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

I've always bolted to the pinch. It just reinforces everything.

Plan to use Durabak 18 rough on everything from the quarts down and in the bed. Smooth everywhere else.

 

Got something I’ve wanted for a while to help with my project this week:

 

Not really, they aren’t lined up exactly even.

 

120 will misfire.

 

Well, its better than astroturf.

 

Ideas as to why... Maybe dunking it underwater? How long ago was that

 

The water is what probably did it. Bet the rings are seized

 

Maybe try a leak down test if you have an air compressor. Else you could drop a tablespoon of motor oil in the cylinder to help “stuck rings” seal a little better. Then run the compression test again.

 

Yea not worth it. Just put another 5vz in it for cheap, enjoy it for years to come.

 

I’ve been trying to find some bucket seats to swap for my worn-the-fuck-out bench. Guys on Facebook marketplace asking 300+ for seats from a damn 98 civic.

Idk if it’s Connecticut or what, this shit is pissing me off. Was hoping I’d find some wrx seats but those are priced around 500, even on Craigslist.

Anyone have any leads or suggestions on cheaper, comfortable swaps?

 

Anybody know the torque specs on the leaf spring bolts (front and back), the leaf spring u bolts and the rear shock bolts?

 

That retro stripe is awesome!

 

119 for the front main eye bolts
90 for the Ubolts
67 or the shackles
53 for the shocks.

 

@Blue92 if I ever get around to starting a build thread I’ll definitely owe you a shout out or two in it. Thanks again for the info.

 

Its sad that I know those off the top of my head. Its also sad that Ive had my rear suspension apart enough times to basically act like a nascar pitcrew is taking it apart. 3 hours maybe a little more to have both leafs out and replaced/test drove with aal's/shims installed.

 

How do you install a heavy ass bumper by yourself?



That's safe right? Safety 3rd?

Got the bumper ground down and finished building the tire carrier. Still need to do grinding on the swing out and do some tweaking and adjusting. Tire sits too far from the tailgate for my tastes right now. But it works and I once again have bed space. Going to see if i can maybe make the tire mount adjustable for when I go to a larger size later down the road. We'll see. Still need to get some wheel studs instead of bolts to hold the wheel in place.





So, you can see what I mean how the wheel sits too far back.

 

This doesn't look right.





I wonder why there are two different size ball bearings and where the rest of them are/

 

It begins.

 

Unfortunately, it could be a number of things.

Cracked head
Head gasket leak
Worn rings
Burnt/cracked valve/seats
Valve clearance out of spec causing valves not to fully seat- that can lead to burnt valves


To check for rings, pull the plug on the cylinder with
low compression. Pour a little oil into the hole for the plug. Retest the compression. If the number increases its likely worn rings.

The aluminum heads are prone to fatigue and cracks can develop between the valves, also a head gasket starting to go can show similar symptoms. On cold startup if you smell coolant or see white smoke until the engine warms up that can be a sign as coolant might be seeping into the combustion chamber and is burning up and being expelled out the tailpipe. Once the engine heats up, the crack or gasket often closes due to thermal expansion and the issue stops while the engine is warm.

Another way to tell if it’s a cracked head or possibly a head gasket starting to go- on a cold engine, pull the EFI fuse in the main panel under the hood so you can crank the engine without it starting. Pull the radiator cap. Have someone turn it over while you look in the radiator. If bubbles are coming from the radiator, good possibility it’s a cracked head and compressed air from the cylinder is pushing air through the water jacket.

Milky oil or dirty radiator coolant, obvious cracked head or head gasket failure as the two are mixing from exhaust gasses in the coolant and coolant in the oil.

Warm up your truck before you drive it if this is the issue and the problem may not get any worse for a while.

For valves being out of spec you need to pull your valve covers and check your clearances. That’s a process and you need to be precise.

You can often tell too if the valve is burnt or not seating , etc if there’s a lot of sludge under the valve cover

 

I found a set of leather Subaru XV Crosstrek seats for $300 shipped from eBay.

I don’t recommend them, the seat backs are really high and I had to do a lot to make them fit.

If you look frequently though there is way more available on eBay than Craigslist, just look for buy it now places with listed shipping, several places, mostly wreckers, the shipping is free.

I was looking at Mazda and BMW seats a lot, though I know Subaru seats are nice too.

The key for me was manual seats because I didn’t want to wire power seats.

Now that I know and if I had it to do again I’d test drive the car they came from and look for seats from a coupe so they travel/fold forward for access to the back seat.