Key-Rei's (Science Dog) Build? Thread!

UNDER CONSTRUCTION POSTED SO NOT TO LOOSE PROGRESS!!!

Why Science Dog?

BECAUSE:



MOST RECENT EXCURSION VANITY PIC!



CARNAGE!




So I used to have a 3rd Gen 4Runner that I cut my modding and off-roading teeth on, she was my unicorn '00 3.4l 5 Speed. I loved that little SUV (still miss it sometimes) but I got a motorcycle, and I started towing more, as well as doing other things where a pickup truck and generally just something a little bigger and a little more powerful (and frankly comfortable and modern read fuel efficient) was wanted.

Old 4Runner shortly before selling and the Goldwing:

I got a thing for black, don't judge.

But this isn't about those!

I was helping a friend move from the keys and his Tundra is a good part of what made me start looking for a truck, plus I had plenty of time to kill on the long trips to and from the Keys.

After a LOT of reading and looking at builds here I set my heart on a 2nd gen Tacoma.

My requirements were somewhat strict however. The replacement had to have everything my 4Runner had and more: NO ACCIDENTS, under 15k out the door, V6, Manual, 4x4, tow package, access cab, long bed, E-Locker, no sun-roof, and as Mr. Henry Ford once said it could be any color as long as it's black.

I wanted a topper for sleeping in the back on trips like I did with the 4Runner, and the hood scoop but discovered on here that they only came on sports and I didn't want a sport because the E-locker was mandatory and was only on the TRD Off-Roads.

No worries both would be easily added later.

Well blessed I was as there was exactly 1 in the US that met all my mandatory requirements for sale in TN that I found via cars.com it even had a TOPPER!

I called and put a deposit down on it ($500) to hold it till I could get up there that weekend.

Two days later I got a call from the manager of sales at the dealership...

"Hello, I'm sorry to inform you we are refunding your deposit. We had three sales people attempt to process the sale of the Tacoma each put down a deposit same day which attempted to process at end of day. As such I have decided the most fair solution is to refund everyone's deposit and the first person to arrive in person and process their application will receive the keys and take home the truck."

My heart flopped and my stomach sank. I was on my way back from the FL Keys (was helping a good friend, mentor ,and fellow Toyota gear head move) and we had only just passed Miami.

My friend dropped me off at my house and even though I had just got back from the keys and had been up since 5am and it was now 9pm (on 5 hours of sleep and a hard day of moving a 2nd story house no less) I hopped on my 'Wing and rode through the night and morning getting to the dealership. 'Corse it couldn't be an easy trip, no.

On my over 800 mile trip I encountered horrid weather, freezing temps at night, a BFE Al'bam' cop who pulled me over for 40mph in a 35 and then nearly shot me because I declared I had my CWP and a pistol on my hip for his and my saftey. He had to be talked down by his back up which thank god showed up fast. I'm pretty sure he was drunk too as it sure smelt like alcohol when he was screaming in my face and yeah he still wrote me a ticket too. A flat rear tire on the motorcycle, near heat stroke in Mississippi, which then lead into blacking out / falling asleep on the motorcycle, only for a second though thankfully as the train horn on the semi I nearly drifted into brought me back. So I took a nice nearly 4 hour coma under an overpass close to the TN line. I was awoken by a phone call from my sales lady letting me know one of the other two interested parties had called. They had gotten into Memphis (they were driving 500 miles for the Tacoma) and had set up an appointment for the next morning as they were getting a hotel for the night and the dealership was closing soon. I hopped back on my bike, prayed the plug in the gash in my rear tire would hold the last hounded miles and some hard riding (which it did) and rode like the wind making it to the dealership only about an hour before they closed.

20 minutes into paperwork party 3 came in the door, found me doing my sign offs and offered me $250, then $500 to let him have it instead. No thanks!

God was looking out and has been since day 1.

Day 1:



My 1 owner, immaculate, 2010, unmolested bone stock, fully loaded, 2010 TRD Off-Road AC/LB V6 Manual 4x4!

It even had a THICK stack of all service records the original owner kept, most of which were from Toyota, in the glove box!

Anyways I finished paperwork, took the keys, and drove my truck around the corner to a parking lot, walked back and got my motorcycle off the lot just as they were locking up the gates.

I managed to find a embankment that I could back up to and drop the tail gate, used my leather-man to remove the topper bolts, set that aside, rode my bike into the bed, laid it down to fit under the topper, put the topped back on spent about 20 minutes going over the frame for any rust finding absolutely ZERO this thing looks 0 mile new even if it does have 170k on it! (The owner put all highway miles on it driving home to Memphis from Louisiana state University every weekend.)

While crawling under the truck I found a spare (valet) key zip tied up in the frame SCORE!

I then slept in the passenger seat for 9 hours.

