Will It Break? (150k Service Thread)

As an owner of a truck with a 2.4, everything listed is very easy to do. Most involved being the water pump but it's not hard at all. I'm on my 3rd pump in 188k miles - mine have liked to leak every 90k miles (or I f'd it up each time?!)

water pump - remove belts, fan shroud, fan/fan clutch then remove water pump. be sure to torque the pump bolts to proper spec (14mm head bolts to 18 ft lbs and 12mm head bolts to 78 INCH lbs) Since you're doing a coolant flush too, you could drain and remove the radiator for that much more working space but it's not required. There's plenty of room to get to the water pump w/ the rad still installed.
Radiator hose and t-stat - mine are all still original, never been replaced. Unless hoses are cracking or leaking or t-stat sticking causing heating issues, leave 'em.
"Trans flush" - drain and refill with Redline MT90. there is no such thing as a flush for manual trans
Spark plugs and wires - very easy
coolant flush - easiest method is drain/refill several times using distilled water then top back off with the RED LONG LIFE Toyota coolant (heads up - it's like $30/gal from the dealer). DO NOT MIX with other coolant. I don't remember the ratio because you still have some distilled water in the block but google should be able to help.
Shocks - very easy, no spring compressor needed. Hardest part for me was the nut at the top just kept spinning and I had to vice grip the shit out of the shaft to get the nut off. I just replaced my original shocks about 5k miles ago...

EDIT: you might also want to drain/refill your rear diff too since it's probably original fluid too. This is also very easy. ALWAYS loosen the fill plug FIRST for the diff and the trans BEFORE you drain. If you drain first then you can't get the fill plug out, whatcha gonna do?! I used Mobil1 75W90.

Good luck!

 

HOLY REVIVE!!

Just wanted to say thanks again for all of your contributions here. Apologies for my absence, was in the midst of a kind of career transition and got caught up in all that can be.

That said, maintenance quest continues!

First things I decided to tackle were the front shock absorbers. I got a pair of the KYB Gas-a-adjusts and had at it. I drove to a local autoparts store (in case I would need anything) and got to work. Three hours later I drove home, passenger side untouched and drivers' side fitted with a new shock absorber, but not a functioning one

The problem is the shock absorber hangs lower than where the bottom two bolts screw in. The how-to videos I found had the absorber being pushed up using one's hand, but these Gas-adjusts are DAMN stiff. I struggled for at least an hour and a half before finally giving up. I even tried setting a jack stand under and lowering my truck to compress it. No luck.

Any tips or advice for getting these dang things on?

 

Yeah, they are really stiff. I tried to use the jack to jack up the shock but then I couldn't get the bolts in to bolt the shock down! I ended up compressing the shocks on the garage floor then strapping them down in the compressed position - see example pic below (internet pic). I bolted in the bottom of the shock, cut the cord and quickly guided the top of the shaft through the mounting hole at the top. It took several attempts... Don't forget to put the washer and bushing on before you cut it!

Be sure to use cording strong enough to hold them. I used the plasticky cord stuff that they give you when you buy a Christmas tree.

 

I did my 150,000 mile service in January at 139,000 miles. Mine's the v6 and here's what they did for $1079 (including $40 tax) they omitted coolant flush in the job list but they did do it.

 

lucky you NO 4wd service!
did the battery service include new little pads, i think their purpose is to absorb moisture prevent terminal corrosion

also, did you get new tires since this invoice, they appear to be getting a bit worn at 6/32 tread on the rear

i am probably going to get timing belt service at my trucks 150k in about 20k more miles

 

Funny you mention using your jack. That was my idea for this morning

I'll see what I can do about finding a strap of some sort to secure. Thank you

At the dealership even maybe I should've tried there too

 

Yeah they put those battery pads. The tires are still in really good shape though. I have the truck out so I went and shot pics for you of the rears. What do you think?
Right rear


left rear

 

I use the dealer with the belief and faith that I'm getting Toyota-best plus my disability limits what I can do physically to my vehicles. Your guy didn't even offer rear end, coolant, tranny flushes nor even throttle body cleaning (big one to me). Seems to me he offered things he felt were needed specifically rather than a straight 150,000 mile "service".

 

All of that you can do yourself. If you work on any other car the concept is the same, the process might be a bit more than what you're used to. Take your time.

 

those are probably the 2nd set you have had (including originals?)
the card that DT gives me when they rotate them show the minimum before the 'cautious area' to be at 5/32"
if you don't regularly drive on wet slippery surfaces you can probably go further down than that without issues
nice tires for these trucks can be the big bill

my 'belief and faith' have recently been tested to near the point of 'felony assault'

 

Third set because the original set of (hard to recall the model-I think BF Goodrich All-Terrain TAs) wore down to shit in about 22,000 miles and were a nightmare in rain-just awful.
I think I have a LOT of good miles left on these tires-they still cut right through heavy water stuff like freeway cross-streams like butter. Never floated not once. Plus my Lexus is almost due for its first set of replacement tires so I'm going for those first.

 

“Right” is subjective since OP said his mechanical abilities are LIMITED. Easy for you could be hard or impossible for someone else

 

that original set shoulda been under warranty!
my originals were GY Wranglers and got massive miles on them before the dealer finally said i must replace them during their multi-point inspection. I had been looking at new tires for many years before that but was just not satisfied with the appearance of any at the time

 

You're probably right about that.
On the Lexus these original tires they put on it are Bridgestone Ecopia 422s and I only have 24,000 miles on them and they are pretty worn already on the edges. Another shitty tire put on even a Lexus! I don't corner hard at all-ever. I'm real easy on tires as a habit. I think it's because that SUV is heavy and wide and needs a fatter tire on it which I'm gonna try and get with my first set of replacements. I already did the tire upgrade calculator thing and can go from the stock 235-65R18 to 255-60R18 or even 265-60R18 without rubbing. That'd give me a better flatter footprint to handle this thing better.

 

lol "easy" relatively. It's hit or miss with the fukin bolts. My 5 lug was religiously serviced every 2k by the PO, no rust underneath the body. I tried to break loose the fill plug and gave up after fighting it 3 different times and morphing the bolt head. They are a fkn PITA if they don't go on the first try. Gonna rent an impact gun next and give it hell for the next go

 

Yeah, you just never know! So far I've been pretty lucky with all the bolts I've turned. We'll see how it goes when it comes time for the suspension redo!

Except for my shift knob, I can't get it off...

 

I used the old bottle jack to compress and managed to thread a bolt in. Tightened that one bolt enough that it would hold, pulled the bottle jack out and proceeded to thread and tighten the second bolt. Same thing on the other side.

New front shock absorbers are IN!


Also got a new pair of tires on the front. Alignment had been off (like this \ / couldn't tell cause it drove straight) and the inner tire was down to the wire (literally).

Feels good



Next up, spark plugs & wires

 

Congrats! I didn't think of the bottle jack!