'She's Gonna Kill Me' - Build and Existential/Financial Crisis Thread

Introduction when this thread was created(March 2020?):

I am a Toyota Addict with poor financial judgment and just enough debt-to-income ratio to be mildly dangerous with unnecessary purchases. I leverage my home equity to buy highly depreciative off road vehicles I may blow up before I can pay off.

Started this thread so my sweetheart can have a place to point to when I shout at the heavens 'What the hell am I doing, and where did all my money go?'

I am a rockhound, camper, hiker, fisherman and bird watcher who also owns two FJ Cruisers which I absolutely love, but can't really effectively hold all my crap on trips. I am trying to avoid off road trailers as much as possible, though I will eventually own one I am sure because that way I can extend my trips out longer and longer I am bad with money and make poor decisions.

This truck has no name, which is uncharacteristic for my household, but I think I have bought too many vehicles the last couple years and everyone in the house has naming fatigue. I have dreamed of owning a Double Cab Tacoma for years and planned on naming it 'Aardkvark3', but I am not ready to tack this moniker on her yet, so my goal is to nail something down on my first multi-week(dare I say 'overland' these days?) trip in her Mar-April 2020(Cancelled - Fuck you COVID). NAME STILL TBD, SO SETTLE DOWN, YOU WILL BE NOTIFIED.

Because '2014 Magnetic Gray Mica Double Cab Short Bed Tacoma with Off Road Package' really rolls off the tongue, I will us that in place of my truck name until she has earned her callsign.

I bought '2014 Magnetic Gray Mica Double Cab Short Bed Tacoma with Off Road Package' in PA and drove it home the same day/night. She did great through white-out snow, rain, and the poor painted lines of western Maryland and northern West Virginia right down to my home in Knoxville, TN. What wasn't great was when I went to register a few days later and found out we were supposed to get the title notarized at the time of title transfer. Awesome. Fortunately the seller(a fellow member) knew people, and was able to get me taken care of after several days of sweating it out, and getting my balls busted alll the way around by my friends, family, and the seller(cool dude, but he seems like a jokester).

If you are still reading at this point, I really admire your lack of time management tenacity and willingness to see things through.

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Current-ish:

Getting down to brass tacks, here is where '2014 Magnetic Gray Mica Double Cab Short Bed Tacoma with Off Road Package' stands at this point:







My other toys:



Mileage when purchased: 65,200ish

Current Mileage:

About 105000(Feb 2023)

Armor

3 hoop Pelfreybilt Front bumper
Brute Force Fab rear bumper w/ Swingout
RCI Front Skid, homemade mid and trans skids.
All Pro APEX sliders
BAMF LCA Skids (Currently no-fitty due to Marlin Crawler LCA Frame Brace.. gotta do some cutting..)
RCI Rear Dif skid plate
Marlin Crawler LCA Frame Brace
Front Range Offroad E-Locker Skid

Suspension
​

Front:
Total Chaos +2 Expedition Long Travel
King 2.5" TC Spec Long Travel Shocks with 600# Springs and Adjusters
King 2.5" with 700# Springs and Adjusters
SPC Upper Control Arms (Rebuilt Summer 2020 with xAxis bushings and new ball joints)
Total Chaos UCAs
@glorifiedwelder Gusseted Spindles
Wheelers Superbump Bump Stops

Rear:
King 2.5 12" with Adjusters
EL096R Dakar HD with AAL Leafs
Deaver Expedition U402 Stage 3 Leafs
BAMF Leaf Hangers w/ HD Shackles

Archive Garage Shock Relocation
Archive Speedbump Bump Stops

Drivetrain

FJ Cruiser Manual Transfer Case
ADD Delete
Nitro 4.56 Gears Front
ARB Air Locker in Front​

Dynatrac ProRock62 D60 w/ ARB Airlocker 4.56 Gears, +1” Track width each side, for +2 overall width.

