Looking for a maintenance schedule

[Satter]

Has anyone put together a schedule for 3rd gen 4Rs? Maybe a spreadsheet of some sort. My 4RUNNER has 176k and is 23 years old. I really don’t want to go by what the stealership says.

Also, is it okay it get my oil changed every 5000 miles? When I got my truck back in October of 97 it was 3000. I’ve never had an oil issue, and my 4R burns very little oil.

 

[phattyduck]

Plenty of info available directly from Toyota on this (not the dealer):

https://www.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/omms-s/99ALLMS_MS0001/pdf/1999 Toyota SMG.pdf

https://www.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/om-s/OM35749U/pdf/OM35749U_edited.pdf

5k mile oil change interval is 'severe service'
7.5k mile oil change interval is for 'normal service'

I do 5k oil changes without fear. With some used oil analysis to verify, you likely could go 10k miles with a good quality oil and filter with no ill effects. I use the shorter schedule to force me to give the truck a once-over more often.

-Charlie

 

[cashflow50]

Based on preference I do my changes every 3k since where I live has severe stop and go traffic. But it’s just me


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[mtbtim]

*Engine Oil & Filter - Every 5k (And I use full synthetic)

*Auto Trans fluid drain and refill - Every 10k (You are basically exchanging out 1/3 of the system, approximately 4 - 4.5 quarts) Why wait 30k or whatever interval you choose for a full flush when you can just do more regular drain and refills? It's super easy. Remove the drain plug, replace it with a new crush washer and refill your system. Easy peasy and it will keep your fluid in great shape. I've confirmed this with a Blackstone analysis of my fluid.

*Manual Trans Gear Oil - Every 30k

*Transmission Magnetic In-line Filter (if you've installed one) - these are rated for 30k but I go ahead and also replace them every 10k when I do a drain and refill of the pan.

*Front Differential, Rear Differential and Transfer Case Gear Oils - Every 30k

*Engine Coolant - Every 30k

*Greasing of driveshaft zerk fittings - Every other oil change or every 10k

*Engine Air Filter - When it looks dirty. The more off-roading you do, especially in a convoy in dusty conditions, the more often you will want to replace it.

*Engine Spark Plugs - Depends on the type of plugs but the Iridium ones I believe are rated for 75k miles.

*MAF Cleaning - it depends on your driving conditions because it will get dirtier quicker if you off-road in dusty conditions. I'd say every 30k is probably plenty, but if you get a CEL code for a "Too Lean Fuel Ratio" that's a dead give-away your MAF is due for a good cleaning.

*Throttle Body Cleaning - Clean it during one of your services if it looks dirty. Every 50-100K would probably be sufficient.

*Timing Belt, Other Drive Belts, and Water Pump - Every 100k

*Other Associated Timing Belt Parts like the Idler Pulleys, Timing Belt Tensioner, Crankshaft Seals and Crankshaft Seal - Every other timing belt change or every 200k miles.

*Wheel Balancing and Rotation - Every 5k

*Brake Inspection - Every 30k

*Finally, like [MENTION=139000]phattyduck[/MENTION] said, it's good to get under your rig on a more regular basis to look for problems you can address before they become a bigger problem that might happen at a very inconvenient time, like when you're on vacation with your family.

Good luck and Happy Wrenching!

 

[Satter]

*Engine Oil & Filter - Every 5k (And I use full synthetic)

*Auto Trans fluid drain and refill - Every 10k (You are basically exchanging out 1/3 of the system, approximately 4 - 4.5 quarts) Why wait 30k or whatever interval you choose for a full flush when you can just do more regular drain and refills? It's super easy. Remove the drain plug, replace it with a new crush washer and refill your system. Easy peasy and it will keep your fluid in great shape. I've confirmed this with a Blackstone analysis of my fluid.

*Manual Trans Gear Oil - Every 30k

*Transmission Magnetic In-line Filter (if you've installed one) - these are rated for 30k but I go ahead and also replace them every 10k when I do a drain and refill of the pan.

