Inherited 2005 4dr Prerunner

Unfortunately my Father in law is bedridden so he pretty much gave me his 2005 Prerunner with only 69k “babied” miles. Brought it to the stealership for every oil change and service since brand new.

I’m now looking to daily this bad boy for hopefully another 20 years.

Aside from the obvious body rust and paint peeling (parked outside for 18 years)

What are some of the mods and/or necessary (or unnecessary) parts i should change or upgrade?

Its only gonna be a point A to point B type of car with longevity in mind

TIA!

 

Routine maintenance should do it. Learn to change your own oil and filter. Drive like an old man.
Take care of it and you may have a 500K mile 2005 Tacoma like a recent post here.
Wecome to TW.

 

Good for you!

Be informed the 05-06 models have a higher rate of head gasket failure. Also, a higher rate of frame cracks at driver side motor mount if you off road.

What I would do now is ATF drain/refill. Coolant change is not due till 100K but I would do it if you reside in an extreme weather locale - the cold north or hot desert.

Some weak points of early 2nd gens:
rusty undercarriage - inspect for rust areas; consider fluid film coating
weak fan motor connectors - check that all fan speeds work
Burnt out outside temp display, if you have one - a resistor’s soldering on the circuit board splits. This is an easy fix if you know how to solder, or take to a TV repair shop.

 

Where has this truck lived? Salt country?

It's pretty uncommon to have body rust. Actually very uncommon. I'd suggest being under the truck for a full frame inspection. Use a ball peen to whack suspect spots, a probe to do the same with smaller areas. If you have a camera to attach to your phone to look inside the boxed areas of the frame, that's even better, as they rust from inside out.

 

Thanks for the responses!

Im in Hawaii…Salt country in the middle of the pacific ocean.

So im sure of rusting on the frame before i even start to look. Crossing my fingers its not too bad.

Anything like changing out shocks, struts, brakes, driveshafts? etc…

i dont mind investing a little so i wouldnt have to worry later.

 

Make sure the frame is solid before spending anything. It may be just fine. Or not.

 

OEM drivetrain and brakes are solid. Wouldnt worry about ujoints and carrier/center bearing until 150K unless vehicle has been driven hard/off-road. Same for balljoints and wheel bearings.