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

I'd be a bit disappointed for the price too TBH, I'm gonna guess they don't have them in a jig when they add the bracket, they just precut the parts to size and weld them, maybe with some sort of locator tab. At the very least they should have bolted them together with a 2" slug in between to assure it was concentric and the right distance before busting out the welder, that's cheaper and easier than a jig... seems lazy.

 

100% what I'm saying

 

I took a week off work, it’s back to fasting when I get back


*yup, I was in a meat delirium last night, you are right.

 

Interesting. I'll get measurements of mine for you when I get home from work today to compare

 

Got these cut for ya too and ready to go

 

Hell ya brotha... making the magic happen.

 

I love mine! Didn't get the spare though.

 

Even added those little radius cuts to match

 

Well, when I was installing my new shocks the last bolt snapped off in the control arm. I tried drilling it and using an extractor but that was a no go. Made it worse lol. So I bit the bullet and bought a new lower control arm. I have it mostly wrapped up. Need to torque everything down and get new bolts for the shock. It was not a fun job But, it only cost me $88 for the parts and a couple nights in the garage. Compared to the $525 a shop quoted me

 

Hello, we’re sorry to hear you’re having some issues with the uniball conversion. Below is an explanation to some of the posts we have seen.


Tie rod spacers: It seems as though the “special spacer” topic may have been lost in translation, and if that’s on our end we apologize. On the Tie rod misalignment spacing Total Chaos uses 7/8” to 5/8” spacers that measure 2.125” stacked together so that explains the .125” gap you have.


Tie rod tab welding: Every double shear tab is welded onto the uniball conversion while bolted together with a 0.005” oversized spacer in place of the heim. the reason for this is so that after welding, 2.125” misalignment spacers will slide right in between the tabs. The bolt and spacer is not removed until the part is cool enough to handle. In the image that was posted the calipers are held diagonal to the part which is giving a false reading in regards to the true spacing. As mentioned the part should measure just over 2.125”.


Coating of the part: The uniball conversion is not powder coated for the exact reason mentioned. Powder coating is too thick and would mess with the tolerances which wasn’t an option on a very precise part. We opted to use Cerakote because the maximum thickness added with the coating is 0.002”. Its not clear what tolerance you’re referring to with the “sleeve” if you’re referencing the large diameter sleeve that registers into the bottom of the steering knuckle, then there is a very good chance your knuckle has some corrosion on the inside diameter of the knuckle. Lightly use a barrel sander or scotch pad and remove any rust or build up and the part should register nicely. If you’re referring to the 2-dowel pins, there is still a chance of some corrosion in your knuckle. Either way, these parts are designed to be very precise, the reason for that is that the more precise the parts fit the less load is put on the hardware therefore make the whole assembly stronger.


Regarding the "special socket" need to install them, no special socket is required. It just requires a 12-pt end wrench to hold the bolt head.


If you have any other questions, please Call the Shop and ask for Mike in R&D, he’d be more than happy to work through any issues you may be having 951-737-9682. Again we apologize for any issues you’re experiencing.

 

Got it dirty!
And then my fuel pump died.
Glad it was within my aaa range.
Great fun being out again. Glad it didn't die on the trail.



At ~370k if I'm doing the fuel pump, what else would be suggested while I'm there?

Pump gonna go

$85 denso 951-0001 electric fuel pump

denso 951-0001
Get a new gasket and filter as well
Should i do the sender?
I missing anything else?

 

Good time to clean the level sender, just take a soft pencil eraser to the contacts and then alcohol, be just like new

 

Thanks for the response, that goes a long way. Overall they're nice pieces. Much more beef than the original LBJs and I like the fact that it moves the "tie rod" connection to the top of the LBJ instead of under it. Even with what I mentioned, I'd still recommend them.

Tie rod spacers: It seems as though the “special spacer” topic may have been lost in translation, and if that’s on our end we apologize. On the Tie rod misalignment spacing Total Chaos uses 7/8” to 5/8” spacers that measure 2.125” stacked together so that explains the .125” gap you have.
It's 1.147 not 1.25. That worked out by adding a washer. it is what it is.

