HackD's ongoing 5-lug armored-slug build.

The dealer representative's tune changed, when i showed up in person to book an appointment. Apparently "rust" isn't covered under the ECP, according to the service adviser who booked me in. So in short, it looks like i am in for a fight.

The truck went to the Dealership this afternoon. I assume that i will hear the bad news and feel the financial impact tomorrow. My neighbor, a mechanic himself, explained the issue. It's all about dissimilar metals, and corrosion. In the LCA's, the carbon steel bolt goes through an aluminium spacer - over time, they in effect corrode to each other.

I fundamentally disagree with the service adviser on this being a rusting issue - At the root, it's a poor design/metallurgical issue - Toyota (and other manufacturers) economize by using inappropriate materials, and hope that the vehicle racks up a significant amount of mileage (ie well out of any warranty) before being messed with, or requiring a major front end alignment. Clearly, at ~69,000 km (~43,000 miles), this isn't a significant amount of mileage.

I'm not a car mechanic - but i am a motorcycle enthusiast - and i have encountered this before in my mechanical play-time - If aluminium is being bolted together - it's usually done with a corrosion-resistant/stainless fastener, sleeved in a non-corrosive spacer, that will come apart with the correct persuasive technique. I've never encountered a dissimilar metals corrosion issue on servicing-critical parts, where the vehicle has otherwise been well maintained. Personally, i always used a good quality grease on reassembly, where it is applicable, in order to minimize this issue with any fasteners on my motorcycles.

Not happy. If i'm eating the cost on this, that's the budget to do the install for all the components i've gathered. Those parts will likely end up on a shelf in my garage for an extended period of time. If i was only 10 years younger and significantly healthier back then, vs now, this wouldn't be an issue... i'd be doing everything myself. Now, i'm just not physically well enough to be doing it myself.

Frustration definitely pegged at an 11 out of 10.

 

Disappointed, but as suspected, ECP was denied on basis of corrosion. I guess i am at war with Toyota Corporate now.

To save some cash, and with a little assistance from my neighbor, i am in the process of installing the ARB bumper. A little slow and tedious, but it is coming along. After about 4 hours of work today so far, i first stripped the front end down, and then installed sub-frame in place. Next step is to unwrap the bumper itself, and get busy with it.

<Photo's redacted>

 

Bumper roughly installed.... buuut, i just can't seem to catch a break in the grief department. ARB bumper appears to be defective. Right hand side is not bent/welded properly, with a slight twist. Will take it by the shop i bought it at to get an opinion. I'm thinking it might be somewhat fixable with a nudge of a judiciously applied forklift leg at the proper push point.

<Photo's redacted>

 

... heh, and the front end suspension REALLY needs to be done. Front end is entirely sacked on road bumps and braking.

 

Project "Passive-aggressive" near complete. New shocks and lift-level kit went in today. It has a truck like stance and ride now. Front bumper is to be warranty-replaced due to shipping damage, but it will be the same... haven't put the lower splash-guard on yet due to that imminent replacement.

Meets my needs and expectations, so that's likely it for major mods for now.. well except for the rear bumper which has been hammered twice now by idjits who thought i'd actually run a late yellow...that's gonna get armored up also, to better teach 'em.

 

Fab Fours rear bumper ordered. That'll complete the armor up.

I also want to replace the 2nd hand OEM tonneau cover with a tri-fold, but that'll come when i sell the old off the truck first. No place to store that in the interim.

Once all that is done, and the front bumper is warranty replaced, i'll be in a happy place.

 

So.. with my recent grief with my Toyota Tacoma, related to seized pivot bolts and differential metal corrosion in the aluminium spacers in the lower control arms at 70,000 km and 4 years of service - which resulted in a $1000.00+ repair bill (the Lower Control Arms are destroyed when they are forced to remove the bolts and pivot assembly by torch).

I decided to send a letter of dissatisfaction to Toyota Canada, with an email to all relevant parties first...

And this is what i get back from Toyota Canada.

... in short, blah blah blah... Toyota's likely lost a future customer. If Toyota 'Kaizen' can't plan around Canadian winter conditions, when it comes to serviceable component requirements... it ain't working for them, or the customer.

 

Something big, something small, and something that remained behind, showed up at 4wheelparts today.

