Driveshaft and other to do items

So I had a solid independent Toyota mechanic who did all the work on my truck since 2001, unfortunately he had to close up shop due to an illness. I started looking around for another independent mechanic and realized it was going to be next to impossible to replace him and decided I would begin doing as much of the maintenance and repairs as I could myself.


I don’t have much mechanical experience. Until recently about the only automotive mechanical work I had done was mostly easy stuff like changing the oil or replacing a battery. The biggest job I ever did was replacing the entire front suspension on my 67 mustang fastback GT. Unfortunately I sold it to get my Taco which was a huge mistake. I miss that rig and I won’t make the same mistake with my Taco.


So far I have changed the oil, transmission fluid, front and rear diff fluid and transfer case fluid. I also cleaned the engine compartment and did a good inspection of the frame. The frame looks to be in great shape. There was a ton of desert dust in the frame which I washed out as best as I could. There must have been two inches of fine desert dust everywhere it is boxed in.


Anyhow, my truck needs quite a bit of attention and I’m looking forward to getting it back into good mechanical shape ASAP. I realized there were quite a few more things which need attention than I was aware of thanks to spending quite a bit of time reading posts on the TW forums.


This is my preliminary list of things I need to tackle.


Driveshaft

Steering rack (small? - leak passenger side)

Brakes (considering Tundra upgrade, but I have 15” wheels and getting 16” wheels and tires will be expensive especially since I have both winter and summer sets of wheels and tires)

exhaust manifold (cracked)

Suspension front and rear

Fuel injectors? (hard start when rig is warm and it’s hot outside)

Headlights (terrible for nighttime driving)

Fuel filter

Clean throttle body

Power steering pump (noisy)

Clutch (replaced not too long ago, but shuddering on take off)

Seatbelts (don’t retract)

Airbag? (it is still original)

Fluid flush the PS and brake lines?



I believe the first item I need to tackle is the driveshaft. It is making a tink sound when going from forward to reverse. Also, my former mechanic put a note on the last invoice I had about the driveshaft and a vibration he noticed. Unfortunately he closed up shop before I had a chance to understand exactly what he meant by the note. I’ll post a pic of the note on the invoice to see if anyone has any insight as to what he meant exactly, but I think he is talking about the splines being worn on the center flange, but I’m not 100% sure. There is no noticeable vibration at the moment, but I’m leery of going too far from home until I get this issue sorted out.


I’m sure the rest of the driveline needs attention as well. I have a lot of miles roaming around the desert and I didn’t realize until I read my manual again I should have been lubing the chassis more frequently when out in the desert. Because of its age and the fact it has been rode hard and put away wet, I’m considering going for a new driveline. I’m not too sure how to begin evaluating the driveline or even what to look for. I’ve considered taking it down and cleaning it up, but I’m not sure I would anything is wrong even if it was starring me in the face.