New 2003 - what to do first?

Greetings - I'm bringing home my first Taco - a 2003 3.4, TRD SR5 Xcab, 4x4. It's coming from a reputable local dealer and looks clean as a whistle - seems to be in excellent shape. I'm the 3rd owner, and it's got 145K on it. Paid $11.5K for it. (Not a bad price, I don't think?) Clean CarFax. I have almost no maintenance records except I know that all the ball joints have been replaced, around the 40K mark.

So, I know this is one of those "how long is a piece of string" questions, but at 145K (of what looks like 100% on-road driving), what should I expect to start replacing? I tend to be one of those guys that replaces stuff before it breaks.

I know they do a multi point inspection but they don't go out of their way to fix anything and although they did an oil change, I'm sure they didn't change all the fluids, so first will be all new fluids and filters completely including diffs and trans.

My thoughts/hunches, based on owning other Toyotas:
1). Timing belt/water pump/idler pulley or pulleys/harmonic balancer - all the "up front" stuff", new serp belt, flush and fill of course all at the same time.
2). New pumps (fuel, oil)
3). Brakes if needed
4). Will need tires in the spring/summer - can 235/85's fit under a stock truck if I don't do a suspension next year?

What's going on in the front end of these trucks? I used to be a Land Cruiser guy and know about knuckles and solid axles, but not so much with IFS. What is the big maintenance issue there, if any?

After that, leave well enough alone. In my experience that normally does it for Toyota stuff, but I don't want to assume anything.

Is there something I'm not seeing? Leaving out?

Thanks very much for any input and advice. I'm getting rid of a 2005 Ford Super Duty diesel and man does it feel good to be in something as trouble free as a Taco.

 

congrats! and welcome!

First off the timing belt and water pump ect. should have been at or around 90k miles..if not, do it first.
then you can do all your other maintenance on it, dont forget the front/rear diffs.

Those tires will fit no problem! you could go bigger even, seeing how the stock tires are a 265/70/16..
as far as front end maintenance goes. Its just the diff fluid and cv axles that really need to checked

 

Welcome! You should love your new '03, I definitely love mine.

Look into the things you mentioned, though it is a toyota and when cared for will go much longer than you might expect. Do the maintenance- replace all fluids so you have a baseline of when everything was done(and I'd run synthetics), keep an eye on the ball joints in the front suspension, check out brakes, check out the drive shaft carrier bearing for play and make sure all zerks under the rig are greased, check out the spark plugs, check/clean the MAF and throttle body, and obviously keep an eye on that timing belt. There may be a sticker under the hood stating when it was done last, I know on my 98 4runnner there was one which was helpful for me, but I'm still going to do it ahead of schedule since it doesnt get miles put on it as quick as my tacoma and could take years and years to reach the next scheduled mileage. You can pick up the parts to do the timing belt/water pump right off ebay in a kit, just make sure you get the genuine parts and not the cheap knock offs.

 

Naturally, the first thing would be Hello Kitty mud flaps.

 

New coilovers. Stock coils get saggy after 100k and stock shocks stop dampening. Even if you don't lift, your ride will improve significantly.
New rear leaf pack and shocks to match
Spark plugs

You've pretty much covered everything else

 

Fuel pump probably wouldn't be needed..
I have 150 on mine 01 and I don't believe it has ever been replaced
As long as you stay above a 8th tank (Or 4th if you want to be more safe) you should be fine. This way the pump stays under gas at all times, and nice and cool.

Oil pump? Haven't heard of that.. Do those exist??

Edit: Just googled oil pump. Sounds like they exist. I haven't ever heard of them being replaced although..

Thanks for your service!

 

I'm there, man...

 

Hello,
How much are you estimating it's going to cost? I have considered getting a 1st gen myself so replacing some of the items you mentioned and some of the other stuff in the comments is stuff i'm taking into consideration. Same configuration too.

 

Don't know - I think the timing belt/water pump job normally comes in at around 500 - 1000 based on complexity, in most vehicles. Other stuff, significantly less.

Thing about Toyotas is, though, that it's worth doing. You're not throwing money down a well like with most everything else on the road. Take it from an ex-Land Rover guy...

 

Have your frame inspected if it hasn't been already