Bought an '03 Tundra and Need Advice

Good afternoon everybody,

I haven’t had my Tundra for long and it looks like I might not have it for much longer. I want to describe the condition of the vehicle, invite suggestions or advice, and gauge potential for selling. Did my best to get some decent photos.

The truck has spent it’s whole life in northern Vermont. It is an ’03 Regular Cab/Long Bed V8 4WD SR5 and 190k miles and a new frame 9 years ago which is still pretty much spotless. The rocker panels are rusted (drivers side is pretty bad but has not quite reached the cab mounts, passengers side less bad but getting there). There is rust throughout parts of the undercarriage of the vehicle, but the frame is clean and so is most of the body besides the rocker panels. I would rank most of the rust at “moderate.” Flaking but not totally rotted. There are a handful of very small rust spots on the exterior. From the outside the truck actually looks really good! And it does drive nicely.

I had a couple mechanics look it over, one of whom is a Toyota truck specialist, and I have the following list of things needed:

-front brake lines
-right rear axle seal
-front 02 sensors
-right front lower ball joint
-transmission lines (rusty)
-power steering lines (leaking)
-left exhaust manifold (leaking)
-front struts
-gas tank (rusty)
-one e-brake
-timing belt was done with frame but will need to be done again fairly soon

They both ballparked around $3000-$4000 for all of this, not including the rocker panels. One estimated an additional several grand just for the driver’s side rocker panel, and added that it would probably just come back in a few years, and that by then the other spots of rust would have grown a lot on the body and eaten away at various other parts of the vehicle.

I know most people don’t like to even bother with rusty vehicles but unfortunately it’s the reality of where I live and what I could afford. I would love to keep this truck but am worried that if I do all the necessary work, I’ll be in pretty deep with a truck that may still only last a couple years with the present rust. I already spent a grand when I bought it doing some work myself including all the front brakes, muffler/tailpipe, and oil change. It’s a bummer because I was looking for this exact truck for a while and it perfectly fits my needs and preferences, and the RCLBs aren’t so easy to come by. I’m a landscaper so the long bed, v8 and 4wd is a perfect setup for me.

I am leaning toward doing some bare minimum work to keep it on the road until the spring and then trying to sell and find a new vehicle. But I am curious to hear advice or suggestions going either way. I’m also interested in the idea of doing a cab swap, which would obviously solve the rocker panel issue, and provide an opportunity to get to the timing belt and manifold more easily.

Mainly my question is: At this point in the truck's life, is it even worth investing much in or should I just move on (as both mechanics more or less suggested) ? Thank you

 

Given the work needed, that's a $2k-4k truck down here, any day of the week, but only if the 4WD is working to shift into 4HI and 4LO.

You can't sell in this forum, nor at this site, until you've been here for a specific amount of time and hitting a specific number of non-spammy posts, so this isn't the place for that (I don't think that's what you're doing, just giving a heads-up).

The work you need done, IF you use the correct parts, IF you can do yourself, will cost less than $2.5k. If you're smart about it, probably less than $1.5k. A lot of what you need to know/be aware of for parts and stuff is in THIS POST.

For example, walking in knowing you should NEVER order auto parts on scAmazon or fleaBay:

• -front brake lines >>>>>> You can still get OEM fairly reasonably.
• -right rear axle seal >>>>> You should replace the $10 breather on top of rear diff, see if leak continues, if not, replace axle assembly with Dorman and do seal at same time.
• -front 02 sensors >>>>>> Look up your "exact fit" part at www.densoautoparts.com, you're looking at ~$60 per downstream and $110ish per upstream (order on Summit Racing or RockAuto)
• -right front lower ball joint >> Only use OEM lower ball joints and buy 4 new bolts per side; looking at $250-300 for both sides (don't do one, they need to be proactively replaced with new OEM at 125k-150k miles)
• -transmission lines (rusty) >> What specifically is rusty here, I'm confused?
• -power steering lines (leaking) >> Sunsong brand is a price-friendly alternative.
• -left exhaust manifold (leaking) >> Pain in the ass job right here, I'd buy a used OEM manifold from a junkyard, buy new studs IF the leak is causing major issues.
• -front struts >>>>>> KYB's loaded struts are ~$160 per side, OEM was KYB or Bilstein so it should ride like new
• -gas tank (rusty) >>> This DORMAN 576-823 unit is a direct fit, many use it here. You may need new straps, look in advance.
• -one e-brake >>> Once again, Dorman has a complete overhaul kit for your truck, and it's under $100 if memory serves me
• -timing belt was done with frame but will need to be done again fairly soon >>> This Aisin Brand kit has all the OEM parts you need, and is only ~$200. You should also replace the radiator with new Denso brand, from Summit or Rock Auto, looking at around $100 + RED or PINK (ideally pink) coolant.

Really, you're talking about a 20+ year old truck. This is all work that should've been verified befor buying the thing, and a huge factor in getting the price down to a manageable amount knowing the new owner would be investing a chunk of change into doing the long-overdue maintenance. Clearly, given the breadth of work required, the person(s) who owned it previously skipped on a lot of maintenance, or it wouldn't be in the shape it is in.

If you do that work, this truck will easily last you another 190k miles, without question. But you'll hafta live with the rust, and the woes that come with working on a rusty truck.

 

Hi,
My story is somewhat similar. Bought my '03 out near St. J's VT just this summer.
Mines a beater, don't mind saying it. Bought mine for 4k (included a bed cap), most of it's life was in NM, so frame was pretty decent.

