Just crossed 160k miles and need another 100k - am i on the right track?

O

OnTheEllipse

Member
replaced my Subaru with a RX350, which has become my wife's car. I was looking hard at 2016 4Runner Trails, but ultimately chose the Lexus as a better car for road trips/driving our baby around.

Now I'm driving her 2001 SR5 4WD that she bought before we were married. I need this truck to last me at least another 100k miles, so I've spent the past week reading every FAQ/repair thread I could find on here. I don't mind putting a few dollars into it if i'm going to get another 100k miles out of it. I may even put a little extra into it just for fun (2-3" lift).

Hoping the great collective wisdom can tell me whether or not I'm missing anything. Here are my plans:



Things I'm going to do myself

• oil change - she'd just been taking it to shitty quick lube places. any reason I shouldn't switch to a regular synthetic routine now?

• new plugs and plug wires

• new lower ball joints

• new outer tie rods

• new radiator

• 02 sensors to clear codes

• new thermostat

• new steering rack bushings

• rear bumper is starting to rust pretty good - not sure what to do there/where to get a new one

• new fuel filter (thanks [MENTION=84796]Coward[/MENTION] )



Things I'd like to do myself but I'm not sure are necessary

• B&M Transmission cooler




Things I don't think I can do myself and I'm not sure are necessary

• full coolant flush

• full transmission flush

• full differential flush

• full brake fluid flush

Wondering if I should do these things and is the dealer a decent place to get them done?

She had the timing belt done at 100k, so maybe I'll have that inspected.

Am I missing anything? Wasting my time with anything? Appreciate any advice!
 
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JayRolla said:
Congrats on just finally breaking her in. Just rolled 270k miles myself.
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my wife works about 2-3 miles from work, so the miles have been trickling on. it's about to see a lot more miles, though. I'd like to clear the codes, get rid of the 60+ mph highway shake and prevent failing lower ball joints and the pink milkshake!
 
Hmm

If you're getting a shake on the highway I'd do the ball joints and tie rod ends first, and get an alignment and balance the same day.

If you've done it before it's a 2 hour job (maybe less with an impact wrench). If you haven't done it before I'd schedule a good 4 hours.

I assume the radiator and thermostat are preventative maintenance and not because you're overheating.

Has the timing belt been done?

Generally, I'd make sure the engine/trans fluids, cooling system, steering components are done first (1A). Equally important but not critical are the brakes and brake components. Then I'd handle suspension components. You can get a pretty nice setup for ~800, which will give you a moderate lift and better damping and road manners. If you have patience and don't care about finding used parts, you can get it for cheaper. I'd spare the cosmetic components for last, but I think you can look for a bumper at a local junkyard or even car-parts.com.

Even if your wife has been going to the local quickie lube place, as long as she's been doing it regularly, your engine should be OK. Take care of your transmission and watch out for frame rust, and you should be able to ride that thing until the sun goes out.

EDIT: If you can do the ball joints you should be able to tackle most of the fluid changes at the transmission, differential, coolant rather easily. Your FLAPS will let you dispose of oils for free. Doing an actual FLUSH though, isn't quite as easy, but still pretty DIYable. Most people would be fine with just a drain and refill. Just do it again in another 10k miles to get some of the rest of that older fluid out and you'll be fine.
 
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Kyngfish said:
If you're getting a shake on the highway I'd do the ball joints and tie rod ends first, and get an alignment and balance the same day.
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It's a top priority for sure. I can't get a Toyota dealership parts department to call me back (two of them now...I don't get it).

Kyngfish said:
If you've done it before it's a 2 hour job (maybe less with an impact wrench). If you haven't done it before I'd schedule a good 4 hours.
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I haven't...and these things always take longer than I expect. Except for replacing the alternator in an Outback...I think that took like 10 mins!

Kyngfish said:
I assume the radiator and thermostat are preventative maintenance and not because you're overheating.
Click to expand...

Yes...sounds like 120k+ is the time to worry about that? I figure I'll knock all of this stuff out so I can rest easy for a while. No overheating, no.

Kyngfish said:
Has the timing belt been done?
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Yes, at 100k.

Kyngfish said:
Generally, I'd make sure the engine/trans fluids, cooling system, steering components are done first (1A). Equally important but not critical are the brakes and brake components. Then I'd handle suspension components. You can get a pretty nice setup for ~800, which will give you a moderate lift and better damping and road manners. If you have patience and don't care about finding used parts, you can get it for cheaper. I'd spare the cosmetic components for last, but I think you can look for a bumper at a local junkyard or even car-parts.com.
Click to expand...

that sounds like a good plan, thank you. Is a coolant/transmission flush better left to a dealer or is that doable in the driveway (I haven't looked into this yet)?

Kyngfish said:
Even if your wife has been going to the local quickie lube place, as long as she's been doing it regularly, your engine should be OK. Take care of your transmission and watch out for frame rust, and you should be able to ride that thing until the sun goes out.
Click to expand...

Looks like she's at 5k miles on this last oil change instead of 3k.
 
Was the water pump done with the timing belt? That is fairly common and if so the thermostat and coolant is probably fine. The timing belt is probably fine until 200k and beyond. The move to an external transmission cooler is always a good idea to avoid the "pink milkshake". I would add a new fuel filter and air filter to you list as well.
 
Coward said:
Was the water pump done with the timing belt? That is fairly common and if so the thermostat and coolant is probably fine. The timing belt is probably fine until 200k and beyond. The move to an external transmission cooler is always a good idea to avoid the "pink milkshake". I would add a new fuel filter and air filter to you list as well.
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not certain about the water pump. I'd assume so, but I have no way to verify. I'll go through the papers in her glove box and see if there's a receipt.

