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

Rare 60 degree day here for late October. Got the truck washed and got a coat of spray wax on before winter sets in. Also treated Tonneau Cover and trim with 303.

 

Removed the carpet floor mats and installed the WeatherTech's.

 

Installed a real lift yesterday and put on the new shoes with pizza cutters. 5100s front and rear, 885 coils and a Deaver AAL. 4Runner wheels with Falken AT3 255x80r17s.

The factory rear struts were so worn I can compress them by hand and they take a few minutes to extend back out.

Can’t express how much better the ride is. Full support for the ARB bumper, no nose dive when braking, no rubbing so far but I haven’t gotten into anything rough yet to feel it when articulating.

 

I ended up having to move the clip up 1 notch after a year with a steel bumper and winch to get some height back after the 885s settled. Be prepared for some sag after a while. Looks great though! Good job

 

The truck got some love. A full cleaning and polishing got the shine back and for protection a ceramic compound applied for the winter. The paint bare the 144 000 Miles of salty and sandy road hazard. The front bumper is sanded to the plastic, and there so many stone chip. If you walk by it will look good don't go too close ! The guy told me that the paint was good, there was some paint work done on it in the past, some doors paint work is visible. I have some rust on the rear bumper, i will probably change it so rust proofing will suffice for now.

It look good.

 

Once your kid gets a car you turn into a Jiffy Lube… Did the Tacoma 224197 oil change and filter… And now I know how to do an oil change and filter on a Honda fit and wife’s Subaru…
Now I have like 15 quarts of used oil. But I probably saved $200.

The oil filter on a Honda fit is about the size of a Dixie cup

 

Changed the oil and installed my Diode Dynamics CF18 Flasher module. So now my truck is extra "flashy"...!

Also noticed this which I wasn't too pleased about:



Trying to decide how concerned I should be...

 

If you haven’t ever done any cooling system maintenance it would be a great excuse to. At the very least do a coolant flush, clean up the crusty coolant and see if the leak continues.

 

Looks like the radiator hose clamp needs replacing.

 

Does it matter if we use the regular home depot kind?

 

A little over $300 shipped for the aluminum version.

 

You can use a regular hose clamp, just make sure to not over-tighten it, you don't want to damage the plastic of the radiator.

 

Washed and clay barred it.

 

Mine did that. At first I replaced the upper hose and hose clamp. Thought it was good. Drive to and back from Northern California last December, and discover that it started leaking again. Took the hose off, and discovered that the nipple on the end of the radiator turn was gone. Had to replace the radiator, and now no leaks.

 

ECGS bushing nocked out today.

Before
https://youtu.be/Llej7pHawaA
After
https://youtu.be/EzWzOE1asMc

 

Keep in mind I just started welding about a month ago. I pretty much practice on weekends. I started my bed stiffeners. I still need to drill the holes to bolt it down and for attachment points. Also need to clean up my welds and paint it. I started with flat bar and used the cardboard method to template the pieces. The TC stiffeners are the inspiration. I figured why not learn a new skill?

Edit: Added a pic of the test fit.

 

Finally replaced the lower shock mount ball joint on my driver side Icon that’d been a squeaky bastard for a while now, and did both while I was at it. In the process, went ahead and swapped out both lower control arms and put on Taco Tabs, and fixed the negative camber that had been present for awhile.

Did a string alignment after, one of these days I’ll be able to pull that off and not get completely finished only to find the steering wheel cocked 10-15 degrees.

 

2x4 Kennel Deck?

 

Changed inner and outer tie rods and new sway bar links. Like driving a different truck.

 

Installed the new mount this past weekend. I have the six button switch panel so had to trim an inch off, but other than that I'm happy with it. Way better than banging my knee against it daily!