Differential drop​

ECGS Front Dif Needle Bearing Replacement Bushing installed

Lighting
sPod Touchscreen Controller
Baja S2 Spot/Wide Cornering Combo Ditch Lights
40" Rigid Double Row LED Lightbar in Roof Rack
20" Double Row LED in front bumper
3" Rough Country LED Spots in Fog holes front bumper

Shoes

5 SCS SR8 wheels 17"
285/75R17 BFG KM3s
275/80R17 Goodyear MT-Rs
295/70/17 Ridge Grapplers
305/70/17 Goodyear MT-Rs

Sound and Com

Kenwood DNX696s Head Unit
Kicker 6x9 door speakers
8” all in one subwoofer

Expedition Essentials 2TPAM Dash Mount

$160 Midland MXT275 MicroMobile® GMRS Radio – 15 watts Two-Way Radio with Integrated Control Microphone – Overland Caravanning Tractors – Detachable External Magnetic Mount Antenna - 8 Repeater Channels

Midland MXT275 GMRS
Cobra 75 WX ST CB Radio(need to mount antenna yet..)

Other Stuff​

Victory 4x4 Cab Rack
Homemade Canopy Rack (Victory/Prinsu Style with 7 crossbars)
Dobinsons Snorkle
Leer 100R Shell with Front Runner tracks
Wet Okole Seat Covers
Coverking front and rear neoprene seat covers.
Meso dual map lights and rear dome
Meso MOLLE overhead rack.
Weathertech mats.
@EasyDoesIt 'Desert Does It' Front Seat Jackers
Some bullshit stickers which added zero HP, really pissed about this.. eliminated due to under-performance
Smittybilt X20 Winch 10K w. Synthetic Rope
Warn Zeon 12K w/ Viking Synthetic Rope
CargoGlide Bed Drawer
Shelf frame over cargoglide for Frontrunner Wolf Packs
OVS 270LT Awning
OVS Rack Mounted Shower Room
5th Gen T4R Front Brake Upgrade with Stoptech slotted rotors and Powerstop Extreme Brake Pads
ARB AirLocker Compressor (itty bitty thing)
Wedge RTT
HQ Issue Bow/Rifle Case x2

Upcoming(Soon):

Low profile ditch lights - Baja S2 Sports in transit
Spod System(Transfer from FJ) - Pulled, waiting install
BAMF Leaf Hangers[/S
Archive Garage shock relocate with King 2.5 Smoothies(Scheduled June 10, 21 for the Fab Guy)[/S
Snorkle
5th Gen 4Runner front Disc Brake Upgrade & SS extended cables all around (In Process)[/S
Bedslide and custom bed shelf riser stuff.​

Upcoming(Later):

Transfer over Supercharger from FJ




I spend too much time talking shit and reading about what I am going to do on the internet to actually get shit done, so from here on: less talk, more doing..

 

Stealing this post for pic dump.. moving previous post into next one...

 

Just got notification my @victory4x4 cab rack shipped. Much earlier than they first estimated. Super pumped!

Also, from previous post position:
So I mentioned in another post somewhere, I got in everything for the bigger front brake upgrade to be done this weekend, weather and attitude permitting. I went with EBC Dimpled and Slotted rotors, and 6000 series Green Stuff Pads, combined with Cardone 'Ultra' Remanufactured 13WH Calipers and new 4Runner dust shields to accommodate the larger rotors. The 'Ultra' calipers are remanufactured Toyota calipers, except they are coated and claim to use some extra special EPDM rubber for the piston seals(which sounds cool), so I wont have to paint them or worry about rust so much. I went remans from a local parts house for one of my FJs and having to clean the grease and oil off, mask and paint them was not worth the $15 savings in my opinion. There are some negative reviews on the EBC, and a lot of people knock the drilled and slotted as unnecessary for general purpose, and its probably true for the most part, but I run pretty heavy loads sometimes in the west coast, and anything that will help keep my brakes cool coming down off Brians Head or some other steep grade I am willing to try. I run drilled and slotted on both FJs and never have had an issue(though I say that but my other project this weekend is looking at the FJ brakes as I think I have something dragging..). If these rotors crap out I will look at Toyota OEM 338s or the Brembo aftermarket 388s which I happened to find after I ordered these EBCs.

