NCtaco13's Build

• 2013 Tacoma, purchased used in Feb. 2017 with ~72,000 miles on it
• V6 engine with 4x4, double cab short bed
  
• previous owner had heated seats and Weather Tech mats in the front when I got it

Figured I'd start a build thread to help me remember what I've done lol, and to share with everyone what all I've done to maybe inspire some people along the way.


The day after I picked it up from the dealership, had to test out my 4x4 on the beach

Mods:

1. Tailgate Lock (very easy followed instructions on the thread, got the clamp from Amazon)
2. $57 DPAccessories Chrome Lug Nuts | Compatible Replacement for Toyota-Lexus | 90084-94001, 90942-A1009, 90942-01033 | Factory/OEM Wheels Only | Set of 24 | LCM3C6HCOCH04024
   Lug nuts (they fit great, they're one piece not like the Toyota ones that are two pieces)
3. AULLY PARK Universal Steering Wheel Cover Genuine Leather Stitch On Wrap (Size M+, Black)
   Leather Steering Wheel Cover (size M+)
4. Add W1 oil catch can (the thread has lots of good information)
5. Toyota bed mat
6. Speakers upgraded all the way around (post no. 2)
7. Sound deadening in all four doors, floor, and back wall (post no. 3)
8. Bed Stiffeners (post no. 4)

100,000 Mile update (post no. 5)

 

Speakers I used:

Tweeters: Alpine SPS-110TW
I took the stock tweeters out and tore all of the stock tweeter out of the frame. I stuck the Alpine in there and soldered everything up to the stock connector. Soldered in the capacitor and wedged it into a hole so it's tight in the little cubby I found in the door. To hold the new tweeter into the frame, I put some RTV around the rim of the tweeter and mashed it into the stock frame. Haven't had any problems yet.

Front door speakers (size: 6x9): Rockford Fosgate Prime

$100 R169x2 6"x9" 2-Way Full Range Coaxial Speakers (Pair)

R169x2, Metra 71-035LC Speaker adapter harness,

$19 Metra 82-8146 6" x 9" Front Speaker Adapter for Select Lexus and Toyota Vehicles, Black, Apple

Metra 82-8146 Mounting bracket
Speakers went in fine, had no problems with the mounting bracket or the speaker adapter harness. Very easy to do.

Rear door speakers (size: 6 1/2):

$80 Kicker 43DSC6504 Kicker DSC650 6.5" (160-165mm) Coaxial Speakers, 4-Ohm (Pair)

Kicker 43DSC6504, Metra 71-035LC speaker adapter harness,

$17 Metra 82-8148 6" to 6-3/4" Speaker Adapter for Select Toyota/Lexus/Scion 1998-Up Vehicles, Black

Metra 82-8148 mounting bracket
Equally easy as the front speakers, absolutely no problems at all.

I decided to keep the stock stereo, I don't need anything crazy. You can definitely tell a difference in sound quality just from new speakers, everything is much more crisp. You don't realize how muffled the stock speakers sound until you upgrade I was shocked at the difference. I know that I've got 3 different brands of speakers mixed together but I had the Alpines for a couple of years and I got the other two sets based on wattage and price because like I said, I'm not trying to go crazy with it, I wanted better quality and that's exactly what I got and I'm very happy with the results.

Sorry for no pictures, I just figured that pictures of speakers were kinda pointless lol

 

Sound deadening:




Sound deadening is probably the greatest thing I've done so far besides the speakers. I did the floor, back wall, and all four doors. I will do the roof soon.
I stripped out the whole truck (sorry no write up or links, I went at it and used half common sense and half was winging it) after that, sound deadening was very easy to install. I wore gloves to put it all in, as I've read that some people get torn up pretty bad doing this. I used Noico 80 mil that I got on Amazon, 36 sq. ft. for ~64$. I got two boxes of 36 sq. ft. and I have more than enough left to do the roof of my double cab.

When I put the mats down on the floor, I didn't bother to pull the paper off the back and stick them down because I figured gravity would do that job for me and if anything happened and ever needed to get through or to the floor for some reason, I don't have to pull up all that gunked up mess that would've been mashed into the floor.

There is definitely a noticeable difference in the sound in the cab from driving in town to the highway it sounds great - very quiet I imagine that's what a luxury car would sound like on the inside lol

 

Installed bed stiffeners from @At The Helm (https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/bedside-reinforcements-tie-downs.476123/), very high quality, well built, and comes with a bottle opener built into them lol. Install was very easy, there was a video linked in the thread (the link in this post) and came with instructions that were also very helpful. I don't think it took more than a few hours, but I wasn't really paying attention (who pays attention to time when you've got plenty of it and plenty of beer?) I took my time to make sure I did everything right and I broke out some wire brushes and scrubbed the rust off my bed bolts at the same time.
Bonus: these bed stiffeners have a bottle opener built into them



Install in progress, using the cargo strap to pull the bed back in



Final product. It could be prettier, but it's a truck bed and I use it like one lol. I didn't install my D-rings back in because there's a mounting point down in the corner, and I don't see me needing to crank anything down super tight so that point should be sufficient for whatever I need to strap down.

It's amazing to see how much the bed expands and these really do make a world of difference holding the bed in place. It looks like it should which is awesome

 

100,000 mile update:

Only driven it for about 28,000 miles, so not a whole lot going on

Maintenance:
-Regular oil changes (5,000 miles) with Toyota filter (

$55 90915-YZZD3 Oil Filter 1 Case (QTY 10)

90915-YZZD3) and whatever high mileage oil is on sale at an auto parts store
-Rotate tires every 7,500 miles (as per Haynes repair manual)
-Changed spark plugs around 90,000 miles I think, replaced them with Denso plugs
-Transmission flush at about 98,000 miles
-Dropped fuel tank and cleaned fuel pump filter screen (about 2 weeks after I got my truck). It was my own dumbass fault, I poured 8 month old gas in the tank I had in my garage and I guess it clogged up the screen because I haven't had any problem since