Seeking advice on a poor man's tune-up

[ExtremeGuy]

Background:
I own a 1997 SR5 4Runner with a V6 3.4 liter. I bought it with 49k miles and have just hit 110k. I don't know the history from before I bought it, but it still runs great. I change the oil every 3k miles and rotate the tires every other oil change. The only thing that I added was a K&N air charger. I am no mechanic, but I can hold my own.

I know that I should have done a lot more maintenance along the way, but better late than never. So, I am looking to do the poor-man's tune-up and would like some advice.

1) AIR FILTER - I don't need to change the air filter since it is a K&N, I am just going to wash it out.

2) PCV - I bought one from the dealer

3) FUEL FILTER - I was going to buy one and install it, but the dealer told me to be very careful b/c one of the ends screws into a plastic piece and if I strip it 9which they claim is very easy to do) the replacement parts would run me around $200+ from the dealer. They can replace it for $93, or I can buy one at VIP or Auto Zone for about $12. Is this issue really a big concern or are they just scaring me into having them do it. Is it worth it for them to do it?

4) SPARKPLUGS - I actually had the same question as "JasonL". I will probably go with OEM plugs. The dealer suggested the same. My only question that wasn't really answered in "JasonL"s post is "will it hurt my engine if I use the Bosch Platniums since Toyota designs their engins to work with a specific OEM plug?"

5) WIRES - Do I really need to replace these? I know that they do wear out and ther thicker they are, the more performance you get (mostly negligable). I talked with the dealer and they told me that I should not ever have to replace wires in my 4Runner. They were designed to last the life of the truck. I am tending to beleive him since he is basically telling me to "not buy" any wires.

6) COOLANT FLUSH - I am probably going to have the dealer do this for $95

7) TRANNY SERVICE/FLUSH - I will probably have the dealer do this too for $82 (which includes the 4WD)

I also talked to the dealer and he tried to talk me into getting one of their tune-ups for $146, which includes changing the plugs, inspecing wires, dist-cap, coil, and cleaning the throtalbody plate. Is this even worth doing through them?

As you can see, I am trying to save a few bucks b/c I also need to buy 4 new tires and a 4-wheel alignment making this around $1,100!!

Please advise what of the above is necessary and what is not.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Thai]

For spark plugs, see this thread:

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=826

Bosch plugs MAY decrease low-end power, as is often seen when Bosch plugs are placed in Japanese vehicles.

For tranny flush, see these threads:

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=721

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1627

For $82, i think that is reasonable to let Toyota do it.

As for wires, i would not replace them, unless you have problems with it.

Hope this helps.

 

[peter78]

I am about to put a kink in your "poor man'a tune up". I see you bought the 4Runner at 49K. Have you ever replaced the timing belt??? If your answer is no, first let me say that going 110K miles on a timing belt is great. Second, if you haven't replaced it, you are living or borrowed time.

If you had a Honda, I would be screaming up and down, because if you break the belt, you basically kill the engine. On your 4Runner, since the engine is a non-interference engine, hopefully when the belt breaks, your engine is not killed, but you are stuck on the road.

If you change the belt, it is usually the best time to replace all the belts, water pump and coolant. Hopefully, you already change your belt and I am not the bearer of bad news.

 

[ExtremeGuy]

I am about to put a kink in your "poor man'a tune up". I see you bought the 4Runner at 49K. Have you ever replaced the timing belt???

Good point to bring up to others that may be reading this thread. I did indeed replace the timing belt at 85k.

Sorry for failing to mention that.

 

[peter78]

Good point to bring up to others that may be reading this thread. I did indeed replace the timing belt at 85k.

Sorry for failing to mention that.

No problem, I think you can stick to the poor man's tune up. Also, I think it would be OK not to buy spark plug wires, I typically replace those at 180,000 or so and on one car, a 1980 Honda, I never relaced them and it had 265,000 miles on it when I sold it.

 

[ExtremeGuy]

What do you think about having the dealer do the fuel filter? I am thinking that I can do it myself, but from what the dealer was saying, I might be better off "bending over" and paying their fee for this one item.

I am still trying to figure out if it is worth having the dealer do their version of a tuneup for $150 just this time.

 

[peter78]

The dealer may be right about the plastic piece stripping easy, I haven't done mine yet. I usually let the dealer handle the first and second tune-up, i.e. 30,000 and 60,000, since it is still under warranty.

Last year I relaced a fuel filter on my 92 Honda Accord and it was a pain in the ass, but now I know how to replace it. For me, if I had 105,000 4Runner I would try to:
1.) Fix things I feel comfortable myself; or
2.) Go to a good private repair shop that I know or people suggest and if you can't find one; then
3.) Go to the dealer. I feel delaers are good, but they tend to be the highest and lets face it, with 105,000 miles you expect problems of some sort in the next 105,000 miles.

I would do with what you feel comfortable with. Just my .02 worth.

 

[don_davi]

This is awesome. I thought I was the only one.

I bought my 1998 ltd 4x4 at 55k now i have 115k

I never did anything besides change oil and replace battery when it died on me.

at 100k, i did the 90k full service including the timing belt and whatever else is in their service charts for 90k.

recently they mailed me saying i need the 105k service done and it was basic stuff like CHECK WIPERS and what not. seriously, who pays for that?