The bike didn't quite fit by the way...




I had to take the mirrors off and it hung out the back.


That last picture from that day was something that made me laugh out loud considering where I had just been less that 24hrs prior.

I looked at the details on the picture I took as I was walking out to it.

I purchased it May 15th 2017 at 4:30pm dealer closed at 5pm.



Today 6/8/19, just over two years of ownership:





____________________________________________________________

Quick list of mods:

(Links to posts to come ((hopefully) soon)

Currently in the order in which I could recall, sequential and dates organisation coming.

(Most everything I got 2nd hand, craigslist, TW classifieds, Offer-Up, friends, home made etc. hence why I could afford what I got. Been blessed with crazy timing and amazing deals.)


____________________________________________________________

Wheels and tires:

285 70 17 BFG KO2's

SCS Stealth6 matte black with matching spare



_____________________________________________________________

Suspension:

Rear:

3rd gen leaf packs from @

Pro-Comp add a leaf

Bilstein 5100's for 2" lift



Front:

Bilstein 5100's at 2nd notch for weight

Taco lean preload spacer on left hat

OME 887 Springs

Total Chaos FAB weld on Cam Tab gussets welded on myself

All-Pro Off-Road FJ Cruiser uni-ball upper control arms

Energy Suspension control arm bushings upper and lower



____________________________________________________________

Armor:

Mob town steel skids belly armor: front, trans, and transfer

ARB Bumper for 2012+ modified and with home made brackets to fit my 2010

All-Pro Off-Road 3rd Gen 4Runner weld on rock sliders that were cut off the 4Runner, cut the stands off, extended the length with 1 1/2" sch 40, plates welded in, new 1 1/2" Sch 40 stanchions welded on with custom angle and stick out then welded to the truck frame. All done by me.

Working on rear high clear, was started by @allenfab



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Lighting:

50" straight combo spot / flood Rigid light bar top windshield mounted

Rigid SAE fog pods

ARB LED marker / bumper turn signals

Slee Off Road ARB light brackets

Rigid driving lights on home made ditch light brackets

El cheapo ebay spot lights rear bumper mounted reverse pods

V-LED Triton V3 switch-back turn / DRL LEDs.

All factory lights converted to LED

(The LED headlights have appropriate cut off and were specifically designed to be used in a reflector housing, made by So Cal Moto gear and they are fan less!)

RGB LED bed lighting

Red LED passenger dome light bulb (this is hand for keeping night sight but still being able to find stuff in the cab honestly one of my favorite mods, I got the idea from a Military Police cruiser that had red dome lighting.)




______________________________________________________________

Electrical:

X2 Power (North Star) 24F AGM battery (Can't recommend these enough!)

Blue Sea fuse box

Rear storage pocket charging center

Cobra 29LX CB radio

FireStick Fire Fly 3' CB antenna

USB charge hub at windshield top

GM temp and compass mirror

73 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham 4 Note horns (A C D F)

Hella Super Tone Horns (Yes I have six horns.)



Stereo:

JVC KD-R895BTS blue tooth head unit

Infinity BassLink X

Head liner buzzers disconnected



____________________________________________________________

Random:

Cab mount shop and fill plates. (Home brew)

Painted front grill (GOD I HATE CHROME)

Satoshi grill mod (Done by me)

Safari Snorkel (necessary thanks to splash guard removal by 285 70 17's)
(See also front fender flare removal, same cause.)

Extended stainless steel braided brake lines

FJ Cruiser Air-Box Mod with custom intake tubing put together by me with Treadstone
Performance Engineering parts

Aluminum Diamond plate tail gate skin from junkyard Chevy. (Had to trim down)

East Coast Gear Supply front diff bushing

Carrier Bearing filled and reinforced

2015 TRD Pro 4Runner Brakes

Washer bottle mod and relocation (Necessary for FJ box)

Dual large rear storage cubbies which required

Rear 120v outlet relocation

OEM bed mat

Truck box

Rear seats and seat belts delete

Rear Molle panel from @

back seat storage cubby long doors from a 2006 Tacoma

Cut fenders and bedsides for future 35's

Sport Scooped hood

FJ Cruiser Steel clutch pedal (Modded by me)

Beck Arnley aluminum clutch master cylinder

Clutch accumulator valve delete (TOYOTA WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!?)

Tailgate and Hood wrapped in 3M Shadow by my good friends at MONSTR
(THANK YOU 3M FOR THE HOOK UP!!!)

Light bar mounted deer whistles (Do they work? I dunno but there cheap.)

Bird Dog Industries Tech Deck

Bird Dog Industries Mirror Riser (DO NOT USE UNLESS YOU ADD 3M TRIM ADHESIVE TO REINFORCE)

Wet Okole seat covers black (With back pockets, with side pockets, with front pockets)

Door grabs reskined black pleather (Self)

Door bolsters reskined black pleather (Self)

Center console leather wrapped black (Self, one of my all time favorite mods.)

