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

Haha yeah it's reversed from the phone camera

 

That is turning out very nice

 

Thanks!

 

Looking good.

Im noticing the recovery points now..don't love that in the design. Or that its not using the wing mounts too. Oh well.

looking forward to photos of the rear to see if it has any issues I don't like.

 

Little bit of rain but not very much, and no mud surprisingly since I was bombing through mud pits at his request

 

Im following this build aswell. Criticisms aside, these coastal Offroad kits fit a specific price niche once the canadian exchange rate is factored in. Especially considering CBI kits are priced kinda high for what they are and come with no instructions.

 

They are nice kits I think. Lots of room to tweak yourself too.

 

Much better designed too. I like the slimer look of these and the addicted offroad bumpers, too bad those arent in kit form. The NWTI bumpers are way to bulky imo.

 

The recovery points aren't bad but I would like them to be thicker. I will probably add some 1/4" plate to them for that purpose. They are positioned well tho, providing a pull inline with the frame. Ideally, they would have been made as a solid, single piece that was thicker but that would have been a pain to make and would increase the bumper price I'm sure.

The wing mounts aren't really needed and wouldn't add to the strength or support of the bumper in this case. It already has 6 bolts holding it to the frame and it contacts each frame horn on 4 sides, top, bottom, outside and front. I'm actually thinking of cutting the wing mounts off and plating the core support there as it's a pretty weak area.

 

Hey what size Hella's are those lights? I have the same bumper and those fit about perfect. They look like probably Rallye 4000's?

 

Yeah the recovery points should be bigger. That stuff will fold over with a good tug. They aren't hard to install the big points bit whatever.

The wing mounts would be handy if properly uses. Anything to help stop rotational forces on the bumper in an impact. Since right now the bumper is held on at pretty much just the bottom it could fold into the truck(especially if you're adding hoops). That's what I'm referring to anyways.

Again. Not dissing it. Purely observations and otherwise well worth the money. Like I said you can modify easily yourself as one sees fit.

 

My thoughts exactly on the recovery points and why I'll be adding the 1/4" plate to the sides, maybe even on the inside as well.

No, I know you aren't dissing and I do see your point about the wings. But, like I said, the bumper is bolted on with 6 bolts already, the 2 visible at the frame horn ends and then the 2 on each frame rail that the factory hook and tie down points are. The bottom place runs from the from of the bumper back to those mounting holes and then contacts the frame around the horn at the 4 points I previously mentioned. It would have to be one hell of an impact to get it to fold into the truck. And in my case at least, the mounting points with bolts running thru them are all plated with 1/4" plate on top of the frame too, something that anyone can easily do without having to make major modifications to build the bumper to accommodate.

 

I dig it. Looks a lot like how I built mine, which looks a lot like the Elite bumpers I was trying to copy.

 

What year is your Tacoma. My 2003 has it under my intake manifold, which will be a pain to change out.
I have the OEM but am sitting on the job...

 

He likely has the V6. The 4 cylinders have it under the manifold. That's a job I will likely pay someone else to do when the time comes.

 

I've got two 1995s. One has the 2.7L which is what you are describing, so I feel your pain. I have changed it once. Best to remove tire and fender seal and get to it through there. Loosen the lines before you loosen the bracket holding it to the block.

The picture is of my 3.4L truck. The filters are located along the left driver side frame rail, next to the transfer case. Pretty easy to get at it there.

 

Does anyone else’s shifter freeze up when driving in snow a lot? Like the tranny tunnel fills up with snow and clogs everything?

Normal or nah?

 

I haven't had a problem with that. Have you checked your shifter bushings (trans and t-case) to see if they need replaced? Might just be worn bushings causing you problems.

 

nice work!

 

I've had the under side of my truck packed full of snow many times and never had that problem. And I'm not talking just a little bit of snow. When it's real cold, like -10 F or lower it's hard to shift until the transmission warms up a bit. After driving five minutes it's normal no matter how cold it is outside.

We are talking manual transmission aren't we? If you're talking automatic, I've got no answers.