AdventureTaco - turbodb's build and adventures

This post should be a sticky.

 

Interesting. I've used my tire plug kit probably 10 times (mostly on my motorcycle actually - probably 6 plugs there, 3 on the Tacoma, and 1 on our car) and it's been great every time. I have definitely run into cases where the puncture seems to be "through" one of the steel belts, and that's definitely more of a pain. But some elbow grease with the reamer has seemed to make it work. Bummer to hear that hasn't been the case for you!

One thing I have found to be beneficial is to always use rubber cement. Not all kits come with it, but I think you get a lot better result (lubrication going in, sealing when in place) when you use it.

LOL! Glad you're enjoying - it's fun for me to do all the stuff (of course) and I like the writing process as well, so it's nice when others enjoy it. Keep on enjoying, and feel free to sign up here if you want notifications of new posts.

Thanks, that's a great suggestion - actually something I've though about a few times and seem to keep forgetting. I've made a note of it this time, to add to the kit.

That'd be cool - get my build thread to sticky , hahahahaha. Probably not real feasible, but I did start a "Gear Roundup - What I Take With Me On Trips" thread that I plan to use each year to keep stuff in a single place, and link back to the content here. So I guess that one could be stickied if this turns out to be a useful endeavor.

 

Yay, another rider! What do you ride?

 

Awesome thread!

 

CBR600 F2. It's old, but a great, fun, reliable bike.

Thanks!

 

Definitely a fun bike for me. First and only one I've owned. For a long time it got more miles per year than the Tacoma.

Just got through editing a very similar photo myself. And by the way - we missed some cool stuff (tallest pinnacles in DV) on that hike. Next time!

 

We Go Sledding and @mini.turbodb Didn't Hate It!
January 1, 2019.

With Christmas vacation in full swing, we've been having a great time. There are lots of new toys to play with around the house, there are activities to keep us busy during the day, and the newly introduced household chores - and associated weekly allowance - have @mini.turbodb in high spirits.

Oh, to be eight years old.

But, when @mrs.turbodb suggested that we get bundled up and head up into the mountains to get in some sledding and enjoy the snow, the child was having none of it. "I hate the snow, it's too cold." - The words spilled out of her mouth with such ease that I had a hard time believing that this was the same child who immediately takes off her shoes and socks upon entering the house in the dead of winter, complaining that she's "too hot" after walking 50 feet from the car to the house.

Obviously - as loving parents - we made the executive decision that we were going anyway because, snow is awesome. So we donned our warmest of clothes, packed up the sled, and took the new-to-us 4Runner on it's maiden off-pavement adventure.

Our destination was one we've visited before - a little place up I-90 that we seem to frequent on an annual basis for one reason or another - a place we've even led other 4Runners on their maiden adventures. A place that we hoped would have enough snow for sledding and some snow balls, but not so much that it was impassable for the as-good-as-grip-less passenger tires we are still sporting on the 4Runner.

Things didn't look good at first - as we exited the freeway, there was no snow to be seen, but as the FS road climbed into the mountains, we started to see patches of white - then white on the road - and finally, snowy conditions.

The 4Runner was doing it. Perhaps not with as much confidence as the Tacoma, but with four wheel drive, it was plodding along OK.

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For a while. There are two semi-sticky spots on this trail, the first being just after a water crossing where the road is a bit rutted and so you end up with the majority of your weight on two wheels. As tame as it looks, the 4Runner wasn't having any of that - it's wheels spinning, hunting for traction they couldn't find.

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Just look at that rear - all flexed out. Droop for days. Eat your heart out Tacoma!

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Not wanting to get all this way only to turn around, I decided that a little skinny pedal momentum was just what this situation called for - so I rolled back a few feet and gave it the juice. Oh, how I wish I could have caught the looks and screams from the two ladies in the car - though their smiles seemed to suggest that they were enjoying being terrified!

We'd made it.

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A bit further up the road we came to a long, gentle downhill, curvy section that I knew would be perfect for sledding. It was just steep enough that the kiddo would get going the perfect speed - "so fast" to her, "way too fast" to @mrs.turbodb, and "slow enough that I could run and catch her if I needed to" for me.

