1999 Tacoma SR5 TRD Imperial Jade Build, Sweat and Tears

Some parts came in.


Got the bracket bolted up.


Need to make the support for in the door now.


Checking to see where all the hoses are going to go, where to mount the pump and where the mounts are going to go.


3rd gen 4runner rubber hose for filler neck is perfect.


Time to pull the old tank.


Putting this here for me for future notes.




She was a good one.

 

Back at it.

Wish I had found a second one of these. Really dont want to cut the original. Oh well.






After 15 different fittings of just taking a little bit off and checking this is close to the final. I glued a piece of the top back on. I just need to make the inside now. This part really isnt fun. Super tight, lots of remaking the card board mock ups. I want to make sure I get it right and it doesnt rub.


The rest of the parts came in for the tank

 

Brake rebuild kits came today for the front and back.






A little cleaned up


The originals were a little worn but not bad. I could of just cleaned them out and put them back together.


I dont like the Dorman boots. For some reason there isnt as much travel as the original Aisin. I still put them on but Im going hang onto the original Aisin boots just in case.




Used a power bleed to suck up all the old fluid from the reservoir. It was extremely dirty. Wish I would of just ordered a new one. Oh well. I cleaned as much nastiness out as possible. Itll have to do for now. I also used the power bleeder to suck the new fluid though the back lines.




Got both backs done and everything back on. I then spent an hour freeing up my seized parking brake line. Went back and forth from the front under the drives doors then to the back yanking on the line and spraying penetrating fluid into each end. It was a pain but I got it. Nice to have a parking brake again after a couple of years of it being seized. For some reason the drive side rear engages a lot better than the passenger side. No idea how to adjust this.

 

My shell has these grooves so I decided to add some screen. I need to be able to vent when running the diesel heater. It gets wayy to hot even on the lowest setting.

 

The next side quest


Used a hammer to pound on the cardboard to make an impression of the holes.








T6 scraps.


Tapped the factory hole.


Taping in a centering pin for the other factory hole.

 

Got both sides made. If you dont know already its brackets to hold my swaybar up out of the way when I go off roading. It also holds the bushing, washer and nut.

Passenger side


Driver side. Far enough for tonight, Ill finish tomorrow.

 

Clutch slave and master came in.


I needed to get some longer bolts for the brackets so that I could fit all the hardware on.


Cut the longer bolts to fit. Wasnt sure what would be stronger to lock in the locating pin and stud. I ended up using the bearing mount.




Just to go over the setup again. I tapped the factory hole and used the other as a locating pin.


Passenger side. Now all the hardware can be held in.


Using a strong magnet to hold the swaybar link to the lower control arm.




Passenger side. Now I can just hop out with a ratchet wrench and flip the sway bar up out of the way and store the hardware so it doesnt get lost. Id love to just do one of those pins that filp but I dont know if there is enough meat on the stud to drill a hole in it.

 

Moving onto the clutch master and slave.


The wet ground is rain not oil.




Got everything installed and bled.

 

Front brake rebuild time








Pretty nasty inside


Pistons and bores cleaned up and all new seals in




Passenger done


Driver done

 

My air compressor gets pretty hot airing up. Im only using a single hose instead of the kind that goes to all the tires at once. I usually pour water over the pump by the 3rd tire to cool it down. I found these tiny heat sinks. They are small enough to stick to the curve. Probably could of stuck them on in a better pattern but oh well. I need to get another batch and fill in the gaps. I kept a few to stick on the AUX tank fuel pump when it goes in too.

 

I ordered rear tires from tirerack, when I was on there I seen they had Hawk 5.0 pads on sale. They were $81 from like $120 something. So I ordered them. Just for the heck of it I went to rockauto and checked. The average pad price is like $40?!. Whats the deal with Hawk pricing? The Hawk HPS and LTS are ridiculouly priced, like $170, for a Tacoma? My BMW for good pads is about $120. I cancelled the order. Im seeing most people say Hawk street pads have less bite than OEM, why would you want that, its the reason Ill never use cermaics. I think Im going to go with the Bendix semi metallic, supposedly high cold bite which I prefer and for $40ish seems like a deal.

 

Used a power washer to knock off most of the clear coat on the hood and fenders. Im gonna see what I can do to re clear it.


Dont really like using cheap parts but for some reason the Sunsong brake lines has really good reviews. People are saying that most known brands are just repacking these as their own. I guess will see how long they last. Gonna switch my diffs and transfer case oil to full synthetic. Then gonna give the 2k clear a try.

 

Is your mind set on using the 75w90 in the rear?

 

Doesnt it call for 75-90? Or does the e locker call for heavier?

 

technically it does call for 75w90
i read on TW awhile back about ECGS recommending 85w140 in the rear diff
so i put that weight in the last time to give it a try
i assume my rear diff to run Hot AF on the freeway sometimes for 100s and 100s of taco miles in long stretches

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/proper-gear-oil.835214/#post-29920126

@leid

 

I think youre right and youll see why in my next post.

 

Tires came in


Brakes came in


Old ones were low, was gonna run them for the next couple months but the Bendix pads are such a good deal.


The clips at the bottom are different but that might be for a different application?? They fit just fine.


New lines and pads in.


Front diff fluid change. Old stuff came out clean and golden (Valvoline dino

$29 75w-90 Synthetic Gear Lube - 1 Quart (Pack of 2)

75w-90).


The old Valvoline came out clean and golden


Now this is where I think youre right @Black97v6MT and I think this is proof of it. The rear diff came out coffee dark, there is a chance that it could of been because there was some water in it and it compromised. There was a lot of water coiled up in the breather line. Looks like Im going to need to put the end of the breather somewhere better to make sure its not getting water in from the spray off the tires when it rains.

Either way the rear diff fluid was dark. It smelled fine, not like it burned, but def dark. I just put the Delvac 75-90w in for now but I might bump up to the higher grade like @Black97v6MT is recommending. I dont know if its marketing BS but the Mobil Delvac 1 looks like its supposed to be extra heavy duty. I think Ill give it a 6 month try and see how it comes out.


Since the fluid was nasty I tipped the truck to try and get as much out as possible.

 

I'll have to check how many miles I have running the 85w140
Might be time to change it for some new gear oil
I am Curious if it turned dark and watery

 

Im glad I wasn't lazy and decided to change mine and caught this, technically it still had plenty of life given the front and transfer case. Given that this happened, I might change the rear twice as much. I guess lets see what happens to this Delvac stuff.

 

....patiently waiting for clear coat....