"New" Used 4Runner Maintenance

[MINISuperCooper]

First, this forum is amazing! We bought a 2003 v8 4Runner this past week. It only had 54,000 miles, so it was quite a find. I'm planning to do some maintenance on it, since I have no idea what the previous owners did. (and I'm pretty anal about this kind of thing) I know the dealer changed the oil. I've done some reading on this forum and come up with various things I should do over the next week or two. Please correct me if I'm wrong, because this is our first 4x4.

1. I'm changing the tranny fluid. (using the recommended Toyota brand stuff)

2. I'm changing the t-case and differential fluid. (I'll use Redline 75W-90. I can't find SAE 90 in a brand I trust. hwell: I've been using Redline in our MINI for years and like/trust it.) Things are pretty rusty under there, so I may need to use some penetrating oil to get the plugs lose. Do I need crush washers?

3. I'm going to grease the zerks under the truck. (I'll use Redline CV2 for all of them, since it seems like many people on here are using only one grease for all…even though the owner's manuel seems to prefer two different greases. I'd like to keep things simple.) Like I said, things are pretty rusty under there, so I may end up replacing some zerks as well.


Later (sometime between now and July), I'm going to take it in to a mechanic and get fresh power steering fluid and coolant. I'm also thinking I'll get the timing belt changed, since it's around 12 years old. I'm assuming age is just as rough as miles when it comes to a rubber belt. I'll also deal with the rust issue this summer.

Is there anything I'm missing? I want this truck to last, so I'd like to be proactive rather than reactive…if that makes sense.

Thank you! Seth

 

[kacper]

Timing belt should be done now. Your truck is 2003

 

[fdbyrne]

A few observations from someone who just did a bunch of this stuff :

1. If you can do the rest of that stuff, you can flush the power steering fluid. It's really easy. There are a few tutorials in this forum somewhere. Let me know if you can't find them and I'll tell you what I did.

2. Might as well go ahead and change the plugs and air filter too since it costs so little.

3. Go ahead and replace the crush washers / gaskets on the fill and drain plugs when you replace the fluids in the transfer case and both differentials.

4. I don't know anything about the specific grease that you are talking about but as a general rule greases of different types (not brands) don't mix well. I went ahead and bought 2 grease guns (long flexible hose is a must) and use the factory recommended grease types. Lithium for the U-joints and Moly for the slip yokes if I remember right.

5. If you have rust underneath (many of us do) get a can of PB Blaster and a good torch (something more potent than propane), you'll need it.

 

[Gatafly]

I bit of advice for the differentials. Buy new plugs. Since it is rusty you may not be able to get tgem loose tge normal way. If that is the case take a hammer and whack the face of the plug a few times. Then, take a chisel and put it on the edge of the plug such that when you hit it with tge hammer it will spin the plug counter clockwise. Works lije a charm and was an idea given to me hy a local Toyota mechanic.

 

[Brian3676]

I just bought a 08 4runner this last week. Just did a bunch of stuff today even though the PO took very good care of it. Used new gaskets on everything. They were I think 4-5 bucks from the dealer.

-New transfer case, front and differential fluid
-Changed the oil with OEM filter and M1 oil (on sale right now at Costco.
-Cabin air filter

The rest I just checked. Brake fluid, PS fluid, air filter, brakes, it's only got 83k on it and plugs are not due till 120 so I just checked 1 plug and it looked great.

 

[MINISuperCooper]

Congrats on the 4Runner, Brian!

I'm hunting for a shop or dealer to do the timing belt. I found posts on the PS fluid, and I believe I can flush it. (Thank you, fdbyrne!)


I'll change the fluid in the tranny, t-case, and differentials. Does anyone know what size crush washers I need? Also, I found a website that said to torque the diff. plugs at 36 ft lb and the t-case at 25 ft lb. Does this sound right?


I saw a post where someone dropped the pan on the tranny and changed the filter. Is that necessary at this point? The tranny fluid looks good. However, it seems to be a tad on the low side…not sure why? I don't see a leak. Anyway, can I simply drain, refill, and call it good?


Last question (for now :juggle, I'm attempting to get the different grease types, but I have to admit I'm puzzled. There's synthetic lithium…there's synthetic with moly…there's synthetic lithium with moly. My head is spinning. I've found these two:

For the lithium zerks there's this https://mobiloil.com/en/synthetic-grease/mobil-1-synthetic-grease It uses a "lithium complex." (whatever that means?)

For the moly zerks I found this Valvoline.com > Products > SynPower > Grease SynPower > SynPower® Synthetic Grease It is "moly fortified" (again, whatever that means?)