Good call on the fuel filter. I actually have a new one sitting in the box. Bought it last year in an attempt to clear codes but I haven't gotten around to installing it. I'll add that to my original post
 
OnTheEllipse said:
not certain about the water pump. I'd assume so, but I have no way to verify. I'll go through the papers in her glove box and see if there's a receipt.

Good call on the fuel filter. I actually have a new one sitting in the box. Bought it last year in an attempt to clear codes but I haven't gotten around to installing it. I'll add that to my original post
Click to expand...

I would look into replacing the radiator but keeping the stock cooler. Bypassing has negative effects. There is a reason almost all manufacturers run a trans cooler in the radiator.
 
OnTheEllipse said:
It's a top priority for sure. I can't get a Toyota dealership parts department to call me back (two of them now...I don't get it).
Click to expand...

Go online. You can get the ball joints from Amazon Prime, free shipping, and overnight for about the lowest price for OEM ball joints + shipping at most online places. The outer tie rods are more expensive on prime - about 20 dollars more per tie rod... I ordered them from the Toyota of Dallas online parts site and they got here before the weekend. YMMV. If you don't want to risk it, the extra 40 bucks probably won't kill you. Also order the for the lower ball joints. Search for the part number in the forums. Here are the part numbers for the joints and rods: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-g...nner-tie-rods-ball-joints-wheel-bearings.html


OnTheEllipse said:
Yes...sounds like 120k+ is the time to worry about that? I figure I'll knock all of this stuff out so I can rest easy for a while. No overheating, no
Click to expand...

If it's never been replaced, I'd probably do it, but maybe number 3 on my list of things.


OnTheEllipse said:
that sounds like a good plan, thank you. Is a coolant/transmission flush better left to a dealer or is that doable in the driveway (I haven't looked into this yet)?
Click to expand...

It's not too hard, just make sure someplace around will let you dispose of the coolant. If you're doing the radiator anyway, depending on when, I'd wait to do it all at once.

How hard is it to flush the Radiator - YotaTech Forums
 
Amazon has the Denso radiator, OEM thermostat and gasket for $123 shipped. Have your steering rack and pinion checked closely, and if that is good to go, have them check the tie rod ends, upper and lower ball joints, and your shocks.
 
Kyngfish said:
Go online. You can get the ball joints from Amazon Prime, free shipping, and overnight for about the lowest price for OEM ball joints + shipping at most online places. The outer tie rods are more expensive on prime - about 20 dollars more per tie rod... I ordered them from the Toyota of Dallas online parts site and they got here before the weekend. YMMV. If you don't want to risk it, the extra 40 bucks probably won't kill you. Also order the for the lower ball joints. Search for the part number in the forums. Here are the part numbers for the joints and rods: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-g...nner-tie-rods-ball-joints-wheel-bearings.html
Click to expand...

good to know...thanks

"Also order the for the lower ball joints." - bolts?
 
SoCal C4S said:
Amazon has the Denso radiator, OEM thermostat and gasket for $123 shipped. Have your steering rack and pinion checked closely, and if that is good to go, have them check the tie rod ends, upper and lower ball joints, and your shocks.
Click to expand...

is there a package deal or that's just the total all added up? did a quick search and didn't see the package
 
OnTheEllipse said:
got it, thanks. just ordered the ball joints and that three-piece package from Amazon
Click to expand...

Please tell me you bought OEM ball joints?

Here is the order of things I would do to your rig.

1. Replace LBJ's (OEM ONLY!), outer tie rods (OEM preferred)
2. Replace the radiator, thermostat and coolant (tranny cooler is optional)
3. Replace all fluids (diff's, transfer case, brake, power steering, oil, tranny) I would switch to a semi synthetic for the next few changes then switch to a full synthetic.
4a. O2 sensor if it is bad and the cause of the code
4b. Steering rack bushings (if needed)
5. Plugs/wires
6. Do the extended rear diff breather mod (a clogged breather can cause axle seal failure and is generally not something you can fix yourself and costs a lot to have it repaired at a shop)
7. Fuel filter
8. rear bumper (if you want)

All of these things you can do yourself.

LBJ's are critical and if they fail can cause a serious accident, this is priority #1 no questions asked. Get an alignment after working on the steering/suspension stuff.

Radiator is definitely second because of the potential of a pink milk shake possibly destroying your tranny.

You can do all of these things yourself, especially the fluids. Fluids are cheap, failed mechanical components are not.

Good luck
 
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thegipper said:
Please tell me you bought OEM ball joints?

Here is the order of things I would do to your rig.

1. Replace LBJ's (OEM ONLY!), outer tie rods (OEM preferred)
2. Replace the radiator, thermostat and coolant (tranny cooler is optional)
3. Replace all fluids (diff's, transfer case, brake, power steering, oil, tranny) I would switch to a semi synthetic for the next few changes then switch to a full synthetic.
4a. O2 sensor if it is bad and the cause of the code
4b. Steering rack bushings (if needed)
5. Plugs/wires
6. Fuel filter
7. rear bumper (if you want)

All of these things you can do yourself.

LBJ's are critical and if they fail can cause a serious accident, this is priority #1 no questions asked. Get an alignment after working on the steering/suspension stuff.

Radiator is definitely second because of the potential of a pink milk shake possibly destroying your tranny.

You can do all of these things yourself, especially the fluids. Fluids are cheap, failed mechanical components are not.

Good luck
Click to expand...


i appreciate the reply

yes, i ordered OEM ball joints and outer tie rods
 
I updated my list and added the extended rear diff breather mod (not on your list) but something I think you should do.

Ask if you need help with sourcing parts or how to perform these PM repairs.
 
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