What Have You Done To Your 3rd Gen Today?

Kind of a 80s/90s look.

 

If you do any rind of trail riding, it's a huge difference! You can see things up to within 2' of your front bumper and when you crest a rise, you can clearly see what's on the other side.

I have the Germes Lab unit, which operates through the steering wheel buttons.

It's been a real game changer.

 

You are so predictable that I recorded your words from earlier ...

 

Family was out of town, so I got after some truck projects today. Just hit 60,xxxx miles, so time for some maintenance and some post-warranty fun additions!

First and most exciting was I replaced the (terrible) suspension. I went with the 6112 (set at 10/8) and rear 5160s paired with an ICON RXT Leaf Pack. I swapped them to Option/Stage 2, although if things don't settle over the next few months, I may go back to Stage 1. My old springs were crap and had settled an inch, so with the Icons/Stage 2, I went up a total of 3" (stock +1.75", or 2.75" total, was expected with my topper). I got a little more than expected, and it looks pretty ass-high/empty rear wheel wells with my 265/75/16s. Time will tell.

MAJOR shoutout to Colton/@memario1214 from Hotshot Offroad for answering all of my questions. Multiple phone calls, texts, etc. He always answered and called back when he said he would 100% of the time. Shipping was fast, prices were good, and the customer service is unparalleled.



Here are my hub to fender before/after


Install was pretty straightforward. For the rears, the first side took me 3 hours and the second side took 45 minutes; nothing like learning on the job. My stock shock top nuts were not coming off so I used a Special Service Tool to remove them.



I decided to go ahead and do the Archive Garage u-bolt flip while I was at it. It's SUPER nice, and although I don't wheel hard enough to need the flip, I was CONSTANTLY bottoming out on my old suspension and it was harsh. With the new springs, this is probably unnecessary, but again, figured I'd do it while I had everything apart. Plus the price was right thanks to a buddy!


I was able to re-use a slightly modified version of the stock brake line guide on the passenger side, but I fabbed up a quick extra bracket to use on the driver's side. Wish I had grabbed pictures before the overspray from the 303 I put on the tires

Passenger


Driver



Final product


I also did the carrier bearing drop, although I think the wobble might be slightly worse after install. Before install, I got the vibration briefly while slowing to a stop and didn't notice it any other time. After install, I pretty consistently notice it from 20-25 mph no matter whether I'm accelerating, decelerating, holding steady, etc.
The fronts were super straightforward save for a minor detour. I had originally intended to do the ECGS bushing while I had everything apart, but I could NOT for the life of me get the CV axle out. I've removed them a few times on my old Taco and while not easy, they always came out. I didn't have anyone around to help, though, and I think it would have been much easier if someone was holding the axle straight/level while I was working under the truck. Oh well, another project for another day!

Front install (save for the above) was very straightforward and took about 45 minutes per side. I highly recommend marking your alignment cams on both front and rear of both lower control arm pivots on both passenger and driver side. My alignment is scheduled for a week from now so this at least puts me in a pretty good spot until then.


Finally, I replaced my front body/radiator supports. I was getting a clunk/metal-on-metal sound when hitting a good bump on the front end. I replaced these prior to the suspension and still had the sound; it's gone after suspension install, though, so must have been something with the suspension. Regardless, as you can see, the body mounts were trashed and the metal sleeves were very grooved/metal-on-metal.


In addition to the above, I also did front and rear diff fluid, t-case fluid, and prop shaft grease. Also did engine oil and spark plugs. This is a great writeup for the spark plug replacement, although I recommend not removing the brackets on the driver's side. If you remove the top bolt from each and then loosen the bottom bolts, you can swing the brackets forward and backward out of the way enough to access/remove each coil pack. https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/3rd-gen-tacoma-spark-plug-replacement.554468/

 

Breifly considered white letters out on tires but thought that was a bit too much.

Machined finish will hide the rock rash too

 

As a side note...I made a little mechanic's helper out of four Harbor Freight casters and a Wendy's tray. This thing is a lifesaver for keeping track of tools, moving around to different areas of the truck, and keeping nice tools from getting dragged around and beat up on the concrete.







An added benefit is it fits super well over the radiator in the engine bay, too!


Finally, I'm REALLY bad at leaving tools all over when I'm in the middle of a project and not being able to find them. I grabbed this tray and it was SUPER helpful in that regard.

 

I'm not sure which fits the oem trd wheels.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...3rd-gen-today.399305/page-14276#post-30151581

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...e-still-in-production-new-part-number.786141/

 

Quick tip: put 2-300# in the bed for a week or two to help settle the rear.

 

lol what can I say? TW is always giving me new ways to spend my money.

 

I thought of that too. That’s how I ran my ‘87 Chev V10 Scottsdale.

 

Of course it is the fault of the other person. It is NEVER your fault!

 

I have been known to ride the occasional trail so I could definitely see that coming in handy, especially if you don’t have someone to spot you!

 

Never!

 

huh, good idea. run it that way, it settles, then remove? I do have a concrete job in the back yard that I've been putting off

 

Typical ...

 

3rd gen thread

 

Hey dont know if someone replied to this yet because I dont feel like reading 17 pages right now, but those look like lug nuts that are compatible with a 3800 spline key, $7 on Amazon.

And if you replace the lug nuts but keep those wheels, make sure to buy the ET Extended Thread lug nuts that are conical seating, instead of the flat stock style lug nuts that have the captive washer

 

knock knock......it has CAI from the factory

 

you installed more noise

 

Unfortunately I don’t have any details, it was on another site somewhere, I’m gonna work on getting my Off Road wheels hubs machined to fit the 4” TRD Beadlock caps. Once I figure it out I’ll share it.