2007 Tacoma 2.7L work truck

Thanks. Haha yep, it's not on now, but I will reinstall it soon. I went through a few HF jacks and thought against modifying them so I can do the 90 day switcheroos (sick of buying the stupid warranty plans every year or two). I'm only blaming HF 50% though, I do abuse them a lot.

 

Wow, just when I thought I had seen it all, I stumble across this beast!

 

Thank you, that's a nice complement . Helps with motivation to get some of the annoying things done.

 

that is an.... odd.. build. it all made sense until i got to the dash. then i was lost

 

Going for minimalism, some of it is temporary, and it was done to add an electric assist steering column instead of relying on hydraulic power steering. That's about it.

 

whatever floats.. but.. i am curious as to why you put in an electric steering system?

your brake fluid looks a little black too.. or maybe it is just the pic....

 

I'm changing that next as soon as I get the wiring done. It looks darker in the pictures than it really is inside. Electric steering system for following reasons:
1. To test how well it works so I can also implement it on other car projects such as the 540i.
2. Reduce clutter from power steering system under the hood. Make more room for projects such as a pressure washer or the rotary screw air compressor.
3. More efficient. Doesn't use any power at all when going in a straight line and can be disabled any time I want.
4. Because I hate hydraulic power steering systems. One of the most annoying things I've ever had to deal with on vehicles. Why not? Why do boring mods everyone has already done thousands of times? Cars should have had electric steering systems decades ago.

 

Words to live by right here

 

Love it! The modifications are sometimes practical, and other times an artistic expression.

 

Thank you . I'm finally about to get a chance to test it as soon as I trace the wire that's responsible for my tail light working when I turn on the headlight switch, and also the tach signal wire to the instrument cluster lol. Sometimes I wonder if I'm wasting my time with all of this but then again, the amount of tools I got packed on here and how useful and versatile the truck is, makes it worth it in the end. Whenever I see other tool/welder/mechanic trucks around that are usually diesel and on duallys, it amuses me with how little actual use they have vs how much space everything takes up on them. I once had an E250 box truck I tried to use in a similar fashion and after getting lots of city code violations for parking in a residential area and the annoyance of always trying to squeeze in everywhere, I really appreciate having a compact truck.

 

Can't really argue any of that. God speed crazy sir.

 

Pics coming up soon, but I finally got the truck up and running.

Somewhere in the process my rear running lights signal. I got sick of tracing it, in the process found a ton of evap wiring and junk to dispose of so at least that made me happy. I bypassed it for now. But my wideband and all gauges are working again.

Electronic steering works! I was overjoyed the first time I gave the ignition wire power and it became live 3-5 seconds later. I heard a click inside the control box. Started turning my steering wheel and to my amazement it didn't require much effort. It's not as easy as the hydraulic power steering, but that's probably due to gearing and having larger tires and a heavier vehicle. But the box doesn't seem to struggle. It's been a while since I had to turn it manually, so just to compare I turned it off and it's definitely an enormous difference. That motor is doing a lot of work.

My precise clamp on amp meter (not a fluke but not chinese cheap ones either) maxes out at 40, and it spikes when the system starts. I'm not alarmed because all motors have spikes upon startup. I'm sure it's only a few ms anyways. But when doing a full turn standing I'm reading 7-10 amps draw! I'm shocked how efficient it is considering how much work it's doing. Even my radiator fan pulls 15-25.

Since I had to immediately run for a welding job I couldn't go and finish the delete (hence why I haven't taken pics yet). So right now I actually have both hydraulic steering and electric. I think they're slightly conflicting with each other because steering is tighter than it was standing still with engine off. But I'm not worried since I'm about to go grab a shorter belt from the store. I'm excited to see how it will drive truly on electric only without any hydraulic assist. I will still have to figure out how to depower the rack properly, or I may even just swap a manual rack from a KIA Soul in or some other car.

The system is pretty smart and still stays on for 10 seconds after steering stops, after no more power from the ignition wire. I'm guessing this is so people can straighten their wheel or whatever when they shut off their cars.

Lastly, a very interesting effect I noticed is before my steering wheel would shake on the interstate from the lager deeper tread LT tires and needing rebalancing (have my own balancer, just gotta get to it). The electric column corrects this. And now my steering wheel is still and almost has no movement by itself.

I'm quite impressed by this upgrade, worth every bit of effort. I'm going to implement this in my BMW 540i as well.

 

I'm going to update this thread soon. But in the meanwhile. I came to the conclusion (without trying to sound conceited) that I think I have the most badass desk in the whole world. If I die, at least I know I have that... It's the perfect height, has enough room for at least a few hundred beer bottles, tools, laptops, whatever. Not running out on space any time soon when it's utilized this way.

 

Mad Max lives !!!

 

Lmao thanks for the motivation. This makes me want to go finish up some more projects on it.

 

sick build and love the russian plates, bratan

 

Spasibo! Another Alex I see haha.

So many people on here from TX I'm beginning to think I live in the wrong state lol.

 

FL and TX are siblings!

 

I'll say it again - you sir, are a madman.

Question - what rims are you running? I have a 06' white 5 lug and I'm digging the look