New Tundra: need opinions

New to the forum and to Tundras. I did restore ‘10 Tacoma a few years back and enjoy working on older trucks.

My brother-in-law passed away last December and I was just given his ‘02 Tundra. 177K miles V6 3.4 AC manual transmission. I read the pinned thread on stuff to watch out for and need some critical advice as I’m already loving the idea of this project.

Truck is in Connecticut. I removed the bed as it was rusted through. Unsure if the frame was replaced, but to me it looks like very little rust on it and the cross members. All the rust that looks bad is on easily removable parts like the rear bumper. Cab mounts clearly need replacing. Timing belt was last done at 85K in 2015. Unsure of maintenance hx. Took a bunch of pictures for you all.

 

Nice project! I'm going to speculate that this truck once received a frame replacement since it is in so much better condition than the other parts of the truck. That said, take care of that frame now! Wire wheel and otherwise remove the rust, treat it with a rust converter (like Corroseal), then apply POR15 or some other Rust Encapsulator paint (I like Eastwood). Once protected you can begin to restore/replace the other components.

 

Agree, I was getting frame replacement vibes as well. Nice truck, welcome aboard and good luck!

 

Thanks for the detailed response. How to treat the rust was going to be my next question if the frame passed everyone's inspection. The pinned thread had a section on not trusting frames that were shiny black which I took to mean that using a rust converter and then an encapsulator was bad. Is the treatment as you described acceptable? If so, I will do it ASAP

 

I'm sure you'll get a lot of great answers on painting the frame, I'd personally try to clean up every bit of rust I could then paint and then fluid film (or similar) on top, the worst part will be the boxed in section near the front, there aren't a lot of great options there.

Replace those rear shocks while the bed is off, will make it much easier.

 

You're going to get a wild array of answers on paint/treatment. The reality is, none of them are worth a shit without prep, prep, prep.

Rather than feed back to you what's been talked about ad nauseum, I'd tell you to watch these videos, from some of the better comparison channels on the interweb. And just know: If you use products like POR-15, YOU NEED TO WEAR GLOVES AND KEEP IT OFF YOUR SKIN. If not, you'll be wearing it for days/weeks to come. It adheres to skin like superglue.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TABWPHutk-A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ag46YUovPUc​

 

Echoing what Shifty said about prep.

Prepping the frame for paint/coating should take 10x longer than the actual painting should. That means using a wire wheel, needle scaler, or wire brush to remove as much rust and scale as you possibly can. Then clean the frame real good, then primer, then paint.

With really good prep you can get a wide variety of coatings to work well. I've had good luck with POR-15, and I would stick to using it or something similar. I've seen people use other products like spray-on bedliner or spray paint, but those aren't intended to be rust proof coatings. POR-15 is.

Once you've painted everything real well, you still got one more step. An oil-based undercoating like Fluid Film, Woolwax, or Blaster Surface Shield is a must. These products can be sprayed into nooks and crannies, enclosed spaces, and will further protect your truck. This is great for spots that might be hard to paint, like the body, suspension, or the enclosed parts of the frame.

It looks like you've got new brake and fuel lines, and the rust on your rear axle housing doesn't look too bad. It's really good that you're tackling this now- that rust could get a lot worse in just a year or two. Looking forward to seeing the process!

 

Welcome from LA (Lower Alabama)! Nice project!

 

And adding to this: Both scoping AND treating inside the framerail is important.

 

Thanks guys. I've managed to talk at least one child into helping me. The manual transmission is intriguing to them. I'm hearing you loud and clear - prep the surface properly before any coating is applied. Guess I need to order a new wire wheel set. As suggested I'll do the shocks now while they are easy to get at. Was planning on doing the springs as well unless you all have luck just leaving them be.

For the engine I was going to get everything back to a known spot: timing belt, pulleys, water pump at a minimum. All fluids too.

 

Thanks shifty. What is scoping?