With only about 8 inches of relatively compacted snow, there was just enough that the tire tracks made the perfect sled run - pre-compacted and structural enough to keep the sled on the road for a good 500 feet or so - a 50 second run!

Everyone had a blast! @mini.turbodb went solo, solo with a starting push, and with all combinations of parents as copilots. We even had one run where we all piled in together, our mass allowing us to reach speeds - judging from the screams - just short of the sound barrier.

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Eventually, many sledding runs and a few snowball fights later, we decided it was time to call it an afternoon. We piled back into the 4Runner - everyone in high spirits and backed our way down much of the trail, our tires too wimpy to climb up and out of the ruts to turn around.

We did make one pit stop on our way "back(ing) out" - at the small creek we couldn't resist building a snowman for anyone else coming this way - our little white dude guarding the landmark culvert on this trail.

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Then, eventually, we were able to get turned around - the snow shallow enough that even our wimpiest of tires could gain traction on the rocks below - and we continued down the mountain - the snow line clearly visible across the valley.

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The trip had been a rousing success. I wouldn't be surprise to hear a little voice around the house bugging us to "do it again." To which my response - of course - can only be, "I thought you hated the snow?!"

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Classic. My daughter (a bit younger) got to experience sledding for the first time over Christmas break. She too had a blast.

 

Bye Bye Toytec, New UCA's and ADS Shocks in the Front
January 15, 2019.

What can I say? It's the end of an era, sort of. Really, it's the end of a transition period for the Tacoma - a time when it was transitioning from daily driver and home renovation hauler to a more dedicated exploration vehicle. It was nearly three years ago that this transition started, one of my first modifications being a new Toytec BOSS lift in order to support the Relentless armor I was soon to install.

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Over the last three years, that @Toytec Lifts setup has done everything I could have asked of it. No, that's not right - it's done more than I could have asked. When I installed the setup, I didn't know all that much about off-roading with Tacoma's and I thought that the BOSS coilovers would be my last and only upgrade of the suspension - after all, the OEM stuff had lasted me 16 years...this aftermarket stuff was bound to last longer than that.

I knew at the time that I wasn't getting the best - I wasn't ready to shell out for King, Icon, or Fox. But I also felt like I was getting something pretty good for a reasonable price. And I still feel that way - BOSSes are a great set of coilovers for someone who's getting into off-road adventures but isn't sure exactly how much they'll do. A tester / introductory set of suspension as it were!

Of course in my case, the last three years has been dramatically different for the truck. Gone are the days of simple trips around town and the occasional forest service road or weekend out exploring. Now, a "normal" trip involves 1000 miles of pavement just to reach dirt, and then a week or two of bouncing around, before driving another 1000 miles of pavement home.

And there are a lot of those trips.

So it's time to upgrade the suspension. The Toytec stuff is worn out (understandably) and it's not rebuildable (by design) and frankly it's no longer a good fit for my use of the truck. It's time to step up to the best - or at least, the best class (since everyone will argue that their favorite brand is the real best ).

I started with the rear - choosing 10" stroke ADS 2.5" shocks - just because of how my calendar worked out. With those installed and the bugs worked out, it was time to get going on the front. As with the rear, I'd considered all the major players - King, Icon, Fox, etc. before settling on 2.5" ADS coilovers with remote resi's. I'd heard good things about them and I liked the idea of having a consistent setup on all four corners.

But that wasn't all. I figured that while I was mucking around, I should also finally take the plunge on new upper control arms (UCA's). This would hopefully give me more downtravel (droop), and - since I decided to go with SPC 25460 arms - the ability to adjust tire position in the wheel well, hopefully moving it forward just a bit so it didn't rub so much when turning.

And with that, I had all my parts and it was time to get started.

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Almost. I also had to gather up a few of the special tools I'd need to make the job easier - specifically to make separation of the upper ball joint from the UCA and upper ball joint from the spindle easier.

• OTC 6295 Front End Service Kit - contains tie rod puller 7503, used to separate the UCA from the ball joint.
• OTC 7249 Ball Joint (and U-Joint) Service Kit - essentially a huge c-clamp used to press the ball joint out of the spindle.
• OTC 38354 Receiving cup for Toyota - needed to capture the ball joint as it's pressed out of the spindle.

