New Toyota Owner

Great to finally be part of the Toyota truck community. I hit a small lottery getting this 03 Tundra TRD Limited from my Uncle. He got a new truck and was looking to get rid of his Tundra so he is gifting it to me. I have to say for this truck being an 03 with 215,000 mls it is in great shape considering we live in the rust belt. I look forward to doing a full front to back inspection, completing a major maintenance over hall and then starting on the wish list items. Great to be here.

 

congratulations and enjoy your new gift!

 

Welcome from New Hampshire!

 

That is an awesome gift! Congrats, welcome, and enjoy!

 

Great truck. Even better you know the prior owner and how well it was taken care of to date. Welcome!

 

Welcome from NY.

 

Read @shifty` megathread and check your TB and LBJs now.

 

Start here: https://www.tundras.com/threads/so-you-wanna-buy-just-bought-a-1st-gen-tundra-eh.115928/

Know about where the frames usually rot/crack. Some spots, like the driver's side upturn of the framerail, aren't obvious. They rot from the inside out.

Never use aftermarket lower balljoints. If current LBJ are aftermarket, get them swapped ASAP. They need to be done every 100-125k *IF* you use genuine OEM parts.

If 4.7L V8, timing belt Must be done every 100k or 10yrs, whichever comes first *IF* you use OEM parts; halve that number for aftermarket. Toyota says 90k/90yr, you'll be fine with 100k/10yr.

Be aware of "pink milkshake", replace radiator proactively with Denso brand part from a legitimate source.

And to that point, NEVER EVER buy your parts on scAmazon or fleaBay. They've both become a counterfeit parts haven.

That thread I linked and @bfunke recommended is years upon years of our community knowledge condensed into one place. It's your go-to for all things first gen.

 

Welcome from LA (Lower Alabama)! Must be nice to have an uncle like that!

 

Thank you everyone. I already have LBJs in my cart and I'm looking to do the sway bar linkage and bushings as well. I'm going to be pulling the bed this summer to sand and treat / seel the frame for rust. Going to do a Hawk brake upgrade since I do tow compost and other landscape materials from time to time. Radiator and timing belt are next on the list as well. Going to look over the shocks and see about putting on BSTN 4600s or 5100s. I'll keep evaluating from there.

 

I had a 2006 Tundra I bought new with the 4.7l motor. Like someone said above, always replace timing belt and water pump at or around 100k. I have a great dealer I go to but stay OEM.

 

Yeah. I'll be doing the timing belt and water pump and the ball joints. Which one I do first will be determined by which looks to be worse for wear. Beyond that I'll be looking at brakes, suspension, Yaesu FTM-300DR + antenna, front and rear bumpers (armor), LED headlight conversion, transferring my curt electric brake controller over from my ram, and many other items on the list.

 

As far as brakes. I believe you have drums on the back? I did a clean and adjust (on the back brakes) when the emergency brake pushed further to the floor. I had my first front disc job done around 60k. The dealership went nuts asking me if that was the 1st for the front and I said yeah and they asked me how. I told them what I said here but when I drive I pump my brakes a little every time while stopping.

 

From my research I believe these are drum as well. I haven't worked drum brakes since I was getting my Automotive Line Technician Certification and replacing the complete rear brake assembly on my 1985 2.2l Dodge Omni GLH. Haha. It will be a walk down memory lane for sure.

 

Nice looking Tundra you got there! Although I may be biased. Let's see these frame pictures before you go ham on upgrades and maintenance.

 

I unfortunately don't have the truck as of yet. I will hopefully have it soon. We are just waiting on the title. I am getting the truck for a little over $300 since that is what it cost in PA to transfer a title. I did take a quick look at the frame when I was doing a once over on the truck and there is rust but nothing major that I could see. I will be pulling the bed this spring / summer to clean up the rust I did see and treat / seal the frame. My uncle did have a crossmember replaced by a shop under the bed because it was swiss cheese but said the rest of the frame looked in good shape. All in all if it turns out to be in worse shape than anticipated I will use the truck as a farm vehicle like I have been using my 06 Ram Mega Cab. Here is hoping I can put some work into the Tundra and make it my primary vehicle though. thank you everyone for the good advise and direction.

 

Looks like Monday is the day. I'll finally have the Tundra. Then the work begins.

 

Congratulations. I'm sure it will last you another 200k+ more miles with required maintenance. My 96 4runner is pushing over 350 on original.

 

Thanks. Man I am hoping. I found out some more info on this truck from talking with my Uncle. I also got the carfax and am very happy with what I am seeing.

The truck only had 2 owners. The first owner and my uncle, both had the oil changed every 3,000 miles and many other maintenance items like sway bar linkage and tie rod ends etc. No ball joints unfortunately so I will be doing those. Below is what I know has been done.

Completed Services

1. Radiator and hoses replaced (Radiator blew up - 2018)
2. Transmission rebuild (Due to radiator blowing up - 2018) *I told him that was a somewhat common issue.*
3. Cross member on frame cut out and replaced do to frame rust ( 3 years ago) *After I crawled around the truck, the rest of the frame just has typical surface rust*
4. All new brakes installed (2024)
5. New exhaust from cat back (2024)
6. New serpentine belt ( 3 years ago) *I'll be replacing this again anyway when I replace the timing belt and water pump. If I'm already in there I might as well*
7. Bonus - Electric brake controller installed (Professionally done)

To do list:

1. Replace timing belt and water pump (Aisin Timing Belt Kit)
2. Lower ball joints (Dorman Premium XL)
3. Upgrade front brakes to Hawk Brakes (Drilled and slotted rotors / Red truck pads)
4. Oil change to: Valvoline Restore and Protect Full Synthetic
5. New Denso Plugs
6. Remove bed, sand frame, treat and protect

Wish List

1. Brute Force front bumper armor (https://bruteforcefab.com/1st-gen-tundra-fronts)
2. Brute Force rock sliders (https://bruteforcefab.com/rock-sliders)
3. 2" front end leveling kit
4. If I am feeling frosty and I haven't dumped to much money into other things I may do some digging in to installing a turbo since I don't believe the superchargers are available for these trucks anymore.
5. TEQ Customs headlights and corner lights (https://teqcustoms.com/products/retrofit-headlights-1st-gen-tundra-00-06)
6. ATOTOZONE Head unit with back up cam
7. Yaesu FTM-300DR Mobile Ham Radio (
   Yaesu Original FTM-300DR FTM-300 FTM300 50W C4FM/FM 144/430MHz Dual-Band Digital Mobile Transceiver
   https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08884HN79/?coliid=IVSGBYNLM7TMO&colid=2HUNPHQIG5OOX)
8. Many, many more things continue to be added to the list.....

My uncle is great with taking his vehicles in for the scheduled services but they are not car people. His fuel door is hanging, he lost 2 of the knobs on the climate control so he's been controlling them with a pair of plyers. This truck is going to need some much needed love and attention but at least I know it's been mechanically cared for. Feel like I'll need a 2nd job or have to start me law and landscaping business back up.

 

Welcome from NC