What Have You Done To Your 2nd Gen Tacoma Today?

Installed fresh set of plugs today. I believe the original plugs were still in the truck, 15 years later, due to it only having 114,829 mules on it.
I went with E.3 plugs due to a good experience with them previously and some research.

 

After changing the passenger side plugs I altered the tip end of the engine air inlet tube to allow for a little more air. I used my rotary tool and a cut off wheel then cleaned up the rough edges until it was smooth. The 15 year old factory donut foam gasket was trash so I made a new one out of some dense packing material I had.

 

That sounds fair. My hood is losing clearcoat and paint has started to pepper off in small spots. Body is good except for some scratches I need to polish and touch up. Just haven't got any estimates. Roof is starting to feel like rough sandpaper in spots too. I figure a rough price of $1200 for both so i appreciate the reply.

 

New N Fab side steps

 

Checked to see if the shifter knob I’m about to start milling was to my liking by using a 3D printed prototype. I’m happy, so I’ll start milling and drilling a chunk of brass soon.

 

on the back roads

 

Oem painted surround with a eBay pro insert

 

Buddies I wheel with decided GMRS was going to be the best radio set up for the group since they didn't want to take the ham tech exam. So I added some UV5X's to my radios arsenal. I unplugged my CB since I never use it. Drilled out my Rago cb antenna mount to fit an NMO adapter and bought a stubby antenna to get the antenna out from inside the metal cab. Already had some UV5R parts from when I first passed tech exam so now i have a radio mount, a mic, and easy access to the coax.

I realize I need a better ground plane than the rear of the truck but I don't plan on using the GMRS for more than wheeling trips (<1 mile distance to the next guy) My ham settup has the reach and would be what I would use if I needed to reach out.

 

Installed Spiker hood struts - sooooo much better (completes the 3 things Toyota forgot on a '15 - hood struts, ext temp, trailer wire harness location)
Front / rear diff oil change
Transfer case oil change
Oil and filter change
Engine air filter
Cabin air filter - K&N
Driveshaft lube
Now I just need to wash it

 

Solid check list. You might be the first person I’ve seen replace the steering rack at 50k for maintenance purposes. haha

 

Finally cleaned it and put some wax on.

 

what's the height of the opened hood to the floor? i like the spiker strut idea but i'm not that tall. maybe i need to run my own struts custom.

 

I put this on mine. Worked great for a while. But the cable for the tailgate was always being jammed in a weird way and it wasn't too long before it broke. After replacing the cable for the second time. I took off the tailgate assist. I don't recommend this mod for anyone! Save you money for something else.

 

Finished with front end, Rancho RS9000XL quick lifts, new upper control arms, new sway bar links, new lower ball joints, new tie rod ends, new drilled and slotted rotors with new pads. Have put 274,xxxx miles on this thing since 2012 and now it feels and drives like a new truck. Had to lift the rear 1.5 inches as well just to get rid of that gangster lean or donk mobile look. In all that, it does not appear I need an alignment, going to run it by for a check and alignment to be sure but rolling between traffic lights at 30 mph hands off of wheel and braking the thing tracks straight and true. Now, have a set of Set of 4 Herko Ignition Coil B087HE Red inbound, have had a noticeable drop in MPG over the past year or so, no codes, no CEL, changed out plugs a few months ago but no improvement, have cleaned Mass Air Flow Sensor, cleaned air filter, changed air fuel ratio pre cat sensor to DENSO so hoping this makes a difference. I was getting almost 25MPG on the highway before and that dropped to around 19.5-21 MPG on long trips. I had replaced OEM Ignition coils with some off brand eBay crap at around 190K miles and they worked good for a while. Hoping this restores MPG.

 

Looking to mount my Ripp superchargers oil catch can but can’t mount it in the required location due to the compressor. Any ideas?

please excuse my dirty bay

 

I am only 5'10" and I set it 4" higher than the stock height and I can still reach it easily. You can set it at stock height.

 

And NOW the passenger side light bulb again...Well at least it only took me about 3 minutes this time because I'm experienced...Got another two pack...I watching you drivers side! 202,431

 

Did alot of rewiring, ripped apart the 3rd crossmember due to some leaks. Took a picture at the park.

 

Great setup!

Our group went GMRS and paid the $70FCC fee to use the repeaters. For a while this worked great, but the repeater we used might be down.

For full disclosure our use would be infrequent and mostly when off road. Overall experience I'd rate at a beginner level given the frequency we are able to get out. If we switched over to HAM I would want to do it right and take the HAM tech exam. Curious what the investment would be in terms of time and cost. Plus any recommendations for a HAM vehicle set up? I would want one on the trailer (Base camp) and vehicle.

 

It comes with directions on how to mount it to get different amounts of lift. Pretty straightforward