First Tacoma - Any repairs/new parts Suggestions?

Hello All,
I'm a newbie who just purchased an '03 Tacoma SR-5, 2.7l, 108,000 mi., 4wd, Auto. Don't know anything about this vehicle and would like to know of any repairs, parts replacement, or maintenance recommendations. The truck runs great. I have a repair manual on the way.
Thanks in advance,
mklaw

 

Some more info on the truck would help.Mileage etc.

 

Sorry ODNAREM. I JUST EDITED MY THREAD
MKLAW

 

first off, congrats on buying one of the best trucks around and welcome to the forums. this place is a godsend for anything Toyota and youtube has videos on most things you might need or want to do to your truck.

now on to the question:
I think the standard stuff for any truck of this age is assume it needs everything but we need the mileage of the truck and engine type to help more.

basic stuff is:

replace fuel and air filters. (fuel filter on the 4cylinders is hidden way up under the intake manifold)
pull wheels off and inspect brake pads and rotors/drums.
check all fluids in everything and switch to full synthetics fluids when if you change them.
jack up one front wheel at a time and wiggle up/down, in/out, side to side to check for play in the front end.
check, clean and put a little grease on battery terminal connections and make sure they are tight.
inspect spare tire, often forgotten about and often found to still the factory original one that's dry rot and needs replacing.
check all belts and hoses and if they don't look brand new just replace them all so you "know" they are new and how old they are. new "looking" belts and hoses can be very old so its cheap insurance not to risk losing one on the road.


a final note on the 4 cylinders is they "always" idle roughly in gear so don't waste money like all of us do trying to fix that, its just the way the engines are and even if you replace everything under the hood it will still have an unusually rough idle to it but that's just normal.

 

Valve clearance should be checked on the 4-cyl at around the 120,000 mile mark I believe. My old truck got checked before a cross country trip at about the 125,000 mark, but the were fine. They are shim under bucket, so take a look at that once you've gotten familiar with the process and it isn't that bad. Good to know the clearances are still good, eventually the valve will impact into the head and close the distance of the clearance until the valve doesn't close all the way. Then burn the valve, not good.

 

Read. The questions that you ask have been answered a hundred times. 30mins of searching and a little reading, you will be knowledgeable to what you want to know.

 

Thank you all for your responses. Just the things I wanted to know. I plan on keeping this truck running for quite some time so I really need to jump on the maintenance first thing.
Once again, thank you.
What a great site!

 

I agree with all of the above suggestions, except the fuel filter. I would not consider this a routine maintenance item, like spark plugs. Its expensive, and not easy to do, because of dealing with pressurized gasoline, and the awkward location. I would only replace it, if I thought it was causing a problem.

 

Good point, Rick. If anything, it does give some piece of mind knowing that part has been changed as opposed to wondering if that is/isn't the original filter.

 

ummm, the fuel filter cost $15 and can be replaced by just reaching under the intake manifold. true you have trouble seeing what you are doing but it does not require removing the wheel like some think you need to do.

I replaced mine in 20 minutes and I had never done it or worked on a Toyota engine before. the only difficult part was being careful not to lose the sealing washers for the filter banjo bolts.

the fuel filter should be changed at least once after 100k miles then its good for another 100k miles. its there to protect your injectors from getting plugged up.

this video shows a way to do it but as I said you just reach in from the top and you don't have to remove the tire to reach it from the bottom, that just makes the job twice as hard as it needs to be. replace it on a cold engine so you can feel for the nuts to get your socket in position.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hXO2ph9XCY

some people just aren't capable of turning a ratchet unless they are looking at the bolt they are turning so they have to remove the tire for no reason just to see better lol.

when you do the fuel filter replacement, I suggest you relocate the fuel filter as I did here: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/diy-2-4l-2-7l-fuel-filter-relocation-mod.349406/

so its easier to get to the next time.