Bringing it back from the brink of death

Thanks to everyone on this forum I made a 10 hour drive home with my new first Gen safely without completely breaking down.

I just bought a 2006 tundra double cab with 342k miles on the body and 148k on the motor.

The Arizona sun has not been nice to it, but the frame is immaculate and there are not active leaks or mechanical issues… so I thought. I got it for cheap so I have a budget to refresh some stuff.

First things first, the ac stopped working twice which prompted me to find two issues that would have left me somewhat stranded.

The serpentine belt was rubbing through the lower radiator hose.

And that made me think of those poor suckers with the camshafts sensor wires rubbed through. So I pulled over and found I was just starting to show wire on my own. So I’ll be re-routing that wire. I’m putting together my list of repairs, including OEM LBJ’s. I’ll keep pictures coming as I do the repairs planned.

 

Not too shabby from that pic - congrats!

 

Welcome and congrats!

 

Congrats, should a said something, I would have bought you lunch

 

I was in a hurry to get back, felt like I had a ticking time bomb. lol. I have family down there so I visit a few times a year. I’ll be bringing it back down for trips, I’ll let you know!

 

Try and plan one at the end of April and enjoy some sites…..
https://www.tundras.com/threads/tundras-to-sedona-2025.148431/

 

Well upper ball joint and upper control arm bushings need to be done at a minimum. A lot of play.

plans for this week are:

Bilstein 5100 with 2885 coils.
1” diff drop
Oem recall LBJ kit
Serpentine belt
Add a leaf
Upper ball joint and bearings
Possibly UPC or just the bushings haven’t decided.

Rear drums and shoes

Rack and pinion is on the docket, but it isn’t officially leaking, just wet boots.

Anything else I should look into at the same time?

 

While waiting for the rest of my suspension parts I got the rear brakes done. The shoes were metal on metal with broken pieces floating around. New shoes, drums and cylinders. Next up full front end rebuild.

 

Anyone know that this wire is and if it’s routed right? After actually getting in there it’s not the crank sensor wire like I originally thought.

 

All I have left is the rack and pinion replacement. One of the studs is stripped so I’m removing that tonight and hoping to find one tomorrow.

Front suspension, bearings, lower ball joint (OEM), JBA UCA, Napa CV axles, new inner and out seals, and new brakes.

I had OEM cv’s that I will rebuild with the Porsche boots and have on hand for when the Napa ones fail.

Soon I’m on to electrical issues with the dome lights and cargo lights randomly turning on. PO pulled the dome fuse and I didn’t realize it until I took it in for emissions.

 

Well I got it rolling again Sunday. Found a cheap topper and got an alignment as well.

Rear brakes are not adjusting with the ebrake so I’ll be tearing those back apart and replacing some hardware and a new brake cable. (Adjustment starting with the bell crank)

I greased my drive line and suspension parts, and I noticed a good improvement. Still have a chirp in reverse and noticed the carrier bearing is probably original. Got that and the rear lift left to do.

Todays plan is flipping the radiator hose (yes it upside down and rubbed on the pulley/belt) flushing the fluid and putting the pink stuff in. I will try to get the bumper mounts bent back as well.

 

Well finished the Add a Leaf and rear 5100 damper today along with a new carrier bearing. I shimmed the carrier bearing down 3/8” and it seems to look pretty good on the angle. Safe to say the carrier bearing was donzo.

Added the leaf and didn’t remove the bottom leaf and I got about 2.25” in rear lift. I assume some of it will settle.

 

So update on fixes:

I have replaced the power steering hoses, they were the culprit for my slow leak.

I replaced my radio with a crutchfield special. My adapter board (crux) ended up being defective and got a new unit and it works flawlessly now.

Put in a cheap back up camera as well. I’ll probably replace it with something nicer down the road.

I did put the usb input below the climate controls, slick Amazon purchase I found on these forums.

I found a missing transmission pan bolt and replaced it and torqued them all down (4.4 Nm) some were hand loose.

Replaced all my o2 sensors (I had a code). Going to try to do a drive cycle tomorrow and see if the codes are gone.

I also put unit strut inside the bed with blind hole rivet nuts and attached some gun racks to hold my skis.

I’ll post photos tomorrow.