50+ thread

I removed the grill witch takes 10 minutes and relocated the horns down lower. I'm not chasing the total blackout look for my truck but I have converted some parts to black. Doing the Horn relocate and behind the grill blackout Mod in my opinion looks real great and clean looking. I changed my door badges to OEM black and switched out the shifter bezel to black so it matches the seats better. Also added a Vintage black vinyl stripe to the tail gate. Hope you feel Better.


https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...i-grill-horn-relocation-w-lots-a-pics.139680/

 

Such a beautiful truck. I should have gone with that color over the silver. It think yours doesn't show rock chips as bad as mine did. All the stupid rock trucks here in Florida were killing my paint, so the stone guard has really been an awesome addition. I just think the grill would have been better if we started with an unpainted plastic grill instead of reusing the chrome one. Those stupid things are almost disposable in my opinion.
Yeah, I hear you about pulling off to paint, but I have some LEDs in there. I got lazy (again) and didn't use connectors so I would have to cut the wires. If I can just hit the supports without any extra work, that would be perfect.

 

Thanks, I've been told that years back I think it was the EPA had the paint manufacturers remove something that made the paints more tolerant to chips. I remember my 04 Taco chipping bad. This truck has only be on the interstate about 7 Times. Thats wear I used to get the most Road debri slashing on the Front End.

 

Jim
Nice job. I like the strip on the tailgate

 

Thank You!

 

Looks better than the stamped out ones.

 

My paint guy says it has a lot to do with the luster of the paint. A nice deep metallic has to be hard while a more matte finish can be softer. When you paint plastic, you really want a soft finish which can stay flexible with impacts. People want a deeper finish, but that doesn't handle impacts very well. You can add multiple coats so you don't see the primer with each impact, but then you start to get adhesion issues in the layers. Basically, it boils do to not using fragile paint on the front end. It should be chrome, hard plastic and metal. Sure the Tacoma has a pretty face, but it's as fragile as Doritos.

Oh on the fragile point, let me add one thing from my accident. The Taco has a serious flaw when it comes to accidents with other trucks. Our bumpers don't line up, even with other Tacomas. Check the height of your rear bumper vs the height of that goofy aluminum bar in front. Our trucks are designed to impact cars but not trucks. Everything above the safety bumper is air and plastic. I went right under the F350's bumper and almost crushed my radiator. If it wasn't for his tow hitch, I would have set off my airbag sensor and gotten a broken nose. It was only his reese hitch bending my safety bumper that saved me. I call that bad design.

 

I agree.

 

overcast and we only made it to 66

 

honestly not really tires are narrower so a smaller contact patch but thet're heavy as hell. the automatic could be compensating some also. drove it to work today and loved it

 

yep i'm 130 miles round trip the only saving grace is at least a third is in the country

 

yep i'm 130 miles round trip the only saving grace is at least a third is in the country

 

i've got the feeling that's where you stay

 

damn george you ought to try and get that looked at

 

can you say dedicated off road vehicle

 

got my tires lloyd pics a couple of pages back

 

coat whatever you want to protect on the front with the plasti dip glossifier. it's just clear plasti dip and will give you a rubber chip barrier

 

That looks really nice Chris! Who makes that Bed Rail? Was is specifically made to hold a spare?

 

Afternoon Everyone !!

Still very warm but skies are starting to get ugly with t storms building over the desert and mtn regions . got some more work done on my Camaro today but still need a few more days until I'm satisfied that it's to my liking

My truck started that off idle bogging and sluggishness once again and I'm totally baffled on what it can be . to me it seems to be associated with the ECT switch but I dunno !!

Like a few minutes ago the ECT is in normal mode and it would bog / hesitate off idle or be sluggish or slow building speed . got back home parked it for maybe 10 min then restarted it . I then turned the ECT switch to tow /haul mode and then drove it around for 20 - 30 min

During that time I did not notice any bog or hesitation and it ran very good actually felt normal . so again not sure if its related to a transmission issue or not . A couple months ago I brought my truck to the local Toyota dealer where two master techs spent a couple hrs diagnosing the driveability issue . They even performed a diagnostic health report

They tested all sensors ,switches and other functions even compression and spark output and everything was within spec and functioning normally . So nothing was found and I was sent on my way

I'm hoping Mike see's this and he can give some insight as to what maybe going on


Besides that I'm having fun puddling up the freshly paved pavement that was laid down 5 days ago . You can tell where I've been just by looking at Mud Terrain impressions in the pavement. Whenever I turn the inside rear tire on that particular corner will puddle the pavement . the same happens when I turn my front tires while sitting still . My apt mgr is not happy LOL !!

 

half way out if that makes any sense.