Found my dream truck

Hi folks, newbie here, very excited to join the club.

This is my third and final Tundra. I sold the last two but won't make that mistake again. This one has 267K miles, and I paid $6500. My wife thinks I'm crazy. I disagree, but maybe I'm biased. I figured I would come here for some un-biased opinions and hopefully some advice.

It's an 03 SR5 Access Cab, 3.4L 4x4 with a 5 speed manual transmission. I know that price is steep for a quarter million miles, but if you've ever looked for this configuration, you know how rare they are. At the end of the day, it's my dream truck, and the price tag was worth it to me.

My goal is to restore it to OEM factory condition and drive it for the rest of my life.

There's a problem though - I know next to nothing about auto repair. I'm pretty handy in general and confident I can figure everything out as I go, but would love some feedback from the experts out there.

That said, just wanted to introduce myself and throw out some initial thoughts and questions to the community.

First, how's she look? I had a mechanic do a pre-purchase inspection. He didn't give me too much to go off, but said it was in decent shape and didn't see any blaring or major issues. Do you see any red flags or major concerns?

According to the sticker on the engine, the timing belt is way over due. So that's my first priority. Also, I noticed that there's green coolant in the radiator, and red in the overflow reservoir. That seems bad, so thinking a coolant flush might be good idea. While I'm at it, I might just replace the radiator, as I've read that's a common issue on these trucks.

It has an after market Volant cool air intake. Any reason NOT to keep this? I would prefer everything be as close to stock as possible, but don't want to spend the money if I don't need to. I'm fine with the Volant unless anyone has a good reason to replace it.

That's it for now. Excited to get my hands dirty and surely will be back with more questions as I go.

Thanks all!

 

First off, I'm very jealous. I wish I had a 4x4 manual. I drove a 2007 tacoma 4x4 six-speed manual for 14 years and I regret selling it. I just picked up my 2002 Tundra a couple months ago. If you're mechanically inclined, there's not much you can't do yourself. I've been working on cars, trucks, and motorcycles for over 20 years, and I learned everything I know from friends and the internet. The best part about having an old truck is that every conceivable problem you run into will have already been experienced by someone else. So the fix will be easy to find.

Congrats on the purchase. Truck looks good. There's a wealth of knowledge on the forum.

 

I would do a very thorough coolant flush, as the mixing of different coolants can be problematic. May as well replace the radiator while doing that.

I personally am a big fan of changing all the fluids (brake fluid, ps fluid, Tcase/diffs oil, transmission fluid, coolant, & engine oil), when I purchase a new-to-me used vehicle. I'd suggest doing that here too.

Nice truck. I've got a 2003 Tacoma with the same power train, sitting at 289k miles and it runs like a top. Nice find

 

3 pedals, awesome. I'm jealous too.

 

Keep the Volant, just add this
https://magnusonsuperchargers.com/products/tvs1320-toyota-5vz-fe-3-4l-v6-supercharger-system

 

Yowzers hope that frame rust isn’t as bad as it looks in some spots.

This thread covers a lot: https://www.tundras.com/threads/so-you-wanna-buy-just-bought-a-1st-gen-tundra-eh.115928/

@Red&03Taco covered a lot of it. Replace radiator and flush fluid at same time. Yes, that is fucked up someone put correct coolant in overflow but wrong in radiation. Mixing fluids is a big Nono. Whoever screwed that one up is a dipshit. Be prepared to find other mistakes on the truck.

That price was pretty high, but value is in the eye of the beholder. Truck like that around ATL area would typically go for $4k - $5k due to mileage.

Welcome to the family!

 

Looks pretty good, clean body and interior; wonder if the frame was replaced given the other rust going on?
Wonder why the carpet is cut like that around the 4x4 shifter, anyone know? Could it have been converted to manual?
Any service history? The other big item being the lower ball joints
Maybe you can pull up the specs from Toyota (with your vin) and see how it was originally equipped.

 

I actually thought the frame looks good so I must be missing what @shifty` is seeing. The rear axle is definitely crusty but nothing that can't be fixed.

 

Yeah looks like normal surface rust that me.

 

Edges of the skid are already flaking. Passenger brake dust shield disintegrating. That weld on the passenger LCA for the sway bar link looks like it’s half gone and the LCAs look pretty eaten up. The long rails look ok - maybe they got some attention. Up thru the center, some of the crossmembers look coated with something. The rust between the leaf packs is excessive, and the rear axle housing looks like it is about 3-5 years from pinholes forming.

Maybe it’s just bad photography or my tiny screen. It’s bad enough I’d have walked away on purchase, along with the clear signs of some lackluster aftermarket parts, previous owner hackery, and screw-ups. But I didn’t want to just come out and say that, poo-pooing on OP’s new purchase. It’s nowhere near as bad as some of the New England trucks we’ve seen on here, but I’d be poring over it to find all the bullshittery and get on top of treating the frame ASAP.

 

Rust was a huge concern of mine. It looked ok to me (but what do I know) and I poked around as much as I could and everything looked and felt solid. I'll read through the thread you linked - thanks!

Will plan on changing radiator and doing a full flush.

