Picked up my Tacoma

My Tacoma arrived last week and they put the tint on Saturday morning. I got a black '09 dbl cab OR 4x4 6 spd. I got the dealer to throw in the following accessories: TRD CAI, bed mat, hood protector, quickshifter, and TRD shift knob. I couldn't get them to do the install for free though so I will do it myself.

I am wanting to weatherproof the filter box at all of the screw holes and plastic on plastic connections. I was wondering if any of you had done something similar and what type sealant you guys would recommend.

I was also hoping that someone might have a good recommendation on extra padding where the brackets meet the hood. I feel that the provided pads are inadequate.

Lastly, I was hoping that I can install the 4x4 quickshifter without having to notch the the corner at transmission hump with a chisel punch. Is this an option with the 4wd or is it a must?

Many thanks in advance!

 

Welcome to TW

1. I haven't weatherproofed my filter box, but have had good luck with GE Silicon II window/door sealant. Any particular reason you want to do this?

2. Which brackets are you talking about? For the hood protector?

3. Go ahead and get out your chisel punch.

 

Thanks for the reply DelmarvaTaco. This is a great site.

1. I use my truck for some farm labor occasionally and my parents farm floods about once a year. Their house is built up as well as their road which is 1 mile long and gravel. They live way in the country on the river and the water gets up pretty high. I want to have it prepared in case I one day want to adapt a snorkel

2. Yes, the hood brackets. If I would have known about this I would have got a different type. The brackets come with paper thin mylar pads that will not protect adequately. I was looking for a padding solution between the hood and the mounting brackets to the hood protector

3. I was really hoping I wouldn't have to do this, but unless I learn otherwise I will be getting the punch out

 

welcome man.

 

Congrats on your new truck

 

Driving in water is hazardous to your vehicle. Warm driveline components hitting cool water can cause a vacuum and that will suck water in through the tinyist of places, and if you leave it in there you will be sorry. This has been known to happen on vehicles that are modified to be waterproof too.

A snorkel might get you through the deep water just fine, but water could be sneaking into your Transfer case, Transmission, front, and rear differentials. Computers and electrical systems don't like water either. I would avoid driving through deep water except in an emergency situation.

People get killed all the time around here driving through flooded washes, so they passed a law against driving through flooded roads, and it's called "The Stupid Driver Law". No I did not just call you stupid, that is just the name of the law.

If you do drive through deep water, I would suggest you have the tools, and the fluids to change the slippery stuff immediately after, because water and oil don't mix, and water will not adequately lubricate your truck's parts. Sure some people just ignore it, and keep driving their vehicles, but their vehicle won't be one of the ones you read about that has a million miles on it.

It is also hard to get water out of all of the places that it can end up in, and you might find that it takes more than one lube change to get it all out. Also be prepaired to properly dispose of more contaminated fluid than a normal lube change because you will have water plus lube filling your drain pan, and it is not nice(to put it mildly) to dump that stuff on the ground.

Driving in water is not only hazzardous to your vehicle, but it is not very nice to the environment. Many places it is illegal to drive in streams & rivers because it contaminates delicate eco systems.

Please do not mistake me for one of those Environmentalist whack jobs... I ride dirt bikes, and love 4 wheeling. It's because I love these activities that I care about the environment. It's the jerkwads that do not care that cause land closures by causing careless damage to the environment. Land closures suck because it means law abiding recreationalist can no longer ride or wheel in some really cool spots.

 

There are "brackets" for the hood prtector? Where do the go? Do you mean gaskets?

 

Maybe try some of that foam tape weather stripping. It's quite thick, so I don't know if you'll have clearance issues or not.

Or even thicker double sided tape...

 

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Yes, there are brackets with the toyota hood protector from the dealership, same p/n as from toyota of dallas parts. Really sucks for a design, I'm going to sit on this one for a while before I install it. The dealership wanted to install it but I wouln't allow it.

I don't run my truck in water. I have a '79 fj40 with 37s, SOA, and 2fe that I play with mostly. I have to use the truck for towing trailers, getting stuff off the farm in the occasional floods, as I stated earlier my parents have a farm on the river. I've seen the river rise 6' in thirty minutes and the river sounds like thunder crashing thru the woods. There is the possibility that water could splash in my engine bay and I would prefer to take an extra 5 minutes adding a sealant when putting my intake box together.

 

...pics???

 

Greenblazer, might I ask how you are getting 24.5 mpg? That is outstanding! I'm very interested if this was through changes in driving habit or through mods.

 

I'll try to post some pics tomorrow. I haven't taken any yet and I had to work late tonight so I didn't get to take some as I had planned

 

+1
That's better than my Mazda3...in the city.

 

I bought the hood protector but haven't installed it for the reasons listed above. Plus, my hood was recently refinished by the dealer and i wanted to wait till the paint completely cured.

I was under the impression that there were little plastic clips that slid over the holes in the hood to allow install. Are the brackets you speak of in addition to the contents in the box?