BigMike’s Big Journey: New 2016 Tacoma

It's a great engine I have no complaints at all it's always done everything I've asked!!!.... Oh man that would be wicked... maybe I can perform some day off trickery lol

 

March 2, 2018: Updated RCV axles and Front Differential back in, finally test driving!

The keen observer will notice a beautiful object in the background of my last picture, and that would be RCV's new updated Ultimate outer CVs! Since last winter they redesigned both the outer CV and boot, now using a more compact design for both. I LOVE it! Much better design, thank you RCV!! They require less to be ground off of the lower ball joint bolt, and hopefully these boots will last more than 1 wheeling trip!!

BTW, since we are on the subject, remember how I mentioned RCV 100% guarantees these shafts up to a size 40" tire? Well, it turns out these are the same outer CVs used in their Dana 60 Ultimate Axle kit!! I can't repeat what I've been told, but just know that on the D60 setup they guarantee up to a larger tire. Much larger. They are extremely confident in their 40" tire guarantee. Thank you RCV for making these axles for us IFS guys!



Now that I've got my axles back, the differential went in and the truck was ready for some daily driving testing.

At this time, I was waiting for parts to be machined and really wanted to get the truck back out on the road. I found some tie rod ends that would work by drilling out and flipping their insertion into my steering arms. This of course is not the final design and will cause all sorts of handling issues, but it allowed me to get some miles on the MarRack to monitor how it's doing.



This spring my factory Toyota battery had been struggling. In fact the black box in my engine bay above is a battery charger. Well, it finally gave up the ghost. It lasted only 2 years.

I didn't spend as much time as I should have with this but I knew I didn't want another Optima due to reduced quality (they were much better in the early 200s). So I went with this Bosch Platinum Advanced AGM/EnergyLife battery. I went with one size larger than what the book called for which fit with no problems and had slightly better amperage ratings. The part number I went with is 24F-710BAGM (group size 24F), and specs are: CCA @ 0* F: 710, CA @ 32* F: 850, and a 120 minute reserve capacity.

A regret from this was that because I plan on relocating the battery under the bed in June (similar to what I did with my Hilux), I wished the stock battery had lasted a few months longer so I could have picked any size battery available (they do make a 770 CCA version that I would have got instead).

 

Anyway, enough yacking, it's time I express my experiences in daily driving with 40" tires!

From March 2 until April 8 I was driving the truck all over town. The incorrect steering geometry was quite difficult to manage, as expected, so I actually never went over 60 MPH even on the highway. So my experiences for the moment are limited. But when driven normally, the ride is good, the tires are much more quiet than the old 37" BFG KRAWLERs, braking power feels good, and while acceleration has been reduced, you only notice this when you lug the engine around. If you let it get over 3,600 RPM or so where that power band hits then it pulls hard, no problem at all. But if you short shift and try to lug the engine at under 1,500 RPM it just doesn't want to do anything.

Here is my wife staring at it with equal amazement as me! (haha probably she is so tired of me talking about it all the time)

 

Got dinner with my friend Holly and her awesome 3rd gen 4Runner (my favorite 4R body style of all time!)





Parked next to CruzrDave's LX450 on 35s



The 40s even provide a nice nesting place for birds ^__^

 

Also get'n some love from Facebook!

 

Ok guys here is the #1 biggest thing I've noticed since on 40s:

Bros in full size vehicles have began treating me like CRAP. I am serious. I get lifted full size Fords, Chevys, and Rams flooring it just to block me at freeway on-ramps, intentionally trying to out accelerate me at green lights, coal rollers spooling their turbos even when the next intersection is a red light, braking hard and cutting me off, turning their radio up when they roll next to me, changing lanes at the last second right before a red light intersection just so that I am behind them, and so on.

Yet always when I look over directly at them, they never make eye contact with me. These lifted chrome pavement pounders never did this to me when I was on 37s.

And trust me, it's not my driving: (1) I respect that this is a lifted Rock Crawler doubling as a daily driver so I drive extra defensively, (2) I've got horrible steering/handling at the moment so I couldn't drive aggressive if someone paid me, and (3) my Supercharged 6-speed MR2 is the vehicle I use to get my thrills on the pavement---certainly not a 4WD truck.

