High Mileage Maintenance/Repairs for 1995 SR5

Questions about high mileage maintenance/replacements

Looking to keep my 1995 Tacoma SR5 running forever/as long as I can. My truck is my daily driver, as well as my weekend camping rig. I dont do much crazy off-roading very often, but I do take it on a lot of fire roads, some harder trails, a handful of long road trips, and I drive it pretty hard on the backroads.

I am currently at 426,000 miles, and am starting to get into my bigger repair projects. I bought it at 401,000 miles, and so far have replaces the following:
Brake lines (mine had dry rotted)
Front pads and rotors
Rear drums and shoes
Radiator Main coolant hoses + one of the small ones behind the intake as it was also rotten Thermostat
Exhaust manifolds
Exhaust manifold gaskets
Battery
Also a handful of mostly cosmetic things, corner lights that were cracked, new 5x7 sealed beams because those were also cracked, and a few broken interior components.

My next round of repairs is going to be doing new oem lbjs, lca bushings (

$103 whiteline W53377A front lower inner suspension control arm bushing kit compatible with 95-04 tacoma, 4runner

whiteline W53377A), steering rack bushings (whiteline W12978), sway bar bushings (energy suspension 26mm kit part # 8.5117) (wondering if I should do the end links at the same time, if so should I get the ES kit that comes with moog links, or spend the extra money on oem ones), uca bushings (having trouble finding all of the components, have gathered off tacomaworld that the ES kit is more trouble than it’s worth but I am getting confused looking at the oem bushings/part numbers).
I also wanted to confirm what I would need for alignment bolts and cams. Currently thinking that I need 4x of each of the following part numbers:

$25 48409-35050 Suspension Adjustor Cam Sub-Assembly

48409-35050,

$25 48452-35020 Suspension Adjust Cam

48452-35020, and 90080-11283.

I have read a handful of posts talking about tapping the lcas to install grease zerks, but I’m not sure if that would be a useful upgrade considering that the whiteline bushings are sleeved in metal.
Does there need to be grease between the sleeve and the lca, or between the sleeve and bushing? Or both?

What other parts would you recommend I take a look at replacing?

I know I need to get to my valve cover gaskets. I currently have a p420 check engine code, as the cat is completely done, I have two years until I have to smog again in California, and I am not even sure I will still be living here then, so I’m not worried about that at the moment.

Going to do a lot of road trips this summer, probably totaling somewhere in the 5,000-10,000 mile range and I’m hoping to have it in decent shape before then.

Going to book an appointment with my mechanic soon to get the rack looked at along with the control arms as I recently bent my cv axle and want to make sure they (and any other components) aren’t bent as well. Also any other bits he finds along the way.

Trying to learn how to do my own repairs, I have some of my own tools, and access to a lot more (press for the bushings, etc).
Additionally I am hoping to be able to obtain a copy of its service record from him, as the truck was my dads since it was new, and this mechanic did most of the work on it during the time he owned it. Based off the service record I’ll replace the timing belt, and any other things you guys can suggest for me.

I was hoping to have a bit of a better idea of what to as about specifically before I go in. Thank you to all who took the time to read all of this, and an extra thanks to those who reply.

Cheers,
Jasper

 

At that mileage, I would change everything that is changeable. Especially if you plan on keeping it running for another 20+ years and half a million miles. Stick with OEM if possible or at least Sankei 555 for the steering components. Add 5100 all around at a minimum, adjustable uca, new leaf pack, OEM LCA bushing etc. If you got the money, get it done in one setting. If not, at least do them in sequence. Meaning, if you’re changing the ITE, do the OTR, bellow boot, LBJ w/ new bolts, LCA bushing, front wheel bearing, TR end, sway bar bushing, and uca so the alignment can be done at one time vs doing multiple alignment to changing multiple parts out. Then change all the fluids from the engine, clamshell, transmission, transfer case, differential, power steering, and coolant. I preferred the idea of knowing I changed it vs I think it was change before.

 

im currently on a budget as im trying to save as much as i can so i have a bit of a cushion for when i switch jobs to what i really want to do.
in regards to the ucas and their bushings, i have been trying to piece together what the proper set is but im getting confused. i have found the following three options, all oem from toyota, but two appear to be for the same place in the uca but have different part numbers and prices? (4863235070 vs 4863235050)
(front) https://toyotaparts.ourismantoyotao...0YWNvbWEmeT0xOTk1JnQ9c3I1JmU9My00bC12Ni1nYXM=
(also front)https://toyotaparts.ourismantoyotao...9dGFjb21hJnk9MTk5NSZ0PXNyNSZlPTMtNGwtdjYtZ2Fz
(rear)https://toyotaparts.ourismantoyotao...9dGFjb21hJnk9MTk5NSZ0PXNyNSZlPTMtNGwtdjYtZ2Fz
i have also been looking at getting scp ucas eventually, along with the 5100s paired with ome 880s and dakar springs in the rear, and was wondering is it would be worth it and possible to run the scp ucas on the stock suspension (just an add a leaf in the rear) until i can afford the rest of the kit. it looks like it would cost around $600 more than just doing oem bushings, but i was worried about getting it properly aligned. the scps are supposed to give two degrees of castor, and im not sure if the stock cam bolts have enough adjustment to be able to get the alignment back to stock from there.
regarding the lcas, are the oem lca bushings worth it over the whitelines? it seems that it would cost around 3x as much, and i have read good reviews about both.
i am going to try to do a new oem rack after summer, as i will have hopefully switched to the job i really want, and will have some more time and access to tools more frequently. ill pick up some new wheel bearings to do at the same time.
do you think i should do the itrs+otrs+ends in this round, or will i be able to wait until i do the rack.

i currently have the lbjs purchased waiting for install, and im looking to get all the bushings in two weeks with my spending money from my next paycheck. i was aiming to get the parts i need and get ready for install in a month or so. is it worth doing the bellow boot now or would i be able to run it until i get a whole new rack?

thanks for taking the time to reply!

