Getting my 03 Up To Date

I recently bought an 03 Tacoma 4x4 3400 automatic TRD with 193k that has 3" blocks under the leaf springs and tuff country shocks, and the factory Bilstein coilovers with 3" blocks in the front.

It took me a long time to get this truck and i want it to last. I would like to know if there is anything that stands out that I should check out replace, if anyone would be so kind as to chime in.

Here's what I have done so far:

It had a leaking valve cover gasket and a vibration at 30mph, and the front axles were completely killed. The inner boots had torn and grease was all over everything.

I replaced the valve cover gaskets, a broken half moon seal (resealed the others), bolt grommets, spark plug tube seals (forgot the oil filler cap, but it seems to be fine), cleaned the throttle body and plenum, replaced plenum gaskets.

•Oil and filter change
•Plugs
•Wires
•Air filter
•Fuel filter
•Installed high articulation c/v axles
•New brakes and pads
•Replaced driveshaft center bearing and dropped 2 inches with rough country shim kit, and reassembled driveshaft with proper alignment (I hope).

The timing belt, water pump and thermostat were done at 105k at a Toyota dealership, so I know they are due any time now.

I am still getting a popping sound at seemingly random times. It sounds like it is maybe the over compressed spring hitting itself, but I don't know. A couple other things it may be:


I ordered genuine toyota lower ball joints. The old ones still have grease in them and the covers are OK, but I don't know when they were changed.

The bushing where the steering rack mounts to the cross member is torn. Can I replace this or do I need a new rack?

I know that's a few different questions, but I would appreciate any answer to any of them. Thank you!

 

You can replace the bushings on the steering rack.

How are the sway bar end links? Could be a culprit for your popping noise. Although so could many other things.

I'd suggest removing the spacers from the front coilovers and replacing them with complete new coilover assemblies. Most will suggest OME 88x coil springs with 5100s for 2-3" of lift.

Another thing worth checking (and likely lubing) would be the slip yolk at the back of the rear driveshaft (could be causing the popping too).

Also you oughta flush coolant, brake, diff, t-case, trans, and power steering fluids (in roughly that order of priority - brake fluid and coolant soonest).

 

Thanks for the response! The truck had a fresh radiator and coolant flush right before I got it. The sway bar looks new, and the bushings look good. It has yellow paint marks on it, so I'm guessing junkyard part. I did lube the slip yolk and grease fittings. The noise sounds like front end. I'll replace the rack bushing and start changing those fluids. Is there a site you'd recommend getting those suspension parts from?

 

Personally I like Toytech for shocks.

 

The popping sound was the stock upper control arms hitting the spring and the upper ball joint. I replaced with KSP upper control arms and ball joints for lifted Tacoma, replaced inner and outer tie rod ends, replaced lower ball joints (genuine Toyota), and the noise is gone and the truck rides great.

I have a squeaking sound that sounds like it's coming from the cab, but I only hear it when I have the rear sliding window open. I'm going to regrease the propeller shaft and u joints. Any other suggestions?

 

Did you grease your new upper control arm bushings upon installation (the ones that really long bolt goes through)? Those seem to have a propensity to squeak on my truck, and a little white lithium grease usually takes care of it. But sounding like it's coming from the cab it really could be anything. You'll drive yourself mad trying to find every annoying noise (I know from personal experience lol).

Also could be worth checking your leaf spring bushings (since you're hearing it from through the back window). if they're polyurethane they will almost certainly squeak eventually, and again, white lithium grease can help quiet them down for a while.

 

I'd check your transmission mount too. I'd be willing to bet it's dry rotted to hell, takes like 20-30 min to swap out. Same goes for the shifter bushings since your an auto. If you notice your gear selector has a lot of side to side wobble, time to replace those as well. Got some replacements off a member here (thread), he has a website where you can buy them now

Another dry rot victim on mine was the LCA bushings. Mine were original and had about 235k miles on them and were basically dust. You can buy arms and just swap them in, or buy Whiteline or Strongflex bushings and press the old ones out if you want. Check out this link if you want to swap the bushings. If you buy arms to just swap in, I'd bite the bullet and go OEM, the bushings will last 10x longer than the parts store ones.

Other than that it sounds like you've got all the tune up stuff taken care of as well as some good preventative maintenance as well. Truck should give you another 100k miles easy, enjoy!

