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

Hi. So I just bought a 98 Tacoma. It needs some tlc. The first thing I wanted to do was clean the bedliner. It has what looks like roof tar buildup. I spent a few hours taking it off by hand and then hoping degreaser and a pressure washer would do the rest. No luck.

Any ideas? Should I roll on a bedliner myself or buy another plastic one. Im trying to save some money here lol.

 

So far I'm really liking this version of the rear end. Hard to describe what the Chevy leafs feel like, they're super compliant but not soft. It doesn't ride like a 3/4t truck but it doesn't ride like a tacoma either. Overall I think they're going to ride excellent with weight and without weight they're still very comfortable. I just dialed the shocks down a touch for unloaded.

 

The adventure begins when everything goes wrong. What do you do when an axle breaks in the remote Nevada backcountry at 7800' and there is zero chance of any services rescuing you? You fix it yourself! In this case, it involved a 7 hour round trip in my friend's Jeep to fetch parts, an 18F degree overnight stay on the mountain and a lot of grease. But with my friend's optimism and help, I made it out.

 

What part broke?

 

Actually, removing the / \ bars on the sides of the stinger was the original plan.

But when we were bending the tubes @foxrcing07 and I were looking at it and he made the suggestion that those bars add a lot of strength to the stinger. The hoops themselves would have added support by themselves. But overall the hoops would have provided a lot less strength overall minus the braces.

That, coupled with the fact that cutting those / \ bars off would have been a major time consuming pain in the ass... I decided to change my plan.

At the end of the day... I'm 100% glad I listened to Mogan on it. The way the angles layed out and the fact that the radius of the hoops match the radius of the stinger. It all layed out like it's original.

This is one project, I can say I'm 100% happy with the outcome.



Side pictures will come later. My service is for shit at work, trying to attach a pic to a post is impossible in this spot.

 

CV axle, passenger side.

 

Just had to take a moment between lunch and work to snap a pic and appreciate how great these first gens are.

 

What part of the CV? Shaft looks intact, inner joint looks OK too.


I blew up an outer joint on an OEM CV yesterday. I guess 35s and a front locker will do that...

 

In separated in two pieces. I'm not super familiar with these CV axles, but it seems like that knuckle popped out of it's socket perhaps. I think the culprit may have been a missing bolt on the passenger side of the diff support arm, which allowed the diff to move and pull on the axle in extreme circumstances (like turning too tightly off camber in 4WD).

 

Sounds like you could've just pushed it back together and been on your way. That inner joint can just slip in and out.

 

Maybe, but the joint had been gashed pretty good. When it slipped out, it got badly jammed between the skid plate etc. Good to know for next time though. I was definitely an amateur trying to find my way out of an unknown difficult situation.

 

But you know what the best part is?

You handled it, and got it figured. And next time something goes sideways you feel even more comfortable figuring out the next one.

 

Like Brett said it looks like you could have put the tulip joint back in its home if it wasn't damaged. Would have at least got you home.

If you do ever break one on the outer joint you can cut the boots and separate it and keep going in 2wd if you don't have the parts.

 

you ever think about painting the rims the color of your center caps?

 

:cringe:

Stuff on the hood!!

But glad everything worked out!

 

I really wish you guys were with me! Well, in any case, I gained a lot of experience with all of this. From what I understand, CV axles going out is not an uncommon thing. Another friend who has a Gen 2 claims he carries a spare one.

 

I always carry a spare. I also carry a spare back half of my drive line.

 

Yes. I painted the caps to test the color and really like it just haven’t had time to do the rims themselves. I’m in between getting black steels or painting these. Currently debating that.

 

not my truck, internet photo, but I dig the rim color, dupli color graphite I believe

 

@chrslefty - Side views



I get 5G in the drive thru at Panda