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

Do you plan to use the rubber boot with those bolts as well?

 

Nope

 

Finally got that new front bumper cover, blacked out grille and chrome bumper end. Hopefully nothing is too bent up underneath, but I'm sure there's some broken plastic hardware. I guess I'll find out what I still need after I pull the thing off. I wonder if those are in stock at the local dealer. Those doohickeys that fit underneath here.




I've "restored" the plastic a bunch of times, with whatever plastic restorer and the heatgun method too, but it's just time to go. I'm planning to black out the chrome bumper ends too but not sure if my DIY sand/primer/rattle can method will do the trick. I don't know, maybe just derp them. I bought the 16" 4Runner wheels 3 years ago, pre-derped black, and they have surprisingly held up fine so far.

 

That faded bumper comes with the definition right on it

 

Right? 85/90 is enough for me, never had much of a desire to push it farther..

 

Bummer. Welcome to the club. Ha

Definitely still a weak point and if I had to guess the very large tires were a factor. Longer lever on the hub with a taller tire to put more force on. But who knows. Also what's you're weight now? Gotta be pushing over 6000lbs. Which probably isn't helping.

Even if you get two bigger bolts in there I'm not sure it'll be any better give the bad design in general. Won't hurt though. Unless the smaller ones still fail.

 

I saw someone making a failsafe for the 3rd Gen 4runner LBJs on Instagram less than a week ago, I should have saved it

 

Shame the 2nd gen spindles can't work. That'd be the best "cheap" upgrade.

 

I'm actually considering welding the f'n LBJs to the spindle. LOL.

Right now, I'm debating how I'm going to approach it all together. Not sure I want to shell out the money to fully rebuild another spindle (which would honestly be both spindles) and replace the CV, etc... I may just put the truck on the shelf for the season and move towards Solo Spindles and RCVs... but not sure how much that would help.

But considering M12 shear value is over 30% stronger than M10... they couldn't hurt.

Another idea is to weld ears that would nest the LBJ in to the spindle to distribute the load off of the bolts themselves.

Side notes... Aside from the bigger tires... conceding that is a factor. The sprung weight of the truck hasn't really gone up. Almost all of the weight that has changed over the past 3 or 4 years has been the axle in the back. And the LBJ bolts were new as of a year ago.

 

Not sure if you have fixed this yet but you just need to reposition the teeth of the intermediate shaft as it connects to the steering rack. Get the wheels straight, disconnect the intermediate shaft, straighten the steering wheel, reconnect the intermediate shaft and that should get you either spot on or closer. That’s what I did when replacing my steering rack.

 

https://youtube.com/shorts/5UBifp7PVlM


Fun times. Ya gotta watch it with sound. My wife...

 

I've got something to fix when I replaced my rack, curious though as I can't recall, there's enough room to unbolt the shaft and reposition it without having to move the steering rack assembly?

I installed a used steering rack because mine was leaking. But I overlooked the rack wasn't centered so now it's been compensated with the tie rods and I have lest turning angle to the left vs right ( runs out of rack). Figure if I can pop the shaft and tie rods with the ties on the ground I can correct it all and get the tie rods close enough before I get it aligned.
Oh and the new rack leaked a month after installing it...

 

Received an email stating that the below Power Stop brake lines are subject to a safety recall... I purchased them off rock auto some time ago. Supposedly, they will refund the purchase price + a $250 flat rate for labor.



Looks like time to go brake hose shopping.

 

I was thinking of doing that but was a little worried about messing something up

 

Sounds like they're being overcautious. No catastrophic failures, no injuries, no serious incidents reported. Over caution is not a bad thing with critical safety equipment, of course, but my interpretation is that as long as you inspect your lines and verify they're not leaking you're okay to keep driving while you figure out what replacements to buy.

I wish I remembered whether my brake lines were Power Stop branded.

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2024/RCLRPT-24E053-1887.PDF

 

Finally got everything painted and mounted up with my Tundra 17s
I cut the center caps to match the locking hub as well.
34x10.50 Toyota AT3

 

How do you like those Prolifit jack stands. Was looking at those at home depot as a possibility but still using MVPs that have been solid for this past 20 years. The Prolifts looks basically the same with locking slide pins...

 

Finally installed the replacement bumper cover, grille, and new bumper inserts. Ended up being a PITA since the bumper supports were cracked (not rusty) and maybe tweaked a bit from some old minor hit to the bumper. The passenger side insert was a hassle, and it's still kinda crooked. I guess it wouldn't have hurt to buy all new parts. There is really no structure to speak of under there, just that light stamped "bumper" unless there was something missing since before I bought it.



I derped the chrome inserts about 5 coats, maybe an hour between each one. Grille badge too, but not sure if I like that, might peel it off. The new grille is black, but the truck isn't entirely murdered out. Little bits of chrome here and there like the lettering and the door handles. Still not bad for 25 year old DD.

 

They’re solid... They feel heavy duty, the welds are nice and they have a nicely fitting safety pin. I just bought them though, so we’ll see how they fair over the years.

 

Checked clearance on the 34s before a trip this weekend.


No rubbing in the front now that the washer fluid reservoir has been replaced. No pinch weld mods yet which is rad. I have a bit over 1/2" from it.
However I'm rubbing the front of the rear wheel well, so I think I need to relocate the axle back about 1/2-3/4" to center it up when tucked up in there.