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

Replaced both entire front wheel hub assemblies yesterday. Took out a ton of vibes that I was feeling going down the road. Very pleased all together. Replacing my rear diff breather today

 

Didn’t really do anything to the truck but I stained some MR Marv speaker brackets for future plans

 

Assembled the pro grille with a new painted surround. Going to wait until I have both pro headlights to install but very eager to de-chrome and de-sombrero the front.

 

Changed spark plugs , cleaned MAF sensor and new air filter. Running smooth again.

 

Where did you pick up the painted surround?

 

Royal South Toyota on eBay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Toyota-Tacoma-Sport-Barcelona-Red-3R3-Painted-Grille-Genuine-OEM-OE-/284221793455
Looks like they have one left. Tried a few other places and they all told me it was back ordered.

 

Update- I’ve had the 235 75 R15s BFG K02s and alum wheels on the truck for about 2 months now. It drives and handles so much better than it did with the stock 215s with steel wheels. I also installed a Pro Comp 2 3/4 leveling kit with the AAL option and replaced the shocks and struts with gas KYBs. The Ready Lift was on back order and I got tired of waiting. Very happy with the quality, fit, and finish of the Pro Comp lift. After some research, I utilized Pre Runner spec shocks for the rear to compensate for the lift and they worked out great. I think the speedo was a little fast to begin because GPS confirm it’s spot on. I am pretty sure the weight of this setup is about the same as the stock tires and steel wheels because the lighter aluminum wheels compensated for the heavier BFG K02s. I have an automatic which are geared lower then standard shift axels. It pulls and accelerates just fine with these mods. So, the key take away here for me is that it’s weight more than anything that zaps the power from base model 5 luggers IMO.

 

Dude im a wilmington native, where did you find offroading?

 

There are some fun fire roads in the Croatan national forest. I use on-x off-road and it shows all of them if you want to check out that app. It was about an hour drive from Wilmington.

 

I had a significant amount of play (maybe 1/2") in the carrier bearing (really the bushing) on my driveshaft, so I decided to replace it. And because I was going to be taking the driveshaft off to do it, I figured I would replace the u-joints at the same time. Once I got it off, I didn't like the way the slip yoke boot looked, so I ended up replacing that too and ended up refreshing the entire driveshaft. For reference, the truck is at 84k and is wheeled (moderate) fairly regularly.

U-joints and boot are Spicer, while the bearing is SKF (hopefully it holes up as well as stock, we'll see).

Before:


Old and New bearing (can definitely see how much the old bushing was sagging here by how off-center it is):




Disassembled:


Reassembled and installed:

 

Surprised you didn't go the Ford poly IEDLS carrier route

I wonder how hard this is to DIY
So far I've got:
-press with limited dowels/sleeves
-U-joint clip pliers, not sure if the u-joints can be re-used at 160k, though I grease them periodically
-hammer
-can borrow a puller, maybe should buy 1 or two of my own
-whiteout to mark locations of everything to re-assemble aligned how it came apart
IIRC supposedly there's not much more to it than that according to the how-to write up

watched someone put U-joints on a 3g 4runner a while ago and it didn't seem as impossible "you must take it to a driveline shop for $200-300" as some people make it out to be

 

I've seen the on-x off road app mentioned a few times. Any idea how it compares to Gaia?

 

Looking at this too. Have an Overlander GPS and am using a couple other apps to find off-road areas. Will be trying this one out too.

 

If you are near a National Forest, you can do one of 2 things. The Ranger Stations have Motor Vehicle Use Maps (MVUM) online and sometimes paper ones in the Ranger Stations which also can be accessed by your GPS apps, or you can download an app called Avenza, and it will actaully download onto your smart phone or tablet, so in places like the U.P. of Michigan where cell service is non existant, you will always have your maps and its FREE! You can also use the QR codes at the Ranger Stations to get new maps if youre travelling.

I havent done anything lately...still 19 degrees and snowing...but she is a beast in the snow!

 

My buddy and I just did this on my 2006 TRD Sport 4 WD. Its totally doable, and having done it I can give a short cheat sheet.

1. Use paint to mark the flanges. Penetrating lubricant will dissolve magic markers. Take a picture of the whole drive shaft in advance to reference in case you have any doubts about the alignment when reassembling with the new U-joints. This photo below was very helpful when we had doubts after some of my marks dissolved
2. A butane torch is key for heating up the bolts to crack them
3. You absolutely will need some wobble extensions (Harbor Freight) and short sockets (14mm) because of the tight fit. (U-joint socket extenders are too long. Trust me, wobble extensions are essential). We found 3/8 inch drives worked best for the most part, except the initial breaker bar to crack the bolts, and the torque wrench tightening at the end, when we used 1/2 inch drives.
4. A ball joint press with a standard variable speed impact wrench is way faster than hammering. They are a free rental at the auto parts store). We used a borrowed heavy duty, corded impact wrench and it was too powerful, we busted one of the new U-joints. A standard variable speed one is all you need and gives you the subtlety to line up the caps underneath the channels for the clips.




Here are some excellent videos to brief yourself before you start:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gOeBE-ylQw&t=1182s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WvlVa7OzS8&t=642s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IF9--WmZOYo

 

Glad to see a KFlo video referenced. He doesn’t have as big of a following as some other channels, but he puts out some thorough and in depth technical videos for 2nd Gens.

 

I use Gaia as well mostly for when I’m at my destination for offline maps. On-x in my case is good for finding trails in new areas. It will highlight all trails and or fire roads around the area. Great app.

 

I use both, onx is more like a guide book. Trails are listed with reviews and difficulty. Easy to search and find especially if you've never been to that area.

Gaia is more for a pure mapping program. You can import your own trails, maps and way points.

 

Been working on a full skid plate for my 2012 Sport the last few days. Metal is expensive $$$ but I think my effort will be worth it.

Most people are going a 3/16” route on plate but I ended up using 10ga and I will be reinforcing it in all of the areas prone to bending with 1/8” flat bar ribbing. I did this for weight and cost savings (and I’ve never hit a rock big enough without a skid to worry about it in the future.) Plus, I can always fix it.

I am using nothing but a grinder, drill, stick welder, and a steel edge to clamp to as a break. I worked my way from the transfer case to the front end and I am currently trying to plan out my approach angle on the front.

(I previously cut off the front crossmember that the crash bar mounts right above, as I had planned in doing a high clearance bumper, but for the type of off-roading I do, I am looking more at going the stock route with maybe a homemade BA Highline Series or C4 Stubby up in the center below the grille so that I can run a winch.)

Could someone please message me with measurements from the frame down to the bottom of the crossbar (mine is probably melted down already in Korean steel cause I was an idiot and scrapped it over a year ago) or any suggestions on how best to tie in my skid plate to that area so that when I put the stock bumper back on, and eventually a low profile they have a smooth transition/angle. I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks!

Also if you have one of those bumpers, if you could send pictures from the side showing how they bolt on to the frame/cm. I’m undecided between building one or just buying one and modifying my design with the cost of metal right now.

 

Added a 12v set up in the bed so I can plug in some lights for the rooftop tent. The 12v outlet, USB, and voltmeter setup was only around $15 on Amazon and ended up fitting the bed storage door pretty well. Ran a wire from the battery and used a T tap to ground to the tail light ground.