PennSilverTaco's "Perfect 5-Lug Regular Cab" Build, Aspergers, and General BS MegaThread!

Officially less than 4,000 miles to go until 100K!

 

Where?

 

My truck currently has a little over 96,000 miles on it. It runs and drives great, but it's been making a squeaking noise when the brakes are applied in normal driving (stop signs, red lights, turns, etc) on and off for years now.

The front brakes were replaced in their entirety (calipers, pads, rotors) in March 2018 after I brought the truck to the dealer to see if they could find the source of the squeak, and the dealer found that my front left brake had seized (which is a serious problem in itself but ended up having little to do with the squeak; The squeaks became more infrequent and less pronounced, but did not vanish entirely). Basically, the front brakes are barely over a year old, have maybe 14,000 miles on them, and have LOTS of life left.

The rear brake shoes were replaced in June 2018 because they the Toyota dealer said they'd probably have to be replaced when my truck was due for state inspection in October 2018.

So yeah, my brakes are almost new!

My friend Pete, a former Volvo mechanic who now has his own shop, had my truck on the lift a couple months ago when he changed the rear diff fluid and found absolutely nothing concerning. I would also like to point out that my truck has been through 9 Pennsylvania winters and has the original frame. It was rustproofed by Toyota under the recall in October 2017. My truck has NEVER failed state inspection, EVER.

My truck has been serviced by the local Toyota dealer, my dad's mechanic, and my friend Pete. All three always compliment me on how clean and well-maintained my truck is.

The squeak pretty much vanishes when coming to a stop at speeds about 50 MPH, and is most pronounced when driving in small towns or neighborhoods, or when the truck is being driven after sitting for several hours (like overnight or at a car show).

Suspension/springs, driveshaft, and steering all check out fine...

What could the problem be?!?!

 

Leaf springs? Granted mine are aftermarket but mine are terribly squeaky

 

Should I get aftermarket (but stock height) leaf springs?

 

Is the squeak coming specifically from the brakes or just under the truck? It sounds like your front pads are glazed, in which you'd get the squeak when say backing out of a driveway or coming to a rolling stop. As much detail as you've provided I think there's more detail needed.

 

no

 

According to @HeadStrong Off-Road all leaf springs squeak and you just gotta deal with it... There's a thread on here somewhere where people have experimented with putting things in between the leafs to stop the squeaking. I'm thinking about it as mine is really bad

 

The squeak occurs while braking, but it is impossible to tell where exactly it is coming from. The squeak is most pronounced when backing out of the driveway or coming to a stop sign...

 

I think your pads are glazed. If it's coming from the rear on the leafs get some motorcycle chain lube and drench them. Let it soak in for an hour or so and take a drive. If it's coming from the brakes you'll have to replace the pads and rotors. You may have cheap brakes on there or just over heated them at some point. I see you've got a small 5 lug, but I had to switch to severe duty pads on my truck because of all the weight and ended up w/ the same squeak.

 

Fluid film quiets then down wonderfully, stays in place, and doesn’t attract dirt. Mine have been silent ever since spraying them down 15k miles ago

 

Try spraying your spare tire mount spring with some wd40 I had the same issue an traced it to the spare tire spring mechanism or whatever you call it an the squeak went away.

 

My truck has never been in an accident that resulted in any frame damage (body work only). I got my license in 2011 and after being accident-free for those first 4 years, I was involved in three accidents in 2015 (two of which WERE NOT my fault)! I don't think any of these contributed to the squeak.

In March 2015, I was rear-ended by a texting driver in a 2006 Highlander in March (new rear bumper; $1,200).

I rear-ended a 2014 Mustang in August 2015, which resulted in a busted grille, busted left headlight, pushed-in bumper, and bent radiator support. There was no damage to the condenser or the actual radiator, and I drove the truck for probably a month before getting it fixed at a cost of $1,500.

In October 2015, I was kinda sorta sideswiped by a drunk old man in a 2002 Mercedes E320, resulting in about $2,200 damage to my truck and a totaled Mercedes. The impact smashed in my left rear fender and almost ripped my back bumper off (my new bumper paid for by the texting driver's insurance!!! ). I drove my truck for almost two months with this damage while the insurance companies duked it out.

My truck has never been abused and has never been involved in an accident that disabled it.

 

I actually had my spare tire mount replaced by the body shop in December 2015 when the damages from the drunk driver were being repaired, as the original one had rusted solid.

 

This is the worst thing that's ever happened to my truck (The picture is from October 2015; I just recently switched back to stock wheels less than a month ago)...

As I said above, my Tacoma came away with about $2,200 in damage, and the Mercedes was a write-off!

 

I detailed a brand new 2019 Ford F150 XL at work the other day. It was a "fleet" truck, which meant a corporation bought this truck and probably a half dozen just like it. The one thing I hate about fleet vehicles is the pay rate. If that F150 had been a traditional new car being purchased by an ordinary customer, I would have gotten paid for almost two hours. Since it was a "fleet", I got paid for less than an hour!

