2004 DC TRD build thread- The Good Enough Tacoma

I wanted to begin a proper build thread to document my 1st gen Tacoma build.
Growing up, I always wanted one of these and when it came time to get my first vehicle, these were double the price of a comparable ranger or s10. I settled for a Ranger, blew the head gaskets, suffered through a transmission that slipped in reverse, and fixing rusty rockers.

Fast forward 8 years and I was married, looking to pay off some debts, and save some money.
I purchased an immaculate, low-mileage 3rd gen 4runner.
Two weeks ago, the 4runner was totaled and with life, and a family coming quickly, I didn't have the luxury of waiting months to find perfect 1 owner, cali truck (like my 4runner was).
Enter, the good-enough-Tacoma.

 

what a loss! that was a sweet 4runner...

 

I found the Tacoma after searching craigslist and finding a listing for a double cab with a recent frame replacement on Long Island, NY (and only 117,000).
I looked at 5 different double cab 1st gen tacomas and could not find one with a solid body, solid frame, and solid drivetrain.
Around the $10,000 mark, they either had rusty bodies, rusty and patched frames, or 1 even had a bad valvetrain rattle.

This is the story of the Tacoma that was just good enough.

-Cosmetically, the body leaves a lot to be desired. The black shows every scratch it has. there are several dings and small dents in the bedsides. The roof will need re-sprayed at some point. Bottom of the doors, rocker panels, everything is solid.
-The headlights are cheap reproductions that scatter that light everywhere but directly forward.
-The frame, LCAs, leaf springs, etc were all replaced this year (there are still shipping stickers on the frame. This seems to have been by a private shop. I ran the vin with Toyota and they did not replace the frame under recall. A couple shortcuts were taken like some hard lines and brackets were reused, trim panels with broken clips are held with zip ties, etc.
During the test drive, I found the 4x4 wasn't working. After a roadside diagnosis, I found the 20a fuse missing from the 4x4 actuator circuit. I swapped the 20A fuse from the wipers in and the 4x4 engaged and worked it as it should. I could have not disclosed the missing fuse and haggled the price down but ethically I couldn't do that. I told him I swapped a fuse and it worked BUT no one removes those without reason and between the roof needing a respray and the questionable 4x4, I got the asking price for several thousand under market value. Saturday and put a 20A fuse in and the engaged the push button 4x4 several times with no issue and the truck has not burned itself to the ground either. I will keep a couple 20a spare fuses in the glove box.
-It also has the dreaded PO420 check engine code. I went through this on the 4runner and this time I actually believe the gas cap is the culprit. The 4runner cap sealed well pressurized the tank. When I open the cap, I hear no pressure release.

 

Sorry for your loss
Edit: hopefully you didn't have to pay the ridiculous price folks are paying for these. You'll find plenty info here for tackling those DTCs. Don't expect the Tacoma to be as nice as the 4runner, just FYI. I hope you have realistic expectations of it

 

What are your plans for this truck? Short term and long term.

 

$9,500. for a rust free, new frame DC 1st gen with a "used-as-a-truck" body. I think I made out OK but definitely paid more that I should have.
However, I consider myself ahead of the game knowing the issues with. The biggest being that it had 6 DIFFERENT previous owners.

Short term: maintenance - put a new denso radiator in and flush the system with distilled water. replace thermostat with new Toyota unit (jiggle valve at 6 o'clock of course). Coolant is Toyota red but looks pretty dirt.
- replace lower ball joints (obvious)
- clean MAF and throttle body
- change spark plugs and wires
- install B&M transcooler
- extended diff breathers front and rear
-suspension- I am considering this as maintenance because of the suspension disaster that is going on. It currently has 2.5" poly spacers in the front and 3" aluminum blocks in the rear. the u-bolts are misaligned and the pinion angle looks way off without even putting an angle finder on it. the front upper balljoint boots are ripped and the suspension angle looks terrible. the front diff looks like it has some homemade diff drop spacers on. I will remove all these components and build it correctly with budget shocks so if a want to upgrade to kings or ADS later, all the leg work is done. With that said, I plan on ordering the following.
Front suspension:
proper diff drop
bilstein 5100 at bottom circlip with either ome 880s or eibach coils-
SPC upper control arms
Rear suspension:
retain the rancho 5000 shocks for now
OME Dakar standard leaf pack
correct axle shim to correct pinion angle
brake line extensions

