Hi. I'm a newbie here. I recently bought an 89 hilux with 280000 miles on it. The body was in good shape, but everything else had seen better days. The folks who owned it before me used it for muddin and such. i attempted a few repairs with ok success. I replaced the ps pump and steering gear (both were leaking heavily). I also replaced the three belts, ps lines, fuel filter, cv half shafts, tensioner pulley, upper/lower ball joints, tie rods (inner/outer), steering dampener, idler and pitman arms, and a heater core coolant hose. All in all i spent like 30 hours doing all this. It's my first time working on and owning a truck. Timing belt was replaced 20000 miles ago. Is there anything i should consider doing?

 

Which motor do you have? It is a 25 year old truck so there will be issues. Most are easily fixed with some time and patience. Plenty of information on here to help you get it where you want it. I see Timing belt so am assuming the 3.0, start with getting the basic maintance caught up and see what parts are worn, how it handles and drives and start with those items. Welcome to Yotatech.

 

It is the 3.0. you are correct, sir! Lol anyway, by basic maintenance you mean things like valve clearances? Tune-ups? That kind of stuff?

 

Start at the ground and work up !!

On these basket cases I pretty much always start with getting the brakes and emergency brake in good working order.

Things like coolant hoses are a pain when they leave you sit vacuum hoses as well get old and brittle .

Time for the big 3 upgrade if it still has the old tired battery cables.

It is expensive catching up the neglected maintenance once done you know your vehicle .

We all have our own priority in doing things some will spend days getting the interior squeaky clean.

 

Parking brake is kinda screwy but the brakes are in good working order. The interior is actually extremely well maintained, so i got lucky there. What is this big 3 upgrade you speak of?? Should i consider new leaf springs? I have time and a little bit of money to throw at this thing.

 

My only advice would be to put some of that cash up in a safe place in case of emergency repairs. My checking account would be a good place. Pm for the routing number. Kidding! Have fun with it.

 

Already sounds like you're well on your way to having a mechanically sound Toyota. Lots of mudding? I'd go through the axles next, inspect and repack bearings, replace all gear oils in axles trans and tcase. Replace drain plugs with low-profile magnetic plugs and add extended breathers. Flush brake and clutch lines with fresh fluid. New coolant. Maybe replace your shocks too.

 

Lol thanks. Will do

 

Yeah :/ the people prior took her through alot more than i thought they did. I had thought about the oil and coolant but i didn't even think about all that. I will get on it

 

Speaking of axles and transfer case, should i put in new seals while I'm at it?

 

What are "breathers" and where would i find low profile magnetic plugs??

 

I personally wouldn't mess with the seals unless they're damaged/leaking.

Axle breathers vent the axle, both front and rear. I would assume they extended them if they were taking the truck through mud/water, but you never know. Usually one common cause of axle seals leaking at the ends is a plugged diff breather and the pressure buildup blows through the seal. If you Google "Toyota breathers" you'll see tons of info on them and how to extend them to safer location.

For the magnetic plugs, I like the low-profile ones. They use an allen wrench instead of a socket and have a fat magnet on the inside. IIRC I got mine from Inchworm but you can buy them from many vendors. Probably even a universal part as long as you get the right thread size, i don't know this info.

 

Thanks for all the info. I really appreciate it. Cheers

 

Are you going to post any pictures?

 

Well, i didn't take any pics while doing the work but I'll get some together of the finished product.