Moreover, I'm building this Tacoma under the brand that literally invented the sport of Rock Crawling so in my mind I represent the Rock Crawling industry as a whole which doesn't have any place for my ego at some random street corner: I save that for the trail!! The last thing I need is a photo going viral of me mall crawling up lamp posts (seen people get tickets for this), or rolling the truck doing doughnuts in a McDonalds parking lot (seen this happen), or being pulled over by the police for speeding. I've always accepted the responsibility and never do something stupid in a truck used for marketing and research purposes. (My point is, for example: Try to find a picture of me and my 1981 Triple Cased Hilux driving in meadows and using trees as RTI ramps. Being respectful on and off road is a day in & day out natural responsibility for everyone at Marlin Crawler.)

But man oh man, American truck owners sure seem to dislike whatever it is my Tacoma represents. It's true; I haven't had any of the experiences with lifted Tundras or Titans. They don't seem to mind!

Finally, check this out and sorry in advance for the foul language: One day after doing some shopping I get home to find this...





No clue who did it or where it occurred. Fortunately it came off with my fingers. It was a type of dry erase marker. I immediately thought about one of my favorite Alux videos about Haters. Two quotes popped into my mind:
-- "One indicator that you're on the path to success and doing something right are the haters."
and
-- "Being hated is better than being ignored, because that means whatever you're doing isn't worth noticing."

 

Lastly, a bit on fuel mileage and RCV's new boots.

Corrected my speedometer using Hypertech Module P/N 730123
I didn't document or take pictures of this, but I tried and tried and tried to get a Dakota Digital SGI-5E to work and I finally gave up. I don't think it's compatible with the CAN Bus network we have. So I painstakingly went with the expensive

$203 Hypertech 730123 Speedometer Calibrator

Hypertech 730123 in-line speedometer calibrator which works great. The software is a bit clunky but no worries as you only need to use it once to configure it and then done. I don't have any pictures of this or even what date it was that I installed it. It was sometime in March.

Fuel Mileage
But now that I have corrected my speedometer (iPhone GPS verified), I can now share my Fuel Mileage with 40s Of course at this time I've only been doing 60 MPH on the freeway for a month straight, but good news I've been getting over 18 MPG! So here is a pro tip: If you want better gas mileage just slow down! hahaha

With 40" tires at 60 MPH in 6th gear, engine RPM is about 1,800. (That's almost 500 RPM less than stock!!)



RCV's updated boots
Well guys. All the hype with the new, smaller profile RCV "version 2" boots was for naught. With only around 500 street miles and staying under the speed limit on highways they have died!! :'(



So I've requested new boots and have an idea that might help which is to scrunch the replacement boot as close to the CV as I can before banding it to the axle. I also have plans later this summer that will help a lil with CV boot angles, but more on that later.

 

April 8, 2018: The Beginning of a Three Week Cram

Fast forward to April 8 and with only Three Weeks remaining until I was to drive the Tacoma 3,500 miles round trip to this year's Toyota Jamboree near Gilmer Texas, I had little precious time to get a lot accomplished!!

Back on the rack ready for the final push to begin!



Hey @Bigdaddy4760, time for another cliffhanger

 

So weird.

I’d think any kind of truck enthusiast would be stoked to see a Tacoma on 40”s rolling around town.

I’m surprised it isn’t lipstick your rubbing off the paint

 

Sweet set-up !!! Now just design a free wheel hub kit for that axle shaft ?????? You can do it !!!!!!

 

Talk about dedication!

MarRack- When mite us peons (general public) see these forsale? I assume it will include the rack and tierods? Care to let use know what this rack was originally used on? My rack is starting to 'whine' after a day on the trail and I only have 33's. Also the 'one frame mod' you mentioned to install the rack that would need some welding done, couldn't there be a sleeve/spacer inserted through the frame up to the rack and a bolt with washer used to keep it all in place?

CV's-what angle are the axles at ride height? I would think the ripping of the boots happens when turning the wheels. I rarely saw ripped boots on rear transaxles on sand cars and similar angles.