 

What I would do is, gradually buy all the parts before doing the work. Definitely suck to do one part and not the adjacent part and multiple alignment down the road. That’s a waste of money IMO.
I prefer OEM LCA bushing over the white lines. Had white line on a 4R and they’re noisy, had to constantly keep they lube. Ended up switching them out less than a year later to OEM. Yes, cost more but consider your vehicle as an example, they’re probably the original set from 1995. But each to their own.

picture is from my Lexus, I went straight to Lexus for the LCA bushing.

 

Agree with Hilux on not forgetting about how expensive alignments are. I'd wait and do it all at once, basically everything you mentioned requires an alignment afterwards and if you do it all separately you're just lighting like $150 on fire every time you split the job up.

If it were me, I'd do the LBJs now. Those shouldn't throw your alignment off. Then accumulate parts over a few months to address the LCA bushings, UCAs, TRE's, rack, and a leaf pack. That way its just one alignment.
I believe new OEM racks come with new ITRE's.

And to add to the alignment conversation, 1995.5 Tacomas have different alignment cams than 96-04. The cam hardware you listed is for 96-04. To my knowledge everything else that says 96-04 will fit a 95, alignment cams are the single instance where they are different that I am aware of.

You want: 48409-35040, 48452-35010, 90119-14071
Id double check that with your VIN on Partsouq, as there is a chance the cams changed at some point during the 95.5 production run.

 

Hi jasper
426k is impressive!
Does your taco have an AT or MT?

What led you to decide to replace exhaust manifolds

 

Since you're doing all that front end work, you should also check your steering shaft for slop/play at the slip joint and repair if so.

Reach down and grad shaft near where it meets firewall. Then move wheel back and forth a tiny amount. If there is play your steering wheel won't get straight in an alighnment. And, you get terrible noises on rough road.

There is an easy fix which takes all of an hour to pull the wheel/shaft, weld the joint, and replace.

 

Welcome!


TW is a freakin wealth of information and help
Over last year+ I made a taco road worthy(for the kids 1st vehicle)
I seriously couldn’t of done it without awesome members here

I’m 100% sure when you start searching you will run into a few of my threads
GL

 

@time623 thank you for the tip about the alignment cams. partsouq only has the bolt available for purchase but i found them on my trusty oem dealer site. how many of each do i need to purchase? im assuming that i need two sets per control arm? ill try and get the lbjs done in the next few weeks when i have the time and ill start collecting the rest of the parts.

@Black97v6MT i replaced the manifolds along with the gaskets because it was a lot more work than i could do solo in one weekend, and my friend was back from college for that weekend. i needed to have all the parts to get it done then, and i had read a lot of stories of other 1st gen manifolds cracking, so i played it safe and replaced them. turned out to just be the gasket, but ill check all the tolerances on mine, get them cleaned up, and put them on ebay to get most of my money back. the process of removing the manifolds was a huge pain, and took us most of a day. if you have a better idea of what you are doing, it shouldnt take more than 4 hours, but we were figuring it out as we went. my truck has the 4 speed auto.

@Pbfender15 i just checked it for slop and thankfully it doesnt seem to have any play. thanks for the recommendation ill keep checking every thousand miles or so.

 

Yeah should be 4 of everything. Definitely one of those obnoxiously expensive things to replace once you add all that up
I never really buy from Partsouq either, but it is the absolute best website for finding part numbers and confirming fitment per your vin.

 

the more i work on this truck the more i have come to hate that for whatever reason, you always need to set aside an extra 200 for random small things that needs to be replaced. thanks for all the help finding the parts i would have been stuck wondering why those cams didnt work.

 

@time623 the alignment cam plate is discontinued even on the dealer site. i was able to find the other two components. what would you recommend i do about this? i did a bit of reading on the spc cams as a replacement on the 95.5 and this thread seemed to support going with them. https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/alignment-bolts.657019/page-2

 

I just searched around a bit and the SPC 25425 might be the only bolt on option. I can’t say for sure they will fit, but from what ive seen they should. The SPC fitment filter does not seem trustworthy as they are calling a ‘94 Pickup a Tacoma, so I have no idea what they mean by ‘95 Tacoma since that could be a Pickup or Tacoma. I can’t say for sure whether the cams are the same between a 95 pickup and a 95.5 Tacoma. I’ve heard OEM holds alignment much better, but if you don’t have an option then that’s what you have to go with. You might get lucky and get all the OEM hardware out clean and able to reuse it as well, but that seems pretty rare even for rust free trucks.
I know a guy working on cam delete plates for 95.5s, but they’re not really a direct competitor for OEM style cams. You lose a lot of fine tuning in your alignment, but they can’t slip out of alignment off-road.
The last option would be to cut and grind off the OEM cam tabs and weld on tabs made for octagonal cam plates. One company I know of for this is KPOffroad. If you are able to do this yourself it wouldn’t cost much more than SPC and still a lot less than OEM parts would be, but if you have to pay someone it would probably be pretty expensive labor. Still lose some fine tuning in the alignment this way as well.