*Front Differential, Rear Differential and Transfer Case Gear Oils - Every 30k

*Engine Coolant - Every 30k

*Greasing of driveshaft zerk fittings - Every other oil change or every 10k

*Engine Air Filter - When it looks dirty. The more off-roading you do, especially in a convoy in dusty conditions, the more often you will want to replace it.

*Engine Spark Plugs - Depends on the type of plugs but the Iridium ones I believe are rated for 75k miles.

*MAF Cleaning - it depends on your driving conditions because it will get dirtier quicker if you off-road in dusty conditions. I'd say every 30k is probably plenty, but if you get a CEL code for a "Too Lean Fuel Ratio" that's a dead give-away your MAF is due for a good cleaning.

*Throttle Body Cleaning - Clean it during one of your services if it looks dirty. Every 50-100K would probably be sufficient.

*Timing Belt, Other Drive Belts, and Water Pump - Every 100k

*Other Associated Timing Belt Parts like the Idler Pulleys, Timing Belt Tensioner, Crankshaft Seals and Crankshaft Seal - Every other timing belt change or every 200k miles.

*Wheel Balancing and Rotation - Every 5k

*Brake Inspection - Every 30k

*Finally, like [MENTION=139000]phattyduck[/MENTION] said, it's good to get under your rig on a more regular basis to look for problems you can address before they become a bigger problem that might happen at a very inconvenient time, like when you're on vacation with your family.

Good luck and Happy Wrenching!

This is great! Thanks so much. What is MAF Cleaning?

 

[mtbtim]

This is great! Thanks so much. What is MAF Cleaning?

MAF stands for Mass Air Flow. It's the sensor in your air intake tube that lets the ECU know how much air is coming in to make the proper adjustments to the fuel being delivered to create the proper air/fuel mixture your engine needs to run well. When the sensor wires get dirty, the sensor doesn't accurately record the amount of air coming in. More air is actually coming in than the MAF sensor is reporting to the ECU so the air/fuel mixture ends up being too lean and the Air/Fuel sensor or O2 sensor in the exhaust pipe reports this to the ECU creating a CEL (Check engine light) like P0171 System Too Lean (Bank 1).

 

[Traveler74]

There is also a maintenance schedule in every Chilton's Repair Manual. Just be sure you buy one that covers the year of your T4R. Best price is on Amazon.com

 

[DP182]

This is great!
I just recently got my first 4runner and also a 4x4 haha.

I definitely have some things to check out!
Thank you again!

 

[Satter]

MAF stands for Mass Air Flow. It's the sensor in your air intake tube that lets the ECU know how much air is coming in to make the proper adjustments to the fuel being delivered to create the proper air/fuel mixture your engine needs to run well. When the sensor wires get dirty, the sensor doesn't accurately record the amount of air coming in. More air is actually coming in than the MAF sensor is reporting to the ECU so the air/fuel mixture ends up being too lean and the Air/Fuel sensor or O2 sensor in the exhaust pipe reports this to the ECU creating a CEL (Check engine light) like P0171 System Too Lean (Bank 1).

OMG. Every morning when I start my 4R I smell gasoline from the exhaust. However, the check engine light has never come on. The smell goes away after I’ve driven it for a while. I don’t think my MAF sensor has ever been cleaned or replaced. It may be running rich because the sensor is dirty?

 

[T4R2014]

OMG. Every morning when I start my 4R I smell gasoline from the exhaust. However, the check engine light has never come on. The smell goes away after I’ve driven it for a while. I don’t think my MAF sensor has ever been cleaned or replaced. It may be running rich because the sensor is dirty?

ECU makes it run richer on cold start.

 

[Satter]

ECU makes it run richer on cold start.

So that’s normal?

 

[Satter]

There is also a maintenance schedule in every Chilton's Repair Manual. Just be sure you buy one that covers the year of your T4R. Best price is on Amazon.com

What’s the difference between Chilton’s and the OEM repair manual besides.....Jesus, look at the price! O.O

 

[Bad Luck]

What’s the difference between Chilton’s and the OEM repair manual besides.....Jesus, look at the price! O.O

OEM will be more accurate and contain a lot more specs than the Chilton's manual.

