Another Around the World Tacoma

Yeah, brake fluid. Diff fluid gets drained.

I do have a copy. I'll dive into it to find what I need.

I'll probably do it all tomorrow morning after I run a few errands.

 

Dammit...I have to do that work thing tomorrow

 

No worries. I work real slow on things like this anyways.

 

The third member and front clamshell have been successfully removed.

For my first time doing this, it took 4 hours start to finish, but that includes a ~40 minute stop for lunch.

Biggest hookup on the rear was not pulling the axles out far enough to clear the gears. I could feel the end of the axle 'drop' out of the diff, but it would still interfere when trying to remove the diff. It took 4.25" wood blocks for it to be spaced far enough apart.

Biggest hold up on the front was the CV axle c-clips and just wiggling the clamshell itself out of the frame.

All in all, it is not that difficult. It is comprised of easy to undo nuts and bolts. Nothing sophisticated, the parts are just heavy and some of the bolts are tight.

5.29’s by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

They're ready for ZUK to do his thing. I probably won't get the up to him until Sunday, but I may be able to get them to him tomorrow. Time will tell.

While some things are exposed I will get it cleaned up a bit. It's a tad messy.

5.29’s by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

I noticed some dirty oil residue on my engine oil pan. It looks like it's leaking from the oil pan gasket area. I need to research this to see what the cure is.

How it will sit for a week.

5.29’s by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

It will be awesome to have this upgrade done. It's a big project, that involves expensive parts, the truck being non-functional, and driving to drop off and pickup the parts. I can finally schedule a tune after it's back up and running too. Hopefully both of those things will really transform how it drives.

For my future reference: 18,669 (nice) miles at time of 5.29 swap. 6 qts of Valvoline 85/140 diff fluid ordered.

 

I dropped the gears off to ZUK (pronounced Z-oo-k) just before noon, and suffice to say, I was very impressed.

The dropoff was pleasant, and we chatted for a while about the work he was going to do. It's easy to tell that he is incredibly knowledgeable at what he does.

And within 5 minutes of me leaving he was already getting after it.

He texts you the entirety of the work that he does for you, pictures included.

Here is a synopsis of what he has sent me:

All the goods

ZUK Doing Gears by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Mounted up, and gently cleaned, ready for disassembly

ZUK Doing Gears by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

ZUK Doing Gears by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

The kit laid out. This is the best set of REM'ed gears that he has seen. The company he recommended, who he used in the past, has updated the size of their ceramic media, so it gets into the small crevices better.

ZUK Doing Gears by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

This connector has to be broken to be removed

ZUK Doing Gears by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

And he has a new one to replace it, when the time comes

ZUK Doing Gears by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

He commented on the quality of the OEM carrier bearings, which is unsurprising, as the truck has sub-19,000 miles.

He will still be replacing it though

ZUK Doing Gears by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

He got creative with getting the old carrier bearing off. No heat, and no grinding. This is why you pay good money. You get quality work.

ZUK Doing Gears by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Reassembly time

ZUK Doing Gears by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Torque specs and Loctite. This guy is on point.

ZUK Doing Gears by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

 

Rear third member update Round 2

Pinion flange removed, looking excellent

ZUK Gears Round 2 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Oil retainer, undamaged

ZUK Gears Round 2 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

He looked through his notes and found that he probably needs a .075 shim

ZUK Gears Round 2 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Custom pinion bearing press

ZUK Gears Round 2 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

New inner race

ZUK Gears Round 2 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Checking backlash with the stock washer plates. It's close enough to do a paint test without adjusting the washer plates at this point

ZUK Gears Round 2 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

First paint test, drive side, and is too deep

ZUK Gears Round 2 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Coast side

ZUK Gears Round 2 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Pinion also states that the engagement is too deep.

ZUK Gears Round 2 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

He decided to change to a .072 shim, .003" difference in thickness. Swapping shims is tough, and this is where a lesser installer may call the paint test good enough, and start slapping things together.

That's better, drive side

ZUK Gears Round 2 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Coast side

ZUK Gears Round 2 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

The pinion is exact

ZUK Gears Round 2 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

11 inch*pound of pinion preload

ZUK Gears Round 2 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Signed and sealed

ZUK Gears Round 2 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

All of the backlash measurements recorded.

ZUK Gears Round 2 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

And the rear is done!

