100K+ Miles: How to make sure it hits 500K?

We all want our 1st Gens to last forever, or at the bare minimum, make it back home after our next trip. I want to start a collection of information from our community to ensure that our Tacomas lives as long as possible with the least amount of problems.

Note: ALL PARTS REPLACED WITH OEM ITEMS UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.

DISCLAIMER: This is NOT a "recommended" maintenance schedule, the milage I have listed is when I performed the following tasks. YMMV, quite literally!

The Details: 2003 3.4 V6 with just over 102K on the odometer. Second owner, and I've had her since 2005. Daily driver for most of her life, but sat unused from 2014 through May 2016.

Recently Completed Maintenance

Timing Belt and Water Pump replaced, all stock belts changed. (101K)

Brakes: New front pads, front rotors turned, drums adjusted. (100K)

Coolant: Flush and fill completed. Upper radiator hose replaced. (101K)

Exhaust: N/A and untouched.

Spark Plugs changed. Still running Stock plug wires. (100k)

Transmission: N/A and untouched.

Suspension: N/A and untouched.

Frame/Under-Carrige: N/A and untouched.

Drive Line: Greased every available zerk. (102k)

4x4: Front and Rear Differential oil changed. (101K)

Intake: Cleaned TB and MAF Sensor. (102K)

Interior: Searched and secured multiple dash rattles. (102k)

Fuel System: Fuel filter replaced. (102k)

Miscellaneous:
Battery Replaced (100K)
PCV Valve and hose replaced. (102K)
Random Bulbs replaced. (100K)

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Please add your own suggestions for missed items, or your personal maintenance routine for others to learn from. If this gains enough support I will update the thread accordingly.

 

Great thread maybe add frame/undercarriage maintenance , cleaning it out and painting it with rust protectant

 

my 2003 has 230,000 and still running strong! Thinking about doing plugs and wires soon but is it at too high of mileage to do the differentials and trans flush?

 

Nice idea...Added!

 

I'm thinking of changing over to synthetic at 180K, with a sludged engine. Maybe change oil, then change again at 1000-2000 miles, then again at 2000-3000, etc. up until the regular interval. My truck runs perfectly and I don't want to muck it up but I feel like this will help it go to 500K.

Am I high? Should I leave well enough alone?

 

You have never greased your drive shaft?

 

If you do have sludge in your engine, the easiest thing to do without getting too complicated would be to pull the valve cover(s) and remove what sludge you can manually. Then run synthetic as you state. That's a decent oil change interval. After that, keep an eye on it by pulling the valve covers and keep removing it manually, if/as sludge appears. And then stay with the synthetic.

 

If you want any vehicle to last the answer to the question is synthetic, synthentic, synthetic. All lubricants should be synthetic. Mine had 120,000 miles on it when I bought it. I changed everything (except the power steering) to synthetic and I use Amsoil in everything. There are no oil leaks as they say happens with synthetic and I did this over a year ago. Synthetics are worth the money if you take advantage of their longer change intervals. Myself? I'll cut the change intervals on "some" components a little but it depends on how you drive and what you do with your Taco. The power steering is being flushed little by little and replaced with synthetic by the "turkey baster method". Some of us can't change brakes to synthetic because some of the new synthetic brake fluids aren't compatible with the rubber seals used in older vehicles. That's up to the owner to decide. My brake system will be flushed with the factory Dot 3 fluid before winter hits since DOT 3 is what a 2004 Taco requires. Contrary to what many say. DOT 3 "does" absorb moisture whereas DOT 5 synthetic doesn't.
Other than what I just said if you want your Taco to go 500,000 don't rev the crap out of it all the time and don't use it as a truck like it was intended for. Don't do any serious off-roading with a lot of weight in the bed and climb hills on a regular basis that require 5000 rpm. I've done that and it was just to see what it could really climb with Michelin MS/2's and I was quite surprised but I don't do it anymore. I can only imagine what it would climb and where I could go with real off-road tires. Gentle everyday driving is the only way you'll hit 500,000 with any vehicle.
My owners manual for the 2.7 pretty much says 2500 RPM is where you get the most benefit in all conditions. That's where they tell you to shift in every gear except 4th where it's slightly higher around 2750 RPM. I pretty much run mine around 2500 RPM all the time. I'd suggest what the factory service manual suggests as far as shift point go for a manual if you want to get huge mileage out of the engine. As I do.
The biggest reason for engines dying at an early age aside from abuse is the quality of gas and carbon clogging up rings and valves. I use Amsoil PI every 4000 miles or so to clean that crap out. It works quite well and every 4 or 5000 miles I use it and notice a difference if only so slight.
Air filters are another big issue. I check mine a few times a year and when ever I see the dirt piling up and I can't see full light through the filter when held up to the sun it gets changed no matter what the mileage or time. I change mine at least every two years and it really ends up being every year because I'm paranoid.
I also grease the lip around the air box where the filter sits when I replace the filter and clean out the filter box which collects far more rubbish than you would think it does.
Cleaning the MAF sensor every year is another good thing to do along with checking the throttle body for nastiness and taking the time to clean it when necessary. I'm due for that chore right now so I'll be checking it out.