Is this what I'm looking for?

 

[O2VW1.8T]

Congrats on the 4Runner, Brian!

I'm hunting for a shop or dealer to do the timing belt. I found posts on the PS fluid, and I believe I can flush it. (Thank you, fdbyrne!)


I'll change the fluid in the tranny, t-case, and differentials. Does anyone know what size crush washers I need? Also, I found a website that said to torque the diff. plugs at 36 ft lb and the t-case at 25 ft lb. Does this sound right?


I saw a post where someone dropped the pan on the tranny and changed the filter. Is that necessary at this point? The tranny fluid looks good. However, it seems to be a tad on the low side…not sure why? I don't see a leak. Anyway, can I simply drain, refill, and call it good?


Last question (for now :juggle, I'm attempting to get the different grease types, but I have to admit I'm puzzled. There's synthetic lithium…there's synthetic with moly…there's synthetic lithium with moly. My head is spinning. I've found these two:

For the lithium zerks there's this https://mobiloil.com/en/synthetic-grease/mobil-1-synthetic-grease It uses a "lithium complex." (whatever that means?)

For the moly zerks I found this Valvoline.com > Products > SynPower > Grease SynPower > SynPower® Synthetic Grease It is "moly fortified" (again, whatever that means?)

Is this what I'm looking for?

Find a dealer to do the T-belt its surprisingly cheap i think our dealer charges 599 for the full kit.

I have never changed the washers for the diffs and never had one leak in 8 years wouldn't worry unless you have done it a few times.

Just do a simple drain and fill on the tranny, we have people with over 380k on there 4th gens and rarely do stuff to them. Most impressed with one that came in with 250k on original 30k plugs:faint:

For the u-joints on my 4 runner i just used syntec amsoils grease and pumped until new grease came out ( that was a work out haha)

 

[MINISuperCooper]

I called around some on the timing belt, and the dealer I bought it from quoted me $775. He said since I had bought it there, they would throw in the water pump for free.

I also called a mechanic that specializes in Honda and Toyota. (He has perfect reviews and has been working on these cars for over 30 years.) He quoted me $680 for T-Belt, Water Pump, and Serpentine Belt.

I'm debating on where to go. We'll see.



I'm going to Harbor Freight later. I'm thinking about picking up some CRC grease. I'm not sure if it's synthetic, but has anyone used this brand? Also, how can I tell if what I put in will mix with what grease is already in there? (If there's anything in there? It looks pretty dry/rusty in that area, but what do I know?! :wow2

I'm sorry for all the crazy questions. I went above and beyond maintenance on our MINI Cooper, and now we're in the process of replacing an engine at 98,000 miles. :crybaby: …to the tune of around $9000. This is why we bought a Toyota. They're reliable, but…I still want to make sure I dot my i's and cross my t's.

 

[NJshadow93]

I called around some on the timing belt, and the dealer I bought it from quoted me $775. He said since I had bought it there, they would throw in the water pump for free.

I also called a mechanic that specializes in Honda and Toyota. (He has perfect reviews and has been working on these cars for over 30 years.) He quoted me $680 for T-Belt, Water Pump, and Serpentine Belt.

I'm debating on where to go. We'll see.



I'm going to Harbor Freight later. I'm thinking about picking up some CRC grease. I'm not sure if it's synthetic, but has anyone used this brand? Also, how can I tell if what I put in will mix with what grease is already in there? (If there's anything in there? It looks pretty dry/rusty in that area, but what do I know?! :wow2

I'm sorry for all the crazy questions. I went above and beyond maintenance on our MINI Cooper, and now we're in the process of replacing an engine at 98,000 miles. :crybaby: …to the tune of around $9000. This is why we bought a Toyota. They're reliable, but…I still want to make sure I dot my i's and cross my t's.

Both of those prices for the Timing belt service are great. If you go to the indy shop make sure they use the proper coolant (Pink Toyota Long Life stuff). As for greasing the zerks, no need to stress there. Many members here, myself included, use Mobil 1 synthetic grease for all of the zerk fittings and have zero issues.

 

[BRUIN8124]

Great thread!!!

I too just bought an 03.

I plan to do most of this asap...

Today I threw in a new battery. The o e I. There was pretty bad. Might want to keep that in mind...

I also replaced the backlight bulbs for the LCD display and the shift backlight bulb.

I love this vehicle!!!

