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

With stock 31x10.5" tires on OEM wheels and with a mild lift (though as I often say, lift doesn't really affect anything once you fully cycle the suspension) you can safely run at least some chains on the front. With larger than 31x10.5, or with other wheels (that have different backspacing), I'd be less confident. Certainly, when I made the jump from 31 to 33" tires, I stopped using chains altogether - though, just yesterday I was musing that I should have kept the rear set, as I think they'd still clear (if installed correctly) for general pavement driving.

Here's the last time I used chains on the truck - Christmas Tree, Sledding, and Recovery…Oh my! Looked a little different than it does now, though I'd obviously gotten the bug already, hahaha.

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Can you make a square hole? I've always appreciated when pullers or whatever also have the square hole for a ratchet so I don't need to go and grab a socket as well. Not a big deal but usually have to guess what size socket or wrench to grab.

Are you talking street or unmaintained roads? Either way less air in your tires will help. Like others mentioned check clearances and stop after a bit of driving and recheck the chain tension. Would suck to have them fall off and wrap around the hub.



Anyone try snow socks? Drove over Snoqualmie a few times last week and saw a few vehicles running them. Also noticed more of those laying on the road than chains from falling off. Curious to how well they work though if installed properly.

 

Has anyone ever raptor lined OVER an already rhino lined bed? I really don’t wanna have to scrape all the rhino line to get to the original paint/metal so I’m wondering if I were to just lightly scuff it up instead and throw the raptor right over it. Wondering if anyone has done this or something similar. PO owner did a poor rhino line job.

 

I was actually wondering this same thing the other day. I recently Raptor lined my flares and the body (just below the body line). I was really surprised at how well the Raptor liner worked, and how good the final product was.

Then I started to look in the bed. The previous owner had it professionally Rhino Lined. It wasn't a bad application... it's just been 18 plus years of all kinds of stuff being tossed in the bed, and it's faded.

Would love to hear if someone has experience applying the Raptor of the Rhino liner.




For those who are wondering about Raptor liner (in general)... that stuff is seriously legit. Hands down the best truck bed liner from a can. And I've tried Rustoleum, Duplicolor, Eastwood, and others. Raptor liner is 100 miles better than any of the others.

 

Woah, thanks guys! Didn’t expect such a positive response. A lot of my friends had advised me not to do it, but in the end I did what I wanted and I’m VERY happy.
Of course I took pictures!!

First, I debated between the actual hilux fender markers or the Acura rsx which I had used before. I voted out the hilux fender markers because they looked visually ugly. I then stumbled upon landcruiser and Supra fender markers. After a lot of research, I ordered the Supra fender markers and compared them with the Acura markers side by side and wired up so I could see which one I liked better. The Supra (93-98) were the best and felt quality.

next step was getting a template. Basically I traced one out on cardboard and test fitted. Then I pretty much mocked up where I wanted them to be on the truck. I followed the Toyota Tacoma badge as a reference when measuring to make everything even on both sides. I masked everything up, measured 200x and my brother started cutting! Then after it was cut, I painted the exposed metal. And then clicked them into place. Wiring wise, positive went to turn signal, negative wire went to the positive of parking lamp.
Here’s some more
Pic!
First pic is the Supra (left) and rsx (right)

 

I installed some new head light bulbs yesterday, and today I finally cleaned up and waxed the spacers that go below the head lights, and snapped them back into place. They've been off the truck for several months after I did the 3M headlight restoration procedure. Tough work, now I'm wore out.

 

NICE!

 

thank you!!

Doing the windshield nozzle upgrade now lol

 

I've had those damn nozels on one of my lists in Amazon for 2 years now lol

 

I’m about to put them in!

 

I can I just need the measurements of the hubs. I sold all my touota hubs a year or so ago and don’t have one to measure. Just need the dial inside diameter and the thickness of the rib.

Send me a pm if you want one and can get me the measurements.

