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

Installed spacer mesh Covercraft covers

 

Try the #70 spring from Ace. It’s way better than messing with that spring and bushings.

 

I actually used the OEM brake pedal return spring. Worked pretty good once I got it to stop hanging on the little bracket and making a much worse noise

 

you got a truck? Gonna do LT? Which kit?

 

Yup another one, I have a problem.



This one is super stock still. Always wanted to do an LT build so the MCM kit is in my future.

 

Did some stuff on the truck today...

First of all.. Removed this piece of shit.

WAY more room in the passenger wheel well now. I never really looked in there to realize how much room it took up.

Started fabricating an alternative washer fluid reservoir... using @Blackdawg idea.

Work got cut short though... Got a call from Jen. She was at Wal-Mart with coolant dumping out of her truck.

The heater core nipple broke off. The stupid thing was a plastic fitting... the plastic was completely rotten.

Cleared the nipple out of the hose...

Took the garbage plastic fitting off the aluminum fitting that is behind it (took a special tool to do this by the way) And then attached the hose to the aluminum fitting (like it should have been in the first place).


Added 2 gallons of antifreeze... and she's back on the road.

 

I love my MCM kit, you’ll be happy with it too.

And did I see that you’re not in PHX anymore?

 

I'm sure it'll be great! Do you happen to remember what shipping was, I don't know how much it all weighs.

Oh yeah I moved back up to WA again. Will be staying up here for the foreseeable future.

 

That's the joint that cracked on mine rig.

Factory welds looked better than that one too.

 

I have my invoice in my email. I’ll check it out and PM you. I know Matt gave me a sweet deal because at the time he was having issues getting the playing done. There were some significant delays in getting it to me and he made it good by hooking me up with a sweet discount.

 

what is this is everybody's truck breaking down & requiring lots of work and repairs outside of the maintenance schedule
bankrupt?
divorced??
yikes.

i have only had maybe two or three 'unscheduled maintenance' mechanical repairs of somewhat significant cash money done this year and at least one should not have to be done again for quite awhile, and the other is million miles no worry anymore!
other than that its been an extremely low maintenance vehicle for 22.5 years, unlike the beater Corolla that now has a fuel leak and is almost dead
i am truly amazed at how little this truck has cost me in overall maintaining it
its old, no doubt, so i am trying to find what the rest of the TW community has had to do as the miles pile up over the years.

but the $10k quote i got on the needed frame mod was a definite biter, though
even though they 'experts' tell me i don't really need it! it looks ok! we've seen much worse around here!
its become something i need to tackle myself however harmful and dangerous it is to my truck or my health. So far I estimate equipment and materials for the project are nearing $1k and the one piece that is still on the table is most likely several $k's

 

that tip really works on his because of the color of truck probably? it does not stand out like a similar set up on mine really sticks out all funky. I need to contact the manufacturer once i get sick of it to see if I paint the pipe black if it will void the 'lifetime' warranty

 

First of all... there's a word - sarcasm.

Second. If I had paid someone to do everything I've done to my truck (so far) I would have, easily, spent an additional $10K in labor alone. On top of that, I would not have saved the money I have saved on things like a Warn M8000 winch I picked up for a hundered bucks (and rebuilt) the ARB compressor I picked up for 80 bucks (and rebuilt). Not to mention what I've saved fabricating my own bumper, rtt rack etc.

So... no, if I had paid someone else to work on my truck, it wouldn't have caused a divorce... but then again, none of the work would have ever been done on the truck, because I'm not paying $125+ per hour in labor.

 

i am in need of my first set of new rear shocks whether they need changing or not!
bilsteins seem to be the consensus of choice around here, but do they come in a different color than those do?

 

where was the leak at?

 

if you signed up for the TW secret and i get you i know exactly what to get you

 

thats probably something i should look into fixing on my truck, i just put up with the squeaky squeak which seems worse in the colder winter weather, i cannot even see underneath where the spring even is! lol

also its good to see another old SR5 on TW after @Running Man lost his truck
and nice seat covers! i should get something better than the rags i had put together to cover my driver seat

 

mods are definitely a different animal for sure!
i just thought you were having a swarm of mechanical problems

 

No, the Taco is still the most reliable vehicle I've ever owned

But even routine maint... I've probably saved $3K on just doing the water pump/timing belt and valve cover gaskets.

Being able to do the work on the truck on my own has opened up a million possibilities, that would have otherwise never happened.

 

I tell myself I save money in doing things myself, but deep deep down inside I know I just spend that money on other things, cause ya know the truck needs it....