Thanks,

 

[Brian3676]

I need to do the T belt on mine, gates sells a nice kit with belt,idlers, tensioner, water pump for I think $150 on Amazon. Imma do the belt my self though, I used to be a Subaru mechanic so although this seems much more intense I'm sure it's not too bad.

For what it's worth, I'm new to Toyota, but on every other car I have ever owned and my family's cars I use Royal purple grease. $11 shipped on Amazon. I used it on my 4runner too, I had A pretty bad drive line clunk and for about a week now it's been 100% gone.

EDIT: also just found TKT-001 kit off Amazon. It's from Aisin, they are a huge OEM supplier to most Japanese auto manufacturers. I know they supply Subaru, I am willing to bet they also supply Toyota. I'll proble go with that one instead.

 

[46runner]

For the tranny, are you going to do a drain and fill or a flush?
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/68462-diy-full-flush-automatic-transmission.html

 

[MINISuperCooper]

I'm just doing a drain and fill…tonight when I get home actually. I'm getting the timing belt taken care of on Friday…so no more worries in that area. (I'm not brave enough to attempt that one.)

 

[nevada]

I'm just doing a drain and fill…tonight when I get home actually. I'm getting the timing belt taken care of on Friday…so no more worries in that area. (I'm not brave enough to attempt that one.)

you mentioned it looked a bit low? how can you tell?

have you looked into the procedure for changing/checking the trans fluid?
its a bit involved...

 

[Brian3676]

If you call around to differant dealers you can find a good deal on tranny flushing. There is 3 local to me, one wanted $389, one wanted $249, and another is $169. I figure the fluid alone is $100, for $69 labor I'll let the dealer deal with it all.

 

[Jagerzel]

2003 x3

Thats right I just purchased a 2003 V8 SE at an auction. I'm glad I'm not the only one buying older trucks out there. 54K mi is great though, this one I bought has 194K. I had to sell my 3rd gen due to a military PCS so its been great to out the wifes Civic and back into an SUV. Someone stole the front cup holders though lol. The empty space has been real nice for a wallet and cell though. Good luck with it!

 

[Jagerzel]

Great thread!!!

I too just bought an 03.

I plan to do most of this asap...

Today I threw in a new battery. The o e I. There was pretty bad. Might want to keep that in mind...

I also replaced the backlight bulbs for the LCD display and the shift backlight bulb.

I love this vehicle!!!

Thanks,

What do you mean by the Shift backlight? is the shifter position supposed to light up next to the shifter? and while I'm asking is the rear window button and DAC button located bottom left of shifter supposed to light up?

 

[Toydeluxe]

I need to do the T belt on mine, gates sells a nice kit with belt,idlers, tensioner, water pump for I think $150 on Amazon. Imma do the belt my self though, I used to be a Subaru mechanic so although this seems much more intense I'm sure it's not too bad.

For what it's worth, I'm new to Toyota, but on every other car I have ever owned and my family's cars I use Royal purple grease. $11 shipped on Amazon. I used it on my 4runner too, I had A pretty bad drive line clunk and for about a week now it's been 100% gone.

EDIT: also just found TKT-001 kit off Amazon. It's from Aisin, they are a huge OEM supplier to most Japanese auto manufacturers. I know they supply Subaru, I am willing to bet they also supply Toyota. I'll proble go with that one instead.

I would STRONGLY, STRONGLY, STRONGLY advise you to use ONLY the Toyota timing kit on yours. I understand you were a Subaru mechanic, but I've been a Toyota owner for nearly 2 decades, and when it comes to stuff like that, not sticking with Toyota stuff has bit me in the ass several times. The old 3.0 v6s are finicky even with the spark plug wires you use. I put high dollar Accell wires on mine once, and ended up having to use the OEM Toyota wires just to get it running right again. Another common one.......Toyota oil filters, ONLY. The list goes on.

 

[Toydeluxe]

What do you mean by the Shift backlight? is the shifter position supposed to light up next to the shifter? and while I'm asking is the rear window button and DAC button located bottom left of shifter supposed to light up?

Yes, yes, and yes.

Apparently the backlights commonly go out. A friend has an 03, identical to the one I just bought, and he and I both had lights out.

I still need to replace the ones behind my a/c controller display. Hoping the dash isn't too much of a pain to tear apart to change them.

 

[awdjunkies]

Yes, yes, and yes.

Apparently the backlights commonly go out. A friend has an 03, identical to the one I just bought, and he and I both had lights out.

I still need to replace the ones behind my a/c controller display. Hoping the dash isn't too much of a pain to tear apart to change them.

Not sure if you've seen this but, it's here if you need it ..
Center Console Lights