 

Bore scope. Snake cam. Take your pick.

These frames rot both from the inside and the outside. And sometimes it's hidden. They apparently love to crack in half on the driver's side rail, where it upturns below the brake booster. We've probably seen more cracked frames there than anywhere else. Even non-rust-belt frames.

 

Got it. This is exactly what I want to learn. I'm going to do the scoping soon before I invest any more money. I'll especially look in that location

 

You may need to remove the rubber (although it's probably hardened by now into leather) splash apron with "LL" stamped into it that is covering the area. The little plastic bits pop out with a simple door opener tool.

 

There’s a guy on YouTube who rigged up a drill, ran some chain at the end of a piece of pvc, and would feed that inside the boxed frame rails and just whip that chain around in there. Then he’d vacuum or shake it out before spraying inside with whatever encapsulation or oil solution you like.

 

Scoped the frame and it looks good. Just surface rust. Am going to try to remove as much as possible and the treat it. Started prep on the frame.

I have a question on leaf springs. Mine look bad but can I clean them up and put in new bushings and u-bolts or is it better to replace. They are likely original so 22 years old.

 

I would replace the springs and hangers. You may be able to find decent used online via www.car-part.com, but ATS sells an entire kit shipped at a fair price.

This is the non-HD (non-heavy duty) kit and includes everything: https://www.autoandtrucksprings.com...-4wd-rear-leaf-spring-complete-kit-bt90221ck/

You don't want the HD kit, it'll lift you an inch or more in the rear. You may want to give them a call in advance just to confirm that's the kit you want to buy. I'm not sure if they sell a 2WD kit for the 00-06 Tundra. I got my HD springs from them, shipping was cheap, like $50 or something.

If you want to keep factory ride and height, Bilstein 4600s out back. Install will be easy as shit while you have the bed off.

 

Thanks shifty. Just updated my profile - my truck is 4wd so these would work. Since you brought up suspension I was thinking of doing the 1.1" lift but haven't fully decided yet. Is It is just Billstein 5100s with stock springs in the back? I have the 265/70/16s. I read your tire posts and the reality is my driving will likely be a best match for stock. I've done a bit of overlanding but if I'm being honest nothing that a stock setup with AT tires couldn't handle

 

Stock setup for the TRD trucks was most closely identical to Bilstein 4600 with OEM springs. There were different OEM spring rate/height depending on a few factors, one being drivetrain. OEM being 'factory', not to be confused with OME i.e. 'Old Man Emu'.

Your truck being an AC, which is lighter than DC, and V6/4WD which is lighter than V8/4WD, will get more lift than what is advertised for AC V8/4WD, and more-more lift than DC V8/4WD. It's a factor to think about.

1.1" lift up front should get the truck pretty level. With V6/4WD, there's a couple of ways to get you there up front, I suspect, but don't quote me on this.

• 4600 w/ Old Man Emu 2883 springs
• 5100 w/ stock springs and run on the 1st circlip (I know Bilstein docs show 1.1" on 2nd circlip for AC/4WD but with V6, I suspect that'll be closer to 1.3 - 1.4", in reality)
• 6112 running either #3 circlip on driver and #1 circlip on passenger to probably net around ¾", or run #4/#2 and probably fetch around 1¼" (we can't know exactly, there's clearly bad info in Bilstein's documentation on this)

What would I do? Personally, I'd probably push you toward the 6112 only because it's more flexible, maybe better behaved based on owners here running them. Alternately, I'd look into the 4600s paired with the 2883.

Why not the 5100? One, I wouldn't want to re-use the OEM springs, you'll get new paired springs with the 6112, and you'd be buying new springs for the 4600s. Two, the cost difference between 5100 and 6112 is compelling if you were to add 2883s onto the 5100s so you could run bottom circlip for likely more comfort and comparable ride.

One other thing to consider is finish. The brushed metal finish on the 5100s and 6112s gets complaints from rust belt drivers. The 4600s are coated or painted, which will probably be more resilient.

