[USAFTUNDRA]

Turns out I have LSD. That was a nice thing to find out. I had been debating about getting an ARB locker or the Kazumo (sp?) LSD. Guess that debate is over I got the fluid changed at 44K. I know...I know I got raked over the coals at $105.00 for a rear differential fluid change, but it's something I never really looked up before because I didn't think I had LSD.
Tundradrenalin has a great write-up on the subject and I would have done mine for the price of oil if I had not been out of town and on the phone with the dealer.

http://www.tundrasolutions.com/foru...y-differential-oil-drain-and-fill/#post925159

But at least I know it was done right. We have a really good dealership here in town. And if I start to get chatter it won't be because some novice jerk (read me) did it wrong.

On a side note: They want $150 to change the spark plugs (regular 30K plugs NKG and DENSO combo) and the pcv valve. Near as I can tell, were talking about $30 parts. That seems excessive for labor. I found a couple of good tutorials on spark plugs but still don't know how comfortable I am with it. I used to change them on my Yamaha WaterBike, but for some reason I'm a little skiddish while my truck is still under warranty.

And they wanted another $135 for intake and injector cleaning.

Counting my oil change and rotation it was $500 if I let them do everything.

I made it out for $150 for Oil, rotate, and differential oil change and told them I would think about the other stuff.

My time is pretty valuable, so sometimes $70 bucks for an hour of labor is worth it to me so I can spend a saturday with my girls not under a truck. But my head is spinning about how much of this stuff is necessary and how much can wait a while. Any advice would be appreciated.

Anyway thanks for letting me ramble a bit on a Saturday.

 

[mytundrarocks]

your getting porked. Your listing shows you have an 05. I have an 05 and the plugs are good for 100,000 miles. Don't change anything yet. You didn't need to change your dif lube either, unless you tow constantly with it. Read your manual. it tells the maintaince intervals for all your fluids and wear parts. Also search on here for regular stuff like that. These issues are where the stealership makes the most loot. $500 is f#$king highway robbery, run Forest, RUN..............

 

[rotarex]

Whats the point of being on the forum if you are going to the dealership for maintenance stuff

 

[jbtoy]

Whats the point of being on the forum if you are going to the dealership for maintenance stuff

For the folks that do not have the time or the tools, they can at least learn more on the forum (I hope) about what makes their truck tick, etc. and at least be able to have a conversation with the tech to say "I do not need this or that is not necessary" as examples. I am sure many agree, some people walk into stealerships and have no idea what is going on with maintenance and costs.. I still love the filler packages from dealers as "check this, check that, be sure this is still there..yes, that will be $299 for the service.

 

[USAFTUNDRA]

your getting porked. Your listing shows you have an 05. I have an 05 and the plugs are good for 100,000 miles. Don't change anything yet. You didn't need to change your dif lube either, unless you tow constantly with it. Read your manual. it tells the maintaince intervals for all your fluids and wear parts. Also search on here for regular stuff like that. These issues are where the stealership makes the most loot. $500 is f#$king highway robbery, run Forest, RUN..............

I did read. Every 30K if no towing on LSD. And respectfully, on the 05 V6 they don't use the 100K plugs, they use the 30K plugs. NGK on one side and Denso on the other. Regular nickel. There are quite a few posts on the site that suggest not using the other kind as they require higher octane fuel with the current engine set up. Later model V8s have the irudium plugs.

 

[USAFTUNDRA]

Whats the point of being on the forum if you are going to the dealership for maintenance stuff

EDIT: Highwaylizard's response was much better than mine so I'll defer to his good words.
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/foru...atdoyaknow-i-had-lsd-bigger-bill/#post1162919

 

[USAFTUNDRA]

For the folks that do not have the time or the tools, they can at least learn more on the forum (I hope) about what makes their truck tick, etc. and at least be able to have a conversation with the tech to say "I do not need this or that is not necessary" as examples. I am sure many agree, some people walk into stealerships and have no idea what is going on with maintenance and costs.. I still love the filler packages from dealers as "check this, check that, be sure this is still there..yes, that will be $299 for the service.

Thanks! Exactly why I'm making the post. And I agree that the feel good check lists are useless. Just trying to get a feel for what's worth my time and what's not from folks with more experience.

 

[Ando140]

I really can't speak for the spark plugs on the V6, but if they're anything like the V8, there's no way I'd pay anyone else to do it. It's pretty easy, just make sure you torque them correctly and use some (not excessive) anti-seize on the new ones.
The ngk plugs for mine cost me a total of about $13.

