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

Prepping the frame for another winter with Fluid Film

 

Changed my oil but used the

$55 90915-YZZD3 Oil Filter 1 Case (QTY 10)

90915-YZZD3 filter instead of the YZZD1 and so put in a full 6 quarts of Mobil 1 Synthetic. Not a picture-worthy post. Happy Tuesday all.

 

I felt the tightness on the LBJs initially, but nothing concerning. I’m sure the 4-5* of caster really helps with that too.

Thanks for the heads up. KPOffroad said that was normal. I’d hate to tear the boot on my new rack.

 

Initially the steering was stiff, but it went away fairly quick. I didn’t even notice it this morning on my drive, and I have less than 500 miles on them. My truck apparently had 5* of caster , so I’m sure that helps it return to the straight position.

 

I'm not really sure what my actual caster is, because shops don't even want to look at my truck anymore. But I'm Solo 3.5 inch Long Travel with the alignment cam eliminators set to maximum caster... and the TC LBJs are tight enough it still doesn't like to return to center.

 

Get one of

$209 SPC Performance FasTrax Camber/Caster Gauge (for 13-17in. Wheels)

these and just do your own alignment. It takes time, but it's not hard.

 

That's a solid alignment.
That's good to hear about the TC LBJ's. I've been thinking about them cause it would be nice to not have anxiety about ball joints potentially going out on the road or trail. The price just hurts

 

That's probably a good idea. I just got it pretty close, and called it good. Now that it isn't a daily driver, I'm not eating tires as bad as I was, but it couldn't hurt to have it right(er) than it is lol.

 

Besides the oil change I also decided to do the annual "take a heat gun to the fender flares and make'em look black again" mod.

They all looked like this (or worse)


Stripes to show the difference


As good as they're going to get




All of 30 minutes with the extra, added bonus of a contact high from hot plastic fumes. All tolled ~1.5 hours of attention lavished on my Betty White so she is a happy girl and now to celebrate a 2-mod day with a tasty pint and a gummie that will give me a "real" high. Happy Tuesday.

 

How long does the new color last before it fades again?

 

When I did that it lasted like 3 weeks

 

Add a layer of ceramic coat on it and it'll stay black for a year. No kidding.

$17 CERAKOTE® Ceramic Trim Coat Kit - Quick Plastic Trim Restorer - Ceramic Coating Guaranteed Restoration to Last Over 200 Washes – A Ceramic Coating, Not a Dressing

https://www.amazon.com/CERAKOTE-Ceramic-Trim-Coat-Kit/dp/B07SHJVK4G?th=1

 

I will give it a try

 

It does seem it lasts less time after each "treatment." First time looked good for a year+. Second time, a year. Third time, six months and it has seem to stabilized there between the last two times I did it. Still takes about a year to annoy me enough to do it again though.

 

If it faded evenly I wouldn't mind and probably wouldn't notice. It's when it gets all splotchy that it annoys me and I am forced to do the bare minimum.

 

I got sick of it and paint matched them to the truck. Super easy and no longer an issue

 

The clutch is separate. They are pretty easy to replace. Unbolt the compressor and leave it hang. There is a c clip inside that holds it.

Or make your own plates

 

are they worth the price tag?

 

It'll take a while for me to be able to give an honest assessment.

So far, I can't say I like them any better than stock (or even as much) except for the fact they allowed me to replace my tie rods with steering links.

I've never had a ball joint fail. And I'm not under any delusion these can't fail, seeing the vast majority of the time the LBJ fails is at the mounting bolts, and these use the same mounting bolts.

 

I'd argue the vast majority is the ball pulling out of socket do to negligence.