1999 Tacoma SR5 TRD Imperial Jade Build, Sweat and Tears

I need to see what I can do to wet sand it all uniform. Since the clear has peeled in different stages its kinda blotchy.

 

less than 7k since changed rear diff
guess i need to get out wheelin' it more than i have recently LoL

 

Take it to Moab!

 

Attempting to level this out. Starting with some old 1200 wet sandpaper and it seemed too aggressive, I switched over to the 3m burgundy scour pad.

 

i do need to make a stop at Alcan Springs in Grand Junction...somewhat close to that Utah racket

 

Not the greatest but a little better. Will probably make one more pass, I want to avoid burning through. I think no matter what its not going to be perfect.


Went to the junkyard and pulled a fan controller for my electric fan install. Not sure why I bought such a crappy one but I didnt want to leave empty handed. These are even the ones that were recalled so I guess we'll see what happens. These are supposed to be a soft start so they dont hit the electrical system with a ton of amps.

 

I might be back over there in 2 weeks

 

Been taking a break from taking photos and just working.

Filler neck leak tested, painted and mounted. Its tight but both caps work.

 

I had the tires mount and the alignment done. Ill have to come back to that when I can find the alignment results paper. I dont know if they half assed it. The caster is super low and it feels like crap now.

Had to pull a truck out of some mud


Removed my skids for the alignment. Cleaned em off.


Put the badly cupped tires from the front on the rear. Tried to level them out and get rid of the cups.




Straps slid


Looks weird now

 

Salted roads are lame. Cant believe people just sit back and let this happen.


Debating wether to cut the entire shock mount out. This is the problem, the hole is right under neath it. Theres no way for this to drain. No hole below or in front. Bad design. I assume most frames break here.

 

Some of that legendary Toyota toughness and durability everyone always talks about. Screw driver went right through and there wasnt even any bubbling.




Def nothing Id rather be doing right now.


If you have a first gen I would go block this hole off and load this passenger shock tower bracket with as much oil or grease you can jam in there. My truck is a CA/AZ truck that has only done 1 winter besides this one on salted roads and that wasnt even daily driven in the salt. Less than 15 times ever. Beyond ridiculous.

I wouldnt be surprised if this is where they all start to break. There is no drain for the pocket. The pile of rust that came out of here was absolutely insane (ill post a photo later).


I dont know if my notching is correct geometry for strength or if Im even doing this right. Im kinda over it. I did my best to cut all the rust areas out and cleaned the pocket out as much as possible. Eventually Im going to box the rear frame in and fix what Toyota should of done.


I forget what this is called but I used this needle gun and knock all the rust off.


Side done. Will grind the weld down and check for penetration.


Bottom cut out

 

Put a drain hole in the repair


The rust that was behind the mount


Painting the absolute hell out of everything. Im brushing it on thick. Spray paint is worthless.

 

Relocated the exhaust mount while I was back there to make it easier to add the extension on it.

 

I would really recommend at least putting a fish-eye plate over the repairs, or better yet adding frame reinforcement plates. You can make your own, but for a general idea of what they look like:
https://www.google.com/search?q=200...DNS4xoAf1ILIHAzMuMbgHgAM&sclient=gws-wiz-serp
I like using
Eastwood Chassis Black
It has held on well, even sprayed on, but then again I am an Arizona truck!

 

Yeah, eventually Im going to add that. I would do that now but right behind where this is the fame is buckled a little on both sides from when I got rear ended. I need to bend it back up first then Im going to box it in and reinforce it. Hoping this will at least hold for 1 moab trip. Was debating just bending it back but Im not letting that guy off the hook.

 

This is the paint Im using, black of course.

 

I was initially thinking eastwood paint a little while ago, but Im in a little bit of a rush to get my truck back and running so I settled for whatever anti rust paint I could find today. Ill have to revisit all this a little later.

 

Painted. Checked over, zero rust anywhere else, only light surface rust, weird and annoying that it was just that one area. Going to spray oil in all the pockets.


Cleaned the inside of the tank.


Fully welded and leak tested. Was a fun pin hole treasure hunt of a million welds. Just need to add mounts for the pump and mounts for the truck frame. Will also run all the wiring and tubes while I have the bed off.

 

Starting to fit the tank




Stripped all the electrical tape and bag material off the CVs


Pumped them with grease and rebagged them


Stuff came in the mail


Weather stripping for the bottom of the shell


Sounds dumb but super excited for the solar panel. When I was in Moab and had a shred of cell service I would lay in my truck at night looking at these.


Cant believe how fast this charges, its kinda crazy. Also noticed if it lays flat compared if its tilled direct to the sun, the power out put is a huge difference. Look like I might need to make a frame for it.


Taking the old stripping off


New


Added the left over to the massive gap in the tail gate

 

Wiring sending unit


Leaving this here as a note to myself. Brown is ground.


Wiring pump


Added new exhaust extension


Putting bed back to mock up mounts for tank




Just as a side note. When I bottomed out the suspension over a dip it bent the sway bar brackets. Im going to need to hinge these or shorten the threads.