My Dad’s Tundra

I’ve recently borrowed my Dad’s 2002 manual V-6 Tundra for some moving projects. And while I’m at it, I wanted to spruce it up a bit and perform some required maintenance. The truck only has 130k miles on it, however, the water pump and timing belt have not been changed. A new clutch was installed a few years ago. This new water pump/timing belt is project number one. While it could probably use a tuneup, it runs great. Dad has always been pretty gentle on the ole gal. Any other more pressing maintenance recommendations?

I want to preserve the truck for as long as I can, especially for all of the sentimental reasons of being Dad’s Tundra. Thank you…

 

Water pump, pulleys, tensioner and thermostat.

 

Welcome from NY.

 

I would not bother to change the fuel pump unless you have some indication that it's bad. I would, however, buy a new Denso replacement fuel pump while they're still available, and save it for ~ 10 years from now when you might need it.

 

Thank you for your comment. I realize I meant to write water pump instead of fuel pump… And therefore, that probably changes your position. Sorry about that…

 

Much of what you need to know about the truck is here: https://www.tundras.com/threads/so-you-wanna-buy-just-bought-a-1st-gen-tundra-eh.115928/

Like, what will kill it, what should be done at this point, etc. Granted, the info is slanted toward the V8, but many of the critical things, like replacing lower balljoints every 100-125k miles with OEM only, and new bolts, and replacing radiator, doing timing belt at 100k, frame rust issues etc. It also fills you in that Denso and Aisin, for the most part, made many of Toyota's parts for these trucks.

The 5VZ-FE (V6) in that truck was used for a long time across a lot of different vehicles. Great engine.

This is the timing belt / water pump kit you'll want to buy, DO NOT buy it on scAmazon or fleaBay (counterfeit risk), you'll get the best prices and best service from Rockauto or Summit Racing.

This is the radiator to buy, specifically.

Most of the lower ball joint info you'll want/need to figure out the right parts (or ask for help on finding the right parts) is in this thread.

If you wanted to refresh the OEM coil packs, you'll need 3 of these, and you should probably refresh the wires while you're at it. And the image below shows you the two spark plugs Toyota wants you to use in the engine, I prefer NGK myself, but you may as well refresh while in there, again, DO NOT buy them on scAmazon or fleaBay, people on this forum and a couple other forums I frequent have gotten verified counterfeits from scAmazon, and I know counterfeits have been a problem on fleaBay for more than a decade now.

I think if you did the above, if you can do the work yourself, you'd be in for less than $2,500 and there wouldn't be a lot left for him to do in the future. Probably worth doing fluids too (transmission only needs a drain/fill, never touch the filter).

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This is very informative and thorough - thank you Shifty!

 

What @shifty` said. Don’t worry about the fuel pump unless your getting no-starts