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

I rarely post here as nothing I have done has been done well. But today, I have accomplished the impossible. Here in Fort Collins CO we have elms everywhere and all those elms have scale and all those scale parasites drop dark sappy droplets over everything that parks under it. It dries into a rock hard crystal bumps. Dark reddish brown and sometimes green. It is impossible to wash off and if you scrape it off you scrape your clear coat or chip your paint off. The previous owner clearly had a elm tree. So, I parked the taco on the lawn, covered it with sheets and towels, and set a sprinkler up pointed at the hood and roof. I turned the sprinkler on and napped most the day.


By 6pm those little rock solid crystals were weak enough to take off with fingernails or a credit card corner. Take that dry elm scale poop crystals!!!! We will see if I scratched the gel coat in the morning.

Early this morning, while contemplating whether to paint Chassis Saver or normal paint on my almost rust free frame, I ate pie and coffee while I SAT under my truck. Because… I CAN. (insert man grunts here celebrating my clearance. I am 6’2”)

Also… I am finally getting a return on investment on my 2 year old.

 

Not bad. Most folks take a decade or more.

 

What guard thing? I don't remember seeing that

 

Black cover for the valve. Plastic

 

Did the first drain and fill on the rear diff (ewwwwww stinky), full fluid exchange on the transmission. oh yeah - also hit 146k miles today.

 

Where could I buy one?

 

This thing?

$9 Fumoto LC-10 Accessory, 1 Pack

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B011...ords=F103N&dpPl=1&dpID=31FJTOim4tL&ref=plSrch

 

Yes

 

Anyone ever had any experience with the Demello hybrid tube/steel bumper before? My buddy has one on his double cab and I feel in love with it. Turns our Demello isn't making these at the moment. I hope they do again some day.

*pic is borrowed from the net

 

3" lift
33x12.5x15 method dbl stndrd / BFG
42" light bar w/ relentless fab low pro mounts
added 4 8" subs and 1000w amp

 

Sub setup? I was on only able to squeeze a 10" low pro behind the back seat.

 

Bumper was hit backing up so chrome paint pop up and 1st owner didn't take care.
Now looking for solutions on how to fix it to prevent a search for another bumper?
My none-experience plan is:
1. remove all rusted chrome as much possible to clean metal
2. then rust encapsurator chasis saver paint black
3. fill up and level with J&B as filler.
4. then black rustoleom bedliner paint the square base area around.

Can you share any better ideas ?

 

Amazon has a bunch of different kinds, thats where I got this one. The mounting brackets are flimsy so I made my own, and I got better hose than what came with it.

 

Thanks! I'll check em out. Can't wait to have my own shop so I can fabricate stuff for the Taco at home.

 

Having a problem with my passenger front window today, it will roll down and up but only a little at a time, it acts like there's a capacitor in the assembly that has to charge up to keep the motor moving.
It'll move some and then stop, if I let it sit for a minute or two it'll move some more.

None of the connections that I found are loose and the voltage on the battery is good.

 

Installed a Smittybilt compact Defender roof rack on my truck over the weekend

Had to drill 8 half inch holes into the sheet metal of the roof to mount the well-nuts that attach to the mounting brackets...talk about nerve wracking.

 

I've done 10 into mine....

 

It's a terrifying feel right? lol. Especially when you go to line the rack up to the holes you just drilled, praying it works.

I messed up one of the 8 holes though, when I was drilling I didn't keep a tight grip on the drill for a split second and the 1/2" bit caught on the metal and twisted the drill in my hand, screwing up the hole My heart dropped when it happened. Fortunately it wasn't TOO bad, I was able to trim the haggard edges a bit and smooth it out. I sealed up every hole with silicone around the well nuts just to be sure they don't let any water leak through, that's the only one I'm really worried about though...

 

It was but after you get one down there no going back. We lined up my rack used a punch and a marker to get the hole started. Plus my rack can slide for adjustments so as long as the hole was in the slot I was good. It looks dead on to me tho

 

Need quick help here. Will a 2004 tundra rear break line work worth a 2004 Tacoma ? My stock line is looking a tight luckily it didn't break.