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

No idea and no care

just told the dude what I used

 

Maybe I'll try them. I've gotten a bit of use out of the Energy, but they didn't seem to last as long as I would have expected them to. Hopefully the Chaos is better

 

We should probably all use OEM, I mean if we knew what was good for us.

I mean, it's the way it was designed by the Toyota Engineers

 

While different axle setup I think would be best being that some of us are finding cracks around the spring perches.

Sniff it.

Put the wheel on and find something to place next to the rim. Give the tire a spin. Should be pretty obvious to see if the gap varies. All 4 of my old steel wheels had runout. Not sure what is considered acceptable though.

I chew through those quickly also. Been thinking about making some delrin bushing but that lead to the question of what fails next.

 

Whiteline makes rack bushings. Not that they are any better or worse than Energy or OEM... but it's another option.

https://whitelineperformance.com/products/w12978-bushing-kit



I was planning on replacing my LCA bushings this winter anyway. Will probably order the rack bushings along with the LCA bushings, and see what's up.

 

I can’t speak on how they hold up as they’ve been on for a grand total of 200 miles lol. But they are noticeably more stiff than the energy bushings I had on

 

I've got the Whiteline steering rack bushings on my truck now. I didn't notice much difference from the rubber bushings I took out, for better or worse. I replaced mine as part of a 200k mile front end refresh, not because of any specific problem. I've only got maybe 2000 mostly highway-miles on them, so can't comment on longevity.

I haven't used the Energy Suspension or Total Chaos bushings, and can't compare to those. I remember reading elsewhere on the forum that the TC are better (stiffer, more durable) than the ES, though.

 

Mine seem to be doing fine


For all 2000 miles they’ve been on

 

The little 5 lug that could lol



After unloading

 

I've been running the Whiteline LCA bushings for a few years now. They've been good. Planning on replacing them more for preventative maint, as I have my alignment all crossed up to move the wheel as far forward as I can, for tire clearance.

I'd say I have over 60,000 miles on the Whiteline LCA set I'm currently running... so, I'll give the rack bushings a shot.

 

I forgot did you do your own rear axle bearings at one point? Or pay a shop? A slow leak like that makes me suspect(if it's actually diff fluid) that the retainer ring is not seated in the right spot on the seal. I'd be curious about that as well over all.

That said, as Ryan and Brett pointed out. It is VERY easy to spot a bent axle by just driving around and looking in the side mirror. The rear wheel will shake a lot. Franks is bent pretty bad now and does this.

Total Chaos's bushings are by FAR the best I've found. Everything else is too soft. The ES bushings were a joke when I bought them. I just reused my TC ones instead they were so soft and floppy. Would go that route for sure.

 

To clarify (because I'm not sure which way you read it) I was talking about the steering rack bushings, but I also installed the Whiteline LCA bushings at the same time. I've edited my original post to be more specific.

My thought process was the same as yours... people seem to like the Whiteline LCA bushings, so I figured the steering rack bushings deserved a chance.

 

Right on

Ya, I thought you were talking about the LCA bushings. But definitely keep us up to date on your thoughts on the rack bushings as you get more miles on them. I'll probably order them in October, because I don't plan on doing them until Nov, Dec, Jan (somewhere in there). Would love to get more feed back before I order them.

 

Did these a while ago but installed Ethan's stainless skid plate and a tailgate backup camera. Love both!

 

how are you liking that roof rack?

 

Radio before airbags ? Seems legit

I’ve had this double din sitting on a shelf for like 3 years waiting to put it into something and now it found its use lol

 

In all honesty I regret putting it on. I mean it looks cool but isn't nearly as functional as it is on 2nd and 3rd Gens since it's basically sheet metal holding it up. It barely holds any weight and can dent your roof quite easily. For little things like maxtrax it's fine but you definitely can't stand on it.

 

good to know

 

Where does one get one of those skids? Had to saw mine off the other day...

 

https://www.srqfabrications.com/store/Stainless-Steel-Skid-Plate-p216208112