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

Sorry for the delay. Haven't been on here in a bit. They are the original seats reupholstered with Katzkin leather.

 

I just pulled my old alternator and replaced it.
Wondering if I should rebuild the old one or return it for the $75 core charge.

 

Could rebuild and reuse instead of replace it? Did it stop working? Might just need brushes? How much was the the reman?

 

Sad day! Said goodbye to a great wip today .

 

You are now dead to us.

 

I have been dead on here for a minute for sue my bad. Hahaha There will be another for sure and I’m still the game still with the 06 .

 

Finally got it mounted and color matched to the truck

 

I'm definitely interested in more pics of how you mounted the fogs. I want to do something like this soon.

 

Old one was dead, decided to replace it since it's 24 years old.
Wasn't sure if rebuilding the old one to keep as a spare was worth it.
Anything to replace besides brushes? Saw some videos about it.

 

If @Parkvisitor ends up passing on this offer, I call dibs!

 

Anyone looking for a gimp cage?
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/utah-tacoma-classifieds.551216/page-16

 

It's been raining a lot here since I posted, so I forgot to follow up on this, so thanks for the reminder.

It was pretty easy, actually, you don't even need to remove the bumper (although that would make it 10x easier). I did admittedly a pretty half-assed job at the install, and I'm still very happy with the results. I used these fogs:
https://www.superbrightleds.com/led-fog-light-3-square-13w-1-700-lumens
And hit the lenses with a few layers of this:

$35 Yellow Lens Spray Paint for Car Headlights, Tail Lights, Corner Lights, Bumper Lights, Fog Lights

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005Y38S3E
(4 inside, 2 outside), but really, any 3" pods should fit. Removing the turn signal housing is easy, it's just 2 screws on the back and then they slide right out. After, I drilled a hole in the middle of the top of the cubby, and just mounted the pods with the bracket like you would normally anywhere else. I recommend hitting the mounting bolt with some thread locker blue though, just for extra vibration protection. After, I realized I forgot to drill holes to access the retention screws for adjustment, so melted some holes in the plastic with a soldering iron. I recommend drilling holes on the sides of the cubby before you install them instead though, it's just cleaner that way. Here's some pics so you can see what I'm talking about. I'm thinking of posting a write up when I have time to take better pictures and (poorly) draw some diagrams.







Something I thought about after was that it might be more secure if you take a Dremel to cut out slits for the arms of the bracket to slide through, and then mount the bracket on the top with the arms hanging into the cubby.

 

Would it be possible to recess them more? You’d obviously need a way to mount them if it was too far in, I’m just wondering if they would be too large and start hitting the sides of the cubby space.

 

There was plenty of clearance on the sides, the issue was the back. You could probably trim out the back some if you want them recessed more.

 

Haven't posted in a bit! Finally got my camper shell sealed on tight. She's truckin along nicely. Working 60 hour weeks and gymming 5 days a week I just don't have time for much, but she's always eager and ready to go when I fire her up. Still so happy with how clean she is at this age, not bad for 25.

 

Suggestions on need to replace valve cover gaskets at 172,000 miles being fairly standard on 2004 DC 4x4 3.4L? Have been leaking and found bolts were fairly loose likely from compressed and aged gasket, so tightened them up although can't get to bolts under the intake without removing the intake that I think is a standard part of the replacement job IIRC.

Toyota is offering additional 25% off sale through 2/26 at some dealers already offering discounts like autoparts.serratoyota.com.

So thought about grabbing the parts now.

Suggestions and parts list since its more than the gaskets and plug tubes given the intake removal?

TIA

 

Intake plenum gaskets (upper and lower)
Throttle body gasket
IAC gasket
Washers (for the valve cover bolts)
Spark plug well gaskets
PCV valve
PCV grommet
Cam plugs
Oil cap gasket
Semi-circular plugs (half moons)
** For the Half Moons I would suggest upgrading to this:
https://209yota1.com/products/billet-half-moon-set-5vz-3-4l/
The Toyota ones are cheap garbage and the sealing ridge has a tendency to break.

 

What have I done to the Tacoma? Hmmm... Started looking for new auto insurance.

My auto policy is up for renewal with Liberty Mutual. The rep mentioned that I could save a lot of money by dumping my comp coverage on the tacoma and raising my deductible limits since if there were an accident or claim the vehicle would be totaled out. She said any vehicle over 10 years is totaled out automatically.

Example being, if someone hit me and the damage was x, they would total it out and just pay out KBB value and be done with it.

uhm... what the hell? She suggested shopping for a specialized insurance carrier for the tacoma.

Wow. A big FU to Liberty Mutual.

 

At least they didn't just up and bounce out on you. One of my co-workers got notice their Auto Policy was being cancelled because they were just plain leaving California. (Farmers Insurance)

https://www.kiplinger.com/personal-finance/home-insurance/farmers-direct-to-leave-california