Tomorrow he will start on the front clamshell, which is apparently about twice as time consuming.

In other work, I mounted a 6 USB charging block to the Power Command Center, underneath the Renogy Charge Controller. It is wired into the BlueSea fuse block with a 15 amp fuse. We will use this to charge basically every battery powered device we have, outside of our laptops.

I also found a small plastic garbage can, screwed two magnets to it, and stuck it to one of the side panels inside the camper. Sometimes we are tucked inside of the camper due to weather, so it's nice to have a small garbage can handy for tea bags, floss, etc.

I also pulled out the hose and cleaned up the underside of the front end, as it is moderately exposed. The skids were caked in mud still, despite the pressure washing from a while ago.

There is a subtle oil leak at the pan to block (it may be the lower pan to the upper pan) that I need to address. The truck still has a warranty for quite some time, but I doubt I want to hand over the keys to a dealership. I'll research the repair and see if I can give it a go myself.

 

Did he show you his awesome 1st gen??

 

I did see his white first gen out front. We talked about wheeling a bit too.

 

Brought these home Saturday night after a couple of adventures:

5.29 Finished by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

The rear ring gear is as smooth as glass. I kept touching it on the drive home. It is the smoothest piece of metal I have ever felt.

The install was pretty much what I expected. It took a smidge over 4 hours, with a short lunch break.

All bolts and nuts were torqued to spec. Loctite used where necessary. Orange Toyota goop used where necessary as well.

I had an issue with the passenger axle nut. I couldn't get it threaded on to the axle. I need to research a fix, as the original one is currently installed on the truck, but without the nut in place. I do not plan on driving it until I can get a nut in place. I will research rethreading it with a Fine 32mm tap and die set.

Other than that, I was able to effectively wrap up the install.

I did take it for a spin around the neighborhood, to make sure everything was in working order.

Suffice to say, all of this money, all of this effort, was worth it.

It's a new truck.

All systems are a go!

5.29 Finished by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

4Lo and first gear at idle is awesome. It will creep along at zero mph. The truck jumps when you shift into 4Lo.

It will shift into 3rd gear at 10 mph in 2Hi. Haha

It has a lot more pep too.

I am excited to drive it more.

On a side note, Stacy and I did a canyon in Sedona this weekend.

5.29 Finished by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

And I crawled out of a cave that, while not quite body sized in height, was definitely body sized in width.

5.29 Finished by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

The terror was real. I am not claustrophobic but you can't really turn off your fear response when you are crushed in between two rocks.

My Pelican case for my roof rack arrives tomorrow, so I'll get that installed when it arrives. I also have a couple small things for the camper. But it is time to move on to building out the back seat area for gear storage.

Until next time.

 

One of the best builds I've seen on here! That thing must be comically overweight though, have you weighed it?

Did you consider beefing up the frame to accommodate the weight?

 

Thank you!

I have not weighed it yet, as it isn't quite finished at the moment. I will once it is 'done' enough to be considered trip-ready. Both overall, and individual axle weights.

I think calling it comically overweight is a bit of a stretch though. It is certainly heavier than it was when I bought it, but it is lightweight relative to many other 'Tacoma Houses', such as an old slide-in camper, or an FWC with a flatbed, etc.

There are no direct upgrades to the frame, as the frame is plenty strong for the weight, though upgrades have been welded to the frame to help the suspension more easily transmit the effects of the added weight into the frame.

I don't joke when I say it, but you really can't even tell the weight is back there. I do add the disclaimer that I do not drive aggressively, ever, as one shouldn't in something like this, but it is really not noticeable. I know it will be even better once I get some miles on the new 5.29's.

 

JD is making a rear frame reinforcement now. Bolt in. Can stitch weld if wanted.

 

Alright, this is probably going to get old quickly, but holy hell. These 5.29 gears have totally transformed this truck. It is a new vehicle.

It is so much better at low speed, in parking lots for example, and it is SO much nicer to drive on the roads around the house, speed limit 45 mph. It just picks up well.

It also shifts a tiny bit more aggressive than it used to, which I really, really like. It helps the truck feel more like what it looks like.

I'm sure I'll talk about it more, but man, I am smitten.

