Maintenance with no history on 250k+

I recently bought a 2002 3.4L 5-speed that's coming up on 250,000 miles. It didn't come with any maintenance logs or history or anything. Are there any service items I should check or have replaced before I go on any major trips?

 

Timing belt, water pump, and new plugs. Check the fluids (diffs, trans, oil, and PS) I think that’s about it. Should be good.

 

If you are interested in learning a little about what’s happening in the engine you might send an oil sample to Blackstone.

 

What do they do? Just checking gunk and stuff?

 

They send back a report that can tell you if you have excess coolant or fuel or metal particles in the oil. With their knowledge of your particular type of engine, they will take a guess at specific causes for their findings. I find it helpful.

 

I'll look into that, thanks!

 

Just oil change and spark plugs. That thing will run another half a million miles at least.

 

This stuff is definitely the first. There should be sticker on the timing belt cover that has the mileage or date when the timing belt was done. Also want to check the air filter.

 

Did you do a carfax on the truck,

Should be some info there

 

Oil change
Plugs and wires
Coolant change
Transmission fluid - Redline MT90
Transfer Case fluid
Front diff fluid
Rear diff fluid
Upper and lower ball joints
Steering fluid
Steering rack bushings

 

I started making a list of this stuff some time ago. It might need some updating, but I think it covers most of the stuff that could bite you in the rear.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/old-truck-checklist.606811

 

You can try checking the Toyota owners website. I found a bit of history on my truck there. You can even download PDFs that show what was done at each service (assuming it was at a Toyota dealer). I can see the work Toyota did for the original owner and myself.
https://www.toyota.com/owners/my-vehicle/service-history

 

Myself I would figure nothing has ever been changed since it left the dealers lot.

I do this with every vehicle I bought even if the longest trip might be 20 miles.

Where I live if you run Carfax you get the mileage it was registered and where .

 

Yeah, in most cases the ball joints will fail before the engine does.

 

Examine all wear items that could put you in danger or leave you stranded. Replace as needed. (many folks have listed above)

Examine/test all wear items that would cause you to be uncomfortable

Change ALL fluids. Just to have a baseline if nothing else.

I'll guess $1-1.5k in parts if you're lucky. That's with you doing the labor.

Since you must not have had a pre-purchase inspection from a pro, hopefully you got it for a great price to allow for the updates.

Personally I drive a vehicle like this a few months around town only, or not out of AAA free tow range, until I'm confident things are as they should be. Because road trips are actually the easiest / least wearing on any vehicle.

Question. Since you are psychic, why don't you already know all this stuff?

 

Thanks, this really helps!

IDK what you expected, a bean is still a bean even if its psychic

 

As others said, basically assume none of it was done since it left the factory.

Search around here or just on google and you'll find a list of factory recommended service intervals and what needs to be done at each servicing. Every 5k miles do these things, 10k miles do these, etc...

Timing belt is important, but keep in mind it's a non-interference engine so worst case scenario you come to a gentle stop and get a tow. at 250k, you should be on your 3rd one, but people push the mileage on these all the time.

However, if your BALLJOINTS fail, that is a catastrophic failure and can be quite dangerous if you're at highway speeds. The spec for when these are "worn out" is very small and requires a special tool to even measure. Most people don't bother even trying, and just replace them anyway. If there's a doubt, replace them.

First, though, do a close visual inspection. Look at all the rubber bits (suspension/steering bushings, belts, vacuum hoses, etc...). Check all the fluids. Having driven it should give you an idea of some of its deficiencies. Does it wonder down the road, does it seem low on power? Any check engine lights or codes? If everything drives fairly normally, then you probably don't need to worry (at least right away) about things like plugs and wires, and stuff like that.

So, I'd start with the ball joints. With a pitman arm tool, it's a 1 hour job. When you change all the fluids, a close inspection can help reveal the status of the internal parts. Then do all the rubber bits. The timing belt can seem like a big job, and it is, but if you take your time and do lots of reading beforehand, you can DIY pretty easily. There is a kit a lot of us here have gotten off Ebay from "aircabinman" with all OEM parts for ~$300. Lots of write-ups on it here, too.

So, just refer back to the factory maintenance schedule, and pic the things that you feel are the worst off, or are the easiest to do and over the next several months knock them out.

 

I guess what he meant was, even if you had a maintenance history, you shouldn't always trust it and just do the maintenance anyway.

The truck is used, bought from a stranger. Anyone can lie to your face about what's been done so why chance it?

This is what everyone should assume when buying a used vehicle.

 

Unless you have seen the vehicle being serviced or have seen it around.

Like it belonged to your Ex-wifes third cousin.

Service records are so easy to Make!! Even better have records of work you paid for that was never done.

People tend to forget to most people a vehicle is something to go from point A to B get serviced at the Quicky Mart Auto Center you don`t tuck it in at night in the heated garage and put the electric blanket on for those nippy nights .

Then the just plain clueless who really have no clue

 

Just basically doing your due diligence.

Was just trying to clarify the response given to the OP; sometimes I feel I come off a little condescending as well

But really, just trying to give advice...guess it comes out as 'tough love' idk