Dispatch55126 Build Thread

I bought my Tacoma in March of this year. It's a:
2004 XtraCab SR5
-2.7L Engine
-Manual everything
-Only creature comforts are A/C and Cruise
-Had 64K miles and a new frame when I bought it.

It had issues as any 10 year old truck does but the smaller size is perfect for what I need, gets great gas mileage and should easily last me 10+ years.

My build plan is to:
-Keep it as lightweight as possible
-Keep it a daily driver
-Build it so that I can take it on virtually any trail I want
-Wheel the heck out of it.

Current mods (in order of completion):
-AFE Dry-Pro Air Filter
-Rear Diff Breather Mod
-All Pro Sliders
-Complete OME Lift Kit
--881 Coils
--Dakar Leaf Packs
--OME Sport Shock/Struts
--Braided rear brake line
--BPV extension
--Exhaust relocate bracket
-Hi-Lift mounted to passenger side wheelwell
-Full set of RAT skid plate
-Uniden Bearcat 980 SSB
-Marlin Crawler HD Shifter Seat

Future mods (in no particular order)
-4.56 gears
-ARB lockers
-Gas tank skid
-Tube bumpers, front and rear
-33x10.5 tires
-Steel "D" hole wheels
-Dechrome everything
-Some way to mount the spare in the bed
-Winch

I'm leaning towards BudBuilt 1/8" skids for weight savings. I know I lose some protection in doing so but I view skids as an added safety measure, not something to bang rocks against. This is also why I'm going with tube bumpers. They're lighter than plate and only there to protect the truck when I point it somewhere I shouldn't have.

More to come. I'll post pics of the new suspension in action this weekend.

Thanks for viewing.

As I bought it:


My plan was to build slowly, mostly fixing stuff as I needed or if I broke something. Then, I found a local wheeling club so...time for sliders:


Then, while checking my tires, I found a top plate stud that "didn't look right". I'll skip the details and just say I took it back to the Toyota dealer and they fixed everything plus a few extras. However, in keeping with my plan, it was broke so time to upgrade.

I installed a full OME Kit from Wheelers:





This is a bad pic as I took it on my angled driveway and before driving it to settle everything in. It now sits perfectly level.


More to come.

Edit:

Added some pics of the install:


Using the ratchet straps to hold the axle worked like a charm. Once one jack stands, I lifted the axle slightly and tightened down the straps. Then, I disconnected the u-bolts. With the jack taking the weight of the axle, I loosened the straps and lowered the axle until the axle was no longer connected to the leafs. After that, the old leafs were easy to remove and the Dakars went in in reverse order.

With the axle hanging by the ratchet straps, it was very easy to shift the axle around to get it centered to the new leafs. I did have to use the jack under the pinion to rotate the axle and once done, I installed the new u-bolts hand tight to keep everything together until back on the tires and torquing the bolts down.

I know others have suggested using a bottle jack to get the leaf bolts connected but I found this unnecessary. I installed the frontbolt first followed by the shackles and had zero complications.

 

Hello, i am looking forward to seeing were this build goes as my tacoma is identical to yours. Best of luck with the build ,Ray M.

 

Here's the only pic I got from this last weekend at the OHV park.


New suspension ran great and is greatly improved over OEM. Having the improved suspension and lift also now adds to the need to prioritize future upgrades.

Tires and gears will eventually happen but so far I haven't found anything where I've truly "needed" them. Mud, rocks and extremely steep inclines/declines haven't been an issue.

Things I do need sooner than later is a Hi-Lift and some way to mount it, a CB, new front bumper and skids. It'll probably happen in that order but skids may come before the bumper so we'll see.

 

Found that my exhaust pipe was nearly rusted through just past the muffler. So...

Rusted exhaust pipe+Sawzall=

 

I was just wondering if you had any post settling pictures of your truck on level ground. I have the same machine minus sliders and have been debating 881 vs 882 springs. I'm worried the height won't be what I want.

Thanks man and looks good!

 

Looking good man. Bedrack time

 

I'll take a pic tomorrow. I've placed a level on the bed and its level in both directions.

 

I want to pull the trigger on one but then I have occasions like last weekend. 12 sheets of drywall, 1 each plywood and chipboard, bags of concrete and flashing which makes having a completely open bed nice. I will need to get one once I get bigger tires though.

 

wow and

 

Don't worry. You're on my Christmas list.

 

These are the only other pics I have right now.

 

Cool thanks man. I like the look.

 

Mounted my Hi-Lift jack. I used:

(2) 0.5"x2.5" bolts
(2) nuts
(6) very large washers
(2) wingnuts

There is a 1" gap between the wheelwell and the drop-in liner which is why I needed such a large bolt. I park indoors so I don't have much of a need to lock the jack. Plus it takes a screwdriver to undo the wingnuts so theft should be unlikely except for determined theives.

 

Finally solved the knocking noise from under my truck. It only occurred when turning to the right and occassionally on bumpy straightaways. Turns out that the cab pinch welds were hitting my sliders. Even though there was a 1/8" gap between the pinch weld and sliders, there was enough movement in the body mounts to make contact.

I flattened the pinch welds and the noise went away. I'll eventually replace the body mounts too but this is good enough for now. To say that knocking noise drove me nuts is an understatement.

 

I got a set of 1/8" RAT skid plates yesterday and mounted them today. Say what you want about the 1/8" steel but these are far superior to the OEM, both in thickness and the extra coverage.

I sanded them, cleaned them with citrus cleaner then gave them 3 coats of primer followed by 5 coats of regal red.

 

Installed my CB over the weekend.

$154 Uniden Bearcat 980 40- Channel SSB CB Radio with Sideband NOAA WeatherBand,7- Color Digital Display PA/CB Switch and Noise Cancelling Mic, Wireless Mic Compatible

Uniden Bearcat 980 with an aftermarket radio in the stock radio location. I mounted the antenna to the rear bumper and with running the cable down the framerail, I had very little excess cable to worry about.

It took alot of dremel work to the center surround to get everythingto fit but it works and looks good.

 

Really like your build; I have a lot of similar plans.

How did the dakars like the haul vs stock leafs; sheetrock & construction materials etc?

I run a shell and want dakars with extra leaf; you did not get the extra leaf correct?

 

The dakars took the weight with only a minimal amount of sag. Since I don't have a topper, an AAL isn't needed but I would definitely add one if i had a topper.

 

Thanks! Will do.

Really interested in how the 1/8" skids hold up; I know your not planning scraping or landing on rocks, but let us know how they do if it happens...

 

This might be up your alley; to put the spare in the bed this dude just used a ratchet-strap...

www.tacomaworld.com/forum/1st-gen-tacoma-marketplace/305772-2003-toyota-tacoma-xtracab.html