High(ish) Mileage Tuneup

[Cali_4Runner]

Hey all,
So I bought a 2000 4runner sr5 4x4 about 5,000 miles ago and I'm now approaching 195,000 and I'm loving it. Unfortunately it started shifting funny so i took it to the shop and they found metal shavings in the tranny oil pan. So i am getting it remanufactured in a few weeks and after that i wanted to give the engine a nice little tuneup. Here's a list of what I think would be good, please feel free to give me more ideas for what I can do, but keep in mind I am college student on a budget about to buy a remanned tranny so cash is tight!

I plan on:
New valve cover gasket(looks like it is seeping slightly, see pic below)
New pcv valve
New spark plug gaskets
New Spark plugs and wires
Change oil

Already done:
Master Cylinder
Timing belt and water pump

Any suggestions are much appreciated! Thanks

 

[WHORERUNNER]

Try tightening the valve cover bolts 1st. If leak stops then proceed to change out the other parts you mentioned. If leak doesn't stop. Then replace everything you mentioned.

 

[Cali_4Runner]

I thought about doing that, but I am not sure when the last time the pcv or the plugs were changed and I assume they are stock so I figured it would just be good to do it as preventative maintenence, right?

 

[WHORERUNNER]

Nothing wrong with changing the items you posted. Pcv just change it regardless. As far a plugs pull one from each head and inspect. If the plugs are fresh I wouldn't change them.

 

[Cali_4Runner]

Alright thanks! I appreciate it!

 

[the great him]

well sense you are into a tune up mode, and preventive maintenance is on your mind, get the lower ball joints replaced with ONLY Toyota OEM parts, nothing else. and get a transmission cooler installed and bypass the stock cooler in the radiator and while your doing that buy a magnafine inline transmission filter to prevent any further issues. Magnefine 3 8" Inline Magnetic Transmission Filter | eBay
http://www.amazon.com/70264-SuperCooler-Automatic-Transmission-Cooler/dp/B000CIIDZE

if you do those three things your 4runner will really thank you, and provide you with many miles of happy and disaster free use

other little things to think about is

o2 sensors, front mainly, rear doesn't do much other than tell you if you cat is working or not. the front one is the one that changes the A/F ratios and makes adjustments. -they are only good for about 90k mi +/-.

get a new air filter, they are like $15 and will ensure your truck is getting the best quality air and as much of it as possible.

and a new fuel filter, these should be replaced about every 60k mi.

and if you get new spark plugs, only get either Denso or NGK dual electrode plugs, and same with the wires, Denso or NGK.

 

[Cali_4Runner]

Okay awesome thanks for the heads up I wanted to get a transmission cooler but didn't know about the filter. And are lower ball joints an expensive fix? And can I do them myself?

 

[jgue467]

Let's talk tranny issues

...Unfortunately it started shifting funny so i took it to the shop and they found metal shavings in the tranny oil pan. So i am getting it remanufactured in a few weeks

What specific tranny issues? Depending you may just need a good tranny flush and refill w/genuine toyo atf. Unless your tranny has actually failed, I would try that first. It has fixed Many folks tranny issues. ditto on adding a magnefine...

yes to all the other stuff everyone else added, especially the milkshake issue (if you've got factory tranny cooler still in place) and tightening vc bolts (mine were so loose I could turn them several times by hand!). It will take a while for all the oil to finish burning off but it will!

Also, lube/re-torque your prop shaft, replace diff & xfer case oils.

Did you do your drivebelts w/timing belt?

Brakes good? Upgrade rotors to drilled w/ceramic pads & fluid flush when ready maybe...

check rear axle breather (to be sure its clear)

steering pump-drain/flush/refill

Run some stabil marine, seafoam and/or startron regularly.

