2000 Limited TRD refresh/repair story

I love that for our truck we got Sue...."1 A Awto, getcha cah pahts."

 

Yup. Thread is closed. Can't reply.

 

Are you dead set on keeping those wheels. No upgrades in mind? You may be able to find a better condition set of those wheels on Facebook marketplace or similar for cheap and just clean them up.

 

Hmm. Didn’t think about that. I wonder if stuff could be taped off? I’m not sure. My main concern with a more conventional cleaning method is the amount of water and degreaser I’d have to use to get it clean. I think that the excessive amount of water would do more harm than good.

I’m not totally set on these wheels, but I’m pretty picky when it comes to wheel choices on FGT’s. The only other wheels I would do are the later 5 spoke wheels from the 04+ trucks, or one of the 2017+ 4Runner options.

However, the biggest factor is probably cost. I’ve got plenty of time, and the paint will total less than $50. Once I’m done these wheels will look brand new and that’s plenty good enough for me.

I may look into other wheels in the future, but that’s unlikely considering the amount of stuff I’d like to get done on the truck before I move out to college in the fall, as I’ll be bringing the truck with me. I added up all the costs, and it’ll be a bit over $3000 for all the stuff I’d like to do, which isn’t terrible, but that’s almost all of what I’m going to make this summer. Might be time to sell the boat!

 

It was implemented to be closed so OT could be non existent. One simply asks a Mod to place a certain post or thread into the dump. While the "What have you done to your 1st gen....'' thread has some real great info/back and forth, the majority of the discussions will never be seen by the folks looking for a single item. TLDR serves a very few, IMHO !

 

I mean, I just got some of the Gunk foaming stuff at the store. It was like $6/can IIRC. it worked fine, and they have heavier versions if needed. The real winner is having the correct brushes to get in the nooks and crannies - cone nylon brushes for greasy areas, then foam strip brushes for dusty spots. Cleaner just loosens stuff, I haven't found one that's alloy- and plastic-safe which you can just spray on, wait 5 minutes and spray off, and your engine is magically clean.

It's weird because I remember when you made the reply over there, so I was surprised to see it got locked up in the last 10 days or so.

 

Professional Hand Model's build thread shows what he did to his, looks great. We have the same wheels so I plan to do that to mine.

BTW whatever happened to that guy? Stellar contributor....

 

This is exactly my issue. I do have some of the Gunk cleaner, and it does work well to loosen stuff, but it's the rinsing or washing away that I worry about. Even with a small spray bottle, I worry that I'm just filling up all of the electrical connectors and engine valley with water.

 

I always take my leaf blower to the engine bay after I clean it to suss out water. Thoroughly blow it out. And only when the engine is cold.

The real key is having a decent brush set though. I got something similar to this on scammerzon. They're all made in the same damn factory anyway.

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That was a post I requested be placed in the dump thread. The thread was officially locked 3 weeks after it started back in 2019 because we uh, got carried away with BS, yeah, that's what it was

1st Gen Tundras Info Dump

miss mod Pinay

 

My favorite dirty jobs brush is an old toilet brush. Not exactly car-parts-in-the-dishwasher or powdercoat-in-the-oven level husband move, but old lady was NOT happy.

 

I have same wheels on my 2000 AC SR5. Wheel cleaner didn’t get them clean but gas on a rag did pretty good job. I think the outer surface is blasted and painted from the factory. Centers are painted plastic. Last set of tires I got, the idiot tire monkey tried to remove the lug without removing the centers. No words…

 

Yeah, I’ve resorted to a cordless electric palm sander and a wire wheel on a die grinder. Not even a soaking in brakleen is working. I’m hoping to remove as much paint as I can without spending the next 6 months sanding… it’s really time consuming.

I think I’m going to paint the outside faces as well as the inner barrels of the wheels. I might as well, it won’t be terribly expensive to buy another can or two of paint.

 

For stripping, flapwheel is your friend. This format is good for nooks and crannies, but there's a disk type too. I assume you tried heavy-cut buffing compound to remove the garbage before going nuclear w/sanding, right?

