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Almost 90K, Stealership Hustle, Water Pump has slight leak, What Other Maintenance?

3453 Views 5 Replies 5 Participants Last post by  claye
I posted this on another thread, but I have more questions than just the water pump and am looking for some high mileage OG Tundra owners advice...

I'm at 88k and out of warranty, went in to the stealership as I get free lifetime oil changes so i take advantage, but I don't let my truck out of my site when there. I still bring my own Mobil 1 mpg booster full syn 0W-20 but its nice to have them do the rest of the work. While in there I was asking the service manager what problems he's seen with Tundy's naturally the water pump issue came up. We both looked at mine he says he could tell its leaking. I saw a little white crud but not much pink stuff nor have I ever noticed puddles of pink coolant underneath my truck when parking for a while. It was hard to peak in but he did have a mirror on a stick to sort of see inside. My coolant level was damn low too, but it had been 8k since my last oil change. Also, I think I'm going to start changing my oil at 5k even with the full syn mobil 1. Cause my oil was pretty damn dark this time around.

Question is I will monitor the supposed leak and see if its bad, but if its a slight leak how or when should I change the water pump and how big of a PIA is it to do yourself?

Also, being that I'm almost at 90k I've seen the recommendation for 90k to change transmission fluid, is this what everyone here has done?

Also, my power steering pump went at 60k and I had it replaced. It looks kind of dark in the container but when you dab the dip stick on your hand its still pretty golden. How often do you guys change your power steering fluid? The stealership guy first thing he says is you need to change it every 30k and hit me up for it as soon as I pulled up without even lookin at it so I know he was trying to up-sale me. Regardless, i will do it myself anyways, but how often?

Also, for those with 4x4's what about your differentials how often do you change out front and rear? I do not use 4x4 very often maybe once a month just to keep it in working order or if I'm out mudding.

Besides transmission fluid and the above fluids what else would any of you higher mileage guys recommend you did at either 90k or 100k? How soon did you guys change out your spark plugs?
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I have never changed my ps fluid, didnt know i had to but everything still works good. I did my trans service n spark plugs at 90k. U should do the differential also. But if u can wrench a little save yourself some money n do it yourself except for the trans.

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I don't have high mileage but god knows I've had plenty of 200K+ Toyotas. If you are low on coolant and there is some seepage from the weep hole on the WP, change it. Cheap insurance. Only go original Toyota on WP, alternator, thermostat, and sensors like 02. I went through three alternators from the box auto stores within six months. I went through four WPs from them as well before I finally went into the dealer. This is on a couple 4Runners, Hilux, and Landcruisers. Oh, and replace the thermostat and gasket while replacing the WP.

Being that you are running a lift with bigger tires, I'd get the tranny service done. I know you can do this yourself but I'd consider the dealer on this one only because they can flush and drain. Besides it's a messy job.

I think it would be a good idea to drain and refill both diffs and transfer case. I'm not positive on the Tundra though if it is separate from the tranny. Your brake fluid and PS fluids will retain water over time and begin to degrade. Flushing and replacing the brake fluid will extend the life of your calipers and master. Honestly, I've never done PS fluid. Oddly enough.

Finally, changing spark plugs can't hurt anything right? Well, besides your pocket book a little.

Hit all the zerks with some grease as well. The rest, I'd leave alone I think. It's early and I'm only 1/2 cup deep so I may be forgetting something else.
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I never changed my P/S fluid and I'm at 156k miles. I guess at 30k mile change I'm behind 5x already. I would put that on my last to do list. I flushed tranny at 70k miles. My book states 60k. You can think about flushing your radiator to see if your water pump will still leak or change it then do a flush. I haven't change a wter pump on these trucks. I've changed quite a few and were pretty easy. The PITA is taking all what is in front of the waterpump off to get to it. Make sure you get what Toyota recommends for radiator fluid.
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Yes I did forget I changed my rear diff fluid at 120k miles. Now at a low speed of 15mph I can hear the bearing raor a little. My grandson works at I-95 Toyota in Brunswick. He did tell me we need to change that and my right rear shock. I changed both rear shocks and plan on changing the two fronts as soon as I get me a spring compressor at Harbor Freight.
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I just changed my power steering fluid at 70k miles and the fluid was pretty dark - the dealership had been recommending that I change it for the last couple oil changes, so I did it myself. As soon as it warms up around here, I'm changing my differential and transfer case oil just for peace of mind, and because I like to find excuses to work on the truck on the weekends.
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