RVA_TRD's SANDY Build

Current Status of Build

Suspension

• Bilstein 5100s Front Set at 0
• Bilstein 5100s Rear
• OME Dakars
• Wheelers Greasable Shackles
• Wheelers Greasable Front Eye Bolt
• OME 882 Springs In Front

Wheels

• Toyo Open Country 31x10.50r15
• Mystery Wheels (Anyone Know)

Mods

• Deckplate Mod
• Grey Wire Mod
• Differential Breather Mod
• Wheelers Extended Rear Brake Line
• Steering Tac Weld Mod
• Energy Suspension Steering Rack Bushings

Armor

• 4x Innovations Rock Sliders

Interior

• 3rd Gen 4 Runner Seats
• Goodyear Rubber Floor mats
• Pioneer Head Unit
• UltraGauge Unit

Randoms

• Delta Toolbox
• Amazon Pod LED Reverse Lights

This thread will consist of my journey owning, fixing, and modding my 2000 Tacoma TRD Offroad. I do not claim to be any sort of mechanic, so feel free to tell my everything I do wrong so I can learn not to do it again. So sit back and enjoy watching me hopefully build a badass Tacoma or fail miserably trying. As always feel free to ask any questions or provide any sort of feedback about the build!

-RVA_TRD



The Day She Came Home
After waiting months for a title to arrive from California, I finally have a 1st Gen Tacoma. I've loved these trucks since I was little and was super excited to make one my first truck. She came sitting at 189,000 miles, but with a freshly rebuilt engine, new clutch, new headers, radiator, tires, timing belt, and a handful of other things. I'm not entirely sure what my long term build plans are, as of now I just want to do a 2"-3" lift, new exhaust, deckplate mod, bumper, and winch. I look forward to joining the Tacoma community; see y'all out on the trails!


Day I took her home; a little dirty, but mechanically sound and 0 rust.


Under the bed liner was the worst part of the truck. Previous owner had left it sitting under a tree for about 2 months while he was getting the title sorted, there it got packed with dirt, water, leaves, and god knows what else. Still, miraculously, no rust other than on the surface.



Took a little bit of elbow grease, but she turned out to be a diamond in the rough. looking forward to modding her!


Recently pulled the trigger on some much needed suspension. I bought the truck with stock suspension that had 190,000 miles on it. Went pretty standard with Bilstien 5100s front and rear. Front set at 0 with 881s. Rear is coupled with OME Dakars. Super pumped to put all of this stuff on!


The finished product. Took a little longer to finish than expected, I had planned on doing this all with my dad, but unfortunately he passed away unexpectedly, which left me to learn it all myself. So far everything drives perfect, I even took it into get aligned just in case. Lifted a little more in the back than I expected, overall it's about 2.5"-3" total lift. Ride is stiffer, but 100x better than the old, blown out suspension.

This is before OME Dakers, but after I put the new rear shocks on.


This is after OME Dakars and after they settled for about a week or so.


Front drivers side strut. Bilstien 5100s set at 0 on 881s.


Shot of the underside rear, OME Dakars and Bilstien 5100s. Next up is probably going to be a new exhaust system as the current one is shot.


Once again the finished product, it was a fun little project to do and a good learning experience for myself as well as my friend. Looking forward to doing a few more things then taking this baby offroad!

 

nice, welcome to the community. hide your wallet now.

 

She looks similar to mine. Just got done with an engine swap on mine, it's like I'm falling in love all over again!

 

Your later pics show a 17" 2nd gen offload wheel. What happened to the wheels that came with the truck? I might like to buy them if they are 16".
4toys, Lexington, VA, 2000 TRD Off Road

 

those are two different people @4toys

also @Dubdaddy86 needs new springs or airbags as that weight is scary. I'll avoid you on the road :|

 

Thanks for the correction, frizzman. And +1 on the need for airbags on Dubdaddy's rig. He needs trailer brakes, too. Towing the racecar in my avatar with a '98 4Runner and an aluminum trailer, I used airbags and 4-wheel electric brakes. The 'Runner has less rear overhang as well.

4toys - still looking for a nice set of 16" wheels

 

Long Time No See

It's been awhile since I've posted on here for a number of reasons that I don't think anyone cares to hear. In the meantime some I've done some things to the Tacoma I dubbed "Sandy" (I know, original, right). First off I did the common deckplate mod that seemingly everyone on here has done. Next, I did my biggest solo upgrade since having my dad partly help me on the suspension before he passed away (Struts, rear shocks), then having neighbors help me do the rest (leaf springs).