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Oscillating multi tool with the triangle sander pad is money for getting into tighter corners

 

Every project is a great excuse to get a new tool. My wife is on board with my doing so when I show her how much it would cost to have someone else do a substandard job vs us doing it right. Plus the tools keep paying for themselves on future projects.

 

Yup, this is the path, and why my shop is nicely stocked.

 

I haven’t… but I really doubt it would’ve done anything. The paint was super flaky and not at all worth saving. I think it would’ve ruined a buffing pad pretty fast.

The wire wheel couldn’t care less about the dirt and crap that was on the wheels. Makes quick work of the tight areas.

 

Ah, I missed the flakiness part. The way you originally described, it sounded like someone was using cheapo brake pads and it deposited molten pad dust chunks all over the surface.

Yeah, either of the methods @KNABORES or I mentioned will probably work for you. I like the flapwheels because they come in pretty small diameters, but I also have a Dremel Multimax and see how the triangular attachments would work really well.

 

I’ll look into those. New tool time? Maybe? Sure sounds nice… I love my dremel and a new Multimax would be really cool.

That said, the oil has almost 7200 miles on it… it’s about time. I guess that should take priority.

 

Depends what you use for oil and whether it was >12 months ago since you last changed!

 

Don’t worry, I use the good stuff. It’s had Mobil 1 in it since new.

It has been about fourteen months though… so it’s probably still due. Still looks golden brown on the dipstick, but I’ll do it this week.

 

Another thing that I forgot to mention-

Ever since doing the timing belt, there's been a squeaking noise related to engine RPM. I'm 99% sure it's one of the serpentine idler pulleys, as they all felt pretty bad when I was doing the timing belt. It isn't very loud, and it often goes away after warmup, but it's still not great.

I didn't have the budget for new OEM pulleys (those things are expensive!) when I was doing the timing belt, so I didn't change them. I'm gonna look into it some more today, just really hoping that it isn't a bearing in the fan bracket or the alternator or A/C compressor.

 

I would just do the pulley on your tensioner for starters if everything else seems to spin smooth enough. If your belt isn’t flopping I wouldn’t change the entire tensioner out, total pita

 

He got a little too political too many times.

Powdercoat in the oven you say? Hmmmm......

 

Not sure how that’s possible, but let Mr. Hands know that I say thanks. His thread was one of the many that inspired me to make my own.

I’m done with one wheel, it’s taking forever. I’ll be sanding the outside with a much finer grit once I’m done with the tough stuff.

 

Did a fluids service today-

Changed engine oil, it looked pretty new even though it had 14 months/7300 miles on it. All short drives too. I thought that I had purchased the larger style filter, but it wasn’t. Part number ends in 1 instead of 3. Not a big deal, I don’t think I’ll need the extra filtration, but it would be nice to have.

The fill plug on the rear differential is far too corroded to even attempt removing, especially with the amount of rust on the rear cover. I was able to fill it through the vent hole, which was slow but worked fine. I used a hand pump, and had to stop pumping and let out the pressure that had built inside from the fluid being pushed in.

When I removed the vent, it was obvious that there was lots of pressure built up in the housing, so I’ll be replacing it soon. I’ll most likely do the breather relocation mod while I’m at it, even though I’m never driving through deep water or mud. The oil looked pretty well used, and definitely had some sparkles. No chunks or shavings though.


The front diff and transfer case oils looked brand new. I almost didn’t change them they looked so good. I decided to anyway, just because it’s been 80,000 miles since they’ve been changed, but it was really nice to see. 4WD doesn’t work, so the front diff and transfer case are never under any stress, but I still wanted to make sure they were good.

I also topped off the power steering fluid and coolant even though I’ll be flushing both soon when I replace the PS pump and radiator hoses.

Normally I’d also do a drain & fill on the transmission, but since it’s had so much transmission work done in the last 4 months, it’s had multiple flushes recently.

Feels nice to cross those things off the list. Hopefully I’ll be starting on larger projects soon, like the inner tie rods, wheel bearings, and steering rack bushings.

 

Don't even re-install that breather...go get a nice new one pronto!