The caliper piston size is 45mm, same as stock Tacoma, but the larger caliper body and larger rotor means larger brake pads for more braking surface (231mm pad vs 199mm pad). If you need to do your brakes anyways, its not much more to go all out and upgrade to these larger rotors. The Toyota dust shields were the pisser as they cost way more than they should, and came scratched, dented, and covered in shitty paper stickers. I could leave the paper stickers on there I guess but the kids at the mall food court parking lot are mean and will probably make fun of me, so I ordered some 3M adhesive remover to clean them up and I will also hit them with a coat of paint to fix up the scratches.

I also have new extended steel brake cables all around from All Pro/Trail Gear. Going to knock this out all at once.

Since starting this parts accumulation, I have realized the 2010+ 4runner has even beefier calipers and rotors, but I ordered half this crap before I found out about this so I said hell with it, this is still a nice upgrade, and my weekends seem too few and far between so I don't want to waste this one.

 

Thanks to @PyritePirateBill i was able to remove the stickers off those dust shields in minutes with some 3m Adhesive remover he recommended. I got so carried away I removed all the stickers off the back of '2014 Magnetic Gray Mica Double Cab Short Bed Tacoma with Off Road Package'. That stuff worked so slick, it was probably the first time I have ever enjoyed the process of removing stickers.

Pulled the passenger wheel off to inspect the brakes and start looking for the ‘clang’ I have been getting and found the ball joint where the spindle connects to the UCA is in pretty bad shape, and the brakes looked pretty good, so I postponed the brake upgrade and got online and ordered the upgraded spc ball joints that have the grease zerks.

Since the brakes ain’t the culprit of the noise, I am going to go ahead and return the brake parts and go with the 2010+ 4Runner brakes, as despite my best efforts to talk myself into the lesser 338mm setup, I couldn’t do it. In honor of this decision I decided to buy @boogie3478 ‘s ’Buy Once, Cry Once’ sweatshirt.

So instead of doing brakes I did some yard work since the day was absolutely beautiful.

on another note I discovered I blew the front diff needle bearing playing in the snow a few weeks back on my blue FJ. @Newlife has a puller and he graciously is letting me borrow it this week so I can get this done. The front end feels like it’s gonna blow apart with that bearing gone. So I am down one vehicle for the week, which ain’t a big deal I guess.

 

Thanks man!

 

Look What came today.. #PUMPED @victory4x4

 

getting there..

 

yeah I know, the lightbar brackets are wrong here.. its a little trial and error around these parts..

 

Full weekend schedule it looks like.. Ball joints on '2014 Magnetic Gray Mica Double Cab Short Bed Tacoma with Off Road Package', needle bearing on my blue FJ 'NEWMAN', and get he Victory rack on and roof light wiring done, if I don't get that during the week. Then on Monday/Tuesday I am helping my kid do a front and rear axle swap on his 2000 Ranger, bumping him up to 4.10 ratio front and rear. Kid is getting re-geared before I am!

 

So we had some rain, but I got the needle bearing on the FJ done, and the @victory4x4 Cab Rack mounted. Cab rack was a cinch, except the crossbar dept did not check with the mounting feet dept at Victory, so a couple mounting screws are a little tough to get at as the cross bars are right over so you have to have ball ends or angle your hex wrench. By no means the end of the world, but seems like an easy thing to avoid. I borrowed a sweet ass bushing driver to do the needle bearing replacement. I guess there is a tool for everything, but my machinist friend had the EXACT perfect tool, which always surprises me when I get my hands on 'just the thing.' Its an OTC brand bushing driver, with a size 0-5 swappable head. I looked at the ball joint I need to replace, but put it off. I may have a local 4x4 shop do since I would probably need to re-align at the same time.. IDK, maybe I am pussing out after busting loose the 173ftlb CV axle bolt. two more 150ftlb ball joints and I might hurt myself. (I have revised this past statement as tightening the 173ftlbs wasn't that bad, but busting that nut loose did make me wonder if I should be carrying a bigger breaker bar in my trail kit.)