Enjoy! :reddance:

 

[Cali_4Runner]

What specific tranny issues? Depending you may just need a good tranny flush and refill w/genuine toyo atf. Unless your tranny has actually failed, I would try that first. It has fixed Many folks tranny issues. ditto on adding a magnefine...

yes to all the other stuff everyone else added, especially the milkshake issue (if you've got factory tranny cooler still in place) and tightening vc bolts (mine were so loose I could turn them several times by hand!). It will take a while for all the oil to finish burning off but it will!

Also, lube/re-torque your prop shaft, replace diff & xfer case oils.

Did you do your drivebelts w/timing belt?

Brakes good? Upgrade rotors to drilled w/ceramic pads & fluid flush when ready maybe...

check rear axle breather (to be sure its clear)

steering pump-drain/flush/refill

Run some stabil marine, seafoam and/or startron regularly.

Enjoy! :reddance:

They found chunks of metal in tbe pan and it will not shift out of first gear in the morning when cold or until extremely high rpm until it warms up. They said that flushing it would probably make this worse because it might loosen some more stuff, but they did clean the pan and magnets. And thanks for all the tips! And would sea foam be safe to run at these miles? I feel like it will loosen or stress things that can't take it.

 

[awthorn]

Seafoam does well at high miles. Makes you run smoother and more efficient. My 3rz with 230k gets it in the fuel and oil every 6 months. I haven't had my runner a year yet but I plan on doing intake cleaning with it every year.

 

[jgue467]

Normal for some metal bits in tranny

as awful as it sounds it is normal to have fine metal bits in trannies, aamco and other tranny shops use this as evidence tranny needs a rebuild. a flush can only help this condition. If it doesn't then a shift body may have gone south but I believe it is worth a try. I would go to one of those tune up places you trust that have a tranny flusher (equip just for this type of work), it'll be like 60-90 bucks but I think you'll be happy with results. I've had other cars with the same symptoms as yours and this procedure took care of them. How cold does it get where you're at now?

As far as seafoam or other "de-carbonizer" I would take it EZ but then again look at mine as an example (237K miles now). Despite other's warnings I run Gunk in it every 5K (right before oil change), first few times it came out looking like dark brown mud, now I get a much cleaner looking (almost still translucent) after 5K. It will clean its innards out and help it run smoother. You can 'tiptoe' in by using it only in your fuel (slowler more gently cleaning of intake that way) and not via the intake vacuum hoses. You can also use seafoam in your oil (new or old) that's how gentle it is you can use it from the start on fresh oil. Then change oil/filter as you see the oil getting really dirty.

 

[Cali_4Runner]

as awful as it sounds it is normal to have fine metal bits in trannies, aamco and other tranny shops use this as evidence tranny needs a rebuild. a flush can only help this condition. If it doesn't then a shift body may have gone south but I believe it is worth a try. I would go to one of those tune up places you trust that have a tranny flusher (equip just for this type of work), it'll be like 60-90 bucks but I think you'll be happy with results. I've had other cars with the same symptoms as yours and this procedure took care of them. How cold does it get where you're at now?

As far as seafoam or other "de-carbonizer" I would take it EZ but then again look at mine as an example (237K miles now). Despite other's warnings I run Gunk in it every 5K (right before oil change), first few times it came out looking like dark brown mud, now I get a much cleaner looking (almost still translucent) after 5K. It will clean its innards out and help it run smoother. You can 'tiptoe' in by using it only in your fuel (slowler more gently cleaning of intake that way) and not via the intake vacuum hoses. You can also use seafoam in your oil (new or old) that's how gentle it is you can use it from the start on fresh oil. Then change oil/filter as you see the oil getting really dirty.

Okay wow I didn't know that... When I took it to the dealership they showed me a picture of the pan and there were chunks of metal so I figured the worst... but the oil in the tranny is actually not that dirty that's why I didn't think it would be causing this. And I live in northern California so weather here is pretty mild rarely gets below 40. And this happens even when it's warm out its just when the car hasn't warmed up for like 5-10 minutes. And thanks for the seafoam info I have been really hesitant about doing it because I always hear mixed reviews.