I have a 1997 SR5 that's due for a fair amount of refresh/preventative maintenance work. I have essentially no experience at all with a wrench, but I'd like to gain some (and save some $ vs paying a shop to do all the work for me). The truck was a DD for the previous owner and serviced at a dealership up until 2014, but has only seen light use since then. It's lived its whole life in Arizona and CA so no rust.
If anyone has experience performing any of the work listed below and is interested in helping me, I'd love to hear from you. I don't expect you to work for free. I'm looking at reserving a stall work station at
About Us | Your Dream Garage on a Saturday or Sunday, ideally sometime in January. If anyone knows of other DIY auto shops I'm all ears, but I'm not seeing any alternatives.
Here's a list of the work I'm looking to do. I've watched all of the relevant videos from Tim and put together parts lists, but I'm not comfortable trying to tackle this on my own without any experience. Roughly in order of importance:
1. Replace the rear axle seals and bearings (only passenger side is leaking but I'd like to do the driver's side as well for peace of mind)
2. Replace the lower ball joints, outer tie rods, and sway bar links front + rear
3. Change all fluids (brake, power steering, differential + transfer, coolant)
4. Replace many bushings (not including LCAs or UCAs)
5. Replace the radiator, thermostat, water pump, timing belt, etc.
Thanks,
Levi