Wanted: 2005 (+-) Tundra 4wd Low Milage Unicorn (Help Me)
- Thread starter landman
- Start date
character zero
dangerfoot
Still looking? I have one with just 130k on the odo in Austin, TX. Just did 120k service and timing belt/water pump.
beef tits
Well-known member
It's hard to find for a reason! These trucks run forever and most people want to keep them because of it.
Just wanted to chime in attempt to quell any fear of high mileage. Both the 4.7 and 5.7 platforms are extremely reliable and with little maintenance and a good life can easily see 500k+ miles. There are also some well documented cases of 1,000,000+ miles with little to no major work in all that time.
I see the attraction of low mileage and "garage queen" condition but in my experience both are very overrated when it comes to Toyota trucks. If you actually want to get out and use it and not worry about a scratch here and there.. that is limiting off-road. If you want a garage queen then so be it.
A 200k mile Tundra might need a few little things here and there, but the money you'll save will go a long way towards mods and fun stuff. I've replaced original suspensions on a lot of 200-300k mile Toyotas that still rode as good as new. It still feels wasteful replacing and throwing away good parts, but I would feel way worse about it on something low mileage.
If you are used to Ford/Chevy/Dodge typical nonsense then mileage is rightfully a concern.
$0.02
Just wanted to chime in attempt to quell any fear of high mileage. Both the 4.7 and 5.7 platforms are extremely reliable and with little maintenance and a good life can easily see 500k+ miles. There are also some well documented cases of 1,000,000+ miles with little to no major work in all that time.
I see the attraction of low mileage and "garage queen" condition but in my experience both are very overrated when it comes to Toyota trucks. If you actually want to get out and use it and not worry about a scratch here and there.. that is limiting off-road. If you want a garage queen then so be it.
A 200k mile Tundra might need a few little things here and there, but the money you'll save will go a long way towards mods and fun stuff. I've replaced original suspensions on a lot of 200-300k mile Toyotas that still rode as good as new. It still feels wasteful replacing and throwing away good parts, but I would feel way worse about it on something low mileage.
If you are used to Ford/Chevy/Dodge typical nonsense then mileage is rightfully a concern.
$0.02
landman
Well-known member
Bold talk there.
Ford, Chevy, and Dodge all have great platforms out there (7.3s / F250 series, Duramax / Silverado, Cummins series to name a few). To use such a broad brush and claim these platforms have “typical nonsense“ and people should be “rightfully concerned“ is simply incorrect. These platforms offer some legendary vehicles with reliability and durability being bar none.
Considering I’ve had Toyota rigs for 12 years, I agree that Toyota also makes some incredible platforms for overland use (Tundra/Tacoma), but they are not perfect. No rig is. Suggesting Toyota is the only platform that is reliable simply couldn't be farther from the truth and many-many users on this forum will totally disagree with your sentiment.
toylandcruiser
Expedition Leader
Yep. There are 4 tundras with a million miles on them.
beef tits
Well-known member
You're correct, no truck is perfect. But you won't ever own a 7.3 for 1,000,000 miles, or even 400,000 without replacing the transmission/injectors/etc. at least once. The maintenance on those vehicles is astronomical in cost compared to a Tundra. Simple fact.
landman
Well-known member
I wont EVER own a 7.3 for a million miles?
2002 F-350 Powerstroke passes 1 million miles, still counting - LeftLaneNews
It's certainly not unheard of to hear of a vehicle passing several hundred thousands miles these days, but passing a million is a bit of a rarity and worth a mention.
leftlanenews.com
reality of a 1,000,000 mile 7.3? - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums
1999 - 2003 7.3L Power Stroke Diesel - reality of a 1,000,000 mile 7.3? - So, I currently have the truck in my signature line. I was looking for a donor truck to do a DRW conversion on it (let's just say that it's because I want to and not start a debate here). In my search I found a 2000 F350...
www.ford-trucks.com
Built Ford Tough: Some Impressive Stats on Ford Car Longevity - Golden Circle Ford Lincoln Inc Blog
Car longevity is, understandably, a big concern for many car owners. Learn just how much you can expect out of your Ford.
To show a few examples.....
I cant go 400,000 miles without replacing the transmission/injectors/ and “ect“
Whats the ”ect” you mention?
Regarding the transmission, yup the autos suck. No argument there. I recommend the manual.
I’m not interested in getting into a tribal debate on who makes the best truck, but this rhetoric that Tundras are thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis much better is silly.
beef tits
Well-known member
Don't mis-quote me.
Like I said, they'll go 1,000,000 miles. They're unlikely to go anywhere near half of that without MAJOR COSTLY maintenance. Any vehicle will last forever with endless repairs. 7.3s are VERY costly to maintain.
Let's start with easier goals here;
Show me one case of a 300,000 mile 7.3 on original injectors that still fires up below freezing?
Show me one case of a 300,000 mile 7.3 that has never had a transmission rebuild?
Show me one case of a driver who ran that truck 300,000 miles without hearing damage?
I've owned these trucks. I probably know more about them than most. They are glorified tractors that break a lot. Good for pulling heavy things... that's about it.
Let't talk more about the manual transmissions...
Sure the gearbox will last.... but the whole thing will have to come out of the truck pretty frequently too.
Ford thought it best to cast a giant hole cast into the block right over the flywheel. On a motor with high pressure (500-3,000 PSI) oil lines running all over the heads. They leak. Often. Fuel bowl too. Slightest oil/fuel leak on the topside and you end up with an oil soaked clutch. Brilliant design!
How about the piss-poor transfer case design? They explode with the wrong fluid. This is well documented, there is a TSB on it but you probably already know that.