 

Not a manual conversion as far as I can tell. Everything appears original, including the clutch start cancel switch. I hear a lot about lower ball joints, adding that to my TODO list.

 

Looks fine. Looks like it's been used the way it was intended. Possibly lived in a humid and or coastal region.

 

Good info, thanks (as much as it hurts to hear lol). Adding all this to my notes. Appreciate you taking a look and getting your feedback.

 

I’m just curious about the cut carpet.

If you haven’t, you can put your VIN in on Toyota’s site and find more info on it, such as any service records from the dealer, recalls performed, any outstanding recalls, etc.

 

Weird how the 4wd shifter has the carpet creased and folded over like that. I don’t recall my brother’s t100 3.4l 4x4 stick being like that although his 4wd shifter was a stubby little thing.

edit: Yep, that’s definitely not supposed to be that way…
https://www.tundras.com/threads/how-rare-is-my-tundra.101245/#post-2591424

 

TB, fluids and LBJs soon. Follow Shifty’s advice

 

All I can come up with is maybe PO pulled it up to install a short throw shifter. I installed one on my T100, but I don't remember if I had to mess up the carpet

 

Have an '03 4x4 AC 4.8 Auto @ 247K. IIRC, radiator, timing belt (with water pump), valve cover gaskets, and regular maintenance/parts (like accessory belt and tires) are about all my truck has needed (oh and some care to the re-smooth the filler neck and swap a new gas gap to eliminate the evap code), beyond elective mods like shocks / leaf springs / cv axles (unnecessary if you are planning to keep stock). Used a Denso radiator part #2210517 that is like $136, and for sure flush/fill with Toyota coolant along with the gearboxes. Yes suggest logging into toyota.com/owners and you'll see any work done by Toyota, such as Lower Ball Joint replacement that is imperative and if it hasn't been done likely will show recall. Maybe there'll be records on radiator ever being replaced but unlikely as not sure that truck as seen the Toyota Dealer much given the photos and what you've described. I knew @shifty would be able to find a lot in the photos. Did your mechanic give you a checklist of things looked at and comments? That's usual with a paid for pre-purchase check.

 

You'll want to get bolts too. Looks like yours have the protector so as long as the protector boot is reused you'll want bolt part number 9011910933 Torqued to 37ft-lbs. Be aware of that torque spec as it's specific to the black bolts that go with the protector.

 

Whenever I see pics of someone's truck on their home or shop lift, I can't think about anything else besides how awesome it would be to have a hydraulic vehicle lift.

 

A lift is really nice for some things, but a pain in the butt for other things. Both my buddy and i wrench on various autos quite often. When he built his house about 5 years ago he finally had the opportunity to install a lift (Bendpack 2 post). I’ve used his lift a few times and it was REALLY handy, but it takes a little bit to line the support arms up with vehicle’s frame. My buddy and i both agree that using a lift to simply change oil is a total waste of time. It’s much faster and easier to use a floor jack and just lay down on a roller creeper. Same thing for rotating tires. I’ve done quite a few truck and jeep builds in my without a lift. Last year i did buy a used 10k 2 post lift to put in my shop...it’s still over in the corner just gathering dust. Maybe this summer i’ll get around to installing it? I’ve made it this far without one, so i’m in no rush to get it up and going. So my first hand experience synopsis is that they’re super cool, but not super duper cool.

 

I used my friends lift when I did a main seal on a small block 350, easy peasy. I couldn't imagine doing it laying on my back. It's nice to have the right tool for a job when needed.

 

This logic can literally be applied to any tool on the planet.

 

And you have a great bonus ! Manual 4x4 shift, direct to the transfer case. All the electronic 4x4 shift problems are eliminated. I am jealous.-
Paul

 

I think that @shifty` might be overreacting a tad about the rust. Don't get me wrong- he brings up a very fair point and it's something that definitely should require your attention eventually, but it looks like that truck has been used for 21 years, like a truck.

Of course being from different sides of the country Shifty and I are going to have very different perspectives on rust, and I'm not trying to knock him at all, but I personally don't see anything at the moment that is cause for immediate concern. The rust on the axle housing isn't nearly as bad as most that start to leak, and much of the rust on the front suspension components is reasonable considering the truck's age, mileage, use, and the fact that many of those parts are wear items that are going to need replacement at some point in time. Your rust isn't anything like the crumbly, flaky, chunks of rust that we see on rust belt trucks. It's nowhere near as bad as the rust on certain parts of my truck.

I definitely agree with Shifty that you are going to need to take a look at it and do some preventative maintenance, but on the list of priorities, I think stuff like timing belt, coolant/radiator, and LBJs should be much much higher on the list.

 

Congrats on the truck! I hope you can get it fully restored (rust issues, etc.) and that it lasts you another couple hundred thousand miles.

 

Welcome to the club! I was pretty much in your boat about 8 months ago when I bought my DC with 180k on it. I still smile every time I get into it. I also am generally handy, but haven't worked on vehicles much - so I am learning too. Just starting out by changing fluids and greasing stuff. I'll get around to suspension, tires, and stuff in a year or two hopefully. This forum is a great place to learn. Everyone is helpful and usually you can sort through any problems with input from everyone here.