What have you done to your Tacoma today? 1st Gen Edition

Just for good air circulation in the engine bay, I believe.

 

Ummmmm, I have a huge turbo.

Intercooler is below. I am building a skid/bumper that will fully protect it.

 

lol

 

Also, after I park, I watch the vents and can literally feel hot air coming out them. Also I'll see the heat waves/vapor rising out like you see on concrete or asphalt on hot days. Venting is good for any engine imo. More air flowing over an engine the better. With the vents more comes in through the grill and exits over the windshield as you drive.

 

Nice setup! Would love to know more info on the bed rack and tent. I'm debating a topper v.s bed rack for my extended cab.

Thanks in advance!

 

...Is that your exhaust poking out of the side there???

 

My buddy made it. Custom fit. Worked perfect with my roof racks for kayaks.

 

Yep!

 

Oil change question re 3.4L
Alright guys, have a question for you'll that do your own oil changes on your V6s. I changed the oil on my truck over the weekend. After adding 5.5 quartz of oil I noticed the oil line sits in between the "full" and "low" dots on the dip stick. Is this normal or should I put in the full 6 quartz? I used a Fram "regular length" oil filter, if that helps. Thanks guys.

 

Everything I read says that 6 quarts is the dry fill (i.e. if there is no oil in the truck at all). If you are filling after an oil change (after which there will be some residual oil left in the lines and pan) the fill is 5.5 quarts.

 

Fill it to the top line, run it 5 min, then recheck and top off if needed. At least that's what I do.

 

I've been dumping 6 qts in the 3.4 for the last 20 years. 1/2 a quart isn't much. You leave almost that much in the bottles unless you wait 1/2 hour per jug. I don't wait.

 

Finished up working on the taco last week but I didn't have a chance to add to this thread now that school has started up again. All in all, the truck was treated to the following:

-New front and rear crank seals
-New oil pan gasket
-New lower control arm bushings
-New front differential axle seals
-New timing belt including idler pulleys
-New water pump and thermostat
-Front brake pads and rotors
-Clutch fluid bleed and flush
-New oil and coolant
-Dielectric grease in all electrical connections
-LCE short shifter
-4xinnovations heavy-duty transmission mount
-Bonzen heavy duty poly bushing engine mounts
-Rat Skid plates
-BAMF bolt-on rock sliders (that double as steps)
-New tires

@BYJOSHCOOK the motor mounts are kind of a PITA to swap. Have a long extension and a u-joint handy. I will make the job easier. I would start with the passenger side if I did it again. You will have to loosen up or remove the AC compressor mounting bracket in order to install the new engine mount, as it shares one of the bolt holes with the AC bracket. On the driver side, you will have to remove the oil filter (so make sure the mount install coincides with an oil change for convenience) and remove one of the coolant lines that leads from the block to the oil cooler. It's frustrating but definitely do-ablle.

Here is a picture in the middle of the chaos.

 

as long as your between the lines your good. Oil expands slightly as it gets warm.

 

Damn that's a mess! May do it down the road when I'm out of college. Thanks!

 

I wish I had the money/tools/know-how/will to do this much to my truck. You've done in one weekend what will take me...too long to do. Kudos, m8. Love seeing people truly take care of their vehicle.

 

Pulled my cams and heads today. Wow is this thing in great shape for the mileage. For all those 5vz haters here's what 300k miles and 15k mile oil changes with mobil 1 synthetic extended will do. All 6 cylinders Have pretty strong hatchmarking left (PS. Those cames weren't cleaned. They came out like that)
The coolant in cyl 5 is from pulling the head

 

finally got around to getting some pics of the frame for you guys I think it looks worse than it is:

 

These frames can be deceiving cause they rot from inside out. Do the hammer test. If it feels solid. Wire wheel and scrape the all the shit off that frame and paint it.

Looks like alot of crusty components including that snapped off leaf.

 

yea I went around banging on the frame a bit and felt the inside where I could, it seemed real solid. Im gonna go through it tomorrow and check everything and clean some stuff up too (not that its my truck )