Learn me 2004 Toyota Tundra

So I might be shuffling my car fleet a little bit and having a pick up truck is something I could use.  I've found a local double cab 4x4 truck that's spent it's entire life in Arizona.  Carfax shows a few small bruises, but nothing major, looks like fender benders, clean title.  Looks great in the pictures, both inside and out.  Basic mods, offroad bumper, small lift kit, hard tonneau cover.  Timing belt/water pump done recently, along with shocks/struts.

It has some persistent misfires that coil packs and spark plugs haven't fixed.

Seller is letting it go pretty cheaply because of that, suspects bad head gaskets but says the engine runs strong.  So I'm not sure if that's the correct diagnosis.  Mileage is high, 283,000 but well serviced.

Are these the ones that had the frame recall?  Same 4.7 liter V8 as my old GX470, so I'm familiar with it.  What do I need to know about with these?

Frame is the big one, and timing belt.

If it has misfires and a recent timing job, might be they forgot to replace the tensioner. Or didn't tighten it down. My friends sequoia with 4.7 had this exact problem due to a cheap mechanic. 

He lists the timing belt/water pump as being done in the last 3 years.  Not sure exactly when.  Some googling shows that persistent misfires can be caused by the timing belt jumping teeth though.

Is toyota still replacing the frames on these for free?

BIL has one of these that just lunched the transmission during a cross country tow. 5k in repairs. 
 

Probably was trying to tow too much, but you may want to keep an eye out for a weak trans.

I berkeleyed up and bought one like that (2006DC) with 250k that unfortunately had been ridden hard and put up wet. So my experience was definitely a bad example... But I will say that a suspension refresh made it ride really nice.

The secondary air injection system is a problem on these. If your city/state have any visual inspections the common "bypass" kit may not be a solution. Replacing that system is fairly spendy. 

Yeah, that SAS was an issue on my GX470 too.  They do check for it here but it's hit or miss, a friend has the emulator on his GX and has been fine so far.

So seller sent me a mechanics report, motor is borked for sure, has bad compression on #2 and 3 and 50% leakdown on #2.  So quite possibly a cracked head, not just a head gasket.  Not worth it to buy the truck and then spend the amount to fix it given the mileage.  For the same amount I can find one with far less mileage that runs...

In reply to docwyte :

My local Toyota dealer still had new frames piled out behind the building when I last drove through a couple of months ago. Certainly looked like they were still replacing them. I have no idea what criteria they would apply to make the decision and an Arizona truck likely has no frame rust. Might be worth calling a Toyota service manager and asking.

I have a 2006 DC and I love it.  Just clicked over 200k and it just eats miles.  7k oil changes, and the oil comes out looking just as clean as it went in and doesn't burn a drop.  The frame looks like new, with all of the stickers and original crayon marks.  (TN and SC truck.)

I can't say enough good things about these trucks, but they are such great appliances that people tend to only sell them when they're used up or neglected.

Shop for the right previous owner.  The 2005-6 DC has more HP and an extra gear in the transmission for about the same price.

In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :

My uncle had the frame in his replaced within the last year or so, although my understanding is that is a fairly exceptional occurrence these days. Criteria seems fairly arbitrary, my parents Tundra only qualified for the undercoating when it was brought in some years ago. Failed inspection at the same dealer a year later for a rust hole. Wouldn't replace it at that point because the recall work had already been performed. YMMV.

It stinks because they're excellent trucks otherwise but that's a hell of an Achilles heel if you live anywhere near the rust belt.

Tyler H (Forum Supporter) said: ....The frame looks like new, with all of the stickers and original crayon marks.  (TN and SC truck.)

That's how my Georgia truck was. A desert or southeast truck is the way to go for sure. 

IIRC, the frame ocilation  issues started with the "updated" Tundra in 07... I know I think the 04-06 was better. 
I had a 04 from 3000 miles to 99,000 miles with zero problems. One set of tires, front brake pads at 75,000, and oil changes. 
Mine was plain jane work truck, with V6, AT. 5000lb tow rating... towing a 6500 lb airstream all over the country. 
drove like brand new when I sold it... despite being used very hard!

YMMV, but I know of several with 400,000 miles, used as trucks, on original transmissions. 

So what do we all think of the Nissan Titans?  Seems like just as good of a truck without the Toyota Tax, I can find them with half the mileage for the same price as a Tundra.

Titans have a few issues, like cracked headers.  They are better value considering the Toyota tax.  A couple of things I like more about the Tundra:  Short dash. narrow A-pillars, low beltline, larger second row seating, power roll-down rear window, slightly longer bed with a low lift-over height, smoother ride / power train.  Titan:  Dana axles with a serious LSD option (vs viscous in the Toyota,) better center console storage layout, a lot more power.  It just drives like a more 'current' truck, AKA big.  

Titan's are great alternative to the stupidly expensive Tundra.  Titan's biggest flaw is manifolds cracking (all years). Mostly just an irritating noise, but if the crack gets big enough to let fresh air into the exhaust, it messes with the o2 readings and nukes the close coupled cat, which then back-feeds abrasive dust in the engine....which has a predictable outcome.  The fix is to go aftermarket long tube headers with a tune. If you're in a emissions state, this is a problem. Some have removed the stock manifolds, drilled and welded the crack with success and reinistalled. But it's not fun. 

Other known issues:

-Early year trucks have radiators with intigrated trans coolers which crack. This contaminate the trans with coolant. (Milkshake of death  M.O.D)  Repair is new trans/radiator. To avoid, pre-emptively update the radiator. Most older trucks this would have already been done.

-Early year trucks had wussy front brakes that warped easily. Later year trucks brakes bolt on easily.  Will probably need new brakes anyway....no big deal. Again, probably already addressed by now. 

-Exhausts rust apart just after the primary muffler. Exhaust then blows directly on a wiring harness and cooks it.  Be aware, and fix it immediatly to avoid significant issues. 

- somewhat a point of contention on if this is a real problem or not: Rear diffs and front diffs were "weak" in earlier years. Normal use should be fine. Heavy towing or abusive off road, look for later year truck. 

-Rear axles were prone to leaking at ends, soaking parking brake shoes in oil. R+R seals with updated design, and R+R P brake. 

-Some early trucks experienced timing chain issues. 

Those things addressed, the Nissan 5.6 is awesome, way more responsive than the Toyota. Titan's transmission is solid as well, assuming no M.O.D.  Both engine and trans were variants of existing tried and true units. 

I own an '13 Armada (based off the titan). Most of the above problems were already sorted in production several years prior but I did "have" to do the headers. (there's a very nice power bump with headers/tune). I'm at 155k now, 4 years into my ownership and still love the truck.  With the money saved by no Toyota Tax, even with the exhaust mods, im still literally thousands ahead of where I would have been purchasing the Toyota.  

Resale value is obviously lower, so if you buy one, and plan to drive the hell out of it.