Dad’s Tacoma

Hey gang. First timer here. My dad wanted me to have his truck after he passed and I want to do him proud. I also am not wanting to get too aggressive. Mostly looks upgrades. I plan to use it f or occasional logging road/camping use. I just tinted the front windows last week. Looks great. Tires are next on the list as they are original (2014). I am thinking of going with 32’s and 5100 bilsteins up front to level and maybe go from there. Maybe Vredestein pinza’s in a 255 75 on factory alloy 17’s. I am not wanting to change coils or UCA’s if possible. Do the 5100’s really raise/level up the front? I am new to the Taco world. Hopefully I will upload an “after” picture soon. Thanks for y’alls insights.

 

Welcome to TW..Sorry to hear about your Dad.

 

Welcome!

 

Welcome to TW. Nice looking truck! You can use stock coils with the 5100's. You'll have to have access to a spring compressor or take the units to a shop to have the springs removed from the old shocks and put on the new shocks. The 5100's have an adjustable 'clip' that the coils sits on with a few different settings. The if you raise the clip, the coil sits higher, raising the front end of the truck. You wont' need new UCAs as long as you stick under about a 2" lift.

Edit: You can compress the springs while still on the truck too. A bit more risk involved and you need to careful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkVLBOnAifc

 

I am planning on taking it to our local regional tire chain (Les Schwab) to install the shocks, new tires and alignment afterward. I could definitely do the shocks myself but time is a factor so it is just easier you have them do it. Thanks

 

sorry about the Oldman, its never easy, been there...

 

Thanks JAGCanada. The advice is greatly appreciated. I plan to do the shocks/tires up front first, see how she sits and then address the rear elevation if/when necessary. I could be off the mark with the 255’s but I have 305’s on my F-250 and I kinda wanna try out some “almost” pizza-cutters

 

Sorry to hear about your dad. My condolences.

Your truck looks good. The first thing that I would do is replace your tired and hazy headlights.
Second, I would get new tires.
If the ride is poor I'd look at 5100s (mine was, and I did. I addressed the Taco Lean, but otherwise kept the stock height), but I would leave it alone otherwise.

 

Ya. Headlights are also DEFINITELY on the punchlist. Yikes! Without having shopped around too much , Extreme Terrain had some headlight options that looked decent. Maybe something in the 2-300$ range with turn signal LED’s. Thanks for the sentiment, btw

 

Pops lived out at the ocean so she was a swampy little pig when I got ‘er. There were a couple snail shells on the fender wells even! We are in arid central WA so it should dry out well. It cleaned up pretty good. He bounced the front corners off of the carport posts on both sides. It 99% rubbed out. I replaced the right front bumper corner cap and rattle canned it. Not bad! I will post up some after pics with shocks/tires/headlights/tint done

 

Might want to try and restore the OEM headlights first, Cerakote or the 3m kit are both solid. You'd be surprised what they can bring back to life but worse case scenario you're out less than $20 and an hour of your time.

 

Welcome and sorry about pops

 

Well I opened Pantera’s box and decided to read a bit about headlights before i drop several hundo’s on it. Holy crap that is a deep rabbit hole. Not sure what to do now after reading the exhaustive post about halogen vs HID vs led. I like the cool looking aftermarket stuff that I see in the 3-400$ range but I don’t want lights that perform worse than if I just clean and polish originals. If anyone has thoughts I am all ears

 

Clean and polish the originals and see how that goes first. If you find the ligths aren't bright enough for you, this upgrade provides a lot of additional light withouth changing the headlight housing or the look of the vechile. https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...-not-led-or-hid.398066/page-276#post-30460164

 

Sorry to hear about Pops. Almost ALL aftermarket headlights suck for these trucks, they WILL leak. OEM is still the best. You have an 11 year old truck, you dont get fancy LED or RGB headlights unless you like throwing $$ away. If youre just doing Forest Roads, I would swap out the tired ass front coilovers with 3rd gen Off Road ones. They will give the nose about an inch or so lift, and then address the sagging rears as well. These trucks are GREAT stock for what you want to do, if you go with a lift kit add in an ECGS bushing as well. I would start at the basics, change all fluids, make sure you get the frame fluid filmed or wool waxed, clean it up, and go from there. I run 265 75 16s on fuel wheels on my truck and have never had an issue off roading. Oh, and look up the unifilter mod as well. Seat Jackers also changed the front seat height to make it more comfortable also. Enjoy the truck and welcome!!

