TomTom's '03 TRD Xtra Cab (SOLD!)

Bought a desert gold TRD x-tra cab brand new in 2003. The last couple years saw some drastic changes to make it more off-road worthy. Been on TW for awhile researching everything and finally got to a point where I figured it was time to share.

Where it is now:









Here's the oldest pic I have with it closest to stock:



List o' Mods:

Suspension:
-Front: OME 882 with Nitrocharger Sports and Toytec 1/2" Top Plate Spacers
-Rear: Dakar Leaf Packs w/ 3/4" washer
-Icon UCAs w/ Uniball covers
-Toytec Diff Drop Kit
-Sway Bar Removal
-OME greasable shackles

Armor:
-Elite Front and Rear Bumpers
-Rocky Road Sliders
-BudBuilt Skid Plate Painting and more Painting

Engine/Drivertrain:
-Marlin Crawler clutch kit
-aFe Stage 2 intake
-Magnaflow Exhaust (part #15811)
-ARB Front Locker
-4.56 Gears
-Marlin Crawler Shifter Seat
-TG Creeper Breather
-CV boots
-LBJ and OTR replacement
-Flywheel and MT output seal replacement
-TRD Supercharger, install, URD 7th Injector and 2.2" Pulley
-Repaint/relocate rear axle
-URD short throw shifter
-Linear clutch return spring
-Radiator fan replacement

Wheels:
-Dick Cepek DC-2 wheels, 4" BS
-BFG AT 285/75R16 tires
-NoLoss Valve Caps
-Staun Deflators

Brakes:
-BPV Relocation Bracket
-Wheeler's extended front and rear brake line

Electrical:
-Hyperblink mod - Tridon EP35
-Cobra 19 DX IV CB + Firestick 3' Firefly Antenna
-ARB Compressor
-PIAA 520 Off-Road Lights
-PIAA 510 Fog Lights
-Blue Sea Fuse Box
-OTRATTW Locker Switches
-Gray Wire Mod
-OTRATTW Fog and Off-Road Light Switches
-LED bulbs for backup lights
-Backup Light Switch
-BamaToy's Alternator and Battery Harness Upgrade
-Blinker Relocation
-Uniden 520XLPRO (replacing the Cobra)

Stereo:
-Alpine INA-W910 head unit
-Alpine Amp, PDX-F4
-Polk db571
-RAAMAudio sound treatment (Pckg #1)

Body:
-Pinch Weld Mod
-Fabtech Spare Tire Mount (part #FTT10001BK)
-Hilift Mount
-Prop rod grommet
-Homebrew Engine Aprons

Recovery:
-Warn M8000s Install

Offroading Adventures:
-Getting lost in the Jemez
-Kyle's last NM ride
-Puerco run with some coworkers

Trail Damage:
-From Kyle's last NM ride

Things to come:
URD Fuel Pump & Tuning
U-joints
Wheel Bearings
Body mounts
Gas Can Mounts
Seats
Tundra brakes
Belly Skid

SOLD!

 

Gold bruthas unite!

 

So..., somewhere in there I decided my muffler was too rusty.



So I decided I needed one of these:



Got it off of Ebay for a reasonable price. I think it was around $380.

It took all of a couple hours to get it mounted:



And here is the cool tip:



Doesn't quite have the growl of the Borla I had on my old XJ but deep enough without getting raspy.

 

I have spent many an hour combing your build page, gathering up ideas. Thanks for sharing!

 

subd! curious to see where this goes

 

And then I decided it was time to do a lift and some sliders:





With the experience I had with OME on my old XJ, I went that route again getting the 881s for the front and Dakar packs for the rear. Found out later about the taco lean and droop when the 881s settled in. Got it fixed but that is for a later post.

For the sliders, I hadn't found TW yet to know about all the awesome options out there. I wound up getting some sliders from rocky-road.com. They have a very clean look but sometimes I wish I had gotten ones with the outrigger for better protection.

 

In the process of getting the lift done I noticed the front tires were rubbing the frame at full lock.



After reading about the rust issues, felt something needed to be done:


Got some Dick Cepek DC-2 wheels figuring the 4" BS would pull the tires far enough away from the frame. Since the ATs were over 6 years old and showing signs of dry rot, figured I'd replace them at the same time and got some KM2s to try.

The sliders show up a little better in that shot too.

 

Looking good. I've loved the OME suspension on my truck. How are your rocky road sliders mounted? If seen a few different slider from those guys and some had very questionable mounting. Doesn't look like it would be hard to add a secondary tube to the outside of the sliders to help keep your doors off the rocks.

I just noticed I have the same Thule bike trays that you have. Cool.

 

The sliders have an interesting mounting scheme in which they bolt to the frame and the cab pinch weld. Seems like it is a good mechanical scheme, distributing the load over a large area. Circumventing the floatation of the body mounts by directly linking the cab and frame together via some nice steel didn't seem too good to me.

After long conversations with Rocky Road and consulting a local 4x4 shop, I had them welded to the frame and left the pinch weld rail unused. I may have a tube welded on similar to their supersliders but then again, I may bash the shit out of them, have them hacked off and some TG, Elite or other brand ones put on.

Kind of funny about The Thule racks. I get asked why I prefer Thule over Yakima every now and then. Both are fine car rack companies. I get the funny look when I tell them it is because Thule uses square crossmembers.

 

Good call on the slider mounting. The self tapping screws through the pinch one is one of the questionable parts of their design I think.

 

Did the OME AAL give any noticeable amount of lift in the back, say 1/2" or more? Thinking about it so the truck can handle loads a little better but trying to keep it level.

 

Onward with the build! This mod wasn't visibly noticeable so not so much cool factor. Last summer, the clutch started slipping. I tend to use a lot of compression braking and other non-clutch friendly things. So, in with the Marlin Crawler kit:



Definitely like the clutch pedal feel. Eased up on the pressure needed to throw it. Haven't noticed any problems with lack of hold.

 

Nothing like a gold Taco although mine is 2nd gen

 

The only bad thing about desert gold Tacomas is too much black starts making you look like a Saints fan. Which is only bad if you aren't.

 

but the black and gold looks extremely good


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qQSW2p1IvE

 

Speaking of black and gold, after 6 years of living in the bright, sunny Desert SW, I got the windows tinted last summer:



A little darker than I would have liked but that's what I'm stuck with.

 

Last month, somewhere between Christmas and New Year's, I had to go pick up this big box:



Any guesses to what was in it?

 

I know.