Unassembled, looks like you can get into a full set (front/rear) of 4600s re-using your OEM springs, tophats and isolators and assemble, for under $400. 5100s front/rear re-use those parts and assemble will run you around $650-700. 6112 front/5100 rear comes with Bilstein springs but and re-use the rest and assemble for $900.

Assembled, i.e. they assemble and provide the extras (usually KYB tophats and isolators), the pricing gets tighter between them.. You could probably find someone to get you the 4600s with 2883s closer to $900 (springs add on ~$150, I think Josh at 1st Gen Offroad may offer this combo?), for 5100s with 2883 on bottom notch you're looking at around $1,000, and for the 6112s you're looking at $1,150 from what I'm seeing online.

For reference, the tophats and isolator kit from KYB is $75-100 shipped, that is ultimately factored into the extra $200-400. I reserve the right to be off by $100-200 here or there, tax, shipping, and vendor you choose makes a difference.

The other thing I'd have you consider is, even with only an inch of lift, you're going to add extra wear and tear on adjacent components. It's something to think about. You may want to stick in the ½" - ¾" front lift range to give the truck a sport rake, without having to go overboard with larger tires, lifting the rear, etc. Once you lift the front, you'll need to readjust the swaybar links up a bit to avoid blowing out the bushings.

 

Fantastic detailed response. Thank you. Lots to think about

 

Doing the frame in stages. Frame under the bed is prepped - wire wheeled, degreased and POR-15 metal prep.POR-15 applied today.

for the engine, aisin timing belt kit ordered. For suspension, shifty, you made me think an OEM type replacement is the way to go with 4600s. I am going to get new springs and also the leaf springs you listed.

 

if your staying with a stock setup, can’t go wrong with 4600s. Probably the best shock on the market in its class.

 

I'll consider my life a success if I know .01% of what Shifty knows about Tundras when my time's up.

 

Shifty,

I’m doing my timing belt and the metal plate behind the timing belt cover has rust on it and one of the fastener spots broke off. I’m a little worried to try to replace it because it would mean removing the timing belt pulleys and I worry about getting the engine of time. I’m including two pictures. Should I replace the metal plate or are there other options?

 

That happened to me when I did my timing belt. Honestly- I wouldn't worry about it too much. Especially if only one bolt broke off, it should be alright. If you're really worried about it, you could get a large washer and secure it with a bolt/nut. Those plastic belt covers are pretty stiff and I don't think it would much of an issue if that bolt was missing.

 

Thanks. I hope I can just go without the bolt. Fixing the back plate opens a huge can of worms

 

Totally agree here.

If there's a metal lip remaining behind, you can also clamp it with metal, similar to how they affix wheel weights to the front lip of car wheels.

 

Ran into a timing belt issue. I got the water pump/timing belt kit from Aisin. Installed everything. The lines on the timing belt matched the physical marks. However, when I turned the crankshaft two times, the lines on the belt no longer lined up. With each revolution they continue to slightly diverge. However, the physical marks are correct and show that the timing is still good. This has me very perplexed. I ordered a new timing belt from Toyota. Any ideas as to what could cause this?

 

That is perfectly normal. It takes hundreds of turns or maybe it's in the thousands for it to all line back up again

As you seem to be aware, it takes two turns for the cams to come back to the timing mark. As long as the mark on the pulleys hit their timing mark and the timing mark on the harmonic balancer is at TDC/0 you're good to go


I am reassembling mine after a wild journey where I had to take it back down a couple of times.

I just took these pictures of mine. I turned mine twice to be sure it would spin and then to be sure it line back up. As you can see the belt's timing marks are no longer there, but you can see where the actual timing marks are in the correct position

 

Four stroke engine, two rotations to line up again.

https://www.toyoheadquarters.com/threads/toyota-2uz-fe-timing-belt-marks-4-7l.335/