This project was installing a Magnaflow Cat Back Exhaust System to replace the constrictive, rusted, and lame California muffler. I went with the 15811 System I found for a little under $500 on

$736 MagnaFlow 2000-2004 Toyota Tacoma Street Series Cat-Back Performance Exhaust System, 2.7L, 3.4L

Amazon. After only 2 days of waiting it showed up on my front porch and I had it in by that afternoon before leaving for Homecoming (my date said I should've taken my truck because apparently that's all I talked about that night lol). Anyways that old system came out relatively easily with the exception of me having to take an angle grinder to the flanges after the second cat since the bolts were so rusted I couldn't remove them. Installation was a wiz hung it up, fired it up, and fell in love (my mom and neighbors say otherwise). I find the system it completely tolerable driving around town, but adds some extra umph when you step on it, perfect. I wish I had taken picture of this whilst installing it, but I was determined to get it done before homecoming, which was a success.

This pictures is of the 2nd o2 sensor and the flange that was rusted to the old system. As you can see, it didn't look too pretty, thus my use of an angle grinder.

Next up was hunting season in Virginia, so pretty much nothing got done on the truck since I was spending almost every spare second of my time in the woods. Now that the season is over and I have spent more time browsing this forum, I've reignited the flame of modding my Tacoma. Today I spent my day cleaning the MAF to clear code PO171, Cleaning my throttle body, and touching up the undercoating I applied back in August (Rustoleum). I now have a more clear plan of the direction I want to take this build, I just have to get it done.

To-Do List for Sandy:

• Tie Rod Ends
• Extended Rear Brake Line (I have it, just gotta install)
• Rear Plate Bumper (Looking at Relentless Offroad)
• Fuel Filter
• Paint Touch Up on hood, drivers door, bed
• New passenger side air vent
• Look at Transmission and Motor mounts and evaluate if I need new ones
• A/C Blower Motor
• Wet Okole Seat covers
• Relentless Offroad Rock Sliders
• Relentless Offroad Skidplates
• Tundra Brake Mod
• Differential Breather Mod
• Greasable Leaf Shackles
• U-Bolt Flip Kit
• Ham Radio and CB radio
• Camburg Upper Control Arms
• Camburg Long Travel Kit
• 4.88 Gears
• 33's and New Rims (Haven't decided on either. Will wait until current tires go out)
• ARB Compresser
• ARB Front Air Locker
• Relentless Offroad Front Bumper

My build is inspired mostly by @turbodb 's build and his phenomenal thread. Out of this I want to learn more about fixing automobiles and my goal is to do most of these things myself and with the help of neighbors and friends. However, there are some things that I probably will have to seek a shops help for, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there. Looking forward, I have already started a few mods and upgrades for Sandy, hopefully I'll have an update in a few weeks when I'm done or if I completley fuck up and need TacomaWorld's help. Until next time, I'll make it a goal to update the TacomaWorld Community on the build more often, see y'all out on the trails!!

- RVA_TRD

 

Do you have a hub-to-fender measurement with the 881s?

 

Not right now, I can get them tomorrow afternoon for you.

 

Thanks. I’ve been trying to figure out what coils I’ll get later on.

 

I got about 22 1/2" on the drivers side of my truck, but I have taken the fenders off so that number will be a little higher than if the fenders were on. As for what coils to get, it is my understanding that 881's are the lighter coil designed for a standard load on the front. 882's and so on are heavier coils designed for if you have a heavy front bumper, skids plate, etc. In the future I will probably have to upgrade to heavier coils to compensate for the weight since I plan on adding a bumper and skid plates. So far with a stock load up front the 881's ride just fine. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong, I am still trying to learn all of this as well.

 

882 are "taller" than 881 (2" vs 2.75"?) but same weight/spring rate. 883 are same height as 881 but weight/spring rate is for more weight

 

Got home from school today and noticed a faint smoke coming from the passenger side under the hood. I opened it up and saw that the A/C condensation drain on the passenger side firewall was dripping onto the exhaust. I know it has been doing this since summer because I would hear it sizzling after driving with the A/C on for a while, but this time it had a smell (I assume it's coolant, not 100% though) and found it was slimy and not water after touching it. I read up on a few threads with people experiencing similar problems, but never got a conclusive answer. I don't think that it's the heater core because most people report coolant on the passenger side floor which I do not have. So what could this be? Is it something I need to worry about, or is it normal?

