bad to sell it as is to someone that wants to drive it as a cheap truck. I’d have to have them sign a waiver?? Once I get all the goody out of it….do I drive it to the junkyard? Those of you that have parted out a truck how did you go about it? Thanks…

It’s a total bummer and kick n’ the pants right now to have to let her go!

I saw a great looking 2004’ in a Menards parking lot the other day with minimal surface frame rust and they guy had wool waxed the frame. I thought about waiting around and making an offer on it. But the wife is gonna need a newer car this year or the next. I’m just gonna have to suck it up and tell myself I’m happy with my 2.5 gen 21’ tundra. It has about 32,000 miles on it now.

 

Just drive it until it dies or part it out. I would service the brakes though, but nothing else.

 

Now that's some rust!

I've been chuckling at the few threads that come through asking if XYZ truck for sale has too much rust and it's just a tickling of on top.

This baby has lived a full life


IMO with everything you mentioned I'd be looking to sell it off (someday) or keep it as a farm truck. That rust certainly isn't the worst, but, it sounds like no matter what you fix, there's at least 2 more other big things to fix right after.
For me, that's about the limit. I hate fixing something, knowing you still gotta fix more right after
But that's me, you're you.

Also, check out WoolWax USA for rust prevention, I prefer it over Fluid Film as it sticks a lot more and lasts longer.

 

Legally, it's in your best interest to have the buyer sell a waiver, stating in no uncertain terms, I'M BUYING THIS FOR PARTS, KNOWING THE FRAME IS ROTTEN AND TRUCK IS NOT SAFE TO OPERATE. THE SELLER, [YOUR LEGAL NAME], HAS CLEARLY INFORMED ME THE FRAME IS IRREVERSIBLY DAMAGED BY RUST AND I AGREE I WILL NOT BE OPERATING THE VEHICLE. Make sure the agreement is dated for the time/date of sale.

 

Looks fine to me. From the pics it looks about exactly like mine (says the guy from MI). Just a little scaling/molting
Unless there are holes in the boxed area or Major expansion near the rear leafs.... I'd drive that all the way back to MI @ 80 and not even sweat it.

 

BroHon…. Those frame pics were from 6 months ago. The boxed frame has gotten worse.

lol. I did run 50 miles of interstate today. The last 15 miles headed home though I was wondering if for the first time ever if it was gonna leave me stranded walking….it did get me home though.

 

I was surprised to see AutoRust is carrying a crapload more products for our trucks now! In the last couple years they’ve doubled or tripled the number of pieces they’re carrying for 1st gens….

 

Sorry to hear she’s headed downhill, @OP. I would keep it as my winter/rough truck and only do brakes as others have said. Watch YouTube videos on guys intentionally trying to destroy rusted out frames. It’s really hard to do. I wouldn’t be afraid of driving it.

This is probably correct for OP’s calculus, but for me I would personally say when cost of repairs exceeds the truck’s replacement value. If you have to buy something else then you should also factor in how much a replacement will cost you/be worth. So is it worth diagnosing and repairing OP’s front suspension issues for, ex., $3k? Probably not. For me it would be since I’m in mine for cheap and thus have some cushion, but that’s because the next-best replacement would be closer to $20k.