Little Red Turbo Creeper

Has blackstone been telling you to try longer intervals? or still waiting for it to stabilize since turbo?

 

After the last sample they told me to try 5k but I don't mind changing it a little earlier if it keeps things in tip top shape especially with how much I spent on dirt roads this last go around

 

@betterbuckleup

 

Finally changed the power steering fluid its been on the maintenance list since I bought the truck, all I know is that fluid was old.

We geared up for what I hoped wouldn't be a ruff job


I started by bleeding the system from the lowest point

With that draining I pulled the front tires and separated the tie rods, the outer tie rods are fairly new so I left them alone and simply spun the inner tie rods off (after marking the nut location for current alignment) not sure what size wrench you need there, I had to use a big old adjustable one.


The thing that fought the most was the high pressure line going into the rack (with the larger/longer nut), It broke free from the rack easy enough but the flared end of hard line was fused to the fitting so it was also twisting the hard line and the rubber hose with it, since I could only get a quarter turn before repositioning the wrench the hose rebound would tighten it right back into place. I hit the nut with some heat from a torch and soaked it with some WD-40

The first round didn't work so I repeated the process and left it to sit overnight with constant tension being helped by wedging the wrench into place.

The next morning I pulled the steering reservoir from the pump to clean the internal screen. A small step I'm glad I took the time for, It's a little hard to see in there even with the flashlight in the bottom.
Before:



After:


a bit of Gumout though the top and bottom then soaked it with hot water and dish soap, soaked it in concentrated vinegar then rinsed it in hot water again before spraying the rest of the Gumout parts cleaner in there followed up with compressed air.

With the reservoir back in place I shifted my focus to the stubborn high pressure line. First I put a pair of vice grips on the crimped fitting between the rubber hose and the hard line to stop the hose from twisting and gave the flare nut a twist, it had worked but not how Intended. The hose was staying in place but the hard line was still spinning with the nut, at least the hard line wasn't twisted or kinked.

After getting the rack the rest of the way out I ended up heating the nut again and put the impact gun to it and broke it free.

The remanufactured rack went back in fairly easy, I struggled a with the rag joint a bit since It didn't have any marking to identify the center line for the rack it's off by a couple splines
I had an Energy Solutions bushing kit on the parts shelf for several years and used what I needed for the 333 billet aluminum bracket. I made sure to use a good amount of anti-seize for the rag joint so hopefully when I get under there to adjust the rag joint it will be a little smoother.

The alignment isn't perfect but it's not bad for my simple eyecrometer guesstimate and I'll take it to a shop for final adjustments when I can.

 

Good stuff, enjoy reading your trips and wrenching.

 

3rd oil report came back from Blackstone today


I haven't noticed any coolant loss just yet and I've been keeping an eye on the reservoir. Hopefully I don't have some cross contamination happening in the turbo or from the heads but that potassium is coming from somewhere.

 

I really am always impressed with their determinations.

 

Finally took the truck in for an alignment after replacing the rack.

The steering wheel is at least a bit straiter and it's pulling less to the right now.

The shop owner thinks I need to lift the front a little higher to help bring it into spec better and of course he recommend some SPC UCA's that he's a distributor for. He also kept suggesting that the spindles may be bent because the gap between the spindle and tire was more than he's use to but I have wheel spacers and skinny tires so yeah there's a gap

 

Ive found myself needing more cupholder space recently, here's where that led me.

https://www.bh3dprinting.com/product/1996-2004-tacoma-double-cup-holder/


A double cup holder from BH3D.
The fit is pretty spot on, comes with two spots for a pen, the phone holder, a flashlight holder and two small cup holders.

A solid cup holder for what it is... But... I needed something to hold a bigger jug. BH3D offers that for the 3rd Gen 4runner and the consoles are very similar so I started to wonder if it would fit
https://www.bh3dprinting.com/product/single-cup-holder-for-96-02-4runner/

I contacted Brad and asked about exchanging it for the smaller 4runner option where he explained why it wouldn't work because of the subtle difference between the consoles and then went above and beyond by offering to redesigned the cup holder with a few adjustments using measurements I took. now I have a prototype of a new model they will be releasing.

I had very little need for a pen holder but though somewhere to put my chapstick might be nice so they opened the tapered pen slot enough to snugly place a chapstick in there or it can still be used for a pen.
They included a sleeve for the larger cupholder too. It looks cool but I need the cup space


It attaches using two self tappers into the console and a strip of double sided stick tape seen in the first picture.

A perfectly snuggle place for the wallet of a poor man to fit, a phone was it's intended purpose.


Some of the taller jugs interfere with the GMRS mount but it still fits if you move the radio every time you need the bottle

The bigger jugs do make contact with the front of the dash but I'm not really concerned about that just happy to have a little more organization space up front.

My wife claims it's not in the way when she's in the seat but ill have to ask again after a long day of wheeling and she if that opinion stays the same.

 

On the subject of wheeling. A couple of my Perry Parts bump stops (specifically the passenger side) started showing some signes of wear, I noticed it after we got back from Colorado while replacing the dif seals and then checked them again after trail hero.

