Neglected Tundra

Took it to an independent Toyota repair shop for a thorough inspection. Below are the results.

So I'm the 4th owner. 294140 miles.
Many wear and tear items were neglected.

Needs Rack and pinion Outer tie rods Flush steering system Alignment

Timing belt Water pump Tensioner Idler Serpentine belt Coolant hoses

Carrier bearing U-joints Carden joint

Front & rear diff flush Transfer case flush

Transmission mount Engine mounts Both CV axles

I changed the engine oil and filter. Oil was black.

Will be replacing the original factory suspension which is worn out with a nice lift kit.

Truck should be good as new after all this.

 

If you're paying someone to do all that, I hope you got a deal on it. If the compression is good I wouldn't flinch at sinking money into the rig myself.

In addition, while you are in there, you might consider: steering rack bushings, sway bar end links and bushings, and factory suspension height (or close to it, not too tall) when you "lift" consider replacing the springs (rear leafs as well) at that mileage.

Are the engine mounts bad? What year is the tundra? Did they mention anything about the radiator and/or transmission fluid? V6 or V8?

Semper Fi

 

My body is trashed from my Marine Corps days so yeah I have to pay someone to do it. As for a good deal on the work, considering the amount of work and how long it will take to do I think I'm getting a decent deal.

Engine mounts are bad and it's an early 2000 model built in 1999 per the door sticker.

It's a V8 and still runs strong and that's a good question about the transmission. It shifts fine but best to check/change the fluid.

Radiator is fine, coolant will be replaced as the coolant hoses are being replaced along with the water pump.

Steering rack bushings will be getting replaced.

A lift is next on the list after all this other work is done first.

Oorah.

 

@Tondruh76

Watching this thread to see your progress. I am glad you are fixing it. Once all this work is done you can stop being reactive, and start being proactive.

My '02 V6 has 314K. Soon you will be in the 300K+ club.

Thank you for your service.

 

If you haven't read about ball joints on these trucks, they are a definite maintenance item. Mainly the lowers. The consensus is that OEM is the way to go on these.

And while you're in there, check out the control arm bushings. I've never done these on either of my two First Gen Tundras but I never had that kind of mileage either! Anyone else have input on these?

Look forward to seeing your progress!

 

The lower ball joints looked fine on inspection. The UCA bushings however do have a bit of play. My plan is to replace them with some aftermarket UCAs like Camburg or Total Chaos when I do the lift. The suspension is worn out as well so it needs to be replaced.

 

Do you have any kind of exhaust tick? If so, while replacing the motor mounts would be a good time to switch to headers.

 

No exhaust tick whatsoever. But, I'm planning on getting a new exhaust to open it up a bit and get more sound.

 

I forgot to mention that all parts going on will be Toyota parts. Some of the parts being taken off were aftermarket parts.

 

I got my truck back today with all the work completed. While the mechanic was doing the serpentine and timing belts, he found 2 of the 3 pulleys were showing noticable wear. Since he already had the belts off and everything apart, he recommended replacing the pulleys to save on future labor and to prevent a possible pulley failure.

I took him up on his recommendation.

The truck now drives much better, the steering wheels is now straight and there is no more noise when steering.

The engine runs smoother thanks to the new engine mounts and there is no more vibration with the driveshaft u-joints being replaced along the with carrier bearing.

I ordered an Icon stage 2 lift and camburg UCAs. They should arrive later this week. That will take care of the worn suspension which will complete the overhaul. It will be like a new truck after that.

 

Nice! Post up a pic of those old mounts if you can. We’d love to see their condition for future reference.

 

If you can buy them cheap with a solid frame, engine, transmission and rear end, then they are usually worth fixing up. I have owned my 2002 since 2003, but my Gen 2 is similar to your 1st gen in that I am the 4th owner and it had 270,000 when I bought it cheap almost 3 years ago. Enjoy bringing your Tundra back up to speed, they are great trucks.

 

I didn't take pictures of all the damaged parts. But here are some pics of most of the new parts.

 

All new and shiny.

 

How did you know your motor mounts were bad? Stoked on your new stuff!

 

Upon inspection, the rubber was severely cracked on the mounts. They were the originals seemed like. The lower control arm bushings were also dried and cracked. The eccentric sleeves were seized on one of the arms, and it had to be cut to remove the entire control arm.

 

Truck looks great! Since the cv axles are new you shouldn't have any issues with the boots leaking after the lift, but keep an eye on them, if you catch it early you can crimp the band a little tighter and it should be fine.

 

Yeah. The LCA seizing is typical on our trucks. I looked at my mounts a few weeks ago, but couldn’t see much other than what looked like some rubber block perimeter in good shape. Hard to see up in there so who knows?

 

If you don’t mind me asking, what did that cost?

sounds like you rebuilt everything but the drivetrain.

 

$8600 for all parts and labor.