I rectified my CV axle problem by buying a Duralast Gold backup from Autozone last night. I installed it this morning, and my OEM axle is in a box waiting for the M28x1.5 Die to arrive so I can rethread the end. After I do that I will reinstall the higher quality OEM axle and keep the Duralast Gold as a trail spare. I've never carried a spare CV, but I know a lot of people who do, so I'll join the club.

The swap took ~50 minutes in all. Not too shabby.

I forgot about a couple of small things that I did with the excitement of the gears and all.

My Blueridge Overland Gear order came in and I got to installing all of the (14) pouches I ordered from them.

I bought (4) of their X-Large pouches and (10) of their Large pouches.

I stuck (8) of them to the underside of the smaller pivoting portion of the ACCC. We will use these to hold items that we want to access while we are in bed/upstairs. Eye masks, small snacks, charging cables, etc.

Pelican Roof Box by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

They will hold a 1/2" ratchet, a 17mm and 19mm socket without falling off, but with bumpy road driving they would definitely work themselves loose. So we will be weight conscious with these bags.

I installed the remaining (6) bags to the back panel, next to the Power Command Center.

The (2) larger bags are his and hers toiletries, and the (4) smaller bags are unused at the moment.

Back Panel by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

I installed them with M5 nutserts. I used oversized M6 fender washers so that I could really push them into the corners of the pouches as I tightened the button head M5 bolt down. This keeps the top very tight. I did this so that each bag can be opened and closed with one hand, something that I know will be convenient, even a necessity, in the future.

It's these small things I am trying my best to pay attention to. Making this thing as easy to use as possible is still way up there on the priority list.

In the photo above you can also see a small DC charging block (6 USB ports) in between the air compressor and the charge controller.

To wrap up todays progress I installed my Pelican iM3220 case that arrived this morning.

Pelican Roof Box by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

I added it to the roof rack. I installed it by sliding 1/4-20 carriage bolts into the aluminum extrusions. They fit perfectly, and stay put, so that you can tighten the nut inside of the case.

I measured and drilled out (8) holes to mount the case to (2) cross bars.

I sealed the holes and nuts with caulking. This box will hold 'dirty' stuff, so it's nice that it is weatherproof, but it isn't a must have feature. Still, I like clean, so I sealed it as best I could.

The only shame is that I cannot use the rear bar of the Sherpa rack to hold the case, as that bar puts it too close to the ACCC. So I had to leave that one empty and slide two of the other cross bars closer together.

It fits well. Its dimensions are about as big as they can be, given the location.

It came full of foam, but I don't know if I'll use it. I probably will, as I don't want things sloshing around up there when I am driving, but I won't form cut the foam to fit the things I put in there. Probably just leave enough that it press fits things roughly in the same place.

Pelican Roof Box by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

The gap between the case and camper, due to the way the lid hinges

Pelican Roof Box by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

With the camper closed the lid flops open to a very natural position. It won't get blown shut in normal wind and it isn't too hard to close when you're done.

With the lid open and the camper open (the angled portion of the camper becomes vertical when the tent is open) there is still enough space to open the box completely, though the lid doesn't tilt back quite as far, so wind could push it closed. I have since cleaned up the caulk and I will cut down the bolts so they don't protrude as far into the case.

Pelican Roof Box by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

A random bonus shot of the rear end as I was putting the rear third member back in

Untitled by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

The next item on the list to research is lighting. I want a bit more lighting up front, and in the rear, to help in the dark. I'll get on researching that as I wrap up a few small items in the camper itself.

 

A few more small updates from today.

Took the truck on the freeway for the first time since getting the 5.29's.

Much better. I used to have to be in S4 perpetually, on all but the flattest of sections of road. S4 at 65 mph was just below where the 3.5 starts making decent power, which was unfortunate. It would drop into S3 and scream along at 4800 rpms to climb the steeper grades found here in the Southwest.

That's not a problem anymore. At 65 mph in 4th, I am sitting at 3700, which is right in the sweet spot, allowing me to easily cruise along in traffic. Cruise Control is now no longer a pain in the rear as the truck is in the range of easy to use power.

In 5th I am sitting at a comfortable 2600 rpm, and this too is plenty sufficient to move with freeway traffic on flat and subtle grades.

In 6th it hums along at 2100 rpm which is excellent.

My friend Brent said it best; "5.29's might be the best thing you can do to a 3rd gen."

I would have to agree.

Alright, onto actual work.

It was time to get a gas strut attached to the pivoting lid over our clothes/soft goods storage.