Eff the haters!

 

One of the best comment of the thread! haha Love it!!

Thank you old55guy. What you've suggested will remedy an array of issues and might also in an around-about way provide a means to add more strength to the MarRack. It is definitely on my radar but it will be a while before I can get to it.

Thank you Mike330R! I'll be sharing more details this summer which will show the full scope of the MarRack. Yes, it will include everything needed. I am aware that newer truck owners prefer things to be bolt-on, but I think in this case since it is a steering device it needs to have a solid connection to the frame. Both factory mounts are welded on one end and use a "pinch" connection with the frame at the other. If the other end is not welded then I suspect the rack could shift slightly under load and your steering wheel would no longer be centered once you got back on pavement. It boils down to the fact that there must be a solid connection to the frame for the inner bushing tube... I will do some thinking on this and will see if there is a way to get around needing a welder (this holds merit to us; we respect the fact that not everyone has one; potentially more sales if we can avoid welding).

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm great point here. Yes, the pictures I've posted have mostly been on the lift and at full droop angle. I'm of course no where near close to what factory was (which was dang near parallel with the ground if I remember right). A few guys at our shop pointed out a possible solution that I am in the middle of testing to maybe provide feedback for RCV. I'll quickly mention it below when some images come up soon.

 

"The Final Spring Push"

Ok guys and gals,

From this point forward I had multiple projects that had to be completed by the end of the month and spent every evening working late on the truck. I was bouncing between projects as parts would come in and following my normal chronological post format would even give me a headache. So I will group projects together and use date ranges where needed

April 8-18, 2018: NITRO's new 5.29:1 Ring and Pinions!!



Nitro's Front 8.0" Differential Product Page for 2nd/3rd gen Tacoma -- Nitro's Rear 8.75" Differential Product Page for 3rd gen Tacoma

On April 8 we yanked out both front and rear diffs because....!!



NITRO finally pulled through with making a new 8.75" 5.29:1 prototype Ring and Pinion for us 3rd gen owners and sent me a set to test out!!

H-U-G-E Thank you to NITRO for not giving up on us Manual Transmission 3rd gen owners -- A truck that actually does need 5.29s!!

Just to recap:
* Autos come with 3.91:1 R&P. So 4.88:1 makes for a 24.8% reduction. That is great!
* Manuals come with 4.30:1 R&P. So a 4.88:1 is only a 13.5% reduction. This is not great. Finally having 5.29s means I'll have a 23% reduction over the stock R&P which is much needed for any manual 3rd gen running 37s or larger tires.

This was a ten day span to install both front and rear NITRO 5.29s but only because we had to wait for parts from ARB (I told them I was not in a hurry).

Rear diff pulled



Take a look at my out-going 4.88:1 Nitro Gears. The wear contact is awesome. This is why we always say that Nitro gears set-up better than any other. They are amazing and we strongly recommend them to Tacoma owners!



Opening up the front diff again, hopefully for the last time!

What I really like about the 2005 and newer Tacoma front IFS differential is that it uses the same gear set as the 80-series Land Cruiser High Pinion Reverse Rotation front differential, which is, of course, entirely BADASS. We have trusted Land Cruiser High Pinion gears in the front of live axle Hilux Pickups and 4Runners with tire sizes larger than 40" for nearly two decades. Yes the Tacoma is heavier, yes the Tacoma is more powerful, yes the gears are vulnerable in reverse, but I love it.

 

Next is a project I know everyone would like to see finished so here comes the conclusion to the first prototype MarRack!

April 8-21, 2018: First MarRack Prototype finally finished!

I don't know how everyone manages build pictures on their computers, but I use a directory structure that includes year, month, day, description, and all-in-all I have 23 directories of steering work dating back to October. It is the longest project I've worked on so far for the Tacoma. At this point there were only two steps remaining to properly test out the MarRack: (1) Custom Tie Rod setup, and (2) Restore proper steering geometry.

(1) Custom Tie Rod setup

For this project there could be none other than paying a huge tribute to the world's first Heavy Duty Rock Crawling Steering Upgrade and that would be the Marlin Crawler Marlink!

