30k maintenance questions

Hey guys,

My 30k is coming up and I wanted to do most of it myself. There are a lot of resources for the things listed in the maintenance guide. However, some of things are hard to find information about, specifically:

Inspect Rack and Pinion Assembly
Inspect Radiator, Condensor, and/or intercooler
Inspect Ball Joints and Dust covers
Inspect Drive Shaft Boots
Inspect Steering linkage and Boots
Inspect Fuel lines and connections, Fuel Tank Band and Fuel Tank Vapor Vent system hoses
Torque Propellor Shaft Bolt

Are all of these necessary? Inspect is a broad term and I'm not sure what I'm looking for here.

 

Inspect Rack and Pinion Assembly (if there are no noises,drives straight etc,..don't worry about it).
Inspect Radiator, Condensor, and/or intercooler (just make sure there are no leaves or other in front of the rad, and coolant level is good)
Inspect Ball Joints and Dust covers (crawler under the truck and make sure the ball joint rubber boots are not torn & leaking grease)
Inspect Drive Shaft Boots (While under the truck, same as ball joint joint, no tears no worries)
Inspect Steering linkage and Boots (same as drive axle boots)
Inspect Fuel lines and connections, Fuel Tank Band and Fuel Tank Vapor Vent system hoses (just do a visual inspection)
Torque Propellor Shaft Bolt (if in doubt, get your torque wrench and retoque to specs)

Are all of these necessary? Inspect is a broad term and I'm not sure what I'm looking for here.

These are common sense calls, and you already show the good sense to crawl under your Taco,...so take your time and just enjoy looking at her from a different view that most will never appreciate

If in doubt take pictures and share with us.
Combined we probably have 1000 years experience with this truck, and we generaly share good guidence.

Pending where you live, cause I'm writing from Canada,...
If you're gonna pass the 50k mark through winter. Why not change your spark plugs before winter?..
Change your engine oil over to Synthetic if not already so.
And while you're under your truck,..change the 2 differential case oils and transfer case.

It'll cost you probably $100 or so, but you'll save it in fuel SHORT TERM!!

 

I just passed 30k... what torque is required for the propeller shaft bolt?

 

I got a question for you haha, WHERE is the propeller shaft bolt?

 

Propeller shaft = Drive shaft.

 

Thanks, but still don't know where to look for the bolt. Sorry if it's really obvious.

 

Inquisitive minds wanna know...hahaha
Kudos on wanting to do it yourself.
Dealer work is childsplay, compared to your abilities. (trust me on this !).
Dealer don't give a Sh** about the long term care of your Taco ,...you do!,...get my point.

Plenty of us have access to the shop manual,...worst case,..spend the $60 odd bucks and do a search on the OFFICIAL Toyota site.
EVERYTHING is there,....and some...

 

Google is your best friend!...
See link below

https://www.bing.com/images/search?...608017455920907692&selectedIndex=2&ajaxhist=0

 

I think they are talking about the bolts that go from your transgression to your drive shaft, and the driveshaft to the rear third member.
- I haven't crawled under there yet one side might be a slip style and not have any bolts

 

Dealer will not inspect any of this, guaranteed. It’s best for the dealer and Toyota if it blows up beyond your 36/60 month warranties.

 

Thank you guys! You guys are the best forum on the planet. I'll try and obtain a copy of the service manual. Looks like the maintenance items I listed are mostly visual inspections.

So the manual says "inspect" the diff oils and transfer case fluids. Should I go ahead and just change them?

 

30k is a bit soon, but anytime between 30-60k miles changing gear oils + trans is acceptable IMHO.

But I don’t look at the manual or go to the dealer so I’m not the best reference.

 

I let the dealer do oil changes b/c they do them cheap ($30) and the mess and my time are worth $30 to not have to deal with it *esp in my small garage + official service records look good if/when I ever sell it. Their multi-point inspection is a joke - they plug it into tech stream which I have along with OBD2 logs I do frequently. Anything else I've done myself. Regularly check torque on crucial components, grease the zerks on the driveshaft every 5k or so, check/torque u-bolts, coolant, etc.,

 

I changed the F&R Diff, and transfer case fluid at 30K. The rear diff was the only fluid that looked muddy. My current plan is to change the rear diff fluid every 30k and the front diff and transfer case fluid every 60k.

 

See what I mean bro?...

Just sound advice from the familia...

Yes 30 is soon for the diff and t case oil change,...but like I said,..
Easy to do, and pays for itself...
There are several posts on the site here on " how to's"...

If you get quart bottles,... ask your selling retailer ie: napa , car quest...etc.... to sell to about 2 feet of clear 3/8'' hose.

You'll need this during the refill (to see the oil travel from bottle to diff...etc...)..

And you thought we were just a bunch of lunatics...

 

For the Torque on the driveshaft bolts I have seen two numbers 64 ft/lbs and 75 ft/lbs... but honestly I have never torqued these because its near impossible to get a torque wrench in there (you could use a crow's foot or some other gadgets). When I do it I use two box end wrenches and give it a few humphs.

 

I think I saw a youtuber use a pump. Was gonna go that route. I don't do any heavy off roading, just some weekend towing with the boat. I might just change the rear and "inspect" everything else.

 

I would highly recommend changing the front diff oil ever 30K. Toyota picked up a bad habit from GM and spins the axles all the time most people do not use the 4X4 periodically like is says to do in the manual and lot of parts do not get lubed well.

 

Yeah, I use something like this: https://amzn.to/2CIdc7C

They sell them all over, just make sure they fit the top of your gear oil bottle

 

Toyota had some issues with drive shafts falling out that's why they want you to have a look at the bolts. If they are tight they probably will stay that way.