New Member, got used 2011, trying to sort some things out

Hello everyone. I'm Nick from SC.
Picked her up yesterday. To make a long story short, I drove pickups way back in high school and have always liked them and wanted one more recently for home utility reasons, but due to liking sports cars and gas mileage more, I've never actually owned my own until now. Since we aren't commuting for the foreseeable future, yesterday I traded the high mileage commuter for this 2011 extended cab 5.7 4x4.

Cosmetically: Interior is pretty decent. Exterior: Not so much.

Mechanically: I'm not aware of any major issues. Or minor ones, actually. Bottom was dry and I looked, and had the mechanic look, for the cam tower leak issue I read about; looks dry. It's dirty, like the previous owner was in the mud, but I can't really find any rust anywhere (yet, knock on wood)

I might have overpaid, but, two others I'd been looking at for a few weeks have been bought out from under me and all used cars seem to be up right now, so... it is what it is, done now. I'm getting my guy to do an alignment asap (standard process for me for any new-to-me car) and other than that my highest priority is to clean up the exterior and underside. As part of the sale I negotiated the dealer pay for a full body paint correction to remove the numerous small/shallow exterior scratches. They are also going to address a significant dent in the tailgate. I'm guessing this will require a repaint of the tailgate. There are also a few other very minor dents in the body; I'll probably get my PDR guy to address those afterward.

I also removed a brush guard and bracketing already (as you can see in the pic).

My initial question is about the "4x4" stickers on the back quarter panels (see the other picture). To me they look like they are off a 1990's Chevy. Can anyone confirm that these are not stock? If so I'd like to get them removed when it goes in for paint correction.
Thanks!

 

I have never seen those 4x4 stickers on a Tundra before. I agree with your assessment that it's got that Chevy look to it. The location is also not in the normal location; it looks far too close to the tail lights.

 

They should be fairly easy to remove. The aftermath may require some paint correction, but your idea is in line with what I would do.

 

Welcome from NY.
That is not a Toyota decal.

 

Thanks guys!
Yes, this is where they are from; I'm pretty much sure now.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/186266134561963614/

 

Welcome and nice looking truck!

 

You don’t want a Chevota? Or a Toyrolet?

 

Thanks...
The other cosmetic thing I have in mind immediately is the bumpers. Both front and rear have creases in them that look like the truck rolled into something. On the front, it is the front right, looks like whatever it was was low enough to just be the bumper.

I've looked at a couple videos on how to replace the rear, and it looks easy enough. Haven't looked at the front yet.

I've done some quick googling and actually surprised at how cheap they are. I've found this:

https://www.carparts.com/details/To...o5Al8sVnUIv5WhqiP0MaAmAREALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Which I think is aftermarket/not OEM. The OEM version looks to be only about another hundred bucks though.

Or, maybe this is a good opportunity to get something aftermarket if it looks better? Maybe de-chrome?

Thoughts would be appreciated. I'm not planning to jump the gun on the bumpers until I get a better sense of what's out there.

 

No sir. (lol) I know it can be sacrilege on enthusiast sites of all kinds, but, 99% of the time I prefer stock look, or very subtle mods.

 

@Roman is our parts guy around here.

 

Pull those Chevy stickers off and drive it. That front bumper doesn’t look too bad. Wait till you have some extra cash and get some aftermarket bumpers

 

For the price of the OEM rear bumper replacement, you're halfway towards the cost of a lifetime offroad bumper. The front is a bit harder than the rear because of all the trim and stuff but nothing crazy.

 

Nothing wrong with that. There’s a lot of people on here with stock trucks. After my last Tundra, I kept this one with mostly bolt on stuff that I can remove and put back to stock fairly easy.

 

I agree waiting on the bumpers to see what is out there is a good idea. Will do that.
Last question for now... Is there likely to be any resale market for this brush guard thing? If not, I gonna chuck it.

 

I believe those are 88-94 GM stickers. My dad's 92 has those and I think they changed around 95 with the introduction of Vortec engines.

 

Welcome from LA (Lower Alabama)! And I would check out aftermarket bumpers, whether you replace them sooner or later. I believe you'll get more bang for your buck, both aesthetically and performance wise.

 

I think you'd do best selling that "guard" on Craigslist. Some people like the "bling" look but as far as what you'll get for it, it's probably not much.

 

I did throw it up on craigslist just to see; if it doesn't go by my next dump run it's going there though.

 

Would you mind pointing me to your favorites in that price range?

I've done some looking now, including found some fairly comprehensive looking threads here, but so far it looks like all the aftermarket "offroad" ones are coming in at $3000++ for the set... I'm gonna have a hard time justifying that.

 

Welcome from So Cal

 

One issue I have is that on one of the two key fobs, the unlock button doesn't work (the lock button and other key fob all function fine). I changed the battery in the fob, no change in behavior. Google doesn't seem to find this exact issue... would anyone have any ideas what might be going on there? Thanks.

 

If other buttons on the fob work, take it apart and check the connections. Maybe try to clean them with rubbing alcohol.

 

I don't have personal experience with these rear bumpers but they're what I almost went with when I got rear-ended a couple months ago because they match the body style well vs. the tube bumpers.

https://idealoffroad.com/products/expedition-07-13-one-toyota-tundra-rear-bumper

 

Thanks sir that does look nice... what's everyone's opinion on Iron Cross? I found their "low profile" front bumper that looks to be about the same dimensions as stock (I honestly can't foresee ever needing a winch capability) and it looks good, still $1250 just for the front though (ouch). The matching rear I think is under $1k so probably just over $2k for that set. I would assume the front is heavier than stock, and I read that if you also add a winch you should adjust/upgrade the front suspension to handle the weight. If just the "low profile" front though, with no winch, is this still adviseable/needed to do suspension work?

Got her aligned this morning... it was actually already pretty much bang on what it should be, they just adjusted the steering wheel centering, so now it tracks pretty straight with the steering wheel on dead center. Still some on center vagueness, but my typical standards there might be a bit unrealistic for a truck..