New (to me) '99 Limited (and 1st Toy)

[lucky1-T4R]

Very recently I was gifted a '99 Limited. It seems to be fairly well maintained. Since it was gifted to me, I have no room for complaints. It has 116k mi on the speedo, decent stock size rubber,.... and bone freakin stock with e-locker, which I think is awesome.

Also recently, I was laid off from a long time job (jerks) so cash will be tightly monitored and in short supply for any mods. However, I have been lurking around here for a couple of weeks or so and searching and reading. The wife is probably irritated that I am not spending enough time looking for employment but have plenty O' time to read things T4R.

Obviously, can not spend much (if any?) but would like to hear some suggestions on things that actual poor people can do to improve their 3rd Gen.

Also, I am wondering about CB radios. What is their use outside of the trail (i have done this on the trail in a previous life). Is CB radio dead? (think I'll make a new post out of that one.)

Thanks,

L

 

[thegipper]

Since money is tight, wait on any kind of radio communication, you got bigger fish to fry.

What kind of maintenance has been done to the truck?

Here is short list of maintenance items that should be address, in order of importance:

Lower ball joints (OEM parts only) - can fail without notice, we recommend to replace every 100k miles

Radiator (Denso) - Can fail and cause a pink milk shake (coolant mixes with tranny fluid and destroys your transmission), if yours is original or you don't know how old it is, replace it.

Fluids (all of them) - Fluids are cheap yet very important, change em all out.

Grease DS and Ujoints

Extended rear diff breather mod - Stock breather often gets clogged and can cause axle seals to leak

Take your time and check everything else (suspension, brakes etc).

Post some pictures!

 

[Vansnxtweek]

Since money is tight, wait on any kind of radio communication, you got bigger fish to fry.

What kind of maintenance has been done to the truck?

Here is short list of maintenance items that should be address, in order of importance:

Lower ball joints (OEM parts only) - can fail without notice, we recommend to replace every 100k miles

Radiator (Denso) - Can fail and cause a pink milk shake (coolant mixes with tranny fluid and destroys your transmission), if yours is original or you don't know how old it is, replace it.

Fluids (all of them) - Fluids are cheap yet very important, change em all out.

Grease DS and Ujoints

Extended rear diff breather mod - Stock breather often gets clogged and can cause axle seals to leak

Take your time and check everything else (suspension, brakes etc).

Post some pictures!

Such great advice on all of this. I am currently working through doing these things to my newly acquired T4R. This will keep you busy and get you nice and cozy with your rig for sure!

 

[lucky1-T4R]

Agreed. Good advice. Thanks.

I guess this thing was wrecked twice and repaired. Was told that the front end suspension, radiator, timing belt were replaced during one of the repairs. Brakes were done (I looked at them and verified), but it almost feels like they need to bled (long pedal travel with no bleed-off at the end).
When I first acquired the thing, I thought the tires were way out of balance. I was told that the truck had been to the dealer about this, twice, and then new tires. But alas, no luck. I have read the post here about the road force balancing that whole mess. So I took it to the dealer and was very stern with them. Long story short, I was told that the tire are out of round. Sound familiar? Ultimately, they will not do anything further until the tires are replaced. I will be addressing this again in the future. They put the worst 'out of round' tires on the rear so it does not feel so bad.

Anyway, looking at fluids, etc. Will probably have fun with that.

Thanks,

 

[phattyduck]

If money is truly tight, CHECK things, don't just replace.

So, jack up that front end and use a pry bar to check for play in the ball joints.

Check the radiator (it may have a build date on the top). Check the coolant condition. If it hasn't been neglected, the radiator might still be fine. Mine was after 270k miles (after replacement, I opened up the bottom tank and there was 0 corrosion, just some sediment).

Right now, you have more time that money - so spend time instead of money.

-Charlie

 

[LifeLikeworm]

I am always surprised by what I can learn about a vehicle by just spending time just checking the basic things out. also it doesn't hurt to do some research into where you can get parts locally and what mods people find useful in your area.

 

[JRZEE2000TR4LTD]

Agreed. Good advice. Thanks.