 

[Highwaylizard]

Whats the point of being on the forum if you are going to the dealership for maintenance stuff

Just to add my two cents worth here. I ask a lot of questions on this forum in relation to everything and anything about my truck. I consider myself to be fairly mechanically inclined (tool and die maker and general machinist for a number of years before starting my landscaping business) and wherever possible I do the work myself.

However, for the work that I may not have time to get to (read family time means a hell of a lot more to me than busting knuckles under my truck) or work that I do not have the facilities or the right tools for I take the truck to the dealer. The reason people like me ask questions is that when we do end up taking our vehicles into the dealer we do not go in there blind and with "SUCKER" written across our foreheads.

It is the experience of the members of this forum and their willingness to share their knowledge that make this such a great community. I can understand the origin of your question as this forum is made up of those with the confidence, abilities, tools, facilities, and know-how to do their own work. However, everyone had to start somewhere. The most expert mechanic started off losing his dad's screw driver before he was able rebuild an engine.

Even if someone is going to take their truck into the dealer the smart money says they ask a lot of questions and walk in there prepared rather than let a service rep sell them a bunch of services they did not need - or worse, neglect the service they actually needed to begin with.

My two cents and soapbox for the week.

Hey USAFTUNDRA, cannot help you with the plug questions but if you can pick Duffy's brain he seems to have quite a bit of knowledge on darn near everything.

 

[dibble9012]

IMO you should just do all the fluids yourself. Doesn't take too much time or effort, and you know it's done right. Depending on how comfortable you feel, get the dealer or an independent shop to do the spark plugs. You have to be really careful with those as far as the correct torque and prevent cross-threading. The oil is EASY. I used to get a shop around here to do it for me just because I didn't think I had enough time. I've been doing my own oil changes lately just to save money, I'll never go to a shop again to do it. So easy and I know it was done right with the type of oil I want.

As far as the intake cleaning, I'm guessing you mean just cleaning the throttle body? Thats easy to do yourself. Did mine a couple weeks ago, was surprised at the amount of black dirt on it. PM me if you have any questions about getting everything apart.

 

[mytundrarocks]

I noticed you had the V-6 after I responded, so my bad on that one but either way 500 is alot of cash. I do remember having mine changed but I'm not sure how much it was. With that in mind I'm sure it wasen't anywhere near the $105 they charged you but like you said, having the piece of mind that it's done correctly and warrantied, and you didn't even have to wash your hands after.....off topic but how well does the V-6 Tundra proform? Are you happy with the HP and how about fuel milage? Thanks and I agree with putting up a post to see what others are doing, even if you won't do it yourself. I looked up all kinds of stuff on s/c and stupid stuff I'll never do. Oh well have fun boys.....

 

[USAFTUNDRA]

I noticed you had the V-6 after I responded, so my bad on that one but either way 500 is alot of cash. I do remember having mine changed but I'm not sure how much it was. With that in mind I'm sure it wasen't anywhere near the $105 they charged you but like you said, having the piece of mind that it's done correctly and warrantied, and you didn't even have to wash your hands after.....off topic but how well does the V-6 Tundra proform? Are you happy with the HP and how about fuel milage? Thanks and I agree with putting up a post to see what others are doing, even if you won't do it yourself. I looked up all kinds of stuff on s/c and stupid stuff I'll never do. Oh well have fun boys.....

hey sorry if I sounded a little testy in my post. not my intent. Thanks for the reply. I like my 4.0 a lot. The only time I wish I had the 4.7 is when people are bragging about things that I never do with my truck: heavy towing, deep off-roading, or cool aftermarket parts that they don't make for the 4.0.

I really like the milage that I get. If I ease around town I'll get 19 on the scangauge AFE. Short trips (less than 6 miles) I'll get 15-17MPG. Longer trips in town (15 miles) I'll get 19-20MPG. On a trip I'll get between 20 and 21 if I stay below 72MPH. If I drive 60 MPH over a long distance I'll approach 23-24MPG.

It's plenty quick. Virtually the same HP as 2004 4.7 with a little less torque. From 55MPH to 90MPH as in passing on two lane roads it's all I need. It'll smack your head against the seat if you're not careful (read my wife gives me that look).
Hope that helps.