History comes full-circle with the Marlink, now powering what I believe will be the first-ever H.D. Rock Crawling Steering Upgrade for the late model Toyota IFS!

The Marlink is made from 1.25" DOM and uses 23mm Japanese-made tie rod ends. Here is an example of how the Marlin Crawler Marlink has been used on live axle trucks since 1994 (drag link and tie rod):



Here is my out-going tie rod assembly with 2" extension piece (top) and prototype work of the new Marlink-equipped MarRack tie rod, what I'm calling the Mini Marlink. The tie rod end is our same Japanese-made 23mm Marlink TRE (factory Tacoma is only 15mm!!!), however, I plan to run this TRE only until late summer.

We'll likely market this similar to, "The smallest Marlink we've ever made is now part of the strongest IFS steering system"

 

April 8-21, 2018: First MarRack Prototype finally finished! (continued)

(2) Restore proper steering geometry

First, for anyone wondering, I'd like to specify why this is needed. Because the MarRack is larger than the Tacoma rack, we cannot simply "make it fit" and connect tie rods. We have to ('A') maintain the original tie rod length, and ('B') maintain the original tie rod horizontal angle. If either are ignored, the result will be an unwanted progressive rate of toe angle change with suspension movement. This was how I had been driving the truck since March 2nd and it was horrible. (I did so because I needed to get miles on the MarRack to ensure things were stable, no leaks, etc.) Any bump in the road that only affected one side of my IFS would instantly cause the truck to pull one way or the other. I even took different roads to get home just to avoid certain corners and dips. So for the MarRack to be a success, obviously I need to get the geometry worked out.

This was the most time consuming aspect. I made a ton of CAD drawings and 3D printed parts. During a 6 or 7 night stretch I made improvement after improvement ultimately deciding not to do any production CNC work as it had become crystal clear that this prototype will only need to get me through a three or four month stretch.

What we came up with for my prototype was to use our Marlin Crawler forged steel High Steer pitman arm (we use this on live axle cross-over steering systems), flipped upside down and modified in a double-support arrangement against the factory forged steel spindle steering arm. I told our machinist to stop on everything and after making multiple jigs I had the geometry figured out to a 2-degree of toe change through-out the range of suspension articulation. This was difficult to achieve due to reasons explained below but for now and without any computer aid I am very, very pleased with how my measurements turned out!!

Here is the precise location that is required for the limitations of the first prototype



Below is what it looks like as a whole

What we've got going on is that we must make a stronger and wider than stock component (the MarRack) fit within a space constrained by the brake rotors. Because we cannot maintain original tie rod length due to rotor interference (see above reference 'A'), one solution could be to move them forward. I chose this route for my first prototype, however, I will be using an incredibly unique approach on version 2.0 that I have yet to see any aftermarket company do that I believe will solve this problem entirely while maintaining original rotor size and location.

Don't be thrown off by comparing steering arm placement: Remember, the factory TRE mounted upside down. While my placement appears to be lower than stock, it's actually higher, and thus satisfies above reference 'B'. There is, however, a highly critical Rock Crawling design advantage that at this time does not make geometric sense. Minds will be blown once I get the next prototype built I promise you!

 

April 8-21, 2018: First MarRack Prototype finally finished! (continued)

Next was to hand em over to Rocky, our in-house fabricator and welder extraordinaire, to work some prototyping magic!

 

April 8-21, 2018: First MarRack Prototype finally finished! (continued)

All done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!











Let's go!!!!!

 

I had both spindles on, everything torqued, tires mounted, and was juuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuust about ready to drop the truck off the lift when luckily @MonkeyProof informed me about cracked spindles back on page 25. Thank you SO much for the tip @MonkeyProof and man ohhhhhh man am I glad I saw your post the same day I was about ready to call the project a wrap.

Obviously I had to act on this info so off everything came and Rocky whipped up some make shift gusseting that I have no doubt will get me through the summer, and then some

 

Mini Marlinks Painted and final installation pictures coming your way!



At full inward turning angle



and full outward turning angle





Couple sexy head-on pics