My plan of attack was relatively simple - replace the Upper Control Arm first, then swap out the Toytec suspension for the new ADS variant. I had only one real question: should I remove the spindle (extra work) to press out the upper ball joint, or leave it installed (more precarious).

In the end, I decided that with two sides of the truck to do, I'd try it both ways. Experiment for science! :biggrin:

So, with that, I jacked up the front of the truck and got it on jack stands before removing the wheels.

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Having decided to remove the entire spindle on the driver side - since it seemed more straight forward, even if it was a bit more work - my next order of business was to remove the various brake and ABS speed sensors from the UCA and spindle.

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And then the brake caliper and rotor, which I hung from the spring of the Toytec coilover so as to avoid any unnecessary tension on the brake line.

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Then, it was off with the center hub and axle nut, and then finally the four lower ball joint bolts so that I could separate the spindle from the lower control arm. I always hate taking off the center hub - mine is still pretty tight and it always feels like it's extra difficult to get a screwdriver between it and the knuckle to pry them apart.

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At this point, things were going swimmingly well I thought - the only thing left to do was to remove the long bolt that secures the upper control arm. Of course, it's just when things are going swimmingly that you run into something unexpected, and this time was no exception. I knew these bolts were difficult to access, but as I looked down into the engine bay I realized that I needed to remove the battery, airbag sensor, and battery wiring harness in order to make room to extract the bolt.

More work, but it could definitely have been worse!

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And with that, I was ready to remove the bolt and take everything out as a unit.

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Then, I was faced with the impetuous behind this entire ordeal - the upper ball joint connection between the UCA and spindle.

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I pulled out the OTC 7503 tie rod puller from the OTC 6295 Front End Service Kit and lined everything up. Everything I'd heard suggested that I could be in for an explosive separation when the upper ball joint stud pushed out of the UCA - so I gingerly tightened the screw while squinting behind my safety glasses and ear plugs.

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I eventually got that big explosion - parts and tools seemingly flying everywhere when the tension was released. So, after checking my pants, I reset for the next operation - pushing the upper ball joint out of the spindle using the OTC 7249 Ball Joint Service Kit and OTC 38354 Receiving cup for Toyota. Oh, and a big old impact wrench.

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I wasn't totally sure this was going to work - I was pushing on the stud of the ball joint rather than on the rim of the cup - but after a few big impacts with the Milwaukee Mid-Torque, the joint pushed right out. Whew.

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A bit of emery cloth cleaned up the inner surface nicely to accept the new SPC insert, which pushed in easily and was secured with a c-clip.

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I knew I was on the home stretch now - the only thing left was to lubricate the SpecRide bushings with the supplied "super special™" grease, insert the metal sleeves, and install the arm onto the truck. Of course, there was also the re-installation of the entire spindle assembly - time consuming, but a straight forward process essentially the reverse of removal.

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New SPC UCA installed, it was time to tackle the coilover replacement. This would be a similarly straight forward - though a bit shorter - process. I got started by removing the lower shock mount bolt, and the three nuts on the shock tower that secured the old coilover.

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With the spring and shock removed, this was the time to check for any clearance issues I'd have with the new UCA setup. If there were any, I could use the SPC patented caster adjuster in the UCA to move the wheel forward up to ¾" - hopefully alleviating any rubbing.

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I moved the floor jack under the lower control arm and pushed it up until the bump stop engaged.

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Then, I took a look at the situation. It wasn't good - the SPC UCA had moved the wheel toward the rear of the wheel well, and the rubbing was quite bad when the wheel was turned.

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So, I adjusted the caster forward as much as possible (setting G) and then lowered and removed the wheel - it was time to install the new ADS coilover! This went much more smoothly than my install of the Toytec BOSS coils - likely because I'm just more familiar with how the truck works - and within a few minutes I had both the upper and lower nuts and bolts in and torqued to spec.

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Last but not least, I had a "new part" to secure - the remote reservoir. With only one real place that it fit due to the length of the hose and space in the wheel well, all that stood between me and the finish line was drilling three holes in the frame for the bracket and then attaching the reservoir itself with some band clamps.

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And with that, I was ready to hit some bumps. Except that I wasn't - 'cause well, I still had to do the passenger side and get an alignment.