Anyhow, i'm in the same boat and want to do a poor man's maintenance tune up this weekend. I will probably have a friends dad help me.

In that regards, what should I do at this point besides what's mentioned above?

I put new ones on when i bought the truck. The thread is still good but it's starting to crack

Also, on a recent oil change trip to the dealer, i was told that i should have my coolant flushed. Can i do this myself?

Thanks.

 

[ExtremeGuy]

Well, I was going to try and do a lot of this myself, but since it has been bitterly cold here in New England for the past 4 weeks, I decided to let the dealer do their 30/60/90/etc tune-up which is called "Service Level 3". My thought was that since my truck is paid off, I can afford to put a few extra dollars into it. The total of my bill was $501.30 which included a 4-wheel alaignment. The bonus is that they slapped an inspection sticker on the truck when this was done for free! Now my truck runs BETTER than the day that I bought it!!!

I hate dropping this kind of cash as much as the next guy, but I do feel that it was well worth it!

I hate to say this, but I felt that the dealer was the best place to take my truck for this service since they specialize in Toyotas. In the past, I have been to other garages to have things fixed/replaced that I could not do myself and found that they either didn't do as good of a job or their prices were not all that much cheaper then the dealer.

Anyway, I went over with the dealer everything that they were going to do before I had them take my truck.

Here is what they did:
+ Inspect/check:
- brake linings & drums
- brake pads & discs
- steering linkage
- ball joints and dust covers
- drive shaft boots
- drive train for fluid leaks
- all external lamps for proper operation
- exhaust pipes and mountings
- brake lines & hoses
- steering gear box/rack & pinion
- shock absorbers and/or struts for leakage and proper operation
- all drive belts and adjust tension as necessary
- fuel lines & connections
- fuel tank & vapor vent system
- fuel tank band
- fuel tank cap gasket
- charcoal cannister
+ Balance 4 wheels
+ Replace spark plugs
+ Replace fuel filter
+ Battery Service:
- check battery condition
- clean & tighten connections
+ Cooling System Service (flush):
- drain & refill coolant
- pressure testing the cooling system and cap
- inspect all hoses and freeze plugs for leaks & deterioration
+ Transmission Service:
- inspect for seal and gasket leakage and wear in friction areas
- drain & refill
- clean & adjust transmission linkage
+ Engine Performance Tune-up:
- inspection of all primary & secondary ignition wiring
- inspection of the distributor cap & external coil where applicable
- adjust engine drive belts
- adjust idle speed & timing where applicable
- cleaned throttle body plate
- inspect air filter condition
+ Oil change
+ And of course, ROAD TEST

(for this same price, they would have changed my air filter too, but I had a K&N charger)

 

[peter78]

Wow, You just got new tires (cross terrians @ $600 or so) and now you got a tune up. You should be set for awhile with your 4Runner and maybe somewhat broke for awhile....:sobbing:

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/showthread.php?threadid=1821

 

[Satman]

What bothers me is how do you know that they did? much or
any of this...do it yourself and then you know
+ Inspect/check:
- brake linings & drums
- brake pads & discs
- steering linkage
- ball joints and dust covers
- drive shaft boots
- drive train for fluid leaks
- all external lamps for proper operation
- exhaust pipes and mountings
- brake lines & hoses
- steering gear box/rack & pinion
- shock absorbers and/or struts for leakage and proper operation
- all drive belts and adjust tension as necessary
- fuel lines & connections
- fuel tank & vapor vent system
- fuel tank band
- fuel tank cap gasket
- charcoal cannister
+ Balance 4 wheels
+ Replace spark plugs
+ Replace fuel filter
+ Battery Service:
- check battery condition
- clean & tighten connections
+ Cooling System Service (flush):
- drain & refill coolant
- pressure testing the cooling system and cap
- inspect all hoses and freeze plugs for leaks & deterioration
+ Transmission Service:
- inspect for seal and gasket leakage and wear in friction areas
- drain & refill
- clean & adjust transmission linkage
+ Engine Performance Tune-up:
- inspection of all primary & secondary ignition wiring
- inspection of the distributor cap & external coil where applicable
- adjust engine drive belts
- adjust idle speed & timing where applicable
- cleaned throttle body plate
- inspect air filter condition
+ Oil change
+ And of course, ROAD TEST

 

[ExtremeGuy]

What bothers me is how do you know that they did? much or
any of this...do it yourself and then you know

I absolutly agree with you!, BUT I think that you just need to trust the dealership (which I know is hard to do). I would imagine that they did most of this, if not all. You can tell that they did something since my truck runs much better. Half of that stuff I wouldn't know what to look for if I inspected items myself and I priced out having them do just a few things like the coolant flush and Tranny service (whcih I couldn't do myself in the middle of winter) and then do other things myself like the spark plugs, oil change, PVC filter change, etc. and it would cost me about the same amount AND I wouldn't have all of the checks that they are supposed to do.

Honestly, I would think that it is in their best interest to do most of these checks b/c then if something is wrong or broken, they can fix it (and obviously make more money from you, provided that they call and get you to agree to this).