I tested out two separate gas struts; a 5 lb version and a 22.5 lb version.

Boiler and Strut by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Attachment to the 2020 aluminum extrusion was a piece of cake, none of the brackets needed to be modified. Roll in those T-Nuts and move on.

I ended up going with the larger strut, the 22.5 lb version, as it allowed the lid to open more while still being strong enough to lift the lid without me having to push it all the way to the top myself.

One strut did the trick, and it is mounted towards the center, away from where our hands will be. (2) M8 bolts with nyloc nuts hold the upper mount in place. There is a considerable amount of shear on that connection, hence the larger M8 hardware rather than the more commonly used M5 hardware I have used throughout the rest of the storage build.

Boiler and Strut by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Very pleased with this.

Next was to figure out where to place the water boiler and the blender. These are two devices that we will use daily, so I do not want to have to fish them out and plug them in every single day and night.

A permanent mounting situation is required.

This is the location I decided on. The blender (to be mounted at a later date, as I still use this inside daily) fits really well in the back corner by the inverter. I like this placement and will affix it to the edge of that stationary board when the time comes.

The water boiler is right in front of the air compressor. I wanted the space to the left and behind it available to set devices that are charging on the USB block above the compressor. This means the boiler will have to be moved when the compressor is in use, which is totally fine.

Boiler and Strut by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Blender aside, I began investigating how to accomplish two things: affix the base to the wooden panel and to connect the boiler to the base.

I marked out the position of the base with a pencil and drilled two holes through the base. The thickness of the self tapping screw head is not too thick to where the boiler will not function (it has to be pretty much all the way down on the base for it to stay powered on). Two of these screws hold the base down tightly. The screw tip does not protrude through the bottom of the wooden panel, which is nice.

I decided to use (4) M5 bolts, with (2) nuts each, to hold the boiler down to the base. I took the bottom of the boiler off and drilled two holes on opposite sides of the boiler. I crushed the two nuts down on the boiler itself.

Boiler and Strut by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

I repeated the process on the base, using the same idea.

(2) doubled up hair ties loop around the chamfered M5 bolts to keep the boiler in place.

Boiler and Strut by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

It is fairly convenient to use like this, though the possibility of forgetting to attach the ties and the boiler coming off as we drive is a definite possibility.

I tried to find a 1000W kettle with a magnetic base, but was unsuccessful. My brother had some old bar magnets from a couple of years ago, but they were too bulky to fit in the bottom of the boiler and underneath the base.

I did hop online and I found some smaller bar magnets that may do the trick. I ordered them and I will see what I can come up with, if they are small enough to fit where I need them to fit. They also need to be strong enough, through all of the plastic, to hold the boiler down while we bump along.

I think that's all for now. I ordered new batteries for my digital caliper so that I can determine if the new X-Joint upper ball joint for my Camburg UCA's is the same size as the Moog BJ that it replaced. I have a set of each in my garage to compare against. Camburg says they are a direct swap, but it doesn't look like it to me. The measurements will tell. If the X-joints do fit then I will get them installed. If not, the Moog BJ's will go in instead.

I need to try to find a 2 pouch Trasharoo for my rear tire. I like my current Trasharoo, but I really want an outside bag that can hold garbage in one pouch, and dirty laundry in another, separate pouch. I know I can just put two different bags in the same pouch of the Trasharoo, but I want to avoid accidentally putting trash on my dirty clothes. I haven't found anything yet, but I will keep looking.

Until next time.

 

I have some disk niderum "spl" you can have a couple of you want to see if they'll work with your setup. There pretty strong.

 

Dang it. I keep trying to convince myself that I am fine with stock gearing and big tires, but you've convinced me that I need to re-gear.

 

Are you talking about for your first gen?

 

Yup! I’ll re-gear or I’ll manual swap it.

 

I've been slowly reading through this thread over my lunch breaks at work the last few days... and I feel like I am reading a novel! OP, this thread is extremely interesting and very, very well put together. I enjoy your explanation of each mod as well as your detailed reasoning behind each mod. At 22, I can only hope to one day have the 1: time, and 2: money to be able to build a rig like this! Cheers from Alabama!

 

Thanks Sam! I've noticed your alerts over the past week or so.

I appreciate the kind words.

Ah, at 22 you're already way ahead of me. It took me until I was 29 before I bought my first used Tacoma.