Replacing parts for the heck off it...

Generally, I don't replace parts until they need to be. However my little alternator situation the other day got me thinking....at what mileage do I just replace things because I probably should?

After all, my water pump, brake master cylinder, clutch and power steering pump, and yes, even my original factory shocks all have 233,000 miles on them.

The power steering steering pump, not such a big deal to me....but my water pump...well that can be a big deal if you don't catch it at first.

I was thinking when I hit 1/4 million miles I maybe replace some.of these items because I just should. Kind of give the truck a bit of an overhaul. Most other maintenance items I replace as often as I should...spark plugs, brakes, oil and filter, u-joints (and grease), serpentine belt, etc all have been replaced many times.

What do you all think? How soon is too soon?

Also, anyone know who makes the factory clutch for the 2.7L 5speet MT 4x4?

 

The owners manual will give you recommended maintenance intervals for wear items. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.

 

I've given this lots of thought as well.

I'm to the point I'll just roll the dice.

When a part fails, I'll just change it.

A tow, if in your home area is only gonna be a couple hundred bucks or less. I've always got a cell phone, Uber is everywhere and a new car payment is going to be $6 bills a month.

I can change a lot of parts and miss a bit of work for not having that payment.

FWIW, I'm driving an 08 Tundra with 225k on the clock while dragging a 5th wheel camper. I drove from Michigan to south Carolina last week.

If a part needs changed, I'll change it. If I can't, the nearest dealer can. It may cost me more than if I did it myself, but I won't have a problem paying the bill since I have no payment.

 

Be sure to post a picture of the water pump gasket for us men of culture on TW.

 

you might want to look at you front end stuff , ball joints and bushings, I just bought some 3rd gen take off shocks and struts for my 2008 with 80k. I'm big on changing coolant and spark plugs as well as front diff and rear diff, transfer case oil's if you haven't done in a while, as well as transmission fluid

 

Yes, the coolant and diff and transmission and transfer case oils I have changed all very regularly.

The only front end components I've replaced was the front driver side wheel bearing/hub assembly about 120,000 miles ago.

 

I'd probably do water pump, shocks, clutch slave, and P/S pump if it's leaking (or rebuild it)
I've never seen a BMC fail. Only boosters if they're defective from factory early on.

 

I have a 2009, 4 cyl 4x4 with 200,00 Kms on it (125,000 miles).

I replaced the coolant bypass line last week with an OEM metal line. The original plastic line was not leaking, but I thought that it might be brittle. It broke in two places as I was removing it.

With a water pump I would tend to wait and keep an eye on it for leaks, but the bypass pipe is hard to monitor so I thought it best to take care of it.

 

While you're replacing parts, you might also want to think about what kind of parts you're replacing them with. As I always say, parts that fit a Toyota are not the same as parts made for Toyota. Basically, aftermarket parts are generally not as good or long lasting as OEM parts.

The same holds true for rebuilt / remanufactured parts. You see it all the time where somebody replaces their OEM brake calipers (to pick an easy example) after 100,000 miles with aftermarket rebuilds. The aftermarket ones only last 20,000 miles - and then they blame Toyota. (Words fail me on that one.)

If you're truly in it for the long haul, replace with OEM parts - or at least parts made by Toyota OEM suppliers like Denso.

 

While I’m in there?

 

I keep on top of routine maintenance and also think about what parts could be possibly replaced ahead of failure. This post is an interesting one, where a fan failed and caused other damage. I've still got a few years to go with my 2010, but I'm considering replacing the fan / clutch etc. at some point, ahead of failure.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/my-radiator-fan-exploded-today.768179/page-3#post-29275661

 

What stood out to me is that you have 233000 miles on your shocks. WTF? Those shocks were shot and turned to shit well ove4 100000 miles ago. With factory shocks you can expect 50000 miles and sometimes up to 80 to 100000 miles , but not beyond that. Driving on shit shocks like that is danger both for you and other people on the road. Wore out failed shocks reduces braking efficiency, causes loss of control and handling, grossly increases wear on all parts of your suspension, causes excessive tire wear and the list goes on. You need to replace the shocks like 10 years ago.

 

Yeah I can’t image they are still good

 

almost 300 k on mine.
replaced plugs, air filter, belt, front steering and suspension around 200k
not done much else until my frame rotted out

now doing frame, steering, belt n pulleys, mounts and oil pan

 

I already replaced that with the stainless steel line like you did a few years back... caught it just in time.

 

Shocks are still testing good. I'll likely do them when I do the water pump at 250k (I think that's the going to be the plan). Likely upgrade the shocks.

 

I don’t know what kind of “tests” you are doing but I can tell you there ain’t any original oem shocks that are “good” at 244000 miles. Those suckers expired a long long time ago. If you ever get new shocks you’ll be shocked (pun intended)by the difference

 

No corner, under a hard, fast load, gives more than one bounce.

That being said, I do intend to replace them. It will be interesting to see what the are like when I pull them off.

 

You could really go down a rabbit hole. I would look at parts that have a tendency to fail suddenly as opposed to things that get worse slowly. My goal would be not to be stranded on a trip. The water pump you mentioned would most likely start leaking first before it affected cooling in my experience. I would look at things like brake lines, Vacuum lines, Coolant hoses, etc. Stuff that will go when it's not gonna be convenient.

 

you can push down on your fender all you want

they don't take much force to compress by hand
the truck rides like shit
they're worn
end of life is approx 100k
and poor quality pencil-thin to begin with when new
they're bad at 0 miles

mine bounced on the road
long sweeping turn, the back end would jump up and skip trying to get out of the lane pretty much countersteer involuntary drift
I literally could not keep up with the speed of slow normal cars in traffic due to the shocks
not something I would recommend