 

Wait for Toyotas 25% off sale, then buy OEMs from an online source like Hendricks Toyota that'll give you free shipping on top of that. The way to go for reliable leak free delight.

 

"Welcome to TW!" from north Idaho's west end of the Northern Defense Highway, and another Tacoma SR5-DLT. This was the last truck Dad was ever going to buy, so he spec'd it out the way he wanted it and found that the dealer I bought my first new vehicle from, Appleway Toyota of Spokane Valley, had a fleet saleswoman who told him to give her a couple weeks to check around. Mom answered the phone when she called and told her to tell Dad, "His truck is here." They drove four hours to pick it up, and Dad started asking what was on it that he didn't need, until Mom ganged up with the saleslady, and he relaxed and they left for home. He drove it to the Flathead River to fish several times with his 1962 Grumman Sportboat (still built to order using the same machinery used to build the first canoes in 1944, besides the WWII aircraft), and we made one trip together. He had the same spec's I would have looked for, so when he asked if I'd want to buy it, I assured him I would as the '07 red Malibu truck would need a replacement when he was ready to sell it. Unfortunately, he hung on to it after he'd quit driving, so I bought it from his estate. The four-hour drive home with my eldest daughter started with, "Dad, are you sure you drive a stick?" I had to laugh, "Sure, I started with VW Squarebacks, and the new '84 Toyota Longbed Deluxe." She rode shotgun for the half-hour to my motel, then drove the rest of the way to Cd'A.
First item was to replace the original 2009 Dunlop tires with 2021 Michelin Defenders installed by my friends at Costco Tire followed by an oil change and routine service at Parker Toyota. The next spring, I drove up to the Flathead for frame treatment at the NH Oil Undercoating dealer before summer weekends in Bend and the Tri-Cities to see my kids and their families.
* How's the frame since it was on the coast? Rust is a great concern for all body-on-frame trucks. The Car Care Nut (YouTube channel) Toyota Master Diagnostic Technician encouraged my decision to drive to Kalispell for the frame treatment, and his videos explain all the systems as he encourages DIY maintenance. Next spring, Parker will replace the shocks with the set of Bilstein 4600s that I purchased (after a set of 5100s) as prices began rising. They like the LC Engineering exhaust header for the 2TR-FE engine, too.
Cerakote's headlight restoration kit works well!
Again, welcome to TW, and enjoy your truck! Charlie

 

The frame is surprisingly not bad. Just a little but of flaking but I rolled the creeper underneath and banged with a hammer all over. No rot. I will definitely coat the frame at some point. Not a big worry where I live as our climate is very dry in central WA.

 

It’d be wise to do a diy coating every fall. Fluid film, wool wax, another brand, pick your poison.

I do mine every fall with a little preventative frame maintenance every summer. Worth the 100$ bucks a year and a couple hours of my time to keep the frame in like new condition.

Eastern wa is switching from chloride based deicers to straight salt for 2025-2026 fyi. Honestly don’t think there’s a difference between the two as they are both corrosive af.

Pnw coastal might not be bad for rust but the inland nw: e wa, n id, w mt, e Oregon, lay de icer down thick for 4-5 months of the year. Enough to turn your rig white just driving around.

Welcome to TW.

Come join us here:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/forums/north-west.40/

 

32s probably won’t fit without rubbing on those 17s just an FYA. Get a little lift.

5100s are pretty stiff too tbh. If your only goal is leveling, can get a 1 or 1.5 inch spacer for the front.

EDIT: Add some electrolytes. The plants crave it.