I guess this thing was wrecked twice and repaired. Was told that the front end suspension, radiator, timing belt were replaced during one of the repairs. Brakes were done (I looked at them and verified), but it almost feels like they need to bled (long pedal travel with no bleed-off at the end).
When I first acquired the thing, I thought the tires were way out of balance. I was told that the truck had been to the dealer about this, twice, and then new tires. But alas, no luck. I have read the post here about the road force balancing that whole mess. So I took it to the dealer and was very stern with them. Long story short, I was told that the tire are out of round. Sound familiar? Ultimately, they will not do anything further until the tires are replaced. I will be addressing this again in the future. They put the worst 'out of round' tires on the rear so it does not feel so bad.

Anyway, looking at fluids, etc. Will probably have fun with that.

Thanks,

Long pedal travel very well might mean your rear brakes are out of adjustment. If you can pull you ebrake up more than 9 clicks, they need adjustment.

 

[Beaumont67]

............Also recently, I was laid off from a long time job (jerks) so cash will be tightly monitored and in short supply for any mods. However, I have been lurking around here for a couple of weeks or so and searching and reading. The wife is probably irritated that I am not spending enough time looking for employment but have plenty O' time to read things T4R.............

lucky1 - Your wife is right, planning to spend Gen3 modification $$ while unemployed...is really irritating:
Preventive maintenance & needed T4R repairs, should be your only concern.

Watch the video / for some real man advise:
Saving Money (Hour1) - The Tom Leykis Show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5ib18H5fG8

 

[DK327]

Also, I am wondering about CB radios. What is their use outside of the trail (i have done this on the trail in a previous life). Is CB radio dead? (think I'll make a new post out of that one.)

Depends on your location and atmospheric conditions... When the latter is favorable for DX, you get all sorts of activity on all 40 channels! People from other states might even sound like they are only a few miles away. Aside from that, here in Omaha, I still hear people on the CB pretty much all the time. It's not what it used to be but still usable.

I have a CB radio as well as wide band VHF/UHF radio in my truck for emergency comms. You'll still hear good amount of chatter on highway on CB/FRS/HAM bands.

Here is a picture of my previous setup on my truck. The radio is Cobra 18 WX ST II which has full 40 channels and Weather radio. It's DIN size and fits right below the radio nicely! It worked GREAT when I had it installed, but have since removed it (using another radio I got as a gift from the girlfriend.)

If you're interested, and since you're on a tight budget, it's yours for $25 shipped. Let me know! The below pic is right after I installed the radio initially. The mic is not shown, but will be included.

 

[lucky1-T4R]

[MENTION=136650]DK327[/MENTION]
That is a very kind and generous offer. Thank you.
For the time being, I have decided not to spend money unless really needed.
Hopefully that will change soon, but thank you very much for the offer.

 

[lucky1-T4R]

lucky1 - Your wife is right, planning to spend Gen3 modification $$ while unemployed...is really irritating:
Preventive maintenance & needed T4R repairs, should be your only concern.

Watch the video / for some real man advise:
Saving Money (Hour1) - The Tom Leykis Show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5ib18H5fG8

My bad. Haven't spent money, but I keep thinking about it. I have decided not to spend any funds on the T4R yet. Will wait for employment and save my money for gas since the MPG's in this thing suck (16-17mpg).

 

[lucky1-T4R]

"....If you can pull you ebrake up more than 9 clicks, they need adjustment."

Yeah, I read a post on here about that. Initially, I got well over 10 clicks. Now, after pulling the brake over 100 times (guessing, might have been 1000 ) I am now getting good parking brakes at 6 - 7 clicks. The pedal still travels too far for my liking, but it does stop good when needed.

 

[lucky1-T4R]

[MENTION=139000]phattyduck[/MENTION]
[MENTION=165159]LifeLikeworm[/MENTION]

Great advice. Been laying underneath looking and poking and prodding. I have not come across anything major on the old truck. I will keep looking and hopefully not finding.

Thanks.

 

[DK327]

For the time being, I have decided not to spend money unless really needed. Hopefully that will change soon...

Totally understandable! Good luck with the job situation bud!

 

[tarsun]

basic up-keep of the expensive bits. (so they are less likely to fail and become expensive)...

that is what i focused on when i got my 98.

new rad, t-stat, and coolant.

new trans fluid.

timing belt (though being non interference engines, not much would happen)

 

[octanejunkie]

I would check your plugs and wires too, especially with that MPG figure - although it's not far off

Plugs are cheap, but if the plug wires are original that might be worth changing too, when money isn't that tight