I'm just gonna ramble below with what I've learned with this truck so far. These are more lessons in how to decide rather than truck facts. That's Shifty's role here

1) WoolWax https://www.woolwaxusa.com/
it's like fluid film, except thicker. Coats your underside with sheep's fat, stops rust from progressing.
The thing that makes WoolWax stand out from Fluid Film is that in summer temps, it's like a soft butter.
You spray it on, and it sticks on. It will slooowly creep, but it's never going to drip off.

And for us northerners, when winter hits, that "soft butter" becomes a "cold stiff butter". It means that the stuff doesn't come off very easy at all, except in wheel wells and maybe the very bottom of frames. It's a seasonal application, but 90%+ of it doesn't come off in 1 year

It doesn't trap water in like a rubber undercoating. It's just oil stuck to the metal bits.
Think of rubbing a cast iron pan with oil before hanging it up.

That's all to say, you can fix the rockers and other stuff and then keep the rust away.


2) Figuring out if it's worth it depends on a whole lot. The most important thing is to figure out what's important to you.

For me, I like this truck. I like the look, I like the size, and I like that it's a piece of shit so I don't really care about the aesthetics. It's appreciation purely of its function and service to my life.

I also dislike the looks of newer trucks. I dislike how big they are and I especially dislike the price of a new one.
If I were a tradesman and my truck enabled my work, I'd probably have a different opinion, but this is my reality.
I don't want to spend $500-700/mo

So...all that wraps up into me buying a used POS for 4k, I've put maybe 2-3k into it now. Let's just say 7k for a truck with 290k miles
That's around 14 months of $500/mo payments ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
And my registration cost $125...
and insurance is $250/yr...

<3

3) The big cost here is time and dependability.
If you dead-ass NEED your truck to start every morning, weigh that against having a project.
I work from home and have a second vehicle. (another POS lmao)

If you have family or other time obligations, weigh that against having a project.
Even if you hire that work out, you'll still need a ride to/from to drop it off and pick it up.
I don't have Uber out where I am xD maybe if you're near Montpelier you do.

I have lots of free time and save enough to not fret about a new issue cropping up.
I'm finding as I age (32 now) I'm embracing my old man and don't want to spend my time on projects as much anymore.

In a few years I expect I'll be buying a brand new truck, and I'll take my lessons learned from maintaining these POS's to make that new truck last 20 years...before I dump it on some unseasoned kid like I was XD

4) End of the day, as others will chip in with much greater experience than I, these trucks are reliable - but don't be fooled into thinking you won't have to fix things as they age.

New trucks are great because you can ignore all the maintenance and dump it on someone else when you can't ignore it anymore.
Truly - without sarcasm - that is their greatest value. The dead-ass dependability for ~150-200k miles as long as you change the oil.


5) So the question is multi-faceted but it comes down to
Do you want a truck or this truck?
Do you value your time with or away from the truck more?
Do you value your money with or away from the truck more?
Do you value your time or money more?
Are you open/accepting to it being a mistake to fix the truck?
Would you value the lesson(s) learned from making a mistake?

These are answers to have for many other thing besides vehicles.
All your truck issues can be fixed with your time and money, or someone else's time and more of your money.
Rust can be held at bay with woolwax, fluid film or a few other brands out there

All problems have solutions, it really just comes down to what problems you want to have in life.
Also, take the pressure off of "should I/shouldn't I do XYZ?"
We can't learn from mistakes unless we make mistakes. Makes it easier to accept we are limited in our knowledge when we make a decision. Just listen to your gut, identify and chase what you really want and no one can make fun of you for that.

 

Even if you fix all the issues on that list, it's just the beginning. I've pumped tones of money into my truck ( way more than 4k) and I do much of the work myself. The problem is age. Components are failing just because of time and wear and tear. On top of that, Toyota is discontinuing many parts, so you cant even buy OEM parts if you want (examples include catalytic convertors (a major problem if required for state inspection), calipers, gas tanks, etc).

So your repair costs will be much more than that initial estimate. Repairs and down time are also a real problem if you need this truck for work. If thays the case, I definitely recommend getting something newer, amd with lower miles.

 

Your 03 must've been thrashed In those extra 3 years it has on my truck.

I still haven't even had a vacuum line fail yet.
*knocks on nothing*

everything that has "failed" was based on my negligence/ignorance (in the beginning learning about these trucks)

I got lucky I guess. Previous 2 owners were my dad (30+ year mechanic) and before him, the parts salesman at a local Toyota dealership.

 

Location makes a huge difference, I assume. Arid west vs humid, corrosive midwest/east coast?

IF you care about true reliability and function, yeah, you're gonna dump a ton of money in at first to get it up to spec. I did all the work myself except for the timing belt/water pump job, and I'd say I spent $5,000 on maintenance after buying my truck. The way it goes. But I know plenty of people who just drive their truck, and only worry about things when they break. The quote you got was to fix everything, even if it hasn't failed yet. That's the right call, but...

I fully expect to have to fix some things here and there on my truck, but I also expect that at 230,000 miles, after all the recent maintenance, that'll it'll be mostly trouble-free and nearly 100% reliable (as in always starting, never leaving me stranded on the side of the road) for nearly a decade and 100,000 miles. I recently sold a 98 Tacoma with 330,000 miles. Left me on the side of the road exactly once, never once failed to start. Yes it went through phases of nickel & diming me, but generally it just needed routine maintenance and it did its job.

 

I bought a good junkyard long bed for my 2006 RCLB for $880 including a perfect tailgate a couple years ago because the original had 5 collisions and hail damage.. It was the wrong color so I repainted it...and repainted the whole truck while I was at it.

 

What's up with the transfer case leak in Pic 15? I didn't see that addressed on your list. Anyone know what is the likely cause and/or repair for that?

 

Not sure but it’s really damn easy to overtighten the plugs on them and strip the case cover hole out. Maybe what happened and the controlled leak is oil-staining everything aside and below it.