Anyway, this F150 was the quintessential fleet truck. It was a regular cab with the 8-foot bed, 2WD, and white in color. It had the base V6, an open rear differential, and absolutely no options. It had air-conditioning, which has been standard on the F150 for at least a decade, and tilt steering (also standard nowadays). It also had cruise control, but that was it. It had crank windows and manual locks, and a basic AM/FM stereo with an AUX input. There was no CD player, Bluetooth, or even a USB port. It have vinyl seats and plastic flooring as well. The price of this F150 with no options was over thirty grand!

 

I live in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Bucks County is located in the Philadelphia suburbs and has dozens of police departments scattered across it. The Bucks County Sheriff's Department is a separate entity, and it deals with courthouse security and prisoner transport, among other things. The Sheriff's Deputies have the authority to conduct traffic stops if they witness a violation, but not to write tickets (as I found out the hard way in January of this year).

In the South, Sheriff's Departments are responsible for traditional law enforcement as well as courthouse security, prisoner transport, etc. The further North you get, the less common this type of setup seems to be. Anyway, I was wondering two things...

Question #1: How many members live in jurisdictions where the sheriff's department is a separate entity, like my area, and how many people live in jurisdictions where the sheriff's department handles pretty much all law enforcement duties?

Question #2: Read below...

 

Out here the county Sheriff’s are contracted to the city to act as police. Apparently quite a few cities in this area do this, I don’t know why.
The Sheriff’s department is also its own entity, and handles the unincorporated areas as well as serving/executing warrants and such.
When I lived in Texas I had heard that Sheriff’s department doesn’t do traffic violations because the Sheriff himself is elected, and that could affect re-elections. I don’t know how true that is.

 

This brings us to part two of why I am asking this...

First off, I would like to say that I contacted my attorney and got off with no points on my driver's license and a drastically reduced fine...

As I said in my other recent thread, the area where I live has dozens of different police departments and one county sheriff's department with jurisdiction over the whole county. The Bucks County Sheriff handles stuff relating to courthouse security and prisoner transport, but for example does not have the power to write traffic tickets.


Here's the story:
A friend of mine was kicked out of her apartment, and showed up at the bar where I worked at the time with all of her worldly possessions. Another friend of mine was known to open her home to those in need, so I made a call and got the first friend a place to stay. We loaded all of her stuff, including a flat screen TV and gaming console, into my Tacoma. It was about midnight, and I had worked at my other job all afternoon (I detail cars at a dealership). I am temporarily unemployed from the bar right now because the building is undergoing extensive renovations.

Basically what happened is I treated a red light like a stop sign. I was super tired, which is no excuse, but please hear me out. I was at a 3-way intersection where I was used to turning left, but I was going straight on this particular night to take my friend to another friend's house. I was tired, and I had my intoxicated friend in the shotgun seat chatting my ear off. I look both ways, found the intersection to be completely clear, and proceeded through the red light as if it were a stop sign. My dashcam footage proves that I was not driving recklessly, nor did I "blow" the red light.

The next thing I know, a Chevy Express with emergency lights is pulling me over. I found this to be weird because I knew the Central Bucks Regional PD did not have any vans in its patrol vehicle fleet.

Young guy gets out of the van and introduces himself as "Deputy so-and-so with the Bucks County Sheriff's Department" and asks if I know why he stopped me. I answer with a completely honest "no." He explains that I ran the red light, and I still didn't believe him at that point...

He asks for my license, registration, and proof of insurance. I am polite, and ask if I can go in the glovebox so I don't cause any sudden movements. He says yes. I give him my license and the papers for the Tacoma, and he disappears into his vehicle for a good 15-20 minutes.

After 10-15 minutes, a cop in a marked CBRPD Chevy Tahoe pulls up and the cop goes to the sheriff's van. Several more minutes pass and the cop walks up to my truck and says "here's your citation." I responded with a frustrated "Dammit!" and he told me to "calm down, that I was being recorded." He then proceeded to tell me that I almost caused an accident (bullshit; he didn't even witness the violation). Before leaving, I told him that I worked for a prominent local attorney and mentioned said attorney by name (attorney in question owns the bar where I worked).

My lawyer arranged court date for January 31st (I was stopped on January 2nd). He talked to both the deputy who witnessed the violation and stopped me, and the cop who wrote the ticket. Being the amazing lawyer that he is, he made a deal with them. In exchange for me getting a charge that carried a lower fine and no points on my license, they wouldn't have to show up in court. Another officer from the CBRPD who was in court that day for something else took the place of the one who ticketed me.

I guarantee you that I paid far less in lawyer fees to get this reduced than I would have paid in insurance premiums if I simply paid the ticket and by default admitted guilt. Not to mention, it would have been three points on my license.

My driving record is clean, and my job at the detail shop where I work depends on me having a good driving record. Also, the deputy who stopped me had a rather dickish attitude, so I decided to be a dick right back by fighting the ticket hard.

 

Did you take them apart first?