Baka's 1998 Build

They're 31x10.50s.

I was hoping that the 33x13.50s would make the sliders stand out less. I'd love to do bumpers, but those probably aren't in the cards for the foreseeable future unfortunately.

 

Ru gonna sell the 31 bfg ?

 

Well, I guess if someone wants to buy them. I was kinda thinking about using one or two for spares, but I'd be willing to sell them. They are 31x10.50 R15s though. Wouldn't fit on a 2nd Gen I don't think.

The two front ones are in pretty good condition wear-wise. The back ones are a bit more worn down. Not sure how much, but noticeably. Think the PO had a heavy foot.

 

Yeah 15 won't fit ... Thought they were 16

 

Oh and Thomas, you might be happy to know I also bought a new strap (4"x 30') so I won't be SOL when my big one with the scary-yet-surprisingly-resilient fray finally breaks.

 

The paint looks awesome man and I can't wait to see it with those wide ass swampers. For the sliders, you should have rotated them up a little. That would have tucked them in closer to the truck. But they don't look bad like they are and will actually add a little more protection.

 

Thanks! For the sliders, I wanted them to serve double duty as steps so I mounted them flat. They are probably going to work out nicely for stuff like accessing the box and washing the roof of the truck.

I can't wait to see it with those LTBs as well. I guess I should get my rear in gear and tackle the lift now that I'm nearly out of excuses to procrastinate about it, lol.

 

I would agree that you should have turned the sliders up slightly...it tucks them in tighter and gives higher clearance offroad ...... but as you have them they offer better function for steps and more protection from rocks/trees

I cant wait to see this rig again when its finished

 

Well, the rear lift is done...well, except I'm gonna get a longer brake line. That's the good news.

The bad news is I'm not sure those Dakars are all that great. When I put the weight of the truck on them, they immediately flattened out into a nearly straight line with maybe a tiny bit of positive arch if at all. I also got a big fat zero height increase over my old bent springs with AALs. All it did was level the truck out from side to side by a quarter of an inch. And that's before I've driven it for them to settle.

On the plus side, the bolts all came right out and the rear shackle to frame bushings came out fairly easy. Didn't have to burn them out or anything.

I dearly hope I get better results when I do the front or I'm not going to be a happy camper.

 

I've read that the dakar's run flat. Mine are. I thought that mine was wore out so I did a little research and that's what I've found. I think some people run a slightly longer shackles to give them a little extra lift. But my truck is level, front to back, with toytec coilovers and dakar's.

 

Rgr. I'm going to be running the OME coilovers with a small spacer to net the full three inches. Before today, the truck had a Procomp 2-2.5 inch lift (the PO wasn't sure how much it was) with an above the coilover spacer and rear AALs.

Anyway, my old springs looked like this...









So you can understand my dismay that I didn't gain any ride height with the new springs. Of course those old springs did have a positive arch in the back. They looked like ~.

BTW, what did you torque your U-bolts to? I'm going to end up replacing the U-bolts on the left side because I'm positive I over-torqued them trying to get to the number listed in that crappy Haynes manual (90 Ft-lbs). I torqued the other side to 70 Ft-lbs and that felt a lot better.

 

BTW, I'm not sure how much difference it made, but I doused all the fasteners about 2 weeks beforehand with that 50/50 Acetone/ATF solution and everything sailed right out with no problems, even the ubolts and front spring hanger bolts that people usually have to cut out. I'm not sure how much of that was me being lucky or if the stuff really does work, but I'm thinking it didn't hurt.

 

That mix works miracles ... I use it on all old fasteners

 

Tomorrow, I'm dropping the diff housing.

 

Dropping that diff is going to be hard lol got to wiggle it a certain way. good luck!

 

I ended up having to remove the pinion nut and pull the propeller shaft flange. After I did that, it practically fell right out. It absolutely refused to come out until then though. The flange was getting hung up between the bellhousing and the steering shaft. Aiyah! Round peg no fit through square hole!

Going back in has me worried though. At least coming out I had gravity on my side. However, if it came out, it'll go back in. I just have to be more stubborn than it is.

I did manage to give myself tendonitis in my right elbow and shoulder with this Charlie Foxtrot. I ended up breaking down and being inconsiderate of the neighbors. I busted out the impact and started making some racket.

Splitting the clamshell went a lot more smoothly than I anticipated though. I guess without all that ADD BS there's a lot of monkey motion that isn't there to complicate things. Nor did I have the same trouble I've read about other people having with getting the case halves to separate. Just worked around it with a gasket scraper and a dead blow and it opened right up.

 

Got the front diff back in today. For better or worse, it's now officially Lincoln Locked. Luckily, the Tacoma gods were smiling on me because it went in a lot easier than it came out. Took me longer to get the stupid breather hose on bolted back on it than it did to get the thing in position with bolts holding it in.

Tomorrow, I get to put the new CV axles and coilovers in then reattach the knuckle and get everything buttoned up. After that...

--off to get it aligned
--And then off for the new wheels and tires

Then it's time to break some crap!

 

Go figure this...I lifted the rear and wound up with the same ride height in back as I started with. I lifted the front and ended up with the same ride height in front as I started with...but the rear came up an inch. WTF?!?

Anyway, got the front end put back together today and I test drove it around the block. Weird. It definitely takes noticeably more effort to steer it now (and that's without the front diff locked in), and it feels kinda floaty, which I'm guessing is those Nitrochargers compared to the Procomp hydros. I also definitely hit the upper balljoint on the coil spring at full droop.

I'm guessing the stiff steering will ease up a bit once the new ball joints wear in a little. At any rate, I'm done except for a couple little things like installing the new rear brake line and putting my splash plates back on (left them off to make things easier for the alignment guy). Oh and I have to change my rear diff lube.

I am so glad all the major stuff is done because I'm pretty tired of being in pain.

(Oh, and I guess the reason I netted no ride height increase is because I measured the truck after it came back from being painted but before I got the sliders on it and put the box back in it with all the gear. I'm estimating that's about 300 lbs more weight than when I measured it.)