just bought 2007 , need advise please

I just bought a 2007 TRD Sport 4x4 access cab. V6 auto, tow package. Fire Truck RED!! 38,000 original miles, I believe because tires are Dunlops that were common at that year, very worn and have 2007 manufacture date code and match spare that has never seen the road. No lift or any mods that I can see.

It has the typical start off shudder. Very very slight, so slight I did not notice it on 20 mile test drive with lots of stop and go.I have read all I can find on the take off shudder and found no answer as to if leaving it alone causing something down the road, such as excess wear , leaking transmission or such.

My question is , if left as is, will the shudder cause additional problems down the road.

When I got it home and looked under the driver side rear seat storage, there was a brand new transmission cradle mount and a brand new cross member beam. I did not know what they were so I stopped at dealer and mechanic said it was aftermarket support and cross member. He drove it and said he could detect a very slight take off shudder.

Truck is mint inside and out. I bought it from used dealer. It has clean car fax, and 3 open recalls , front seat belts, driver floor matts, and leaf springs.

What else do you guys recommend I do , differential fluids, transmission flush, alignment? Manual says never change sealed tranny fluid.??

I'm not a mechanic by any means but am willing to take to a shop and get whats needed done.

I need this truck to last and be reliable. It is for my daughter and she is going off to Texas A&M for hopefully 4 years. Put new tires on today. front brake pads and rotors looked ok, couldnt tell about rear drums , did a quick check at tire shop while wheels were off.

thanks to all in advance.

 

Take a look under the truck and see if the carrier bearing is sagging. This is a common cause of driveline vibration. IF this is why yours is doing it then, yes, it can cause more damage as it gets worse further down the road and youll want to have it replaced before your daughter takes it off to college.

 

Ps- use the search box and plug in carrier bearing if you dont know what it is. Youll get all the info you could ever wish for.

 

Also, grease the driveshaft u-joints and change the rear diff oil to synthetic asap.

 

I wouldn't worry about flushing the transmission fluid if the miles are that low. Toyota use to say the autos don't need serviced till 100k, but i would let the dealer do that when it comes time. As far as diff oil, I change my front/rear about every 35-40k with Mobil 1 (or whatever you want), so for piece of mine, I'd change it. My front diff oil was black as hell when i did the first oil change at 35k. As far as other things, definitely get under there and grease the U-joints, many people neglect this.

 

Thanks I will try to research hoe to see if the carrier bearing is sagging? Will it have stretch marks? LOL

 

Depends on the source of the shudder. The Tacoma drivetrain design apparently exhibits some second-order vibration modes in some trucks, so it could be "normal" or could be one of several things which can worsen over time:

• Worn U-joint. The driveshaft U-joints are required to be greased every 12 mo. or 10k, listed as "lubricate propeller shaft" in the maintenance booklet.
• Grossly undertorqued leaf spring U-bolts from the factory.
• Deteriorated transmission mount rubber. Maybe the previous owner was troubleshooting the shudder but never got around to it.
• Worn carrier bearing. Less likely at your milage but possible.

Do transmission flush and coolant flush with the required Toyota-branded fluids. Both were advertised as "100k" or "lifetime" fluids back in 2007, but have since been brought back to reality. After 8 years, the fluids need to be replaced.

When you get new tires, consider opting for new TPMS sensors. 7 years is about the typical life of the TPMS sensor batteries.

 

I would change the spark plugs and all fluids except transmission. Sparks should be a 30K maintenance item, I bet yours are close to being out of spec.

 

Don't know if 07 had a cabin air filter but I'd be very interested to see what that looks like......here's what I found. This is AFTER I knocked a ton of crap off it...then decided to snap a pic.