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

Your boots don’t look like they moved at all, there is a groove the boot sits in and the clamp just keeps it from popping out. You would be able to see the groove if they slid up. Sure they’re not just torn or something?

 

I like being able to use my tent still. 35s, dual cases and lockers will also be in my future.

 

Don't get me wrong. I loved my Tepui, but it would have been better on a trailer so I can still go wheel and not have to tear down camp, but I've got nowhere to store an expo trailer so this is the best I've got for now. I'd definitely buy another RTT later on down the road if I choose to, but it wouldn't be going on the Tacoma.

 

I'll trade you my excellent condition with light pinstripes 2003 passenger fender for yours with snorkel if you don't have dents. I don't mind pinstripes. I may even be out visiting at some point in the next few months and we don't have to deal with shipping.

 

Just admiring my taco today.

 

Keep in touch. Gives me time to think about what to do for patching up the A pillar holes.

 

Being that mine were plastic and lasted 16 years and that I’m replacing them with the “limited” type ones that seem a bit more stout. They should outlast the remainder of the truck

 

Don't let the chrome handles fool you. They are still plastic underneath. The chrome has peeled on my 20 year old original passenger handle. But it's not broken so I'll leave it there.

 

You can see metal if you zoom in the picture, closest to the tire side. Yeah that was definitely where the grease was coming from. Just seeing if anyone else had success with re clamping them. I don’t want to take the boots off if I don’t have to...

 

I wouldn’t count on it. A few years ago when mine broke I thought the same thing. Shelled out the bucks for an OEM replacement and it only lasted six months. The latch (the part that actually holds the door shut) gets gummed up over the years and it takes more effort to open. This puts more stress on the handle. If you clean and lube that latch real good, your new handle will last, even if it’s a cheap one. If you don’t, your new handle probably won’t last, even if it’s OEM. After replacing the handle several times in quick succession I took the latch out and gave it a thorough cleaning. Now I can open my door with my little finger, and my cheap, eight dollar Amazon door handle is holding up just fine.

 

Sure, if you don't use cheap shit hose clamps with sharp edges, you can prolong your CV boots. I had the same issue on the passenger side of my truck right before I was about to take a long road trip. I bought two separate bags of hose clamps after researching - smaller and bigger for both sides of the CV boots. $35 in clamps and I have a surplus now that I supply to friends and family that start having leaking boots or want a trail fix in the toolbox.

I have about 5,000 miles on this so far and I haven't touched it once after initial install and ensuring it was still tight after a short test drive.



PARTS FROM McMASTER-CARR:
Small:
PN: 5574K16
Worm-Drive Clamps with Smooth Band for Soft Hose/Tube, 304 Stainless Steel, 1"- 1-5/8" Clamp ID Range, Packs of 10

Large:
PN: 5574K23
Worm-Drive Clamps with Smooth Band for Soft Hose/Tube, 304 Stainless Steel, 3-1/8"- 4" Clamp ID Range, Packs of 10

Clamps have a smooth band with rolled edges to prevent them from cutting into your hose or tube. Use them with soft hose and tube, such as silicone.

 

Definitely worth a shot to put a worm clamp on them and see if that helps.

 

Is having 887 coils not crazy on a first gen?

 

I thought so too at first but after looking it up, 883s are 375mm and 590# and 887s are 400mm and 590#, so they really aren't much different. Just a tad taller

 

Wonder how much weight he has up there and what his cv axle angle is.

 

Here’s a better shot of the highlighted area where grease can come out of the boot:

Thanks for that information! I’ll try and find a link when I get home on a computer

Okay so I fudged up, I had 887s on my 2015 Tacoma... I currently have 883s on this 2002 Taco

No weight currently. Waiting on a steel bumper to come next month from Relentless. Should add #150 up front and close to that in the rear.
Here’s the driver side:

And the passenger:

 

Yeah thats a little on the steep side. That bumper should make it more reasonable though. What does your upper ball joint look like?

 

Changed the spark plugs today. Since I don't know the vehicle, I found it with some unknown Autolite plugs. The Autolite plugs didn't appear to be bad. Yet, I can feel the difference after changing the plugs to NGK.

I'm glad to see my 99 3.4L can run the NGK BKR5E-11 V-Power Copper Plug. I've been running this NGK V-power plug in my other Japanese V6 engines for years. They get along well with older (read weaker) coils. At $2 each, I haven't been able to beat the price/performance with this plug. I ran NGK double plats for years. I still run them in one car that has some terribly hard to change plugs. Some engineering buds with supercharged engines turned me on to the copper v-powers for older engines. I'm glad they did. It takes me 3 years to put 24,000 miles on a set of plugs. So the change interval for coppers is a non-issue.

 

You can see the grooves in the outer CVS. Too tall. The bumper will help a bit.

 

Damn the power steering kit already arrived will hopefully have time this weekend to rebuild it. Rockauto shipped this thing quick