Salex center console divider

Salex glove box divider

Ram Ball Mount for heads up OBD reader

Ram Ball Mount for phone on stereo bezel

Ram Ball under mirror mount for GoPro camera

AC bezel sanded off texture and matte black painted

Radio bezel sanded off texture and matte black painted

Husky X act fit all weather floor mats (Better than the Weather Techs I had in the 4Runner fit is comparable but they're thicker and more pliable so they drape and "seal" against the carpet better, they also stay flexible in sub 0 temps the weather tech mats got stiff and plasticy in cold weather.)

EGR In channel vent visors (Again better than Weather Tech IMHO and a little cheaper too.)

Stainless Steel Uni-Strut bed rail upgrade / reinforcment

Stock non-chrome bumper with at home rustoleum bedliner

Sway bar delete

Rear diff breather extension and relocation (into rear storage cubby)

Transmission breather extension and relocation (Into engine bay)

Transfer case breather extension and relocation (Into engine bay.)


______________________________________________________________________

Go faster stuff:

Doug Thorley Headers

TRD FJ Cruiser cat back (Hacked up and stitched together to fit Tacoma.)

Custom FJ intake

URD 340lpm Fuel pump and serviceable fuel filter upgrade

URD Stage II Clutch disc and pressure plate

URD Torque U Heavy Flywheel

Core15 Short Shifter (B-Day present last year thanks Mom.)

________________________________________________________________

In the works:

FJ cruiser T case swap with twin sticks

High Clear rear bumper

Pocket style fender flares.



________________________________________________________________

Removed or older mods:
Stainless steel square tube tailgate cap. (Replaced with Aluminum diamond plate skin / cap)
255/80/17 BFG KMs (Wore out too fast replaced with larger KO2's
FJ Cruiser Steelies (Replaced with SCS because weight and offset)
LED strip 3rd brake light (replaced with LED 194 bulbs)
Mirror Mounted ditch light brackets (Removed because passengers interfered with snorkel)
Drop in LED bulbs for stock fogs (Replaced with ARB and Rigid)
1st gen Tundra brakes (Replaced with TRD Pro 4Runner brakes)

 

GEAR Under construction.

I'm a gear junkie, not gonna lie, or "gear queer" as my Marine buddy calls me.

I've always been the "Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it." type Never travel light you know?

All of the items listed have been useful or would have been useful at some point or another if I had it on hand when I originally discovered I needed it.

So here's a pile of what all I like to keep in the truck:

(In absolutely random no particular order)

Comb
tire gauge
roll of quarters (for surprise parking meters)
tooth brush
tooth paste
miniature 6 ft tape measure
seat belt cutter
4" folding knife
small shovel
small saw
two lighters
thermacell (mosquito repeller)
10 lb fire extinguisher
12v to 120v converter
hand full of taco bell sporks
straws
roll of paper towels
actual towel
Leatherman multi tool
Chap stick
pen
sharpie
scratch paper
side cutters
tweezers
old cell phone
several AGM fuses of various sizes
big umbrella
two rain ponchos
three pairs of gloves
E-Tool
Ka-Bar
Hatchet
headlamp
CB radio
First aid kit
trauma kit
CPR mask
anti diarrhea pills
motrin
antihistamines
spare daily meds
Road Atlas (2017)
nalgene bottle
2 space blankets
rain jacket and pants,
extra boot socks 2 pair
snow brush / ice scraper
Life Straw (for purifying unknown sources for drinking water)
extra outfit
muck boots
swim trunks
Streamlight Strion (on recharging base wired into constant 12v)
dash cam
OBDII monitor
tire iron 4 way
couple extra lug nuts
lug nut key
two extra valve stems
tire patch kit
tire plug kit
full size matching spare
compas
whistle
2 part epoxy putty
sun hat
two pairs of sun glasses
jumper cables (big ol heavy duty 1ga)
adjustable clamp to hold accelerator (this is for idling up to get the alternator amperage output to peak)
spare serpentine belt
spare radiator hoses
a few quarts of oil
a gallon of undiluted coolant
garden hose
garden hose industrial key
couple spare bolts various sizes and lengths
standard bottle jack
Hi-Lift Extreme jack
MaxTraxx boards
Constant duty cycle Viair 380C air compressor
1 7/8" and 2" hitches
recovery shackle hitch
recovery strap
tree saver straps
a knuckle of shackles
LED road flare
250' of 550 chord
several ratchet straps
1 big ass ratchet strap (I've used it as a come along)
toilet paper
spare hitch pin
locking hitch pin
spare trailer quick links
little bit of chain
moving blanket
tiny pillow
small boat dock bumper
broom head
little 12v blower fan
small tool kit with most commonly used hand tools for truck hardware

There is a another checklist that adds several more items when I actually go on off road trips.


Oh yeah and 100ft of 1 1/4" dynamic rope

What do I need the stupid fucking rope for?

Well, Charlie Bronson's always got rope.

 

Under construction:

After the trip home and unloading the Goldwing I poked at the truck some more, did full fluid changes of all the gear oils discovered I had a slight oil pan leak. (MORE ON THIS LATER.) and that I was out of brakes up front.

I got rid of the cracking pealing silver pinstripe with little Toyota logos along it here and there.

Gave it a full detail inside and out and paint
correction and good waxing.

Man she shined like a diamond.

Found a Viagra wrapped in a paper towel hidden under the carpet in the center console while detailing the inside. !

Discovered the stock Yokohamas were a little dry rotted and damn near deadly in the rain! Traction control was essentially constant if the road was wet. So I took the 5 star wheels off the 4Runner that had fresh Goodyear's on them, (the wheels and tires actually came from the other 4Runner I had because the BFG KO's had gotten dry and scary in the rain too.) and put them on the truck.

Frankly I really liked how they looked and 3rd gen 4runner wheels have IMO the PERFECT offset for 2nd gen stock Tacomas, way better than the TRD Off-Road snow flakes. Ew.

And then the modding started. Had to get her up to the snuff the 4Runner was at.

Hopped on Craigslist and sourced a non chrome grill, actually traded the guy for my chrome one straight up.

Got that home and painted it matte black.

Frankly put funds were low, the 4Runner was on the back burner so I did some looking into stuff and discovered something very interested.

The 2nd Gen Tacoma's brakes suck.

They use the same size Piston as the 1st gen tundra a larger caliper but smaller pads and rotors

 

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Clutch Job:

So purely parts this is what I ended up getting:

Clutch specific
Rear main seal 90311-A0006 (If you do any seal let it be this one even if it's not currently leaking.)
Y pipe to manifold gaskets:

$17 90080-43036 Toyota Genuine Exhaust Pipe Gasket

90080-43036 x2 (Toyota says this is not a reusable part however I have reused mine twice before I had a leak decided it was time to change them or they would probably fail soon.)
Clutch Fork: 31204-35060 (Updated TSB Part. Also it includes the post snap ring and boot)
Fork Support Post: 31236-35050 (Updated TSB part)

URD Stage 2 Clutch kit:
Comes with:
Flywheel, your choice of heavy or light strangely no stock weight so I chose the Torque U Heavy as I figured it should help with my stalling off-road or get your stock one machined. (My stock one had some bad heats spots thanks to the stupid accumulator valve causing slip and as the clutch had been out of my truck a few times I figured it had probably been machined a few times and was probably no longer capable of being machined.)
Clutch Disc stage 2
Pressure plate stage 2
Clutch disc alignment tool
New bolts or see below.

Added to the above kit order for the discount:
ARP bolts
Quill sleeve repair kit
Which comes with the modified throw out bearing


Optional:
Shifter Pin Lock Ball: 33292-0K011 (For the 2nd mod in my clutch bearing destruction post.)

Y pipe to muffler pipe gasket:

$44 17451-0D020 Toyota Genuine Exhaust Pipe Gasket

17451-0D020 (Toyota says this is not a reusable part however I have reused mine multiple times I as of yet have no leaks.)
Exhaust bolts for Y pipe to Muffler pipe: 90080-10291 x2 (I twisted mine getting them out as they were seized. Glad I didn't break them off and have to drill them out like I did the upper Y pipe to manifold bolts. I ended up tapping the threads in the other pipe and using the new bolts and old springs.)
Y Pipe 1 to Y pipe 2 gasket: 90917-06083 (Only needed if you choose to separate Y pipe 1 from Y pipe 2 but you can fish the whole Y pipe out without breaking that joint.)
Stainless fine thread m10x40 metric or standard 3/8x1.5 bolts and whiz nuts x6 (These are for the manifold to Y pipe and to the transmission mounted exhaust brackets as you will more than likely snap off and have to drill out the original ones.)

3 qts Redline MT90 GL4 transmission specific gear oil (You don't have to if you don't drain your transmission but it was well and time for me to change mine, I think I got water in mine because I was up past my floor in water for 15 minutes a while ago.)
2 qts

$29 75w-90 Synthetic Gear Lube - 1 Quart (Pack of 2)

75w-90 Gear oil for transfer case. (Again not needed if you don't drain the transfer but as with the transmission...)

LocTite 573 Medium (Green) Flange sealant for lubricating and sealing the OUTSIDE EDGE of the rear main seal. (You can use grease, some people use nothing but it helps the seal do it's job better and last longer since I had some from work I used it. It makes install of the rear main seal a little easier to anyway.)

URD O2 Sensor Extension Harness. ( I have headers which relocate the upper O2 sensors further down stream, originally I just stretched the stock harness as getting to them to put the extensions in is a pain but with the trans out, easy to do it right. and makes reinstalling the trans much easier without risk of pinching a wire between the block and bell housing.)

Clutch inspection cover: 31101-35010 (Mine was missing from the day I bought the truck, according to my records from the PO they had had clutch squeak issues and thus had had the transmission pulled out 3 times, I suspect during one of those times it was misplaced or forgotten by the tech but it has a little bit of a seal and keeps dust and dirt and splash out of the bell housing so I got it to put it on and replace my home made one.)

Input transmission shaft seal: 90311-T0066 (In order to replace this seal you need some SST's (Special Service Tool) and you have to remove the transmission bell housing which ridiculously enough requires the case and all gears and shafts to come out too. I opted to not change this one as I wasn't going to rip my whole trans apart (no frikin thanks!) and it was showing no signs of leakage, plus it's not as big of a deal to go back in and replace it if it starts leaking down the road like it is for the rear main seal.

(The bellow is just as much for my organisation as it is for your information.)

Seals I ordered but decided not to change as they weren't leaking and were still quite pliable even at 220k miles and I'd already drug this job out too long, needed my truck back.
(And also because when I split the FJ case I have sitting in my garage to swap input shafts and do the twin stick mods I'll be putting these seals in there.)

Transfer case output to rear shaft seal:

$18 90311-41007 Toyota Genuine Type T Oil Seal for Transfer Extension Housing

90311-41007
Transfer case output to front shaft: 90311-41013
Transfer case 4WD shifter slider rods seals: 90311-15008 x2
O-Ring Transmission output shaft to Transfer input shaft: 96721-35063
Transmission output to transfer input seal 1: 90311-43007
Transmission output to transfer input seal 2: 90311-43008




________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Carrier bearing (Optional, not part of clutch job.)

This was to reinforce my carrier bearing that I was replacing as mine was shot and I had to take the drive shaft out to pull the trans anyway figured I'd kill two birds. Three if you count I figured since I was pulling a drive shaft U joint apart to get the old carrier bearing off and new one on I may as well replace it too.

Spicer 5002007 (This is OEM get it off ebay O'Reilly's or something it's x3 the price from the dealer.)
Spicer U Joint

$31 5-1330-1X U-Joint Kit

5-1330-1X (This is OEM get it off ebay O'Reilly's or something it's x3 the price from the dealer.)
Hysol U-05FL Urethane metal to rubber adhesive (Note this can take two days to reach full cure.) Available on Amazon.
Sikaflex Polyurethane construction sealant (Note this takes a full week to fully cure) Lowe's, Home depot carries this.

SST required to push the U joint apart and to re-seat the new caps, I used the large C clamp style "ball joint press" borrowed from O'Reilly's. You give them a deposit and get the whole deposit back when you return the tool.



You can read the thread I followed here:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...earings-center-support-bearings.477991/page-5

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Breather extensions
(As seen in the 2nd post 3rd mod of the TOB destructive investigation thread.)
(Optional but since you need the trans pulled to do this and if you really off-road especially mud and water I highly recommend)

1/4npt tap
6' 5/16" transmission oil cooler hose
8' 1/8" vacuum hose
90deg elbow brass 1/4npt male to 1/4npt female x2
1/4npt to 5/16" barb fitting
PTFE pipe tape
Toyota breather

$7 90930-03136 Toyota Breather Plug - 90930-03136

90930-03136 (Check valve) OR 90930-03097 (all metal, dust cap, no check valve)
Toyota small breather 90930-A3005 for transfer case


___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tools and supplies!

(Sorry, no organization; as I put stuff away I inventoried it probably half the list is optional and I only used it for ease, is accidentally redundant, are tools and such I used it for the other things I was doing along with the clutch, or was necessary due to mods I have done. For example the 6mm allen was only for removing my core shifters short shifter tower.)

Torque wrench up to 100 ft-lbs.
Big floor jack
Harbor freight transmission jack
4 jack stands
Grease and grease gun
6 cans brake clean
2 Scotch brite pads
The right stuff form in place gasket maker
Nickel antiseize
Plastic bags
Lots of gloves
Wire brush
Plastic razor blade gasket scraper
Dremel with scotch brite wheels
Dikes to cut zip ties
Zip ties
Two cans black spray paint
Formula 88 degreaser
Pressure washer
Lots of rags
Lots of paper towels
Paint pen
Crc electronic cleaner
DeoxIT Shield Sn5
Blower tip
Air compressor
Rubber/plastic mallet hammer
PVC as dowel
Grinder
Cut off wheel
Wire cup brush wheel
1/2 air impact
Air body saw and fine blades (for cutting galled stripped seized bolts where I could't fit the grinder in.)
Drill
Drill bits (For drilling out broken off exhaust bolts)
Various metric taps M10 1.25 M10 1.5 M8 1.25 M8 1.25 M6 1.0 I believe are the ones I used.
Wonder bar
Pry bar
6.75 inch long 1/2 thick by 1 1/4 wide motor tilt bar plywood
3/8 battery impact
Shop vac
Battery tender
19mm wrench
17mm wrench
16mm wrench
14mm wrench
14mm wrench
14mm stubby wrench
Approximately 3-4' of extensions 1/2 inch
3" 3/8 extension
6" 3/8 extension
1/4 drive ratcheting palm wrench
3/8 drive ratcheting palm wrench
1/4 drive socket wrench
3/8 drive socket wrench
1/2 drive socket wrench
1/4 to 3/8 adapter
3/8 to 1/4 adapter
3/8 to 1/2 adapter
1/2 to 3/8 adapter
Flat head screw driver 1/4 tip
3" 1/4 extension
6" 1/4 extension
10mm allen socket
8mm 1/4
10mm 1/4
12mm 1/4
Channel locks
45 angle head needle nose pliers
6" pipe wrench
Vise grip pliers
Needle nose vise grip pliers
Facotry bottle jack
3/8 torque wrench
1/2 torque wrench
15/16 (24mm) 1/2 drive deep socket
17mm 1/2 drive socket
14mm 1/2 drive socket
10mm deep 3/8 drive
12mm deep 3/8 drive
14mm deep 3/8 drive
14mm short 3/8 drive
17mm deep 3/8 drive
19mm short 3/8 drive
19mm deep 3/8 drive
15/16 deep 3/8 drive
10mm flare line wrench
Map gas torch
Welding gloves
Oil catch bin
Oil catch carpet
Cardboard for back working and bolt keeping
Big fan (Or better yet wait for cool weather)
LOTS OF WATER AND BEER
Tire chalks
6mm allen socket
Saftey glasses
Mechanix gloves
Q tips
Sharpie
Lisle seal puller 58430
Head lamp
Flash light
90° angle 1/4 hex adapter (dewalt)
Various Hooks and picks
Magnet pick up

 

Nice truck man! Before my current rig i had a 2011 trd offroad in black, AC, 6 speed.. i gave it up for the double cab but i really miss it sometimes

 

Sweet Truck!! Thanks for all the info about the clutch. Im sure this will come in handy in the near future!!

 

Random updates, I still need to clean up and organize this log.

Life in general has improved greatly and a lot of nastiness is now behind me.

Truck build is back on track and we're trying to make up for lost time.

This past weekend I have:



Reversed my seat spacers; went from 3/8 up front to 3/4 in the rear, it's counter intuitive but it does seem to help the bad back and keep me from feeling like I'm slipping out of the seat also gives a better angle and purchase on the 3 pedals. It does lift you up higher in general so I'm not sure how I like being closer to the headliner but it's not really an issue, I just like to sit a little lower generally.

Installed a A129 Duo front and rear dash cam, my Anker (Roav) was a disappointment (crappy mandatory app slow to download couldn't just pop the SD card into a computer just dumb) the battery and touch buttons crapped out. Jury is still out on the 129 but feeling positive so far.

I picked up a second hand All Pro Off Road rear "high clear" with dual swing outs from [Another member on here] and began some mods that I feel should have been factory.

Removed the APOR logo as I'm doing plenty of mods to make it my own bumper.

Fitted rear APOR rear bumper, Phil thanks for the help burning hands on and lifiting and holding the hot heavy mamma jamma while getting it bolted up and struggling with the alignment.

Cut out spots for the lights (x2 flush floods, x2 standard spots) it ain't too clean but it'll look fine when finished.

Cut out T slots for Hi-Lift, might clean them up a little bit but overall happy even if they're not as sharp as I envisioned they work, function over form right?

Confirmed the Hi-Lift T slots work GREAT! On flat ground I can lift high enough to change a tire.

Made spacers for the APOR rear hitch (Why doesn't it line up from stock? Still investigating this.)

Put some grip tape on the step areas

Cut down the extension shaft for the spare tire so I could keep the center cap on

Installed riv-nuts for the tag as it's a huge pain to get in there and put nuts on the back side.

Repurposed a hinge to mount the plate and made my own tag light (this is going to be revamped but needed something just to be road legal.)

Got my cheapo rear camera working again, it's wifi which I don't like as it cross talks and corrupts the signal whenever I'm near a 2.4ghz band.

Reorganized my toolbox! Woo! Got some pictures I need to find and upload of all the recovery gear that Tetris' in there.

To come:

More bumper mods
Bumper corrosion mitigation

WINCH INSTAL!!!

After a service and some clocking.

More things I need to organize my thoughts on.

 

Coming along since I saw it last!

 

So... Trips are going to be out of order but if I don't start somewhere it's never going to be done.

So this was Windrock November 2020

Cost me a tail light, and some new scratches and dents but had a great time say for my bushings blowing out because I didn't grease them properly.

Thanks to @TacoAlaMode for letting me ride with on my blown out bushing bummer day and it was great to meet @Brian422 @ovrlndkull @pdaddy and @TacoFMS

You'll always be my first in a RTT.

I learned a LOT about wheeling, and after a trial by fire where I kept hog noseing into a rock and turtling on my skids ultimately losing a taillight I built up some experience winching while operating, as well as using the T-handle brake as a "third foot". After which I learned to trust in my rock sliders and about how steering INTO the wall actually helps you stay away from it more than trying to steer away.

My excitement and inexperience as well as lack of gearing and 34's necessitating higher RPMs and thus wheel speed is what really hurt me.

Also I need to just put my topper on if I'm going to be camping, or at least buy a tent!

Glad my winch worked, my rear bumper did work too when I backed into a boulder in the dark, lights were great as always.

TN is B-E-A-UTIFUL!



When my bushings blew out I started rubbing and my cam bolts must has been loose as my alignment went to shit and I lost all forward caster, I couldn't hardly turn at all without scrubbing hard you can see how far the drivers wheel especially is pushed back.

 

Maintenance: doing upper control arm bushings while installed.

After blowering out my bushings on the trail because I over greased them and expected the grease to work itself out on the drive up to Windrock I got to replace them. Yay!

I new I had a set of bushings at home but as I suspected not upper control arm, by their casting number they are lower control arm bushings, good to know but I already have good lower control arm bushings installed.



Lets see if this works it will save me a lot of time as I have a history of "distributing" my "build thread" content in various other random threads, I'll have to go through my post history and aggregate my posts here.

:::

I said I had some bushings at home (TOP) but they are for lower control arms so I had to order (BOTTOM) the ones from All-Pro as I couldn't discern the "generic" part number.



Drivers side bushings, two completely blowered out, one damaged and the flange is splitting, one is "salvageable" as a spare. Bolt is straight no damage, washers and pins are a little chowdered but not too bad, definitely should have been doing the release the torque and greasing but what I was told is to grease them when they start to squeek mine never did... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯





Passenger side some damage to the bushings, two starting to split two more "salvageable" for spares I suppose. Sleeves and washers even more chowdered flipped the worse of the two washers inside out, definitely need to grease regularly with the appropriate method.




That 8" all thread rod from the ECGS bushing install coming in clutch to sandwich everything together, couldn't press them in by hand and EVERYTHING WAS COVERED IN GREASE!!!




Some CHUCKLE-FUCK who did my alignment at a shop last PUT RED FUCKING LOC-TITE on this ONE nut on my right rod end. That was a fun time doing my self eyeball alignment.



Got my space and clearance back now that I have as much caster as possible.



Truck feels so much better with the new bushings in *imagine that...*





According to J-Berry's "at home alignment" thread (good read by the way) the front miss-alignment "egg" should be pointing down (as shown in the picture) not up as I have seen on every other Tacoma, I think because it's normal for the "neutral" position to have the bolt at the bottom on both front and rear of the control arm, not the case with the 2nd Gen.



Truck rides good, quite, smooth, firm, and It's almost like I got a little but of lift from having my control arms giving forward caster with the front alignment washers in the correct position. Even tracks straighter and pulls less than before even leaving for TN so for now I'm happy.

 

Hell yea you have a build thread! Subbed! Nice to meet you as well, sucks you couldn’t ride on day 2 with us but those TN views probably made it easy to sit and ride

 

Hell yeah man!!! When you making it up here again we didn't scare you too badly did we. You did well!!

 

Nice to meet you too man! Hopefully we can ride again soon! Glad you got the bushings replaced!

 

LIGHTING!!!

All my lighting was bought used, or discounted, I have been very blessed by unreal deals.

For example my Rigid top light bar for $200 from a guy who bought it as a display floor model and couldn't get it to work. He was selling it as is, "broken" simply for putting on a truck for appearances and hard parking for the 'Gram. Rigid wouldn't warranty it because he had cut the deutch plug off. I met with the guy, confirmed it was a legit Rigid and realized he had both legs tied into a complete loop with a *naturally* blown fuse from the dead short figured it might be repairable if it didn't work right off the bat. Paid the guy, walked back to my truck, I though he had left but apparently he circled back just as I snipped the loop into two legs stripped the leads back and touched that bad boy off on my battery; the look on his face was worth the $200 alone.



Top:

50" Rigid Spot Flood Combo bar on craigslist (unknown but apparently Tundra mounts)

Ditch lights:

Rigid driving pattern on my own scrap aluminum bent over hood hinge mounts with independent side switches in drivers door sail panel. (lights tilt back with the hood when open.) One of the 6 LED's in the drivers pod stopped working after the truck went swimming in Richloam.

NEED TO FIND OR UPLOAD NEW PICS

Front Bumper:

ARB turn signals with Rigid SAE Fog pods with amber covers in Slee Off Road mounts.

Headlights:

Pathfinder SAE legal LED H4 fan-less ribbon heat sinked bulbs from SoCal Moto Gear, not the best but they are shielded, staggered, and designed for reflector type housings so they don't scatter and blind other drivers as they have appropriate cut off. I plan to replace these with better engineered newer bulbs when they die but they have been reliable as heck for 4 years now. (Previously were in my 4Runner.)

@crashnburn80 has FANTASTIC threads on lighting and is a great help as well educate yourself with his experience and equipment before putting ebay LED's in your reflector housings.

Running lights/turn signals:

Triton V3 switchbacks.
LED "long reverse lights" with 194 wedge base. Unknown origin from a local supplier.

Tail lights:



LED factory "Fast and Furious" stop and tail lamps.
LED "projector" turn signal bulbs
LED "long reverse light" bulbs
Both from the same local shop, unknown brand origin but they're reliable and bright enough, except the reverse lights but those are now blocked by my swing-out hinges anyway hence my additions to the bumper for:

Rear bumper mounted Reverse Lights:

Unknown used 4 diode spot pods and ni-light flush mount floods mounted in my own cut outs and "light boxes".







Auxiliary lighting:

Under hood RGB lighting.






I have the same type of light strips in my computer at home and under my Unistrut bed bars in the back of the tacoma.

The controller is 12 volt DC so you can discard the wall wart open the box confirm the polarity hardwire wires onto the board then fill it full epoxy to water proof it.



Bed lights have been good for about 3 years.

NEED TO FIND PICS TO UPLOAD OF BED LIGHTS

I like to put them on RGB Unicorn puke party mode on occasion, it makes me happy.



I want to add "underglow" RGB rock lights Crashnburn80 recommended me some good ones I'm looking at and then I should be just about done with lighting unless I add some foot well lights.

I have an LED addiction.

Interior lights:

Also LEDs but nothing special I think they're Sylvania but I don't recall ATM, passenger map light is RED for "night vision" preservation.

 

Probably going to be a while before I got more time off I can take but definitely going to be a next time!

 

I love these long posts. There’s so much to unpack and drool over

 

Seriously I need to clean up my electric spaghetti but good lord I hate wiring.



At least everything is gauged and fused appropriately even if half of it is repurposed extension cords and other garbage!

 

you sir need a switch system.

YCHOW-TECH 8 Gang Switch Panel Universal Circuit Control System Relay Box Switch Box LED On-Off Switch Pod Universal for Car Truck Offroad ATV UTV SUV

https://www.amazon.com/Yvooone-Auto...ds=auxbeam+switch+panel&qid=1605806095&sr=8-8

 

Today I replaced the front core support body mount bushings, I went the "larger firmer" route and used the "Universal" bushings

$27 Energy Suspension 9.4101R Universal Mount

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001IZM96O?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

As recommend by this thread:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...all-now-with-pictures-and-a-video-too.432885/

Thanks @Pigpen


Was hoping to do the rest of the body mounts but Energy Suspension is slap out of Red Tacoma body mounts so I'm waiting for the factory to make more as I'm dead set on a little flare.

I like being able to look all around my Tacoma and see personal touches and things that stand out that I can look and say hell yeah I fixed that.




Old ones are not the worst I have seen on here but it was definitely time, only problem now is without the cab mounts done the front look a little high, need to adjust my bumper mounts too but that's been on the list. I got about 1/2 lift in the front, not too much but noticeable.



Also cleaned and lubed the Upper uniballs and control arms (CORRECTLY THIS TIME) used Super Lube Grease in a tube for the bushings and Super Lube oil for the Uni's top coated with Boe-Sheild T-9 to reject dust. I also discovered the remote reservoir brackets that came with my Fox shocks are *EXTREMELY* malleable and by pushing firmly against them I was able to bend them finally fully clear of my tires rubbing.




Also it looks like lower ball joins may be in my future, I noticed jacking up and down they had some noticeable slop tried to get it on video but it doesn't come through well.

 

Hey @Key-Rei , I noticed you mentioned upgrading your fuel pump and filter with the URD kit. What was the reason you went with the 340 lph compared to the 255 lph that comes with the kit (at no add cost)?
Just wanted to check that the 340 lph doesn't amount to necessarily using more fuel just because it's rated at a higher flow. My assumption is it still provides the necessary psi of fuel, but capable of handling FI later?