Of course, I won't bore you will all that - frankly, I'm impressed if you've made it this far in the first place - but I will highlight just a couple interesting points with the passenger side install. Because, you may recall that I was going to do it differently - for science - by leaving the spindle installed (to save time).

First of all - I found that getting the long UCA bolt out of the passenger side is most easily done by removing the air intake box as well as the airbag sensor and a couple bolts that secure a brake line that's in the way of the bolt. With those things out of the way, the bolt slides right out.

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As far as the experiment goes, there were really only two interesting pieces:

First - separating the UCA from the upper ball joint while the spindle is still attached. This process went easily enough, and I was less prone to needing a change of underwear, knowing what to expect the second time through.

Second - pressing the ball joint out of the spindle. I was able to get the spindle angled out of the wheel well just enough to fit the C-clamp, receiving cup, and impact wrench. However, upon pressing out the ball joint, I actually ended up pressing the stud and ball through the bottom of the ball joint itself!

Yep.

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Luckily, I had the right sized cylinders and whatnot in the OTC 7249 Ball Joint Service Kit to press out the bottom of the ball joint out of the spindle, and hey - on the positive side I got to see the internal construction of the joint! Win.

One thing I noticed was that the cup of the ball joint was deformed in one spot, and this spot corresponded to where the stud of the ball joint had contacted it at full droop. I must have really bashed the passenger side at some point to accomplish this feat - a bit surprising given my standard operating speed of "slow."

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At any rate, the rest of the passenger side install went smoothly, and I'd say that the experiment resulted in a truly spectacular result of "meh" - both methods work and neither is significantly better than the other. I guess if I had to recommend one or the other, I'd suggest that if you're working alone, take the spindle out entirely and if you have a partner in crime who can hold it while you position the various press components, you might as well leave it in.

Either way - in the end, you get the same thing: awesomeness.

Oh, and with the new components, I was interested to see how my height and droop were affected. Not much it turns out.

• Lift height measured from ground-to-frame at cab mount: before - 19"; after - 19 3/8", which I'm sure will settle a bit.
• Droop distance measured from ground-to-frame at cab mount: before - 21 3/4"; after - 22 1/2".

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Awesome write up.

 

Very interesting.

I am going to be very interested to know your thoughts on the SPC UCA after giving them some use. I have read on here (TW) that the early arms were prone to breaking and that the ball joints don't last. However, I believe they have been redesigned and the results have been mixed.

The highest compliment that I can give on the internet is that "I trust your opinion" and will like to see how they hold up with the use that you will give them.

I know virtually nothing about the people who have had problems with them....were they jumping their truck in the desert? were they trying to run the Baja 500? I'll never know. With you, we will know the exact scenario. And I hope that they are problem free for you, and that the redesign was successful.

 

Another great wright up! Glad to see the UCA bolts went fairly smooth for you. My Passenger side didn't go to bad, but I invented new four letter words for the drivers side.

 

If it's any help, I've been running SPC UCA for about 14 month's and have a little over 35,000 miles on them. Due to my job the truck averages around 30 miles of logging roads per day. Speeds are around 35 to 45 mph on the logging roads with 34ish PSI in the tires. So far I have been happy with SPC. Couple of the things that I really like about them is the increased travel and they have a zerk fitting so you can keep them greased.

 

so.. you put -2º caster in. Your alignment tech must have hated that.

 

Yeah, let's hear about the alignment!

 

That's negative 2 over the default setting of +2. Therefore, zero.

You need to read the line below.

 

reading is hard.

Also, still. Id have put a bit of castor in them even if it was just +1º to take some strain off the LCA bushings.

 

Keep it coming.

 

Thanks!

I'll be interested to see how they work out too, hopefully well! I'll definitely have more to say about then I'm sure.

And boy, to earn internet trust... Wow. Lol.

Thanks man. I think having a truck that's basically never seen salt really helps with bolts an and whatnot.

Was all in spec and similar to previous alignments. Will post... But after I return to civilization next week

Thank you sir. I think Monte only reads the first sentence of my posts now. Not sure if that's a good sign or bad one. Hahahaha.

Tell me more about bushing strain. I don't understand at all, but am now very curious. And how would more Castor reduce it?