Big-arsed box for the relatively small Fab-Fours rear bumper, and my set of Weathertech window visors showed up at 4wheelparts and got brought home. Not enough room remaining in the truck to cart off the replacement ARB bumper, which also showed up.

I'm going to be a busy boy this weekend..

 

Project of the Day: I yanked the stock bumper off today - for having taken two rear-end hits already, it was actually still fairly straight.

While taking the bumper off, to put the Fab Fours bumper on, I realized that this would be the prime-time to also install a Class 3 hitch to my wee-beastie. I do have a flat-bed trailer that i (rarely) tow a sidecar-rig on .. and since that's next summer's revival project - I might as well do the necessary work to make it tow-ready, now. So, off to U-Haul, to buy a Class 3 hitch assembly.

Getting hot today, and going to be getting progressively hotter as the next week progresses - and i don't have good medical tolerance to heat and humidity.. so this is going to be an incremental progress upgrade as temperatures allow.

<Photo Redacted>

 

...and U-Haul Class-3 hitch installed. Hardest part was breaking loose corrosion-stiffened frame bolts. Our Canadian winter road-salt use is not kind to our Tacomas.

Starting to rain, so that's a wrap for today.

 

I'm loving the day by day updates. Keep it up! I can't wait to see the final product

 

..and the bumper and hitch assembly is fully mounted/complete - except for the trailer wiring. This bumper was one heavy son of a Bitch to be mounting solo, but i managed through it, bad hips and all.

Next on the agenda - Front bumper is scheduled for warranty replacement on September 9th, 2015. I also need to get the 1 pc Toyota Accessories Tonneau cover sold off, and move on to a BAK Industries Trifold G2, so i can actually use my ATV again. I also want to investigate nerf bars/sliders, for anti door-ding/additional side-intrusion protection. Somewhere in there, i also need to get Snows on the stock rims, before snowmobile season hits.

I'm also thinking of joining the Plasti-dip cool-kids, and blacking out the body badging.

 

.. Do you see me now?

If not, this is going to hurt you, more than me. Fair visual warning.

3M retro-reflective tape, that has been kicking around my garage for the better part of 15 years. Looks like i found a good use for it, on the flat bumper surface.

Is this the actions of a paranoid man? Most definitely so. I'm armoring up for the road, not off-road. I might trim it down somewhat to match the bottom sweep of the bumper, but it sure as heck pulls your eyes to it, from behind.. hopefully for those that might be following with their eyes more on their cell-phone, than what is in front of them.

<Photo Redacted>

 

Parts are still sitting in the back of the truck, so no pic's yet.. but kijiji temptation struck again today.

1 used Extang solid tri-fold, and 1 rail-mounted cargo divider to keep the spare from sliding around in the back of the truck, bought. Not 'cheap', but cheaper than new.

Now, i still have got to get rid of my Tacoma Accessories fiberglass tonneau cover.. no bites yet. No place to store it either. If i can't get rid of it by the time winter hits, out comes the sawz-all i guess, and i'll keep the hardware for other things.

 

Yay for me .. finally sold the 1 pc tonneau cover onwards, so i can move on with the tri-fold tomorrow. The cargo divider (i think it's a Toyota Accessories part also) works great. However, i've also been eyeballing the PrInSu design studio roof rack thread ( https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/prinsu-design-studio-roof-racks.317754/ ) for some time now, and for some goddamned reason, I want to get one in the worst possible way. It would suit the industrial utility look that my little pickup is acquiring. What could possibly go wrong with drilling a dozen holes in your roof-line? That may be the Next Big Leap forward for hauling shit, when the cargo bed is filled up with ATV...

 

Plasti-derped!



Cargo bed divider:

 

Looks good! I love how you update us frequently

 

I've already spammed the bejeezus out of the 5-lug picture thread with these photo's .. but what the heck, this is my 'build thread' after all .. I might request a Mod to move it on over to the general 2nd Generation build section at some point.

This past weekend, i installed the 'new to me' Extang Trifecta solid fold tonneau cover, and (finally) wired up the ARB bumper for the turn-signals and running lights - i need to go under the hood once more to make sure all connections are waterproof and solid (my soldering iron died half-way through the job) but everything lights up and goes blinky-blinky as they should now.

 

Hey, it looks great!