de6w6it's documentary

got my first taco six weeks ago, and I am going to use this thread as a documentary of my truck's progress/upgrades/mods/maintenance.
at the dealership:

removed badges and painted front emblem:

3 days later, I found a broken leaf spring:

after receiving a set of tsb leafs from a member on here, I installed them.


When I bought the truck, it had a pretty dented tailgate, so I found a new one and put that on. It actually had an oem backup camera in the handle, which I had no use for, so I sold it on ebay (which helped pay for the tailgate ):


I had been driving my 350k miles SAS '88 4runner for the past 5 years or so (the build thread is in my signature), and finally had the funds to upgrade to a better daily driver.

 

I painted my wheels black. I primed them, sprayed them with gloss black enamel, and then sprayed them with clear gloss. The center caps I sprayed with plasti-dip:

I added 6 tie-downs in the bed under the bed mounting bolts. I ground down one side of the washer, but that was all I had to do. The tie-downs I got already had a 1/2" hole in them. The part the bolt goes though is double layer. I used these:
http://www.armysurpluswarehouse.com/hardware/tie-downs/military-issue-vehicle-cargo-tie-down.html

I picked up a cargo net from ebay to keep small light things from sliding around:

To keep the net from flying around when empty and on the highway, I made two loops out of paracord to tie the bottom two corners of the net to the front two tie-downs:

 

I found a guy on ebay making Delrin shift knobs. Super cool stuff, and he shipped it the same day I did a buy it now.

And I got a shorty antena:

Also picked up some OEM all weather floor mats (made in USA!)

I also swapped in some PEP boys special LED dome light and map light bulbs

 

I decided I wanted to put some courtesy LED's in the cab. I went with the Radio Shack Amber assemblies, as recomended by many users on here.
One in front cup holder


One in switch blank under climate controls

 

One in console, with a switch mounted so it shuts off when console is closed



One on the back of the console towards the bottom


And one in the cupholder in the rear of the console

 

So here is how it sits now

I got it with 48 k on the clock, and at 50 k I did:
Oil Change
Oil Filter
Cabin Filter
Greased U Joints
Serpentine Belt

 

So far so good. Keep it up

 

I ordered a dry, washable filter from AEM to replace the oiled one on my K & N CAI. I want to avoid any oil/sensor issues. Plus I like the fact I can just wash it out.
This is the K & N CAI that was on my truck when I got it:
http://www.knfilters.com/search/product.aspx?prod=63-9026
This is the filter I ordered:
http://www.aemintakes.com/search/product.aspx?prod=21-209DBF
I got that one over the AFE because it was cheaper and they had free shipping. Here is one from AFE just FYI:
http://afepower.com/shop/custom/filter.php
Part #: 21-60507
You may have to enter specs, but basically filter should have:
flange: 6"
height: 7"
flange length: 1"
top diameter: 5.5"
bottom diameter: 7.5"

Once I receive my filter, I will post an installed pic.

 

Apparently I never posted a pic of my installed filter. It fit perfect and has been no issue.

On another note, I believe I have finally figured out the noise I was getting from the front end I probably mis-described here:
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/282860-blow-across-top-bottle-jug-noise-highway-speed.html

I am fairly certain it is one or both of my front wheel bearings. I ordered from Rock Auto, which is a great online store with great prices, and you can select which manufacturer/pn you want.
Going on a hunch from previous experiences with buying Timken bearings for my 88 'runner, I purchased Timken bearings for this job, and found Koyo bearings from Japan in the Timken box.





I got the outer seal and inner seal, though I will not separate the knuckle to get at the inner seal unless it looks really bad, which I am not anticipating. I plan on re-using the O-ring, as this is dealer or random industrial application territory. The rust level is almost non-existent and I have a press in my garage, so I am anticipating a smooth install.

 

Well, this cured my noise. When I pressed the bearing out of the passenger side, it looked fine, which was kind of surprising because when I turned right, the noise went away. When I pressed apart the driver side, the outer bearing's (plastic!) cage was completely destroyed, allowing the rollers to come into contact with each other and allowing them to migrate and leave a circumference of the bearing un-supported. I didn't replace the inner seal, as it looked fine and I didn't want to separate the knuckle if I didn't have to.
I was not able to budge them with my 20 ton bottle jack press, I had to use my father's air over hydraulic 25 ton press. The passenger side's outer bearing's inner race that was pressed onto the spindle did not come off with everything else as it did on the driver's side, so it had to be cut off.

 

Looking good! Keep up the good work

 

So hey there!
It has been a while since I had to do anything to the truck, which is kind of nice for a change!

So, I splurged and purchased:

LCE Header:
http://www.lceperformance.com/Street-Header-Kit-2005-2014-2TR-2-7-Liter-Tacoma-p/1041055.htm
New exhaust spring mounting bolts:
http://www.partsgeek.com/gbproducts/WC/18056-01163907.html








Alpine head unit:
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_500UTE52BT/Alpine-UTE-52BT.html?tp=5684
Head unit adapter harness:
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_120701761/Metra-70-1761-Receiver-Wiring-Harness.html?tp=2977
Head unit install kit:
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_120998214B/Metra-99-8214TB-Dash-Kit-Black.html?tp=3121




Core Hurst shifter kit:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Core-Hurst-...uck-/281708345442?hash=item4197203862&vxp=mtr
Shifter bracket:
http://www.steeda.com/steeda-mustang-shifter-handle-offset-bracket-555-7070/

I rounded off the corners on the bracket, as I didn't want it tearing up the rubber boot directly on the shifter base. Using this bracket, I was able to re-install all factory rubber, boots, insulation, etc, with zero cutting, etc. It places the shifter slightly rearward than it would sit without the bracket, which is comfortable for me in my driving position, and results in not clearance issues.








Also, here is a shot of my K&N intake tube with AFE washable non-oiled filter:

 

So I traded in my '09 with 165k on the clock and got $8k for it towards my new Tacoma:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/de6w6its-3rd-gen-trd-sport-dcsb-mt.500350/