Long Term:
- Respray the roof
- throw on some factory skids
- linex the rockers and lower doors
- assembled 3rd member and front clamshell from ECGS regeared in 4:88
- 17x8.5 methods with 275/70/17 cooper st maxx.
- throw on a new tonneau cover and enjoy it from there.
- addicted offroad front tube bumper, superwinch tigershark 9500 SR, 4x innovations rear swingout bumper, aftermarket skids. rock sliders that also function as steps (this last row will probably never happen)

After driving this truck stock, I realized I loved having the stock power! It didn't downshift through hills and held whatever gear I wanted with a little throttle control. the Tacoma has a higher effective gear ratio with the 3:91s compared to the 4runner with 265s and 4:30s but the 4runner weighed over 1100 lbs more! As much as I liked having a very capable and armored 4runner, the performance sucked.
My first big mod after maintenance will be the gearing for a larger, more aggressive wheel and tire package. I don't want to loose the performance it has now. I realized that as cool as it was to have an armored rig, I used it more like a touring family vehicle. This year, I took the 4Runner to beach several times (cape cod, NJ, Connecticut), several weekend trips to VT and NH, a thousand mile round trip to Acadia national park, thousand mile round trip to Expo East in Virginia, and a 1500 mile round trip of Maine north woods. During none of these trips did I need an offroad bumper, sliders or a full aftermarket skid plate package.

 

Sounds like you know what you're doing. I hope everything goes smoothly.

 

thank you, fingers crossed for no broken bolts.

 

11/24/2019

maintenance day 1.

changed the oil with penzoil platinum synthetic 5w30 and Mobil 1 filter.
Hand washed and “scrubbed” the exterior. Claybarred what I could.
Fluid filmed the tailgate, hood latch, and all door pins.
Replaced the dome light
Replaced the rear license plate light

 

Claybarred on Dec 1st???!! If you live somewhere you can be working on your paint in December, you are winning at life

 

11/29/2019

Maintenance day 2:

Flushed the front diff, rear diff, and transfer case with conventional 80/90 weight. Checked 4x4 operation in preparation for the forecasted 16” of snow. The replacement fuse has not blown yet luckily. Confirmed the door tag axle code as a 4:10 open rear.
Cleaned out the air filter, cleaned the MAF sensor. Runs noticeably smoother now at idle

 

November 24th. And yeah...it was about 38 degrees but at least I was able to get some paint protection on before the snow and salt hit tonight

 

12/6/2019

Maintenance day 3:

A quick spray wash to clean off the salt cake from our 24" blizzard.
Added cheapie floormats.
replaced the broken headrest with one from the local junkyard ($50 headrest was hard to accept).
I replaced the spark plugs with oem Toyota plugs and replaced the wires with NGK wires and cleaned the COP boots.

I saw on the carfax report that supposedly the plugs had been changed. the shop only did the passenger side because they are easily accessible..

 

Believe it or not many of the 3.4L came with NGK plugs on one side and Denso on the other. They're identical in spec. I think they chalked it up to something with the production order or production line or something at the factory. So if you saw NGK one side and Denso the other they might still be original.

 

So $9500.... and $4000+ to go !
Sounds about right, bummer on the T4R but ..Life
Interested in what you have going. Side question how did you clean the COP? Air, silicone spray? Or?

 

that would be very interesting for sure because the electrode was burned through about equally on all 6. I noticed a slight of oil on the top of the threads which leads me to believe the cam covers seals are leaking slightly. or someone got sloppy during filling.

unfortunately came under budget doesn't translate to an increase mod budget.
after looking around, I really like the oem wheel options better than method, SCS, etc. I will most likely grab some FN pro x 17x8 wheels in charcoal
Also, I am trying to decide whether to get a new tonneau cover or find a topper.
the topper is practical but I'm not sold on the looks

 

Softopper with the sides and back rolled up>>>>

 

the only reason I would want a hard topper would be to install some crossbars to haul my canoe/kayaks.

Right now the 5' bed is no bueno for a 13' canoe.

I found this used snugtop for a 1st gen DC that I can probably get for $150. I would rattle can it in bedliner like this f150 owner did.

 

Yeah I was just saying it cause I think it looks cool.
For your needs it does make more sense the route that you're thinking, of course.

 

Not true, when I swap my plugs I run ngk on half and dense on the other. It’s factory recommended from Toyota back then.