120K mileage - what to expect?

What can I expect or should I do for maintenance as my truck approaches 130k miles? My suspension is starting to squeak a bunch. When do all the joints start going out on these trucks?
Also, when I drive on fire roads over braking bumps or dozer tracks, my steering gets a floating feel. Thanks!

 

My suspension was toast after 100k.

At 120k I'd be doing serpentine belt, water pump, idler pulleys, replace all fluids (differentials, transfer case, transmission, brake fluid, engine oil + filter) lube driveshaft, and inspect u-joints and carrier bearing for excess play. Cabin and engine air filters, visual inspection of both upper and lower ball joints to check for cracks and leaks. Same with the sway bar end links, steering end links and CV boots. Spark plugs, clean MAF and throttle body intake. Inspect brake pads and rear drum shoes (although I bet they are still fine)

I'm sure there's more I'm missing.

As for the floating feeling it could be worn suspension, but it sounds more to me like you're just going a little too fast maybe? You should inspect your intermediate steering shaft as it is a common failure point on these trucks, and may be the cause of your issues.

 

I'm at 204,000. I replaced diff and transfer case fluids at 170,000 and a new alternator at 185,000. Rear brakes pads have been replaced once. Front 3 times. Still have factory rotors, drums and all radiator/heater hoses. Will replace the hoses and coolant this summer. Plugs were replaced at 90,000 and 180,000.

That's it other than normal oil and filter changes. Toyota recently replaced my rear leaf's as part of a recall, but the old ones would squeak occasionally. I sprayed them with white lithium grease about once per year to keep them quiet.

 

What about the ball joints? When do they go out? Should I do all the suspension and ball joints together? OEM parts?

 

I would just visually inspect them. I'm over 150k now and still on originals, and have been lifted ~1.5" for the last 50k. You can lift the wheels off the ground and move around the wheels to see if there is any play, also good way to check the hubs.

If you do need to replace them stick with OEM here. There are multitudes of aftermarket and alternative products here but it's been shown that they won't last like OEM. So while they are cheaper initially, you'll have to replace them 2-3x more often than a set of OEM.

 

I purchased my 2006 4x4 OR AC with 122,000 miles. I considered the front end; all control arm rubber, BJ, tie rod ends, drop links basically all wear parts in the front end to be bad including F&R shocks. Your regular maintenance items have been mentioned already.

 

Thank you. How many miles can you pull out of these trucks before it needs major maintenance i.e., engine, transmission? Just trying to weigh out my options to see if it's worth dumping a $1k+ into it.

 

300-400k miles is not uncommon for the drivetrain without major repairs, though some aren't that lucky. Lots of likely life left. Check resale value for your year and mileage and you'll see that 1-2k on a full refresh is still a small fraction of the total value.

Wait... On second thought that thing is done for you should sell it to me for really cheap before it explodes

 

Totally agree that Replacing some maintenance items is way cheaper than spending 40k or more for a new truck. Plus it would kill me to have a brand new truck and then get a bunch of pinstripes on it.

 

It's worth it. Truck will carry you and treat you right if you keep it happy with proper maintenance.