 

A Quick Update
My most recent project has kind of cascaded into a few different things. It all started with a trip to the junkyard to pick some parts for my friends truck. Then I saw a near pristine 1999 4runner with these really comfy looking seats. $30 later and the pair were mine, now they weren't exactly the cleanest seats. In fact when I brought them home and put them in the garage they were described by my mom using a few colorful words.
They were greasy and nasty, but after a few hours of scrubbing and vacuuming they cleaned up to an acceptable standard. Next up with this project came mounting them into my truck. In my mind 3rd Gen 4runners and 1st Gen Tacomas are basically the same so the seats should bolt right in, right? Wrong, only one of the 4 brackets lines up. My solution, angle grinder and sledge hammer until they fit. It took me about 3 hours to get the drivers side seat in held on by 3 of the four brackets. Eh, I'm light it should hold me, yeah, not even close. Now I'm left with an OEM seat that I've destroyed beyond repair and a "new" seat that doesn't sit level because I took a little too much off the bracket and it broke upon sitting on it. At this point I was at my "fuck it I'll work on it another time stage." So I threw in the towel until I could figure out a better solution.

A few days later I had my solution, I was going to buy a welder and fabricate something to make it work. So I did my research and settled on a Hobart 210 MVP, and a few days later it was at my door. Thanks Amazon! I watched my fair share of Youtube Tutorials on how to Mig weld and got a general understanding on how to do it. So I went for it, after practicing a bit I was ready to tackle the seats. I cut off all of the brackets to the old seats, lined them up and welded those suckers onto the frame of my new seat. To my surprise it actually worked! I had a set of 4runner seats in my truck and they move forward, backward, and have all of the adjustments that the nicer 4runner seats come standard with. Win!! Now the welds weren't pretty, but I can say with a degree of certainty that they will hold, I hope... Finally to finish up this project, I'm going to get some Wet Okole seat covers, just to cover up the minor rips and give them some waterproofing so come summer when it's 100 degrees and humid out I don't permanently soak my sweat into the seats.

As for the welder, I thought of it as more of an investment for myself and my truck. For one, welding is an excellent skill to know, you can really do a lot with it. Two, it will open up my ability to perform projects on my truck and add new parts. So yes, it wasn't cheap, but in the long run it'll save me some money. Buy once, cry once, right?

Up next for the truck is a trip to the shop for a new heater core. The current heater core is showing its age by leaking coolant out of the A/C condensation drip and onto the exhaust manifold and stinking up my cab with coolant. I know it's a job I could probably do myself, but I'd end up breaking something in the dash and having it never fit right again, better to leave it to the pros who actually know what they're doing. Plus my Toyota Dealership has 3 or 4 Techs that specialize in 1st Gen Tacomas so I'd figure they'll know what they're doing more so than myself. After that, I'm going to do a valve cover gasket job since the truck has leaked oil since I bought it. Once I knock those two projects out, then it'll be time for some real upgrades and mods!

See y'all out on the trails
-RVA_TRD

 

I really like those rims you have. What kind are they and what size. Thanks

 

They are 15s. I have no clue what they are though, the hubcap says Eagle Alloys, but I don't think that's who the wheels are made by. Hopefully in the future I'll upgrade to 33s and 16s to fit the Tundra Brake Mod.

 

Thanks for the info. They're just what I'm looking for but I need 16". I'll just keep looking. Thanks again.

 

Took the truck to the Toyota dealership and they diagnosed my problem as a freon leak. My A/C works fine and I just had it serviced last summer; ran a vacuum on it and had no leaks. What would other symptoms be of a freon leak, and does it smell similar to coolant when it burns? I’m almost certain that coolant is leaking, but just in case it is a freon leak I want to know all my options.

 

Well, took about 4 days, but the Toyota Dealership called today saying my truck was ready. Yay!! Perfect timing too, I've been repainting my factory fender flares with Rustoleum Bedliner paint. Took about 3 hours to and them all the way down (I used an electric palm sander and coarse grit paper, I think 80?), took another day to put a few coats of primer on, and finally today finishing up.



All primed for paint



Had to get some ventilation going, you could get a contact high from all the paint fumes in the garage.



First couple coats looking great. Can't wait to get these things mounted again!


Truck is finally back home. I am super impressed with dealerships service, they were super professional and really made the experience personal; I even got the cell number of the tech who worked on my truck. Total charge was around $850 for the new A/C evaporator and the "Multipoint Diagnostic Inspection" where they went over the whole truck making sure everything was good. Hopefully this will be the last time for the foreseeable future that I gotta send the truck to the shop. Looking forward to what is next for the build!

See y'all out on the trails!!

-RVA_TRD

 

For the little amount of effort it took the repaint the fender flares, it was totally worth it. These things look great and feel a lot more rugged compared to what they were like.