Advice on some maintenance items.

Gents
Give me some advice on if I need to do some maintenance.

My truck has about 101k on it. It’s a 1995. It’s had a lot of maintenance done to it recently in terms of mileage, but not in terms of time, by the previous owner who kept good records.

Gear oil, front diff, rear diff, xfer case...at 70k, but in 2004.
Bilstein shocks at 60k...but in 2002.
Timing belt, water pump, anti freeze, spark plugs at 92k...but in 2009.

This is a beautiful and reliable truck. I’d like to keep it that way, as it is my daily, and I will do what makes sense. But I also don’t want to waste time and money.

It feels a little shaky over bumps...I was thinking it might be time for shocks? Or, is that just how a 1995 truck with a live rear axle feels? I’m coming from an A4...

Advice? What’s sensible?

Should I spend the $300 on new shocks, or can I buy my URD shifter???

 

Only thing I'd change on that list are your gear oils....manual trans, diffs and t-case. 2004 was a long time ago and I like to do mine every 30k.

Timing belt should still be alright and the shocks don't need to be replaced unless they're leaking or worn out.

 

@eon_blue — the PO used amsoil 75w90 in all 4 places. Truck seems to work great...any reason to go with something else?

If I am opening a huge fan of worms with that question please feel free to ignore it

 

Amsoil is great stuff, I know a lot of others here swear by it. I use Redline MT90 in the transmission which is also really popular on here. But as far as gear oil goes as long as your using the right stuff and changing it when you should I don't think the brand matters all that much. 20-30 years ago it may have but these days I don't think it does, although you may feel the difference in the transmission if you go with the more expensive stuff. MT90 really made my shifting feel much smoother (assuming you have a manual trans, don't go putting gear oil in an auto trans lol).

But I hear good things about Amsoil in the trans too so you'd probably be good sticking with that. I'd still say is time to change them all out though. Once in 70k miles is stretching it too far IMO.

 

I’ve been wanting to get on the Amsoil train for a good time now when I first researched it. Where does one go about getting it? I know they don’t sell it in stores, so do you need to be an authorized dealer to acquire such goods?

 

Yes.

 

addressing your suspension ... lift the front end off the ground then grab the top and bottom of the wheel and give it a shake, any looseness see what it is, usually inner tie rods, the ones inside the boot. Do the same at 3 and 9 oclock and see if anything is loose.

Taccomas have a reputation for the collapsable portion of the steering column to be a issue too. LOTS of post on that here.

 

Well my shaking was most likely due to tire pressures...

Got some new tires and the tire shop had them all at 34 psi cold. The door jam says 26 front and 29 rear cold. So that should make a big difference.

Ordered gear oil and chassis grease for the cardan joint and prop shaft today. She will get some love before the snow flies.

And oh yeah...I ordered my Martin Crawler shifter too

 

Just to close the loop on this - tire pressures made a big difference, so I think my suspension is in overall good shape for now.

 

Amsoil... hahahahahahahaha.

 

For time related wear on your belts, a visual inspection will give you a better idea of what needs to be changed. Lower ball joints could possibly need replacement in the near future if the boots have been compromised over time. You can check for play in them. @Glamisman had mentioned similar tests for the suspension shake you had described earlier:

 

I bought it direct from amsoil.

you can sign up for some kind of weird membership on their site, it costs $10 for 6 months but they give you a 25% discount...if you're buying 2 gallons of oil to do a full change out, this is worth it.

 

Meaning you live in salt-ville?

Pressure wash then fluid film the chassis, inside and out, before that time arrives.

If a truck that old isn't already rotted out, it was garaged or treated if it didn't live in the S.

Don't let it develop a problem, and you'll have a long lived friend.

 

I already did this - new hampshire oil undercoating.

It lives in a garage. Wife already complaining about the "oil smell." I told her that's a feature not a bug.