 

Just to add to this, regarding the LCAs, I'd buy the OEM LCA bushings, and not the whole arm. You'll save about %50 on the total price, but just have to press out old bushings and press in new ones. Easy to do without a shop press too (just use the OEM bottle jack to press out old ones), and a simple jig like this to press in new ones.



*Only caveat is if your undercarriage is rusty, then buy the whole control arm, and don't bother spending forever trying to free the old bushings*

 

I did grease the upper control arm bushings on install and the replacement arms had zerks. Thanks, I'll check the leaf spring bushings.

 

Thanks for the advice, I'll check the transmission mounts. I noticed a bright yellow "33" on the transfer case and dull paint marks on the drive shafts, so I suspect the entire driveline may have been replaced.

There is wobble in the shifter, and I was wondering what that was. This is the first automatic I've worked this much on. Almost all my vehicles have been manual. I appreciate the link.

LCA bushings look good, and so do the arms.

 

Thanks for the reply

Lca and bushings looked good and alignment shop said they were in good shape.

I have a couple of 1st gen Tundras and I noticed a gap on the upper control arm on my 03 in the area on the photo, but it didn't look broken (not my actual control arm). Don't know if it's a big deal but I replaced them. Is that where the lower would likely fail, or where would I look besides the bushings?

 

I think I f'd my power steering pump today. I cleaned the reservoir refilled it and bled the system, and now I have air getting in somewhere. The reservoir screen was full of crap and the fluid was almost black. L

It runs quiet and turns smooth for about 10 seconds then starts whining like crazy.

I can't really swing the $300 for the oem pump at the moment. Would y'all recommend grabbing a junkyard oem or whatever I can get from rock auto?

 

Are those the original shocks up front? I think I would have directed some funds towards replacing them and ditching that spacer. Also, I didn't realize people were running 2" carrier bearing drops. I've been on 882's and Dakars (+ extra leaf) for over a decade and don't have any drop on the carrier bearing. The drops I have seen for sale were nowhere near 2", maybe 1/2". Is that 2" drop recommended and used by most?

 

I believe they are the original shocks, yes. They actually ride really good. I considered dropping to factory height but I like it.

The bearing shim kit from rough country was I think 1 inch, but I added some big washers until the vibration went away.

I was under the truck yesterday though and noticed some faint paint marks on the drive shafts, which led me to believe the driveshaft is 180° out from the rear end. The bearing also has more play in it than it seems like it should, so I am going to replace it again, rotate the shaft 180° and put the bearing back to factory height and see what that does.

 

I bought a car quest power steering pump and installed it, and got a kit to rebuild my oem pump. Quiet engine, steering, and suspension, smooth (ish) ride. Having a new exhaust installed Monday. And I think I'm done for a while. Well... timing belt kit in about 1000 miles. SMH, always something lol. Thanks for all your help
Cheers,
Cliff

 

I kept the Flowmaster muffler and replaced the pipe and it made such a difference in the overall drivability of the truck. I don't know if the ecu was compensating for the exhaust leak in some way, or if it's just my imagination, but in addition to sounding way better, the truck drives a lot better too. It doesn't downshift to third on the highway in places it normally does, and acceleration is not faster, but feels smoother and has better response. Again, could just be my imagination because of how much better it sounds, but it was definitely worth getting it done because I like driving it so much better.

 

Also found a parts truck today. It's an 02 with the frame broken in half. It's a manual v6 with 101k. The engine and transmission are good, as well as all body parts and most paint, and it's the same color as my truck, as is the interior (some fool spray painted the interior black in my truck, so I'm looking for door panels, seats, and trim pieces).

The truck was originally parked because the guy who owned it got a dui, and had an intoxilock system on it. When he got his license back, he tried removing it himself and never got the truck running again.

Dude is asking $1000 which I think is fair, but I don't have that kind of $ this month. I'm thinking of waiting a few weeks since it's not on the market and offering $650 and hoping to get it for $7-800. Also my father in law builds cars and said he can likely weld the frame. So I might even be able to swap all the parts I want off it and flip it for a small profit.

Are the 02 manual and 03 automatic close enough that this is worth doing?

 

Probably just the plastic bushings that eventually fail on every 1st gen. I've replaced three sets as of now and it's about a 30 minute easy job.

Auto Trans Shifter Bushing Replacement & Transfer Case Shifter Seat Replacement | Tacoma World