Getting my new taco road ready

Howdy all,

I've just bought my first Tacoma (prior was a '92 DLX pickup) and am looking to do any regularly replaced items that should be done at this point in its life, particularly mechanical items in the suspension.

It's an 04 double cab SR5 4x4 with 172k miles. It has stock everything as far as I can tell. The previous owner drove it pretty much exclusively on the interstate for commuting. It has the locking differential. Timing belt was done at 98k as well as the water pump, otherwise nothing much has been done besides fluiod changes. There's a slight squeal that starts upon cranking, and from what I've read, it's the fan bracket that needs to be replaced, which I could probably do now since it's almost time to do the timing belt and water pump again (right?).

Leaf springs look like they need to be replaced. I'd like to put a camper shell on the bed, so any recommendations for springs that would support that extra weight? Also, any other suspension in the rear or front anyone would recommend getting replaced? I know ball joints tend to run out somewhere along this time line.

I was driving it about 80mph on the way home and something that happened twice was a sort of violent wobble in the steering wheel. It sort of did some tiny jerks left and right for a few seconds until I slowed down. Needless to say, I drove 70 for the rest of the way home.

I've read maybe ball joints or bushings or something called caster.

Should I replace shocks, struts, coils, bushings, etc? If so, please recommend specifics. I'd like to keep everything stock sized on the truck. No lift, no bigger tires.

I appreciate this forum so much and would love to be a more active contributor.
I've attached photos to try and show all these components.

Thanks in advance!

 

Welcome to TW, you've come to the right place! Others will be along to chime in.

Mine is an '03 but otherwise almost the exact same truck. First impression, GOOD FRAME and that's pretty much the foundation for everything.

In my case that's a no. Mine had done this ever since I bought it, especially when it was cold out, and it was the alternator bearing. I limped along with it for a while by tightening up the alternator belt a little and while it reduced the start up squeak, In the back of my mind I always knew it was stressing the bearing and would need to be replaced. I recently put a Denso reman in it and that problem has gone away.

Speaking of which, the belts may look OK but take one off, turn it inside out so the inside stretches. If you see cracks, replace them.

When was the last time it was aligned? It could be just that or something more expensive. See below about the wetness on your steering rack boots . . . .

Caster, camber, toe in are attributes of alignment. Read around here about lower ball joint failure, if they haven't been replaced do it now. It doesn't look like it, those are the original dust protectors around the ball joints. Lower ball joints are the weak point of the Taco's (or one of them anyway,) they can pass a "ball joint test" but after a time the stud on top of the ball joint snaps off (and takes a lot of expensive stuff with it.) It could happen today, next week, next year, who knows, and there's no warning signs they just go. Use only OEM ball joints.

It could also be a lot of the suspension rubber is wearing out/deteriorating. I recently did a full front end refresh, lower ball joints, A-arms, TRE's, steering rack, rack bushings, coilovers, shocks all around, everything except upper ball joints (they don't take as much abuse unless you're offroading hard.) A lot of the stuff that looked sorta ok was obviously worn once I got it apart.

I run these, the best deal I found on assembled coilovers so you don't have to mess with spring compressors. Here is how they arrived. That particular package is at close to stock as you can get, you might gain an inch or so (over time, suspension sags.) These trucks don't have struts, it is a coilover assembly, if a repair shop calls them struts, keep shopping. :-D

I decided to spare myself the extra time pressing bushing in and out (and glad I did.) Many like to use poly control arm bushings but there is a potential for squeak. I went with OEM A-arms, they come with bushings installed. I did use the Energy Suspension steering rack bushings though, they are more stiff than OEM rubber and give it a little more responsiveness. They come in two grades, red and black, black is a little more stiff than red.

Can't comment on the leaf springs but they do look a little flat. The two things that caught my attention are 1) those front driveshaft boots are goners, get that fixed and look for any damage it's done in there, and 2) the wetness on the steering rack boot. Do you know what it's from?

An oil leak or a sloppy oil change can cause oil to blow back onto the steering rack bushings which will cause them to rot. If it's a leak from the steering rack, you could have a problem here and **may** be related to your issue at highway speeds.

It's still an old truck, and it's going to be an ongoing labor of love if you're up for it. I'd start with safety stuff first (brakes, lower ball joints etc.) and move on to performance (steering bushings, handling, etc.)

 

You are aware that your driver side outer CV boot is literally not where it should be right?

So you're going to probably need a new CV axle because with a complete tear like that, the grease has probably been long gone for a while. I'd personally replace upper and lower ball joints, for peace of mind, while you're in there doing the CV axle (and I'd do passenger-side ball joints too).

For the leaf springs, I'd call Alcan Springs and see what they can do for you. Many go with General Springs for stock ride-height replacements, but some have complained about their quality and customer service. I run Alcans and they're incredible, albeit pricey. I paid like $1300 for mine (including shipping). But I can load up my truck with a ton of gear and tow a small boat with almost zero sag, and yet they ride incredibly well with an empty bed too.

