Replacing stuff before it breaks? (1 Viewer)

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Apr 9, 2019
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Salt Lake City
Hi, new to the forum but have spent hours and hours reading. Fantastic site! I recently bought a 100 series in amazing shape with great service records for an absolute song. But, it's got 281k on the ticker, so as soon as I got it home I started questioning my judgment. Given that it will probably become our go to family adventure rig, I want to do whatever I can to get ahead of stuff that might be nearing the end of its service life.

I've restored and/or just driven quite a few classic cars over the years, and i usually just run through the usual suspects of "stuff that gets you stuck" right out of the gate for peace of mind. But I know these things have amazing life spans, so does that sort of proactive replacement strategy make sense?

It's due for a timing belt right now so I'll do that and the water pump for sure, but what about things like fuel pump and relay, brake booster motor and accumulator (just bought a backup, should I just do it, or wait until/if mine fails?), starter/solenoid/relay, etc. Am I overthinking this, or does that make sense? And if it does, what would the priorities be?
 
Probably overthinking some stuff. The basics are good to do (spark plugs (+make sure boots are in good shape), water pump/timing belt, diff oils, trans oil). The brake issue happens suddenly from what I understand so I don’t think there is much that can be done to prevent (others can correct me). Yes, do the T’s!

Mine is at 197k... I’ve had a fair amount of cars including our newer Gx460 and the LC is still my most trusted vehicle. We use it on 500 mile road trips on a monthly basis (sometimes twice a month basis). They just keep wanting to pay you back for the work you do.
 
If you've got the history on what's been done to the vehicle, then it may be a good idea.
We were out in the Swell and came home a day early only to experience total brake failure.
So at least it happened close to home.
But check out the thread pinned to the top of the 100 section.
You'll get a sense that most failures occurred during a specific mileage range.
I'd just make sure you're on top of PM and go from there.
 
Since you’re doing the TB (along with WP etc) I’d change the alternator as well. Other than that, just wait until you need to fix. I wasted a lot of time and money replacing parts I’d usually change on lessor vehicles
 
Some great advice, thanks everyone. Yeah I'd read about the heater tees and have that at the top, figure I'll do the hoses at the same time?

One thing I've not been able to figure out is if the brake booster issue was more common in the early years or not. I read a couple places that it might have been more common 20009 and earlier, but other posts it sounds like all years have been affected. Is there any consensus on that?
 
In general, over maintenance of LCs is overrated, over expensive and over necessary.
 
With the number of miles you have, in addition to what's listed above, I would check the front wheel bearings. Also, you should check out the FAQ's for the 100 on this site if you haven't already.
 
You'll get varying opinions on what and when to replace. I think the decision process should be based on ( your budget) more over how and where you drive your truck. A daily driver that doesn't get too far from home would get general routine maintenance and "wait till it breaks" maintenance on large ticket items. If it's an offroad or back country rig, long trips I'd maintain it differently for component reliability based on age, miles, service history.
 
The only preventative maintenance items I would do would be the timing belt and water pump (engine failure if they fail) and all fluids. After that, inspect things like CVs, hubs, tie rods, ball joints, etc. My approach to everything else has been to replace as needed. Notice your coolant temps are higher? Start digging into the cooling system - t-stat, fan clutch, radiator. Notice your steering is wonky? Dig into the steering - rack, ends, hubs.
 
Everyone above seems to have nailed it^

I'd swap the heater T's, do a diagnostic on the alternator (if it's not bad, don't replace it, the quality of the replacements seem to drastically fluctuate and from what I understand, only rebuilds are currently available, no new OEM). And then go over everything and replace what feels bad, which will likely just end up being bushings. These trucks are made to go a long time and take a lot of abuse... there aren't many trouble items that are notorious (other than heater T's).

If it were me, to calm the nerves, I'd get a spare coil pack or two to keep in the truck, a jug of coolant, a jug of distilled water, a 54mm socket (+ a decent metric set of tools), a quart of 5W30, a quart of ATF, a spare thermostat, and the FSM (PDF's are all over the site and can be printed for relatively cheap at your local office store).

The only things that have ever left me stranded are a stuck thermostat and a dead alternator.
 
Thermostat and heater T's. Water pump, tensioner, idlers if it's not been done. Everything else seems to slowly degrade.
 
What's the 54 mm socket for?

<snip>...
If it were me, to calm the nerves, I'd get a spare coil pack or two to keep in the truck, a jug of coolant, a jug of distilled water, a 54mm socket (+ a decent metric set of tools), a quart of 5W30, a quart of ATF, a spare thermostat, and the FSM (PDF's are all over the site and can be printed for relatively cheap at your local office store).
<snip>...
 
What's the 54 mm socket for?

54mm socket is for the retaining jam nuts on the front hub for the wheel bearings. More of something you'd need if you were far from home. You could probably get away with a flat head and a hammer to spin them as needed, but I like to be prepared :)
 
Many system on the 100 series at those miles need inspecting and refreshing.

I always start with camera in hand looking for leaks once plastic shielding remove. This includes head gasket.
Do a full front end inspect.
Then clean, clean, clean.

Many things are important too get up-to-date. Rubber get old so look at all hoses (water and vacuum). Make a list and work on those that effect reliability, other parts getting damaged and deliverable first.

I do one inspection that is different and new. At your miles very important.
I look at wire from bottom of ABS unit on side of brake master (black plastic box). Wires run to brake booster motor. Both ends have a boot. Peel back boot and inspect for corrosion on nut's, screws and wires. If found, I now suggest wire be replaced with new OEM from Toyota. If this found corroded, booster motor should also be pulled apart and brushes and commutator then inspected or just replaced.


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I'd get a spare coil pack or two to keep in the truck, a jug of coolant, a jug of distilled water, a 54mm socket (+ a decent metric set of tools), a quart of 5W30, a quart of ATF, a spare thermostat, and the FSM
Do you carry all of this in your truck all the time?
 

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