 

Did the front and rear swaps on my son's Ranger a couple weeks ago, and it was never more apparent I need more room to work. I have plenty of hobbies, and crap, that my work space is always tight, and I end of moving a lot of crap around all the time to do anything. So with this in mind I decided to build a little additional storage/work space so I can be a little better organized, and not need to make any major moves to get things done.

 

So a mostly quiet stay at home weekend. Built a wall under my deck, tweaked my back, and decided I better paint my new @C4 Fabrication Dual Jerry can carrier for my swing out before it starts to rust. (thanks to Ray at @PureTacoma for helping me out with that purchase!!). I worked some more on organizing my work area to make future projects more efficient.

I am hoping I feel better this afternoon, as one of my goals is to pull the winch out of the taco and swap in my Warn from the Pig. I was hoping to have a new 20 inch light bar to put in but that wasn’t in the financial cards. The one currently there is about a 7 candle power, which is fine if you want to sit on a cooler in front of your truck reading a book while sipping Cabernet, but for night runs it isn’t really adding to the experience, unless that experience possibly includes high centering on a stump or something and camping where you're stuck just for the lols. At least you would have time and a dim light to read that book.

Only working 3 days this coming week so I really am hoping to install my new Kenwood head unit and @Jeff@ExE Expedition Essentials accessory mount. The Kenwood is the Excellon DNX696s. I have the 695s in my blue fj and love it. The 696 dropped substantially in price as the 697 is coming out, so I got a hell of a deal. It gives me Garmin with 3D maps, 3 camera inputs, and a front easy access microSD card slot and CarPlay. My current unit is a lower end model and has no gps, microSD slot or CarPlay so this will be a nice upgrade.

​

 

Awesome. Can’t wait to see some pics. Truck is coming along nicely.

 

Sorry to hear about your back! The holder looks good; do you have your Jerry cans? We are having a sale on them soon.
IF they have the FJ summit this year and you attend, please stop buy and let us buy you a beer or breakfast! Stay well!

 

I will def keep my eye out for that sale.. any hints on when its dropping?

My company had us all take 10 days vacation time in April to help out with the Covid mess, and I aint so sure that's over, so I'm not sure I will be making that trip this year.. At least we are all happy, healthy, and still employed. I hate it for everyone who can't say this right now..

 

gotter in! The metra trim makes it a little different, so I will need to swap out the top for some longer screws. It would be cool if you guys threw in a couple extra screws for the accessory holes, but I get it. I stole two of the top screws for the wiring cover untill I can get to Ace.

This really is the ultimate accessory mount. I am really happy about this thing!

The finish on this is really nice, and it feels really sturdy fully installed. I ran my car play cable up there as well and am using that, but I will put a second ram mount for passengers. Will be glad to be free of the cords everywhere.

 

Oh yeah, did a few other things this long weekend: removed my Smittybilt X2O winch and added the Warn Zeon 12 with its Viking 3/8 synthetic line(pulled out of the Pig), and while I was at it, stripped down some rusty spots on the inside of my front bumper and bumper mounts. Because of the extra prep and paint, took me a couple days start to finish, but glad to have it done. After wire brush, and/or sanding I use Rustoleum 'Rust Reformer' on all of my clean up jobs, then in this case, I went with Rustoleum Paint and Primer in one, Black Satin for the recoat. Been doing this on my FJs since I've had them and it works great for me. I know there may be better stuff out there(depending on who you ask), but this stuff I can get anywhere, anytime, and it works. As often as I am doing maintenance and crap, having these cans on hand makes touch-ups a breeze.

During bumper removal I ripped the wire out of one of my china led fog lights, so transferred some rough county led pods over from PIG. They are more spot than fog lights, so when I upgrade the 20" down the road I will probably replace these.. Or not, wont know till I try them.

Also installed a brake controller because I was already in full scorpion under the steering wheel for the new head unit wire runs.

 

That looks great. Thanks for sharing!!!!

Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you need anything. Even screws

 

hey how do you like this unit? I'm looking into gps and bigger rearview camera screen. the crutchfield deal is pretty good at the moment. thanks.