What have you done to your Tacoma today? 1st Gen Edition

yea from talking with the guy at master muffler he was saying it was more probable it was the second one (the larger one) that was clogged.

i dunno tho, im not expert.

but that doesnt seem like a bad deal if i just bought the second one. and had that installed somehow. im sure some facebook posts asking for help could lead me to someone who could install too.

ill check out rock auto and make a FB post to see if its possible

 

Did the blinker relocation mod, put it in the running lights housing. Got tired of driving around and having to hear the blinker flicker 10 times per second every time I made a turn.

If you don't have a drill this can be done. I have very few tools at my apartment and didn't feel like driving to my storage unit. Anyway I used my big hand held recip. saw to cut the mounts off the old blinkers. Then I used a hammer and nail to slowly make somewhat of a circle on the back of the new blinker housing. Epoxy'd it up and it's all set. Works as it should!

 

TITS

 

So i just did the deckplate mod. Except I think i may have installed it on the wrong side. I have my deckplate on the very front of the airbox, right behind the windshield wiper fluid thing. I think it was supposed to go on the side, where theres more room. Did i necesarrily do it "wrong"? or will it work near the same how it is?

 

You did it correctly haha Just remember to reset the ecu so it can relearn to air flow.

 

Thank god... Do i still have to reset the ECU if I have a 5 speed? and to reset the ECU i can just unplug the battery for a few minutes right?

 

Yeah, transmission has nothing to do with it. It's to reset your MAF sensor to know what air to fuel ratio to use. Yes, just leave the battery unhooked for a couple minutes or so and it resets everything.

 

Gotcha, sweet thanks man.

 

Bingo on the bold part. However the sensors after the cat are only used to monitor the cat, not make any corrections to the fuel management. Only the A/F sensor in the front does that.

I have learned that with the Toyota system, many times a P0420 is not the cat, but the A/F or O2 sensor (or both sensors) You have to run the diagnostics first. DANG I need to make that P0420 thread I keep talking about. IT shows in details how to diagnose the code and find the root cause so you don't have to guess. It's just REALLY long.

If you think $415 for a 1quality cat and install is ridiculous then you need to look again. Sure RockAuto have some cats for cheap, but the key internal precious metal that does the job is either not platinum, or is a cheap, super thin platinum plating. I promise you a QUALITY cat that will last is not going to be cheap.

Ask him if he has a backpressure gauge. That gauge will tell you exactly which cat is clogged.

 

off topic, but how long did shipping take for you guys to get your ultra gauges from ultra gauge? i ordered mine last friday and havent seen it even though it said 2 day? maybe because monday was a holiday?

 

If you ordered on Friday then they may not have been able to get it shipped Friday. If they don't ship on the weekend, then it wouldn't get shipped until Tuesday.


On a side note I want to get some opinions here. I am slowly building my truck to be a decent IFS type of expedition rig. I will be doing some difficult trail runs of course locally, but I do plan to take a trek to Moab, as well as an expedition sometime in the next 5 years to Alaska. I am running 33 inch tires, and the 2.7L engine. I am trying to decide on the gears. I can go with 4.10 gears and this will get me back into the appropriate gear range from factory (I have factory short highway gears, well below the 4.10) or I can opt for the 4.56 gears. I know the 4.56 will get me into a much desired power band and improve my acceleration, but I am concerned with how it will affect my highway travels (mileage) I average about 17-18 MPG right now. What are your thoughts everyone?

 

I'm running 33s with 4.10 gears and the 2.7L. I would, without any hesitation, pick 4.56 over 4.10. It's fine for daily driving, but once the truck is all loaded up for a trip, it really could use a powerband shift. I'm getting about 17-20mpg avg currently and wouldn't expect any significant difference with 4.56.

 

get the 4.56s hands down.

At this point your truck is only going to get heavier and heavier especially if your planning big long trips. Your gear and equipment list will explode. Im probably close to 6000lbs now fully loaded.

Gears will help handle all that weight and maintain your power.

 

this as well.

For most overland adventures and such, 32s will be enough.

 

yea ill try and take it in again and ask about the back pressure gauge.

and i said the install was ridiculous cause the cat was 250 and the remaining was install for what he said could be done in an hour. maybe i should just bite the bullet and get er dun!

can you explain more what the A/F sensor does? i dont think ive ever heard a mention of it (unless im missing what the abbreviation means)

yes a P0420 write up would probably make me bow down to you all mighty one!!!

 

I used to get the P0420 randomly for about 2-3 years never affected mpgs or anything, cleaned the MAF and it stopped then seafoam we my truck and my cat started rattling. Ordered a magnaflow from Amazon and also ordered a muffler then dropped it off at a muffler shop. Been about 5 months and haven't received a P0420 yet

 

yea i was trying to find a friend on facebook who had some MAF sensor cleaner cause i heard that could be a problem too. i tried but nobody had any so i might just have to go buy a can myself.

what do you mean your cat started rattling?

i also need to do the seafoam, ive always added it to my tank but never before the intake manifold. (which reminds me i need to find the thread that shows which hose it is again cause i looked at it a couple months ago and have sense forgotten)

 

the rattling sounds like someone has put gravel in your cat and its shaking around violently usually at idle. if yours was rattling youd know it.

 

When I cleaned my maf sensor I just used rubbing alcohol and a q tip and gently rubbed the smudge off. Mine ran 10x better afterwards

 

one of my friends told me to do this also but i got on the interwebs and seen numerous places that said this was a bad idea.

anyone else have an opinion?

im glad i know it worked for you but who knows what if you got lucky, i dont wanna have to buy another MAF sensor