Assistance identifying a "plug" in rear of cab

They might be cracked and brittle but I bet they’re antiseptically clean.

 

Appears to be hard rubber. Not sure if all the Tacoma's have them or just the dbl cabs. The one I replaced was near the bottom on the passengers side, so it took more a beating from the elements. The remaining ones are fine.

 

thanks,
i have been chasing some weird cabin vibes that MAY be due to pressure issues
open the door & something random pops somewhere, maybe these are whats causing that gremlin

 

Doesn't have to be a NAPA as any auto parts store should have assorted body plugs.

 

Hey Kevin. I did go by Auto Zone and O’Reiley’s but the generic body plugs they had were all to big.

 

I owned and operated a chain of auto parts for years and we had a very large assortment of plugs from very small to large in Dorman brand.
I don't believe these huge auto parts store chains of today keep as much inventory as in the past. I guess "on line" is your best option.

 

You are exactly right.... for this area anyway. The auto parts stores around these parts carry mostly Ford, Chevy and Dodge products. I wish we had a Pep Boys. When I lived in Jacksonville, FL they carried a wide variety of parts.

 

Unfortunately the situation is most likely going to get worst as with so many purchasing off the internet (Amazon) the brick and mortar retail stores can no longer afford to carry the large inventories they did in the past.
They basically only carry the items they sell day-in and day-out. This doesn't just go for auto parts stores but retail in general.

I have to wonder how many brick and mortar retail stores we will see in our communities 20>25 years from now. I had a chance to sell my stores and jumped on it.

 

you stink, jammer!
i just checked the plug on the trucks passenger side, soft and squishy
went to the driver side and HARD AS A ROCK
thanks for alerting me to this, i would not have caught it otherwise
now have to figure out how to pop it out, do they just unscrew? probably special unique tool is needed?

 

lol...J A Y I promise I don't mean to be the Grim Reaper. It's probably fine. Mine had a visible crack in the middle. Removing it was like removing the PCV valve grommet...it just broke up.
Yeah, it just pops in with friction. I tried getting it out in one piece but that was impossible. I had to take a pair of pliers and grab a pieces to remove.

 

Here's one roster of the plugs Toyota and Lexus use, with dimensions to help matching to part numbers. This is more than just Tacoma, of course.

 

Plugs seem fine in my '96, I assume their purpose is to drain water from your cab if ever needed?

 

somebody previously said they are for cabin pressure, which mine seems to have some funky pressure stuff going on when opening the door once in awhile, not quite sure what the funky is going on going crazy lol

but the plug behind driver is rock hard compared to the passenger side

 

J A Y post a picture of the bad one. Is it about the size of a quarter? Asking because I may have an extra one I can send you at no charge!!! Just because you're a hell of a guy!

 

The plugs aren't for cabin pressure. The vent above is the vent when the doors are closed with windows up. It has flapper type hanging rubber vents that release the pressure.

The other two are just hole plugs, one rubber and one plastic.

 

The purpose for these two holes, like almost all of the ones in the body, are for use during manufacturing. The serve one of several purposes: either to fill, then drain, ED coating (think primer) when the body is dunked into and then lifted from the ED tank; or, they are holes used by equipment to align or lift the parts, like welding robots, datum pins to align the parts for welding, hoists to move the parts, etc. After the truck is painted, they get some form of hole plug to keep water, dust, heat/cold, and noise out.

Here is an example. This vehicle is being lifted from the ED tank.

 

i read somewhere in the past from another tw member there is a lot in Joplin with a good selection 'maybe' of salvaged 1st gens, have you heard of this before
Joplin is not too far from you?

 

Joplin from my house is right at an hour away. I wasn't aware, but it would be awesome to go check them out "if" they exist. I would be pleasantly surprised. Around here, a 1st gen Tacoma is like a piece of gold and you can't find them. Couple of years ago I called two salvage yards around here, and they both said they love to get them but they don't stay long.
Again, Appreciate the heads up. Good to know.

 

my plug on the passenger side down there to access the interior rear rockers is NOT plastic, its rubber! removed it yesterday to spray corrosion-free stuff inside the rockers in the rear and watch it oozie on out the drains
this is what it looks like inside with some foamy stuff on the interior
but the driver side is a round plastic brittle plug, not a rubber one like the passenger side and i did not pry at it with fingers until a replacement is in hand

 

J A Y you are smarter than me. I should have done what you stated above.."did not pry at it with fingers until a replacement is in hand". I "thought" I could take a pick and gently pry it out......NOT. It was like trying to remove the pcv grommet without it breaking apart......not happening.