Again, the description of that is on your website


When I called about that and explained I would be fabricating my own links. No one knew what "Specific TC misalignment spacers" I was talking about. (I wanted to elaborate on that further so if there is an issue you can correct it. I realize this is a fairly new product and the person I spoke to may not have been familiar with it)

Tie rod tab welding: Every double shear tab is welded onto the uniball conversion while bolted together with a 0.005” oversized spacer in place of the heim. the reason for this is so that after welding, 2.125” misalignment spacers will slide right in between the tabs. The bolt and spacer is not removed until the part is cool enough to handle. In the image that was posted the calipers are held diagonal to the part which is giving a false reading in regards to the true spacing. As mentioned the part should measure just over 2.125”.


Coating of the part: The uniball conversion is not powder coated for the exact reason mentioned. Powder coating is too thick and would mess with the tolerances which wasn’t an option on a very precise part. We opted to use Cerakote because the maximum thickness added with the coating is 0.002”. Its not clear what tolerance you’re referring to with the “sleeve” if you’re referencing the large diameter sleeve that registers into the bottom of the steering knuckle, then there is a very good chance your knuckle has some corrosion on the inside diameter of the knuckle. Lightly use a barrel sander or scotch pad and remove any rust or build up and the part should register nicely. If you’re referring to the 2-dowel pins, there is still a chance of some corrosion in your knuckle. Either way, these parts are designed to be very precise, the reason for that is that the more precise the parts fit the less load is put on the hardware therefore make the whole assembly stronger.

I am not talking about the center sleeve. I'm talking about the alignment sleeves (dowel pins) that line up the bolt holes. I had to initially force the sleeve up in by carefully tightening the bolts to connect the LBJ to the spindle. It was the only way I could get the two to mate together fully. I pulled them and the dowel pin Powdercoat Cerekote was rubbed off. I cleaned off the excess Cerakote and re-installed the bolts. They fit well now. There is no abnormal corrosion present on the spindles.


Regarding the "special socket" need to install them, no special socket is required. It just requires a 12-pt end wrench to hold the bolt head.

(I know it's not a special socket. It's a 12 point 5/8s wrench. But under the torque that is being applied to that bolt (125 ft pounds) I question the application here. A 12 point, in theory can get a better purchase that a 6 point. But the height of the head is less than half as tall as a normal bolt head would be (depth at which the bolt would be in the wrench/socket). But that height, I can understand, may cause a clearance issue with the bottom of the outer portion of the CV. So I get why it's done that way.


If you have any other questions, please Call the Shop and ask for Mike in R&D, he’d be more than happy to work through any issues you may be having 951-737-9682. Again we apologize for any issues you’re experiencing.

 

I'm of the opinion that if you're doing the fuel pump, you should upgrade it to something with higher flow to future proof yourself. For if you choose to go forced induction down the line or even a motor swap potentially. Cost is about the same.
And even if you don't, higher flow and more headroom is never a bad thing.
the one I put in my truck is what I would recommend. @Digiratus also has the same one on his.

$134 Aeromotive 11542 340 Series Stealth Intank Fuel Pump, High Horsepower, 12V Electric, EFI and Carbureted Engines, Gas or E85 Fuel Type, Inline Inlet

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B012HRFKTE?ie=UTF8

 

I've also run two of these (different vehicles) and can vouch that they're excellent (and don't scream like the old Walbros)

 

Will do!

I liked the idea of a better pump. But from all I read that denso was a good reliable (oe)fix.
I likely won't go forced induction until I put my other 5vz in it. And even then I might leave it alone for now.
Can this pump be run without an upgraded regulator to prevent wear on the stock stuff?

What the hell Amazon!
So far no pump can be shipped to my location?
Fuck you california

 

Yea you don't need to do anything else to run it other than just wiring it in and shortening the discharge pipe a little bit.
you used to be able to get it shipped to ca, but not sure what happened. Might have better luck on another site other than Amazon?

 

Ok cool.
Yeah my local stores carry the denso one but Amazon won't ship it. Not even to a locker. Even if it's sold by them. So dumb. Doesn't even say why. Had the same issue with finding a sink faucet.

I'll try summit. Little more but If you guys can attest to them then I'll go for it.

Edit.
Summits site says its 90psi. That seems crazy high by comparison
Isn't our stock pump 42psi?

 

It's capable of flowing enough fuel at 90psi, the fuel pressure regulator bypasses all the extra to keep the truck at 43.5psi. That's only an important number with high boost or for vehicles running high base pressures.

 

Ok that's good to know. Learning a whole new system doing this. Never messed with anything fuel related minus changing my filter.

Thanks for all the info.