What Have You Done To Your 3rd Gen Today?

I give up. These trucks must have the thinnest gauge metal tailgate I've ever seen. A couple of months ago a shopping cart rolled into my tailgate at Lowes. 2 dents that could probably be worked out. Today, I go to Home Depot to pick up some drywall. I was only getting 1 sheet & also picked up 2- 2x4's to lay it on with tailgate up. No issue doing it this way, done it before. I have other shit loaded so tailgate down wasn't really an option. So I have the drywall on a flat cart & as I'm lifting the drywall up on the 2x4's and the tailgate, the wind caught it, blowing the drywall & that fucking flat cart right into my tailgate. Passed just above my bumper & right into bottom of tailgate, leaving a 4" long dent with fucking Home Depot orange paint on it. It barely tapped it- I was expecting 0 damage. As a note- Lowes flat carts are a few inches lower & contact the bumper. I have a 2009 Tacoma I bought new & not a single dent in it & it has 200k miles on it. The 2023 is 15 months old, 7k miles & that tailgate looks like shit. Oh well. it is a truck & I do truck stuff. Just venting.

 

Good eye!! I'll be dammed, look at that! I didn't notice that until you mentioned it, but that does explain why the sky lit up like a 2nd sun as soon as I raised my camera!

 

Thank you for your excellent question, short answer is 'F%#& Yes' I flush it, per the manual after each ride; 90 seconds at idle, then water off and another 5 seconds at 5000 rpm. I've only taken this one out 4 times so far, and flushed each time. Especially after noticing what that saltwater can do to a BRAND NEW fishing reel after getting dropped into the surf for 3 crashing waves, I will religiously continue to flush.

What is your experience with flushing & not flushing after a nice salt-water excursion?

 

Valid gripe. It's not just the instrument cluster plastic cover, it's not just the tailgate, it's not just the interior molded door plastic which also scratches if you look at it wrong, and it's not just the thin gauge metal of the tailgate, it is also the bed sidewall sheet metal. I learnt the same lesson on the instrument cluster 'lens', AND on the bed sidewall whilst loading my mountain bike which grazed the side bed and dented it. Oh well, like you said live & learn and it IS a truck.

Anyway, sorry about your Homey-Depot orange dents. They should buff out pretty good.

OH, and don't give up. If the truck finds out you gave up, it will start self-denting. And you don't really want that.

 

Check your VIN's.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...ans-failure-from-toyota.842050/#post-30129869

I checked my VIN. Okay, so this post is for 4thGen, does this include 3rd Gen since logically, 3rd gen is prior to 4th gen? idk.....

Yeesh.

 

I disagree, black has been done to death! But I’m 51 and still like white lettered BFG’s!
I found this pic somewhere, and love the spun aluminum TRD beadlock caps , I know for a fact that the wheels won’t accept these caps without machine work. My favorite combo for a OR wheel!

 

Love Bug 2, 18’ gave 6k, stripped 2 layers of latex paint .

 

Thank you for this. This forum always has an answer to any question. I will admit some don’t make sense, but most do, and are most appreciated.

 

Tried (and failed) to buy a splined wheel lug key. I bought this truck used, and it didn't come with one. I went to Discount Tire and they didn't have one that fit- theirs were too small or too big.




Any guesses? I might just replace the lug nuts, but if there is something unique about these, maybe there is a reason for it.

 

Installed my Readylift swaybar drop brackets finally. Probably common knowledge for most here, but with the OME 2.5" lift kit the swaybar contacts the base of the shock on the driver's side. Installation took all of 30 mins.

 

I installed the URD full exhaust, and the Y-connection is housed in a resonator. That resonator was hitting the cross member when it warmed up, and crating noise, confirmed by the paint being rubbed off the edge of the cross. loosened and adjusted things to no avail. Communicated to URD and they claimed I has a unique issue, and loosen everything and adjust to correct. When I explained that that was attempted x3 and was not going to fix it, they reiterated I was the first, and asked that I stop in at their shop, and they would adjust it. They are a days drive away, so I cut 1/2" out of left and right pipes of the Y, and welded it back together. Problem Solved.

Very nice quality exhaust, but I should not have needed to do that, and I should have been better respected in the conversation. Hope your never hits.

 

OTT Tune thanks to @dave82at!

 

Installed remote start V2 today. Followed the paper instructions step by step and all is good.

 

Finally got off my butt and installed the A/C drip mod that @Vorra65 offers. I was also able to wire in the FBC third brake light harness that @daveeasa offers. Both were so simple. Hate that I waited so long.

 

As well as debadging, I also am in the middle of dechroming the rear caps today. Minor tip / trick if anyone interested - a quick clamp fits just inside one of the tabs perfectly to help hold the bumper by hand or on a spindle using the clamp shaft. I didn't like how the bumpers were sitting on their edges when trying to apply coatings if just laying on cardboard. This lets me have control and spin to where I needed it.

 

Nice touch!

 

That does look soo nice!

 

Smart! I just put gloves on and grabbed it in the same spot

 

Not today, but finally got the OEM spare out from under the truck...and hit the trails for the weekend.

 

Sweet AC