I could make a square hole. A few guys on irate suggested using a broach to make a 1/2 or 3/8 square hole for a ratchet but they’re pretty pricey for the few I do and would just add time to the overall process. I could also do it by hand on the mill but I’m sure it wouldn’t be easy. That’s why I came up with the wrench flats for the 3/4 in wrench figuring most suspension hardware is 1/2 in bolts etc and a 3/4 stubby wrench or even full size wrench is easy enough to keep in the glove box with this.

if you want one with the square hole for a ratchet pm and we can work something out.

 

Not meaning to kick a skunk, in light of recent postings, but I have a serious question (or two).

Firstly, is the sensor/sending unit for the transmission fluid temp measuring the fluid at a point where the fluid has already been heated by its work in the transmission/torque convertor. In other words, at its maximum temperature throughout its cycle?

In monitoring my trans fluid temp, via ScanGauge II, I see dramatic increases in the temps, maybe as much as 40 degrees (say 140-180) in pulling a slope in just normal drive (overdrive kicking out on the slope). In some instances, it will be going up as much as 5 degrees every couple of seconds. Then going down other side, it will cool back off, though not at as fast a rate.

Logic says that it would be nearly impossible for all of the fluid to rise in temperature at those fast rates. My thinking is that the temp we are seeing is for a very small portion of the total fluid in the system. Thus, it would take a considerable time for all of the fluid to rise significantly.

Wouldn't it be great to get temps at various points throughout the travels of the fluid, exiting transmission, through external and internal coolers/warmers, and entering back?

 

Kinda true, but the light stays on after I switch out of 4wd until I back up a bit or drive a few feet. Which suggests the light isn’t purely on stick position

 

You are correct. To be specific the sensors for those lights are in the transfer case. So what ever magic happens inside the tcase is what interacts with the lights... the manual hubs don't play a roll in it though.

 

The trans fluid temperature sensor is in the outgoing hose from the torque converter to the radiator cooler, so yes it is measuring at the maximum temperature of the cycle as the torque converter is where most of the heat is generated. If you were to measure the temperature of the ATF on the other side of the cooler, you would find that it is a significantly lower temperature (since that is the purpose of the radiator cooler).

While it’s true that only a portion of the fluid is ever at that high temperature at any given time, the torque converter contains a significant proportion of the total transmission volume. Our transmissions just don’t have the large capacity and cooling ability to do a lot of serious towing, running big tires, heavy loads, etc, without external coolers. It sounds like you might benefit from an external cooler in addition to the factory cooler in the radiator.

 

You can grind one from a hss blank. Would be cheap and easy.

There's also those wobble head things, forget what they're called now though...

Edit: rotary broach, but they're not cheap.

 

I am 100% not sure where exactly the sensor is. But with that being said. I'm assuming you're using a scanguage or similar (digital).

My theory is
A) there is some lag to the digital numbers being displayed so they jump like that... I remember my mom had a Chrysler LeBaron back in the late 80s, with a digital speedometer, and the way the numbers jumped on acceleration was just obviously inaccurate to me.

B) Maybe the OBDII sends the info in pulses, not constant. Causing the numbers to jump like that.

C) Combination of both

D) The trans just really gets hot hella fast like that.

I've thought about exactly your question before, is the reason I have these theories lol

I do have a thermostatic switch on my trans cooler. It activates the fans at 180° and turns back off at 165°. I use the OBDii and the sound of the fans, to kind of double check things. The OBDii is pretty accurate in that the reading is very close to 180 when the fans click on and really close to 165 when they go back off... but I'm not sure the OBDii is accurate enough to really pin point in a big (fast) temp swing, like pulling a hill... more like a guide at that point.

If any of that makes any damn sense what so ever... not 100% sure it makes sense to me

 

Roto broaching is rather tedious without power feed too... Plus your ground blank needs to be precisely a certain length (in relation to the center of the wobble)

 

Will depend mostly on your wheel setup and tire setup. But will fit if the planets align.

The heck is a snow sock??

 

True. I've never used one, never even really looked into them, just know they exist. I've only ever milled or broached. For those a grind would be fairly straight forward.