This is the worst one be far

I never noticed a change in performance but wanted to get that feedback to Parker, he was quick to offer a replacement and mentioned they had an improved design and new logo

The package seemed a little heavier than I was expecting and almost laughed out loud when I saw 8 new bump and a handful of stickers.


I guess I better get the GoPro under the truck and show these puppies in action to return the favor.

 

Not surprised that's how the 3d printed bumps faired. Be curious if his "improved" version does any better.

 

We'll be finding out.

 

Had a burnt out headlight.

The package seemed to have been treated not so fragile but they both work

Old on the left new on the right

I put Sylvania ZXE's in last time, the packaging was a little fancier but allegedly the Ultra's are a better bulb

The ZXE's were a 4100 temp and the Ultra's are 4000 so slightly less white



Seems like everything is super white lighting but I prefer the cooler shades, when I actually need to see in the dark those SS3 fog lights are amazing.



I also checked on the coffee maker under my hood, today's roast looks particularly delicious but the small is a little more pungent than I prefer to drink.

These cold temperatures create a lot more condensation so I'll be back to emptying the can every time I fill the gas tank.

The small filter on top of my catch can also yeeted itself into the bottom of the fender a couple times while bouncing around Offroad so I snuck a bit of FIPG in there to hold itself in place better, so far it seems to be working great.

 

I respect the concern about 3D printed parts, however it's worth noting that @unstpible broke a competitor's product twice in less time than he's had the first version of our product. And didn't receive any customer support for it.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...al-discussion.551852/page-25003#post-30238203

Difference between Gen 1 and Gen 2 is a fundamental shift in how the product is manufactured. We built our own machines in house that directly 3D print from injection molding granules, instead of from 3D printing filament.

https://www.perryparts.com/post/announcing-generation-2

 

Agree that product support is very important part of the picture.

Glad to see you're implementing improvements with materials and mfg processes. Have you made any improvements to your testing approach & suspension dyno? I do think that a lot of the 1st gen front bump stop failures are due to a partial contact off-center loading of the bumpstop when the LCA cams are maxed out so the strike pad isn't aligned as it would be in a neutral position. I've noticed wear on mine that are conducive to that behavior.

 

@perryparts glad to see you in TW, definitely the right target audience

 

I agree with you about the shear loading on the front bumps, particularly on the 3G 4R and 1G Taco, as the LCA to frame mount clearance is very tight, so the LCA puts a significant side loading on the bumps when they engage earlier.

I'm wary of making an angled bump stop design, as it requires customers clock the part right, and you'd be surprised how often that doesn't happen correctly. If they're 180° off they wear more quickly. If these trucks had a clocking features like Nissans do, then I'd do it in a heartbeat (see our AB11F which is this concept applied)

I currently have an LCA for the 4G 4R/GX470 platform that I have built a rig to get that into the dyno, but I'm not happy with the kinematics of it. There's force shedding happening, putting load into the LCA bushings, and making getting clean data challenging for tuning purposes. But it's useful for longevity testing.

My current planned path forward is an outer shell design that's designed to compress regardless of contact angle - using inspiration from an origami shape, to reduce stress on the outer shell. This would allow the design to be indifferent to orientation, but still follow the LCA contact angle through travel.

We have over 4000 individual bump stops of the Gen 2 material out in the wild, and Gen 2 has been shipping for a year now. No product's perfect - however it's a substantial upgrade, and markedly more durable than some of the molded options on the market. Plus, if they do fail, they don't fall off the truck like other options - they still hang on, but lose their air damping properties.

You mentioned seeing wear on yours - are you running our product? I'm always open to product feedback, love talking shop, and am constantly chasing a perfect product. Every data point is valuable. I really want to challenge the common perspective that just because something's printed, it's inherently inferior.

 

Understand the hesitation for incorporating a clocking feature, but then again I think you could make it pretty clear in both packaging and marking on the part itself on the correct positioning. Especially if you had a design more like your Frontier bumps, it would be more apparent than just a slight taper to one side like how it is on durobumps. Speaking of, those look sweet.

Anyone that's installing upgraded bumpstops is 9/10 times pairing it with already upgraded suspension, which on the 1st gen platform people are a lot more DIY than the later gens. So I wouldn't totally bank your decision on that alone. With a design like the frontier bumps, I think you could pretty easily tell if it was installed incorrectly and failed due to the type of wear on it. Warranty void if installed incorrectly, simple as that.

I don't run your bumps. I have durobumps on mine and have had them for quite a while now. They're fine, but my complaint is just inconsistent strike location between driver and passenger side since I have to have my cams further out on the driver side. I get further into the bump zone on the driver side as a result. And due to the shear load, the inner rubber hits the bolt head and gets torn up a little bit on the inside "pocket" of the bump. Not an issue, but something I've noticed. Haven't had any kind of delamination so far. I've contemplated going to air bumps since my solo LCA's have spots for them and would be more tunable.

It would be cool to make some kind of sliding adjustable base for those front bumps so you can move them into the proper strike zone depending on your alignment. Would only need that sliding action to go in one direction. Would add cost, but I'd think 2 CNC plates where one is molded to the bumpstop could accomplish that.

 

Curious about the windshield sprayers, what part number is that?

 

I'll be curious to see what happens when I get these on my wife's 4runner - for the price I'd be pretty bummed if they just permanently deform.