New to the truck world with a 2008 Tundra

Hi,

I recently bought a 2008 Tundra SR5 TRD 4.7 with 102,000 miles on it. I had my mechanic have one of his techs drive it and put it on a lift. I am having some remorse now as I have found a coolant leak that they did not find, possibly in two spots, and believe the vibration around 30 mph with light throttle is TC shudder and not related to the left front wheel bearing as tech stated. Truck has some bed rust that I need to cut out and weld in new pieces, all new shocks, the wheel bearing, and a newish alternator is testing weak at 13 amps. Aisin sticker is on for a timing belt change 4 yrs ago, took out the bolts to take a peak at it, it does not look new, but has no cracking in it. Trying to figure out a game plan to work on the truck. I am going to do a drain and fill on the tranny, change the rear diff, transfer case, and front diff oil and replace t-stat and fix the top coolant leak. I have changed the air and cabin filters. The coolant leaks from an o-ring behind the t-stat as I have found a pic on this forum of the same leak. There is also pink crystals at the bottom of the radiator under the hose connection. Going to get a loaner pressure test kit for cooling system and see if I can confirm 2 different leaks. Not sure if I should just order the $150 Denso radiator from rock auto and replace it at the same as t-stat as I will be draining it. Any suggestions, advice, things I should do together or while I am working on something else would be greatly appreciated. No where near a mechanic, but like doing things myself if possible. Looking forward to sharing what I do the truck with you.

 

Welcome from NY.

 

Congrats on the purchase. A few more maintenance surprises are to be expected when acquiring a truck of that age, even if it has relatively low miles.

If you’re replacing the radiator, anything serviceable on the front of the engine should be done when you have all that extra room to work in with the radiator out. Again, time is not your friend, even if the truck wasn’t driven much.

I replaced the radiator on my 2009 LX at 170k+ miles. I’m not as familiar with the 4.7, but the general rule of thumb with the 5.7 is to tackle the water pump, thermostat, tensioner pulley, idler pulley, fan pulley bracket, serp belt, and upper/lower radiator hoses. And the alternator if you so choose (I left that alone).

 

Thank you for your reply. I know there are going to be things that come up, but the coolant issue should have been found in the pre-sale inspection. It would have given me more negotiating leverage. The guy had to know about the coolant leak as the reservoir was bone dry. He bought another truck and was not using this anymore, more than likely that he did not want to do the repairs. They did not drop the skid plate, nor did the tech notice the lack of coolant in the overflow. I appreciate the info. I am getting more nervous as I believe the guy I purchased this from was nowhere near forthright with sharing info on the truck. Don't have the money to have my mechanic address everything at the moment, especially a timing belt change as I don't believe it was done from taking a look at it. I have some help and may take on most of the repairs with that help, including the timing belt as the Aisin kit is only about $200. I will be digging more into it and trying to put a plan together, order parts, gather tools, and then begin repairs. I started with the filters, will get the fluids done when it cools a little bit around here. I live about 20 miles northwest of Philly and it is hot and humid.

 

Hey Djstevez, welcome to the Toyota world. I did the timing belt on my first gen Sequoia 4.7l awhile back and it was a task. Doable at home but a big task. I ended up doing the radiator, thermostat, water pump everything for less than 1,200 out of pocket. This included a few specific tools needed and a could extras.
Not sure what a dealer would have charged but I’m assuming 3-7 times what it cost me.
Might be worth looking into to save money. Just make sure you don’t buy a Chinese water pump. Aftermarket Japanese or Toyota are the only way to go.

 

The shudder could also be the driveshaft/carrier bearing.

Sounds like your mechanic needs to chat with his tech. A dry coolant reservoir should have been looked into a bit further.

 

I am going to have a conversation with him right before I go on vacation at the end of the month about my disappointment in that I found issues that a certified technician did not. I have brought other vehicles to him and passed on them as a result of the inspection. I bought this one after identifying shocks, wheel bearing, a few sections of bed rust that seller showed me. I left this one all to them and noticed the dry reservoir after buying the truck. If he will work with men on the labor of some of this stuff, I will gladly have him do some of it. I have a guy who does some work for me who does all of his own automotive work that can be done without a lift, etc... He knew I was looking for a Tundra and worried about timing belts in certain years. He told me he could do it with me, that it was just a matter of taking care, and going through the process step by step. I will look into the driveshaft/carrier bearing and see if I can figure out exactly what I am feeling when driving it. It is currently sitting in my driveway as I have ordered ATF, Coolant, T-stat. Think I am going to just order Denso radiator, upper and lower rad hoses, Aisin t-belt kit, and spark plugs and just get it all done after I do the fluids. Thank you for the response!

 

Welcome from LA (Lower Alabama)!

 

Update: Went on vacation and dropped the truck off at shop- told to confirm vibration at 25-35 under light throttle, confirm coolant leak at 0-ring and see if radiator is leaking as well, replace wheel bearing they told me was bad, and inspect truck as it was due. Owner called and left message that wheel bearing was not bad, they replaced radiator without my permission as it was leaking, vibration is from a bearing in the front differential having play in it. I now need to find a new shop as they put a $285 radiator in it and want to charge me for 3 hrs labor. He seemed confused as I told him there was 3 gallons of coolant, a t-stat and other things in the truck for me to put in a $148 Denso from rock auto if it was determined the radiator needed to be replaced. I also did a drain and fill of the transmission fluid- got over 5 qtr out, which I thought was excessive, but refilled and went through the process of checking the level. I am scared of the timing belt as there seems to be a new tensioner, but I have yet to find writing on the belt as I tried checking it a couple of times by removing the cover. There is no cracking or rot, but the sticker is from 4 yrs ago and about 25k miles. I was planning on replacing the radiator when doing the Aisin timing belt kit if I could not confirm the belt was replaced.