When a used truck is purchased with a lot of miles on it, what are the not so obvious items that should absolutely be replaced because they are so cheap and help the truck run better? For example... Air filter is a given, but the PCV valve might be one that is missed, because it isn't as common. I've got a good idea of many of these parts, but am hoping to learn of a few not so obvious ones. Thanks for the help!

 

There are never any hard and fast rules.

It all depends you are either buying from a hard core Toyota person which there are two kinds the ones that pull out a file folder with every thing ever done.

Or the other that shows you what they did. Then tells you what just might need attention and asks if you would like the parts for what they cost.

The other is the person that just bought a Toyota by chance. All bets are off.

In my case I have found very seldom is any thing cheap. It all depends what one calls cheap.

Things under $300.00 or under $10.00 might be a big difference.

 

When I first buy a truck / 4Runner, I replace the plugs, wires, cap and rotor, fuel filter, and 2 sensor. I also flush the cooling system. I also check and replace all bad vacuum lines. I also replace the gear oil in the front and rear diffs, and in the transmission and transfer case. I also check and repair any wiring thats been hacked up by previous owners.

 

good call myyota, yeah the plugs, wires, cap and rotor is allways a safe bet.

 

Everything myyota said and check your belts and hoses. I have seen lots of factory shocks still on them and most do not use factory to replace them so bets are they are the orginals.

 

^ all that and a PCV grommet if it's oe. Clean the MAF. Bring me a beer.

 

Good idea for a thread-sadly, lots of people don't keep up with maintenance because "Hey, it's a Toyota!".

 

Pull the valve cover and check the timing chain and guides. I just learned this the hard way. Not only did my chain break, but it turns out the guide on the driver's side had no bolt in the top of it...... Now this is not exactly a simple be done if 5 minutes kind of task, but it is relatively cheap when you compare the cost of the parts to a other things that you may need to do. It is also much cheaper than this engine I am building.

 

Anybody buying a rig with a manual transmission and/or transfer case should replace the shift lever ball seat(s), the shift lever socket, and the shift handle boot. All are cheap, all are likely to be in desperate need of replacing, the seats and sockets are HD upgrades from stock, and all are conveniently available in one place.

MC HD shift lever ball seats
MC HD shift lever sockets
MC stock shift handle boots

Did I win?

 

Thanks for all the helpful ideas. I have changed out a lot of parts so far just to be safe and I never install used parts unless I have to, or if it's a part that is fine used.

I changed the plugs, plug wires, rotor, dist. cap, distributor, PCV valve, mass air flow sensor, air filter. fuel filter, seafoam gas treatment, fan clutch, radiator, thermostat, front & rear diff oil, transfer case oil, transmission oil, flushed block and heater core, antifreeze, wiper fluid , electrical grease on plugwire ends, coil wire ends, and battery terminals, new power steering belt tensioner pulley, belts x3, greased all grease fittings on the drivetrain, new bulbs in all the blinkers, driving lights, and brake lights, cleaned throttle body, straightened up any damaged cooling fins on the AC radiator and I think that's it so far, but I could be forgetting something.

I wouldn't have changed the distributor out, but I thought my bearing in it was bad. After changing it, the warn bearing sound was still there. Now I'm thinking it is the power steering belt tensioner pulley bearing. Just for information sake, the pulley bearing can be purchased at Napa for $8.00 bucks and the part number is 6204-2RSJ. The original one is an SKF I believe and the replacement is a Chinese bearing I think, but it will save you from dropping $250. on it at the dealership which is the only place I could find this pulley, as it is different than the AC compressor tensioner that all the other parts stores had in stock.

I like the idea about changing the shift lever ball seat(s), the shift lever socket. I wouldn't have thought of that, because mine seems fine, but with 300,000 on the trans, I'd say it's time! I wouldn't have changed out the mass air flow unit either, but a mechanic told me it's why my truck is not wanting to start when at operating temperature and turned off. When hot, we pulled the sensor wire and she started right up which was new. After replacing the mass air flow unit at $200. from Autozone, it still doesn't like to start up again when at operating temp. Sometimes it will start after cranking on it for awhile, but sometimes she just doesn't want to start until she sits for at least 10 minutes. ??? Stumped ???

My truck has around 300,000 on the body, but the engine has 10,000 on it, so I would still like to do things like wheel bearings (either repack, or replace) shocks, bushings throughout etc. What's a good product to use to spray a radiator externally to clean out any dried up bugs and road grime? Thanks.

 

Yeah...you are. But in all fairness, you didn't have time to see my previous post for what those things were before you posted that question. Nevermind, situational awareness attained. And YES, @ 300k miles you have no more shift lever ball seat...GUARANTEED! Whether you think you do or not. It disintegrated LONG AGO! Unless somebody put the MC HD type in beforehand...then you're already covered there.

Oh, and the windshield wiper blades.

BTW Air Flow Meter(NOT a MAF). And yeah, you got scammed on that. They very rarely EVER need replaced during the life of the vehicle.

 

Um, I don't think anywhere here was mentioned changing MOTOR OIL/FILTER

I'd adjust the valves/timing too

Sounds like you nailed most everything else though - nice!

 

The mechanic that told me to put in the mass air flow unit didn't make any money off me, so not really scammed, but definately mislead. Since that didn't fix the starting issue, any ideas of what would make a truck not want to start when already warmed up? It starts sometimes when already at operating temp after cranking for 5 seconds or so, but sometimes won't start at all when already warm. If cold, It fires right away everytime in like half a second. Not trying to hijack my own thread, but this may be fixed by one of the little cheap things that is often overlooked. By the way, what is a air flow meter?

I think your correct, but this is one of those givens and my oil and toyota (check valve) filter had just been changed before I bought it. It still is good for another 1,500 miles and looks golden. No need to go there yet, but good eye!

 

Maybe not replace but I'd definitely check all the ball joints and tie rod ends. No guarantees but if there is any play its better to check it now than have your wheel fall off on the freeway!

Only other thing I can think of is brake fluid. I don't think that one was mentioned before.

 

Perhaps: Break all the lug nuts loose and check for any cross-threading or snapped wheel studs so you can replace them early instead of getting surprised later.

 

No problem. It's your thread. Do with it as you please. And no, not likely.

Here's the inobvious answer, though I don't think it should apply to yours(being a 94, unless the engine isn't a 94):
http://www.toyotapart.com/22R-E,_22R...T-EG011-89.pdf

So, assuming the engine is a 94, you should start(pardon the pun) by running(double-pun...ouch) down the list of things shown in the 93 FSM that would possibly cause a difficult to start while engine is hot condition to exist. There's 11 of them listed, in order of their likelihood(1=highest, 11=lowest).
http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-b.../3troubles.pdf

Here's the rest of the FSM to help you check each of them off the list.
http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-buchanan/93fsm/
VAFM(or commonly shortened to just AFM) is the abbreviation of the words Volume(or Vane) Air Flow Meter. And it's what you have if you don't have a MAF sensor(which no pre-96 trucks or 4Runners have).
http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-b...33volumeai.pdf
http://autoshop101.com/forms/h21.pdf
http://autoshop101.com/forms/h34.pdf

 

empty the ashtray.

 

Don't forget to check the fuses! It could help solve some of the problems that come with a used car/truck.

 

right on the money!

 

and sometimes just for the halibut i start pulling of any and every bolt/s, applying anti-sieze and putting them back in and re-tourqeing where appropreate. It pays for itself big time when things start needing to be replaced. AND you get to crawl all over the rig and look for anything out of the norm!