Hello, this is my first Toyota and also first truck. I’ve spent the last 10 years in the Audi world, where preventative maintenance is the only way to go, and currently have a mildly modified TTS for a daily driver.
Just picked up a ‘98 SR5 auto to use as a utility vehicle for camping, casual off roading, and dog duty. I will also be taking it out to CO for almost a month in Feb to ski bum around while taking advantage of working remotely. Here’s how it looked when I got it.
I’m pretty sure it was the cheapest driveable 3rd gen for sale within a few hundred miles. It needed a lot of mechanical work, but the exterior and frame are in great shape. Valve cover leak was causing smoke to come out of the hood and the trans had to be manually shifted into 1st, among a bunch of other things. Like I said, it was cheap and had 271k miles. Despite all this, it made the 2 hour trek home no problem - definitely couldn’t do that with an Audi.
Then the much needed maintenance started. Started off with timing belt and valve covers, pcv, spark plugs, along with a ton of cleaning. It was a nice change of pace to only need 10, 12, and 14mm sockets for most things. The FSM is a great resource.
Evidence of a coolant leak at some point and active dipstick leak.
Heads looked ok for the mileage.
Crank and cam seals done.
New timing belt installed and covers back on. I almost never have to use my in-lb torque wrench, but it came in clutch throughout this project.
Coming back together much cleaner. Sent out the injectors for cleaning as well. Mr. Injector said one was on its way out so I installed an OEM refurb one.
Broke off the brittle wire harness plastic and replaced it with euro style tesa tape leftover from an Audi job. This allowed much more flexibility to maneuver the driver side valve cover back into place too.
Removed the running boards at some point while waiting for parts.
The tank strap was rusted through and the tank had pinhole rust from whoever supported the tank on the shield with an old mechanics coverall, but hey, someone left a free Walmart 8mm wrench! Small miracles.
New tank and strap. Also replaced fuel filter.
Spare tire date coded 1997. Nice.
Out with the old muffler and tailpipe. Don’t have pics of the new one. Used walker parts though.
Replaced oil cooler hoses and seals, figured why not while I was in there. The oring was so brittle it broke apart and the hoses were swollen from the valve cover leak.
Next up was the shift solenoids and front sway bushings. This went so smoothly I guess I didn’t bother taking pictures.
Here’s how it sat about 3 weeks into all this. Shifting great, no more smoke, but still putting down some oil from the bell housing.
Just picked up a ‘98 SR5 auto to use as a utility vehicle for camping, casual off roading, and dog duty. I will also be taking it out to CO for almost a month in Feb to ski bum around while taking advantage of working remotely. Here’s how it looked when I got it.
I’m pretty sure it was the cheapest driveable 3rd gen for sale within a few hundred miles. It needed a lot of mechanical work, but the exterior and frame are in great shape. Valve cover leak was causing smoke to come out of the hood and the trans had to be manually shifted into 1st, among a bunch of other things. Like I said, it was cheap and had 271k miles. Despite all this, it made the 2 hour trek home no problem - definitely couldn’t do that with an Audi.
Then the much needed maintenance started. Started off with timing belt and valve covers, pcv, spark plugs, along with a ton of cleaning. It was a nice change of pace to only need 10, 12, and 14mm sockets for most things. The FSM is a great resource.
Evidence of a coolant leak at some point and active dipstick leak.
Heads looked ok for the mileage.
Crank and cam seals done.
New timing belt installed and covers back on. I almost never have to use my in-lb torque wrench, but it came in clutch throughout this project.
Coming back together much cleaner. Sent out the injectors for cleaning as well. Mr. Injector said one was on its way out so I installed an OEM refurb one.
Broke off the brittle wire harness plastic and replaced it with euro style tesa tape leftover from an Audi job. This allowed much more flexibility to maneuver the driver side valve cover back into place too.
Removed the running boards at some point while waiting for parts.
The tank strap was rusted through and the tank had pinhole rust from whoever supported the tank on the shield with an old mechanics coverall, but hey, someone left a free Walmart 8mm wrench! Small miracles.
New tank and strap. Also replaced fuel filter.
Spare tire date coded 1997. Nice.
Out with the old muffler and tailpipe. Don’t have pics of the new one. Used walker parts though.
Replaced oil cooler hoses and seals, figured why not while I was in there. The oring was so brittle it broke apart and the hoses were swollen from the valve cover leak.
Next up was the shift solenoids and front sway bushings. This went so smoothly I guess I didn’t bother taking pictures.
Here’s how it sat about 3 weeks into all this. Shifting great, no more smoke, but still putting down some oil from the bell housing.
Last edited:
