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

Do you have a link to a write up for this process?

 

yeah I followed this one pretty well except for screwing in the shrouds and not painting

 

Does this setup remove that first catalytic converter?

 

Lol what else would it be for...

 

Yeah the headers are for pre-2001 5vz, which only had one cat, so it replaces my upstream one. I didn't actually realize that until I was installing them, and I deleted the downstream cat a long time ago, so now I'm rolling with no converters.
Might have to put one back in when I do the rest of the exhaust so it doesn't smell like a 57 chevy when I start it up.

 

On the topic of where their temp gauge sits, I find mine always sits a bit lower than most. Would need to hook it up to my reader to see actual temps though.

 

My ultragauge usually sits at 186°F for the engine temp. 190° if I'm slow and low.

 

I tend to sit at 195* around there, maybe 190* but 200 is the high

 

Mine also sits about 193-195

Depends if the thermostat was put in upside down or not I believe

 

So if I were to put a set of these on my 2003 5VZ-FE it removes the upstream cat but still has a port for the O2 (Air/Fuel Ratio) Sensor, bank 1. That's what it looks like in the picture anyway.

Is it just that simple or would it start throwing codes for not having that additional catalytic converter? Sorry if that's a dumb question I've just considered adding these in preparation for a more expensive add-on down the road and worried it's not just a simple bolt on project when removing one of the two factory catalytic converters.

 

^^^this. I was averaging 198-202 (under normal driving conditions), sometimes as high as 206 F. I flushed the system, even went as far as testing it with just distilled and a coolant additive to see if it would lower the temps. Nothing.

It turned out my thermostat was installed upside down (jiggle valve at 12 o'clock). For reference FSM calls for the jiggle valve to be in the 6 o'clock position. That did the trick. My normal driving temps are now 188-190. IIRC normal temps tend to be in the 187-197 range (I have to double check that).

During that span of time, there was no change in the temp needle position.

As many have indicated, the temp gauge sensitivity is rather low. So when you see it cry wolf (i.e. Reaching for red) you better be concerned. Odds are, by the time it has moved enough to indicate overheating, the damage has been done.

 

How do you have blue numbers/needles ?

Also, mine sat like that until I replaced my thermostat. Turns out I was about 10-15 degrees low. Enough that I had to drive 20 minutes to get my idle to drop out of warm up mode. Now my idle drops within a couple blocks.

 

Blue LED backlit and painted needles.

 

Matches the style of the rest of the truck. But seriously though, it's in an area where you cannot see it while driving and you cannot see it head on, I thought about putting rubber trim on it but it was not worth the effort for the return.

 

So your lights were on in the pic....?

 

I wouldn't say that, but i did find it mellowed out the tone of the exhaust and really makes it project under acceleration. My engine definitely feels smoother but I have a feeling that's more to do with not having exhaust leaks and a broken AFR sensor bung.

 

Yeah lol I find that I never turn them off.

 

Git er done! I wish I had done it sooner. I didn't need anything besides gaskets and exhaust flange bolts. cost me $80 for a local exhaust guy to weld a two bolt flange to the cat.

 

I concur ! It took me something like 16 hours. Now that I've done I could probably do it in half the time but I'd rather pay the $500 for a local shop to do it.

 

Couldn't you just buy the white faces and stick them on the black one?