 

Nice find, OP! Get caught up on your PMs. Rust proof the sh*t out of it and do those lower ball joints. And yeah your CV is effed up.

Welcome to TW!

 

That's a clean looking truck. Enjoy!

 

Rocknbil, thanks so much for the detailed write up! I've got a list started now, and that's exactly what I needed. I've skimmed through your posts, and it looks like you've really done your 03 right! I'm going to have to dig into each of the things you listed to learn a little more about whether its the alternator or fan brackets. And no, I don't know what caused the wetness on the steering rack boot. I'll clean it up really well and see if it recreates its little mess. Maybe that will help me know. Thanks again!

 

Yep, now I see it plain as day (don't ask me how I didn't before.. buyer blinded by excitement at having a clean frame, perhaps). The boots are literally ripped in half. COOL. I'll add your recommendations, they seem solidly in line with what I'm going for here. Thanks so much for the input!

 

The more I look, the more I see the easiest and best long term solution here is just to essentially copy your front end refresh, with a few added items specific to my issues. Thanks for point this out! I'll keep everyone updated to the process.

 

Heh it was anything but easy. :-D Not sure what you have for tools, but a half inch drive impact, BAH, and PB blaster are essential. You can /rent the pullers for the TRE's and ball joints (or buy them.) I'll say again, wouldn't have been possible without the guidance of members here, before I did the work I knew nothing about suspension (not that I know much now but yeah.) I paid for a diagnosis, the estimate for the work was enough to motivate me to do it myself.

 

Luckily, I have a good mechanic who has always done really well by me. While I could drag this out and fix it slowly over a few weeks, I budgeted for this when buying the truck. I'm hoping to sell my current truck for just a few grand more than I bought this one and cover my mechanic and my time. Don't get me wrong, I'll still be doing everything from here on out. But I figure get started on the right foot and let my guy do the work while I still have my original truck to commute while he's knocking it out.

 

Based on the leakiness of the rack, I would say that the rack and pinion is going, an aftermarket is like $150.
Also, where did your driver's side CV boot go? I can see the raw axle...

 

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Yeah it split off and is sorta stuffed more inward. I’ll replace CV axels/joints, upper and lower ball joints, steering rack/bushings and pinion, upper and lower control arms, tie rod ends, coil over/springs and rear shocks, some heavy duty leaf springs and thanks to @rocknbil ill go ahead and do the alternator while I’m at it. This truck has almost everything still stock on it at 172k miles, so it can’t hurt to do it all!

 

Do yourself a favor and don't put an aftermarket steering rack in this truck. If you decide it's worth replacing, spring for the $500 OEM Toyota one and you'll be good for another 20+ years

 

Thanks, yeah I’d prefer oem pretty much everything. Where is the best place to find oem parts?

 

Ourisman Toyota of Richmond (formerly McGeorge Toyota parts) oro ToyotaPartsDeal

However I've had good success going to my local dealer and convincing them to price match Ourisman's prices (then I avoid shipping and get it within 24 hours).

 

Since I am poor I like cheap aftermarket, (unless it's like engine, transmission or any part specific to the truck that has to be OEM), but I do agree.

 

The attached spreadsheet comparison is for my '03 so the part numbers probably won't match yours. I did at least 2 months of research before buying, looks like Ourisman Toyota (Virginia, formerly McGeorge) had the best prices overall. They're pretty good about making sure you have the right parts by VIN too, almost bought some smaller parts I didn't need LOL.

They ship Fedex so be aware if the order is over $500 you will have to be present for signature confirmation.

 

I understand where you're coming from, but in my experience the cheap aftermarket route can often be equally, if not more costly, in the long haul, than going OEM.

Let's just use your steering rack as an example. Many on here, myself included, have seen stock OEM racks last 200-300k miles (and upwards of 20 years). This part runs ~$500.

Meanwhile the cheapo $150-200 RockAuto steering racks have been known to last < 100k miles or fail within just a few short years. So over a 15-20 year span, 3-4 RockAuto racks will cost more than one OEM rack. And the gap in cost gets way bigger if you're paying for labor too and have to pay someone a couple hundred bucks to replace the rack every few years.

"Buy once, cry once"

 

If the radiator has never been replaced, that's another one I wouldn't wait on. Pink milkshake, ruin transmission. I don't have an Auto transmission, but this is what I've heard.

 

@rocknbil thanks so much for the PDF. That's very helpful, as I'm learning with some of this that it's hard to know whether certain items have included fasteners and how many bushings I need total if I'm replacing them in all control arms and rack without replacing the actual CA or rack itself. I discovered the same supplier yesterday while following the many tacoma world rabbit holes. I'm actually going to send them an email and see if i can get on the phone with someone who might help. Alternatively, and what's probably most proactive, is to actually take the truck to my mechanic and start stripping it down with him to see what really needs replacing, instead of trying to guess with my amateur eye when crawled under the truck and gazing into the mechanical chaos.