Question about picking up a high mileage 2nd gen.

Im looking at picking up a 07 DC LB it has a hair under 180k miles 4x4 auto for 13k (seems like a fair price) No frame rust and seller says it has no mechanical issues. I know the 4.0 is pretty solid and should be fine for another 100k miles. But what should I expect out of the transmission? What is the life expectancy of the auto transmission in the 07's? Ill be going to check it out in person this week cash in hand its about a 9hr drive from me. Anything I should look for while there?

Thanks in advance.

 

Toyota transmissions are extremely reliable, the mileage etc wouldn't really concern me, I'd want to know service history to see what preventive maintenance you need to do.

 

Definitely take it for a test drive and get on it hard. Make sure it shifts fine under stress and what not. People can say whatever they like but 180k has a lot of history. If they don’t have records to prove maintenance be on the lookout for anything. Do keep in mind though that 4.0’s have an odd ticking to them which seems to me normal from the amount of 4.0 owners who report it and has caused no issue. My old 4R had it. Get under the truck make sure there is no leaks anywhere in the engine bay, transfer case, and rear diff. Pay attention to smells coming from the wheel bases and what not. I made a mistake and bought a 4R that had a bad rear axle output shaft seal and did not notice until it started leaking into the brakes and it got splotched all over the rear.

 

18,000 miles per year is not really high mileage. That is relatively normal, it's a bit higher but not much. Most people put between 12,000-15,000 miles on their trucks per year.

This is my two cents on high mileage trucks because all of my trucks have about 19-20K miles per year on them on average with me.

How much mileage is on the truck is usually indicative of what type of driving the original owner was doing. The higher the mileage the more highway driving, the lower the mileage the more short/city trips the original owner made. Highway miles and substantially less impactful on an engine compared to short/city trips on the engine. This is why mileage on a vehicle IS NOT AN INDICATOR OF LIFE. People always want to assume a vehicle will go X miles no matter what. That's a false way of thinking. Do not look at miles as a means of determining how much life a truck has in it.

I have no problems buying a higher mileage truck, I will not, however purchase a truck with much less than 8,000 miles on it per year. Usually these vehicles are rarely driven and are not maintained properly. The fluids never get touched in years and years so bolts and components get corroded on and become hell to deal with. The engine also carries more wear because it's likely most of the miles are all city. High mileage vehicles reach their service intervals faster and people have a tendency to take better care of the fluids. I live in the midwest and would hate to get a truck who's fluids have been through years of drastic temp changes and no one has cared to look at them because "they haven't reached their mileage limit yet".

Here's my two cents on buying older vehicles. Be careful... you don't know how that person treated the truck for 180K. If you feel the seller can be honest with you ask them about service history and how many times the transmission fluid has been changed. Ask him a bunch of questions. See if thee truck has been cared for, if it has I would have no issues buying it.

I would however change every fluid in the truck at the moment of possession regardless HAHA. That will come with a decent bill if you pay someone to do the trans, brakes, radiator, and power steering fluid flush. Plugs, differential/transfer case fluids, oil, air filters, etc. can be done yourself for cheap.

 

I bought my 2010 TRD OR with 167k on it, about to roll 200k this month. Still going strong.

That said one it's a stick, two it had been meticulously maintained and very well cared for.

The important thing as previously stated above you want to see the service history of the truck.

Also before you make the 9hr trip make sure you have the seller send you pictures of the frame. If it has frame rust don't bother with the trip.

As for the auto transmission, it's really hard to say without knowing the service history.

A friend of mine has over 400k miles on his tundra's transmission and he regularly tows and hauls boats and motorcycles, often at the same time. His transmission has never failed or had any issues whatsoever, it's never been removed rebuilt or repaired etc, but he does change the fluid annually, and he has a transmission cooler both significantly increase auto life length.

So in short auto transmissions these days will last damn near as long as engines do, but only when taken care of. Without knowing the history it's a gamble. One I sincerely hope fall in your favor.

 

Well I appreciate the insight. Hopefully everything is ok and Ill be posting pictures of the truck when I get back.

 

I bought my 05 in 2014 with 140k miles on it. It was in pretty good shape for the mileage but needed a lot of maintenance items. I took it to the Toyota place and wound up needing a transmission flush, spark plugs, new battery, spiral cable, throttle body cleaning, and I’m probably forgetting a couple things. The previous owner did okay on maintenance but probably didn’t want to pay for all that.

I’m at 178k now and have done several more things to include new leaf springs in 2016.

 

Transmissions are solid, only thing I start to look closely at is -timing chains -headgasket leaks -rust

Everything else is cheap and can be fixed at home. The 1GR is still very home user friendly!

 

Easiest oil change I’ve ever done is on this engine. I did the throttle body a year ago and the MAF sensor with the write up on here.