Additionally:
Thanks for the responses guys. Sharing knowledge and helping each other out in a friendly atmosphere is what makes this site so great. Highway Lizard is right. I can do a lot of things. I'm not a complete n00b, but I'm not a grease monkey either. It's a good community that we have at TS and it helps me out a lot. Everything from Super chargers (thanks for that Mytundrarocks) that I'll never do but like knowing about to pulling dents. Thanks for the good input.

 

[mytundrarocks]

you do know the LSD test I hope. If not here goes step on the brake a little bit and slam the throttle to the floor. 1 or 2 tires spin, 2 is LSD not the good acid kind just limited slip....

 

[sic402]

Honestly ill never take my truck to the dealership again unless it is warranty work, they wanted to charge some like $450 for new Pads/Rotors, yea ok i did that myself in under an hour for <$100 they just bend you over with labor costs

 

[Highwaylizard]

EDIT: Highwaylizard's response was much better than mine so I'll defer to his good words.
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/foru...atdoyaknow-i-had-lsd-bigger-bill/#post1162919

Aw shucks.

Thanks USAFTUNDRA

 

[TightyWhitey]

USAFTUNDRA

The plugs are easy to change. I ordered all NGK's from Advanced Auto Parts for around $30. I didnt like having 2 different brands of plugs. You will need to remove the engine cover and the metal bar on the drivers side that holds something...cant remember...its like 2 bolts. There is a little coil thing with a clip on top of the plug. Get a small flat head precision screw driver, lift the clip and pull it out. You will then be able to pull out the spark plug wire. Get a socket wrench with a long extension on it and a spark plug socket. Put it on the plug and unscrew it. Put the new plug in the hole and screw it in with your socket wrench. Dont overly tighten it. Put the wire back in and put the clip back on. I didnt think I was going to be able to do it until I realized how easily the clip thing came off. There is no PCV valve. I changed mine at 30,000 as well, per the manual. I changed all 6 plugs and had everything put back together in less than an hour...and I didnt really know what I was doing. Good luck!!

 

[USAFTUNDRA]

USAFTUNDRA

The plugs are easy to change. I ordered all NGK's from Advanced Auto Parts for around $30. I didnt like having 2 different brands of plugs. You will need to remove the engine cover and the metal bar on the drivers side that holds something...cant remember...its like 2 bolts. There is a little coil thing with a clip on top of the plug. Get a small flat head precision screw driver, lift the clip and pull it out. You will then be able to pull out the spark plug wire. Get a socket wrench with a long extension on it and a spark plug socket. Put it on the plug and unscrew it. Put the new plug in the hole and screw it in with your socket wrench. Dont overly tighten it. Put the wire back in and put the clip back on. I didnt think I was going to be able to do it until I realized how easily the clip thing came off. There is no PCV valve. I changed mine at 30,000 as well, per the manual. I changed all 6 plugs and had everything put back together in less than an hour...and I didnt really know what I was doing. Good luck!!

Hey thanks for the info. I'm feeling more and more encouraged to tackle this one myself. FYI though here is the part # for the PCV valve on our truck. It should be easy enough to change. I believe it's connected to the block at the end of a vacuum hose.

2005 TOYOTA TUNDRA SR5 4.0L 3956cc V6 FI [1GRFE] : Emission : PCV ValveAIRTEX Part # 6P1244
- Stocked in outlying warehouse--shipping delayed up to 1 business day

$7.98 $0.00 $7.98

STANDARD MOTOR PRODUCTS Part # V408
* Non-stock item--shipping delayed up to 2 business days

$4.25 $0.00 $4.25

RockAuto Parts Catalog

 

[dougg]

I changed my lsd oil. I got 3 qts of synthetic (positraction) lube $45 and changed it. Yu got screwed.
PLUGS the interval is 110,000 miles for iridium BUT I took mine out at 30,000 miles, inspected, they looked like new and re-installed with anti-seize. If you wait till 110,000 they may be seized in the head, expensive fix anyway you look at it. doug

 

[TundraSurfBum]

Just had my 30k service done today. I had the rear diff fluid changed ans it was only $40... I have LSD... you got butt raped

 

[TightyWhitey]

USAFTUNDRA

I am learning stuff everyday about my truck. I have looked at AutoZone and they do not carry the PCV Valve. Is that the only site you have seen with it? Have you changed it yet? I need to check and see if I have the LSD...I didnt think that I did.

Thanks man!!