 

[mtbtim]

What’s the difference between Chilton’s and the OEM repair manual besides.....Jesus, look at the price! O.O

Find a Toyota FSM set for sale on Ebay. Don't waste your money on a Chilton's manual.

 

[MagusWyatt]

Has anyone put together a schedule for 3rd gen 4Rs? Maybe a spreadsheet of some sort. My 4RUNNER has 176k and is 23 years old. I really don’t want to go by what the stealership says.

Also, is it okay it get my oil changed every 5000 miles? When I got my truck back in October of 97 it was 3000. I’ve never had an oil issue, and my 4R burns very little oil.

I was looking for the same thing recently and started putting together the information as I found it. Then I decided to get serious and apply my spreadsheet skills to create a worksheet that would automatically track everything for me.

From left to right, the columns are service title, service type, recommended time (in days) frequency of service, recommended mileage frequency of service, last known completed date, last known completed mileage, due date (in days) of next service, due mileage of next service, and notes.

The "Due" columns are color-coded by percentage of time or mileage until the next due date. They go through green (rest easy), yellow (start planning for it), orange (schedule it now), and then red (overdue).

The previous owner had quite a few maintenance records, so I've been exhaustively going through them and entering the information I have. You'll see that there is a lot of red on mine, that's where there were no records and it's something I plan on doing in the future.

I'm still working on it, but if there's an interest level I could send it out to interested parties once I'm done.

 

[nobb]

*Engine Oil & Filter - Every 5k (And I use full synthetic)

*Auto Trans fluid drain and refill - Every 10k (You are basically exchanging out 1/3 of the system, approximately 4 - 4.5 quarts) Why wait 30k or whatever interval you choose for a full flush when you can just do more regular drain and refills? It's super easy. Remove the drain plug, replace it with a new crush washer and refill your system. Easy peasy and it will keep your fluid in great shape. I've confirmed this with a Blackstone analysis of my fluid.

*Manual Trans Gear Oil - Every 30k

*Transmission Magnetic In-line Filter (if you've installed one) - these are rated for 30k but I go ahead and also replace them every 10k when I do a drain and refill of the pan.

*Front Differential, Rear Differential and Transfer Case Gear Oils - Every 30k

*Engine Coolant - Every 30k

*Greasing of driveshaft zerk fittings - Every other oil change or every 10k

*Engine Air Filter - When it looks dirty. The more off-roading you do, especially in a convoy in dusty conditions, the more often you will want to replace it.

*Engine Spark Plugs - Depends on the type of plugs but the Iridium ones I believe are rated for 75k miles.

*MAF Cleaning - it depends on your driving conditions because it will get dirtier quicker if you off-road in dusty conditions. I'd say every 30k is probably plenty, but if you get a CEL code for a "Too Lean Fuel Ratio" that's a dead give-away your MAF is due for a good cleaning.

*Throttle Body Cleaning - Clean it during one of your services if it looks dirty. Every 50-100K would probably be sufficient.

*Timing Belt, Other Drive Belts, and Water Pump - Every 100k

*Other Associated Timing Belt Parts like the Idler Pulleys, Timing Belt Tensioner, Crankshaft Seals and Crankshaft Seal - Every other timing belt change or every 200k miles.

*Wheel Balancing and Rotation - Every 5k

*Brake Inspection - Every 30k

*Finally, like [MENTION=139000]phattyduck[/MENTION] said, it's good to get under your rig on a more regular basis to look for problems you can address before they become a bigger problem that might happen at a very inconvenient time, like when you're on vacation with your family.

Good luck and Happy Wrenching!

Just to add to yours:
Coolant should also be time based, 2 years if it's the OE Toyota Red.

Brake/clutch fluid should also be time based, max every 3 years.

Power steering, fuel filter every 50,000 kms

Every 2 years I also like to check the spare tire pressure. Most people forget about this one.