Cheap/Free Mods

^^ Zakc, that looks like a scary way to get a concussion in an accident! I'd consider a way to secure it better!! Yikes.



Hey all, I'm about to do the map light LED conversion, which is on pg 16 of this thread. Does anyone know if those bulbs listed are compatible with both gens? The OP had a 2nd gen and I have a 1st gen so I wanted to make sure it works. Also, was the 6 LED light bright enough, or do they offer bigger ones?

Thanks!

 

pidro_el_pirata, the light actually never moves at all in that suprisingly, the only way that that sucker is possible coming out on accident is if i completely flipped the truck! (which i shall try to avoid) and it swings sideways if the truck were to tip, doesnt come strait up, but if you were worried about that then a strap over the top of the light would take care of it accidentally coming lose

 

For sure. Ok. I still wouldnt do it but that sounds neat.

 

HA!! That would be funny to see, especially if it uppercuts the person sitting in the back as it swings forward

 

One added note to this, it also removes the chime for the passenger and driver seatbelt without affecting air bag operation. Finally, no unneeded warning chimes. As I am one to always use the fob for locking, there will be no risk of locking keys in the vehicle.

Thank you all for the many great tips in here. Loving the site!

 

Done on my '11 as well. Oh sweet silence how I love you

 

Funny how people with the beeping want to shut it off, and people that don't have it want to add it to their truck.

 

Agreed, ABS was intended for the average driver encountering UNEXPECTED road conditions. An expert probably can stop in a shorter distance on a non ABS-equipped vehicle, especially when they can see the markers when they are approaching the measured course under controlled conditions.
BUT when exiting a blind turn and encountering a road obstruction on the far side of a bunch of wet leaves or a diesel spill ABS is worth it's weight in gold.

Whit

 

As an update to the ABS issue, I had new pads and rotors put on a couple weeks ago. The factory original rotors were starting to collapse apparently. I had the pads changed once before and am betting the rotors weren't replace then. They may have been turned, but whatever. With the new brakes the truck stops better than it EVER did! In fact, with the ABS still enabled I'd say the new pads/rotors make the brakes work as well as they did before with the ABS disabled.

I've slammed the brakes pretty hard on various road conditions, and I dare say I may not turn the ABS off now. However, I'm waiting for winter to see how they do in the snow. They did not skip on a wet dirt road though, and even my wife expected to slide when I hit the brakes as a test.

So, with that in mind, many of you considering doing or have already done this mod, you might want to have the brakes replaced. Be warned though, it'll cost $300-$400 for it. The rotors alone were $209 each at Autozone. I lucked out and the Monroe Muffler guy gave me a buy 1/get 1 deal on the rotors. Still cost me $336 for everything. Not a cheap mod, but it might be a better option.

 

my brake pedal goes all the way to the floor when my ABS kicks in, and the ABS system hums

 

As did mine before the new brakes. Thus me deciding to do the ABS kill switch. On anything other than dry asphalt. Even dry asphalt with bumps in it.

It was so bad I had the ABS kill switch for when things were bad, AND double tapped the brakes every time I used them with ABS on. The second tap seemed to build pressure and allow me to apply more braking force.

Hell, even right off the lot I had trouble because my work boots stuck up above the pedal, and hit the arm when pushing on the brake. The truck wouldn't slow, and I'd have to reposition my heel back so I could get just my toes on the pedal. Which meant taking my foot OFF the brake when I really needed to stop. (Image that thought going through my head the first time it happened! )

Now, with the new brakes I have none of those problems thus far. I even moved my foot further up the pedal so I was pushing directly on the arm, further than what normally made it impossible to stop. I did that at 60 mph and the truck slowed so quickly the nose dove and threw me forward.

So right now (pending snow testing of course), I'm going to say better brakes make all the difference in these trucks. I didn't do anything fancy like slotted/drilled rotors either.

 

so the solution isn't killing the ABS, but new brakes? or would you say doing both? you got new OEM pads and rotors and that was it? no calipers or brake lines? if the brakes sucked with old oem pads and rotors, what's to stop those from messing up and this repeating itself? at $209 each rotor, i might look into aftermarket. gonna do a search and see what's popular

 

As I said before, I haven't been able to test on snow or ice, so I can't say if I'll need the ABS kill switch any more.

However, thus far they are far improved. The truck had maybe 100 miles on it when I bought it, and I've always hated the ABS. So the very fact it is better than when brand new, I highly doubt it will "repeat itself" by the very fact the brakes were never this good before.

I should look into what rotors and pads were used. I know the first set of rotors they got were too large (probably for the 17" wheels), and had to get a second set.

 

yeah, i'm curious if they changed what they were using over the last few years. either way, i'm looking at EBC pads and Powerstop or Power Slot slotted/drilled rotors.

 

Heads up if you can't get this to work... happened to me today

If you've done the disable door-open chime mod, then the above procedure won't work since it can't tell when you insert the key (step 1).

Luckily I had the bottom steering column housing off again today to install my rear-camera-anytime switch, so I re-connected the key-in sensor long enough to do the above procedure - which then worked first try.

 

I tried this, no go. Just made small side markers blink. Not what should happen. And btw my pass side wire is blue black. Wtf, lol. I did follow diagram on my 2009 tacoma only on the drive sid. Then tested. Should I have done both to see final result? Thanks

 

What are you talking about? What mod did you try?

 

Did the oem cruise mod today. Wow was that easy. Toughest part was figuring out you had to pull the screws out a little to lift of the airbag.

paid 19 plus shipping for the stalk and 28 plus shipping for the wire. Why toyota didnt make this standard when the parts probably cost them under 20 dollars per truck is beyond me.

then i dropped the spare tire down to refill it since the low tire sensor was on. Crazy drop in pressure due to the cold nights that past few days.

 

Probably because cruise control comes with a more expensive 'package', and they are hoping someone will pay more to have it.

 

Thanks! Quick and easy to do!