The transmission will crack in half with any imbalance in the driveshaft (faulty u-joint, slip-yoke? kiss that tailhousing goodbye!) I've seen this happen less than 60 seconds after a u-joint let loose. Pro-tip; You cannot buy a new driveshaft from Ford anymore and have to rely on rebuilds.
Ooh, how about the manual transmission cooler integrated into the radiator? Another good design. Idea is to heat up the fluid as much as to cool it... I get that... but as soon as your ************ Ford radiator goes bad and starts pissing coolant into the transmission lines... REBUILD TIME!
Manuals are, frankly, worse than the automatics... all things considered. If I were a complete moron, and wanted to buy another 7.3, it would be an automatic. As much as they break, they break less than the manuals in my experience.
Like I said, they'll go 1,000,000 miles. They're unlikely to go anywhere near half of that without MAJOR COSTLY maintenance. Any vehicle will last forever with endless repairs. 7.3s are VERY costly to maintain.
Let's start with easier goals here;
Show me one case of a 300,000 mile 7.3 on original injectors that still fires up below freezing?
Show me one case of a 300,000 mile 7.3 that has never had a transmission rebuild?
Show me one case of a driver who ran that truck 300,000 miles without hearing damage?
I've owned these trucks. I probably know more about them than most. They are glorified tractors that break a lot. Good for pulling heavy things... that's about it.
Let't talk more about the manual transmissions...
Sure the gearbox will last.... but the whole thing will have to come out of the truck pretty frequently too.
Ford thought it best to cast a giant hole cast into the block right over the flywheel. On a motor with high pressure (500-3,000 PSI) oil lines running all over the heads. They leak. Often. Fuel bowl too. Slightest oil/fuel leak on the topside and you end up with an oil soaked clutch. Brilliant design!
How about the piss-poor transfer case design? They explode with the wrong fluid. This is well documented, there is a TSB on it but you probably already know that.
The transmission will crack in half with any imbalance in the driveshaft (faulty u-joint, slip-yoke? kiss that tailhousing goodbye!) I've seen this happen less than 60 seconds after a u-joint let loose. Pro-tip; You cannot buy a new driveshaft from Ford anymore and have to rely on rebuilds.
Ooh, how about the manual transmission cooler integrated into the radiator? Another good design. Idea is to heat up the fluid as much as to cool it... I get that... but as soon as your ************ Ford radiator goes bad and starts pissing coolant into the transmission lines... REBUILD TIME!
Manuals are, frankly, worse than the automatics... all things considered. If I were a complete moron, and wanted to buy another 7.3, it would be an automatic. As much as they break, they break less than the manuals in my experience.
Last edited:
landman
Well-known member
How did I miss-quote you?....I used the quote button! Just look at your two statements above.?♂️
Last edited:
kevinlongisland
New member
People's emotions aside, the only source I believe that puts some science behind reliability ratings does indeed indicate that Toyotas are the only trucks in the 5/5 reliability range. No American made trucks have consistently reached that level of reliability. The source is Consumer Reports (if someone knows a better source let me know, appears like there aren't many sources for this type of data). Interestingly enough, consumer satisfaction is high for American made trucks, which leads me to believe that most American made loyalists skew their reliability opinions of American made trucks simply because they are American made fans. As an engineer, and knowing the manufacturing techniques that the Japanese use and have had a head start on perfecting, it makes logical sense to me why their vehicles are more reliable.
But, maybe I'm wrong Landman. Please point me to the hard data (large statistical samples, not a few individual cases) showing American made trucks are equally reliable as Toyota trucks.
Last edited:
Regcabguy
Oil eater.
I drove a Hino medium duty tilt cab with a 4 cylinder and Allison pre-electronic auto for 240K stop and go miles for 14 years. In all that time it needed a head gasket, exterior door lock cylinder,column key cylinder, a steering gearbox and normal wear items. The Allison rocked,and the engine never dripped or used a drop of oil. I never let the turbo cool down and loaded the hell out of that truck. it was the most reliable vehicle I ever drove. If Toyota would do something with the Tundra styling and squeeze a couple more mpg's out of their engine I'd buy one. I do read up on some common issues with them so maybe the quality has slipped somewhat too.
Pnwfullsize
Active member
Its hard to really compare reliability of a tundra/tacoma and full size diesels. Diesels are built for performance, and a lot more is expected of them. What is more impressive? A tundra daily driven to work for a million miles or a 5.9/7.3/6.7 diesel truck that has a half million miles pulling heavy equipment behind it or working at max capacity whether its payload or towing?
Bottom line is, if the truck is meeting your needs for an acceptable period of time or mileage, then thats all that matters.
Bottom line is, if the truck is meeting your needs for an acceptable period of time or mileage, then thats all that matters.
landman
Well-known member
I can‘t help you sir.
From your post, the only source you believe is Consumer Reports. YET, you don‘t believe your own source in what they report and claim/deduced all on your own that “American made loyalists skew their reliability opinions.” You simply just cherry picked the reports from your own source that you like and don’t like, which is the defeninon of “skewing.” If you don’t believe your own source of information there is no way in hell you are going to listen logically to anything I have to say.
We will have to agree to disagree like adults.?♂️
This right here is hammer and nail, bravo.
Last edited:
landman
Well-known member
Its funny how sometimes the cars we least expect from provide the most. I was a young boy and had Suzuki Sidekick as my first car. (To my regret) I treated it like ********, beat it on dirt roads daily (thought I was a rally driver), 4wd it super hard, looong road trips, rarely changed the oil or did anything, never did anything to it, it was my DD. It couldn't of had a harder life. It NEVER stopped running, never broke down, never didn’t start. I think I sold it with 330K miles on it. That little sidekick was a warrior. Where ever it is in the world, I would bet its still running.
Last edited: