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

Didi a regular oil change last week, but this time I replaced the stock oil drain bolt with a Stahlbus one-way oil drain valve (purchased new from a fellow member here). The kit included a short length of translucent hose that is attached to the removeable section of the drain piece. There is a screw-on dust cap covering the valve itself that remains on the oil pan. Drain procedure is:

Cap off.
Drain hose snaps in and locks with a quarter-turn, allowing oil to flow.
Remove drain hose when done, and screw the cap back on.
Done!

Makes me look forward to the next oil service lol.

PS: Question about aftermarket brake hose kits for the TRD. I haven't seen any kits specifically for the 6-lug TRD model, so I should be safe to err on the cautious side and get a kit for 3" or so raise? I figure if the lines are too long I can secure the excess out of the way with zip-ties.

 

I’m not so sure I’m on board with them disconnecting like that. Seems like a good way to shock load those pins and cause problems if you’re hammering on it.

that said, I’d be curious to see how they perform, as I want to put a front locker in my 2nd gen, but don’t really want to put a permanent compressor in it.

 

they only unload when the direction is suddenly reversed. So it actually helps unload the load in the whole system. It's pretty clever. You're more likely to cause damage by it not doing that. I haven't looked into it but haven't heard of any issues either.

 

Springs are All Pro standards and are rated for 3 inches of lift. The struts.. Well the struts are supposed to be bilstein 5160's but I might be waiting a month before they come in so I'm reusing my warn out 5100's for now.

As for paint I knocked all the rust scale off using everything I could from a flat head screw driver to a grinding wheel and some EvapoRust to soak bolts and smaller pieces in.
I got everything I needed from my local O'Reillys. I used Krylon Rust Tough primer and then Krylon Rust Tough paint. I also added a coat of dupli-color pro grade undercoating. (the pro grade goes on and dries black non pro grade seems to remain a brown color)

Eastwood makes a decent spray (not pictured) that has a tube for getting into the hard to reach areas, might be worth looking at.

If you're going to take the bed off I'd recommend removing the frame cross member that holds the spare tire. It's a lot easier to clean and paint off the vehicle.

 

I’m not convinced, after watching a few videos, that it will unload the system the way that I think you’re thinking it does. If the axle is in a bind, and the cam goes to the disengaged position, I don’t see the pins following it. Not a problem, since this would really be the same with an air locker having relieved pressure with it in a bind. The scenario I’m thinking of where I can see damage occurring is in a rocking back and forth situation. Say you’ve got one side of the vehicle in a ditch with little traction and the side that’s not in the ditch has more traction. If you let the clutch out in a forward gear, it’s going to cam until the pins engage with the tire with less traction spinning faster than the tire with more traction until the pins engage. Now you stop and put it in reverse and let the clutch out and it disengages, the wheel spins a little bit and the pins get forced back in to the holes that while the assembly has started to spin relative to the pins.

I could be wrong, but I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around it otherwise.

 

well rocking won't be an issue as the it has to make a full rotation to disengage. So I don't think that'll be an issue.

 

Well.... when I said rocking, I meant working back and forth... like if you’ve ever been stuck in a ditch in the winter time and you’re working a car length or two or however much room you have to work with to get out.

 

ah I was visualizing being stuck in a spot between some big rocks trying to bump over them.

That I don't think is going to be an issue. That situation isn't going to cause a lot of binding to being with. And will unload well in that situation.

 

My concern is more engagement of the pins against a housing that has the potential to be moving a significantly different speed if a lot of wheel spin is involved.

 

After a couple prototypes, done deal.
Blackhawk Serpa is mounted.


Sorry, no requests.

 

ah I see. Well I don't think thwy would be moving that different as the differential movement is what drives them in and out. So should be "clock" basically to whatever speed is needed. But who knows.

 

The appeal of the 1st Gen's is so obvious when you look at them side by side. The perfectly curved clean lines - overall size, etc. Next to it the 3rd Gen looks bloated and gaudy. To me it looks like the illegitimate offspring of a Dodge Ram and a Tacoma...

 

Auto as in lunch box locker?

Are they as deadly in snow as they’re made out to be?

 

I don't know about in the front but in the rear they can get squirrelly on slick roads. Gotta adjust your driving habits. I personally wouldn't want one in the rear if I lived where it snowed every year but that's me.

 

I don’t think I need one, but it might help, selectable would be better I think.


I just need a leaf sprung solid axle

 

Selectable is always better. Auto lockers have the advantage of being way less expensive though

 

Maybe if I ever blow up another diff I’ll start that process

 

You fix that front and it instantly looks better

 

Yeah, who knows. Like I said, I’d like to put one in my second gen, but I definitely want to hear how it does from someone who thrashes on their rig before I commit.

 

Well I scheduled to get one installed in a week and a half. I can report back after a few trips.