 

No it's not.

 

A man after my own heart. I like this guy.

 

Damn right. Amsoil is the thing man!

 

I wouldn't do a tranny flush, but do multiple drain and fills. Of course with a high quality synthetic. I'm partial to Mobil 1 myself.

 

@TRVLR500 why do you say its not?

 

Thanks - switching to Amsoil sounds like the plan.

 

What I meant is that 230,000 miles is not too late to change diff or gearbox fluid. You can go to synthetic anytime with a gearbox or tranny. As far as his trans is considered? No worries. Switch to synthetic or any other high quality lube and it'll be golden. In an engine the only thing about switching to a synthetic is high mileage. Synthetics clean much better and if there is a gasket somewhere that has a gap synthetic will cause a leak because it cleans all the crud out of the engine due to higher detergency and cleaning power. My Taco had 119,000 miles on it when I bought it and my dad who I bought it from changed it regularly at 3000 miles with Pennzoil dino which is a stellar oil. I immediately went to Mobil 1 for a couple of changes and then Amsoil. No leaks. If it had 319,000 miles on it I might have just stuck with the dino or switched and expected a possible oil leak.

 

Amsoil was in the synthetic business back in the 70's with the aircraft engines. Long before anyone else. I would guess they know something and it's the same price as Mobil 1 extended or real close. On top of that, I like to patronize the smaller "Mom and Pop's" which Amsoil is compared to Exxon/Mobil.

 

It's good stuff and I might add something else. The "PI fuel system cleaner" I mentioned is real good. Before I owned my current Taco I owned a '73 Cadillac for 18 years. It was my only car. The race shop where I worked at the time was an Amsoil distributor. After I got my rebuilt 472 cubic inch behemoth broken in after a rebuild I switched to Amsoil. My RPM went up 250 rpm and I had to adjust the idle down. That's how slippery Amsoil is compared to dino which is what I used to break the rebuilt engine in. I went to Mobil 1 after that for the rest of the 18 years I owned the car. I also tried some PI while I was working there. It made that carbed engine run much smoother and much more responsive than it ever was in just one tank. That Caddy was the best, most reliable car I ever owned and real fun to drive across country at 90 mph or more if I wanted to go that fast. I live where the speed limits are anywhere form 75-80 mph. Everyone hauls ass out here. The Taco has some work to do to match it. However, the Caddy required far more maintenance than this Taco does for obvious reasons.
No, I'm no Amsoil dealer and I don't work for Amsoil nor have I ever worked for Amsoil. I'm just explaining why I use it. I don't notice a big difference in how my Taco runs with Amsoil because it has been so well maintained throughout it's life I can't notice a difference. I will say that after my 4-5000 mile PI treatment I do seem to notice a slight difference in the way it runs as far as throttle response goes but it is VERY minor. I just think PI is good stuff to keep from having any problems in the future. If I had access to Chevron, Texaco or Shell gas where I live I probably wouldn't even bother with the PI because those gasoline's are so clean but I'm stuck with good, but lesser gasoline where I live in Wyoming. Even then I might use the PI just not as often.

 

You guys make some excellent points on the benefits of synthetics/Amsoil. I am no salesman, matter of fact I have an attitude and strong dislike for salesman in general (based on past experiences). Having said this I am an Amsoil dealer (with 0 customers/accounts). It all started out many years ago with my cousin, a mega-talented certified diesel and gas engine mechanic/welder/fabricator/contractor/builder and all around badass handyman. His opinion was: "the stuff is no rebuild in a can, but if you use their oil filter in addition to the oil you can go up to 25k miles or a year between oil changes without voiding the warranty on most vehicles. I reasoned that I had no plans to go 25k between oil changes, but it was significant that they were willing stand behind their product to that level. Being facilities coordinator, grounds keeper, fleet manager etc. of a household with 3 boys who were all reaching driving age and all the engines that go with it made keeping up with oil change intervals manageable. So I first became a preferred customer then eventually a dealer. With discounts its cheaper than Mobil 1 etc. On the Amsoil website you can put all your vehicles in a "garage" and easily keep track of everything in one convenient place. They were the original synthetic back in the 60's and do extensive testing and are constantly improving their products. So now even my lawn mower runs Amsoil. Damn, what an obnoxious salesman I sound like!! Anyway, this is the longest post I have ever contributed anywhere ever. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 

Lol, people can get very passionate about the oil they use. We can all be adults and have different opinions, right? Based on the data, price, and personal experience with lab analysis of oil changes, I'm sticking with Mobil1 0w-40 Euro-spec. And yes, that specific weight is important. And no, I'm not going to debate it. Just sharing an opinion, as everyone else has been allowed to do

 

Keep up on maintenance and drive it gently. Also stay close to stock as possible and it'll last until the wheels fall off or you get sick of driving it. Being clean is a must as well.