The Looong, Slooow Moderate Build

Added phone mount and unblacked the Toyota logo after Plasti-dipping. Painted it white with touch up paint.

 

Install day! Put on 3" Toytec lift with Bilstein 5100s all around, Eibach lift springs up front, Deaver add-a-leaf in the back, 1.25" Spidertrax wheel spacers, and plasti-dipped wheels black with glossifier. Tires to come in December. It will be pretty much done at that point, until it's no longer a daily driver anyway

Ground to fender before:
RF 34 3/8"
RR 35 1/4"
LR 34 7/8"
LF 34 3/4"

Ground to fender after:
RF 38 3/8"
RR 37 3/4"
LR 37 3/8"
LF 38 9/16"

Difference:
RF 4"
RR 2 1/2"
LR 2 1/2"
LF 3 13/16"

Before:




During:


Hovertruck!


After:

 

I got an alignment at Mister Tires in Grandview the Monday after installation. It's not perfect because the shop said they couldn't get it there, but is close enough that it should not appreciably accelerate tire wear. Also, the steering wheel was cocked to the left, so the top arms were about 8 & 2 instead of 9 & 3. I'll see if it can get closer to spec when the new tires go on at a different shop. If not, I guess new UCAs will be in my future eventually. Probably gonna go with Light Racing since they're a decent brand and about half the price of Total Chaos. The Light Racing run about $400-$450 for a pair, and TC is about $700-$750.

Also had moderate driveline vibration that became noticeable at 45 mph, increase until 60 mph, then slightly taper off at 65 mph, and increase slightly again at 70 mph. Never went faster than 70 mph.

On 9/10/15, I installed a carrier bearing drop that lowered the carrier bearing about 1/2", which noticeably reduced the vibration, but didn't eliminate it, so I will likely be purchasing and installing axle shims in the near future. I plan to find out the angle shim I need on 9/12, with the purchase likely happening in the next week. Found a guy that has some 6 degree shims he doesn't need, so if that angle is what I need, I think I'm going to get them from him, hopefully for less than retail. Retail is only about $30-$35 bucks, so if I need something different, it's not a huge deal.

 

On 9/26/15, Lou Murphy and I installed 3 degree axle shims to try to alleviate the driveline vibration entirely. It was a much longer day than I anticipated, haha. Got to his house with a driveway around 10am, got a wheel off, and didn't get too far before we realized we needed a taller jack & jackstands. So we called a buddy, Jeff, to see if he could bring some over, and he could, but it would take him over an hour to get there. He was our only option, so we waited. So we got a lot farther once we could keep the truck off the ground safely. Then, we realized that we didn't c-clamps to hold the leaf packs together, or a grinder with a cutoff wheel to cut the leaf center pin once it was installed, so we had to call Josh for that. He lived a lot closer, but had to go to the hardware store to get a new cutoff wheel. So we waited another hour for him to get there with all of that. Once he got there, we were able to finish the first wheel, then do the other wheel. Then took the carrier bearing shims off, because there's a chance that it changes the angle of the driveshaft coming out of the transmission, which is not ideal.

What should've taken a couple hours max, if properly prepared, ended up taking 5-6 hours. Very poor planning, haha. Oh well, the shims went on and the vibration went away completely. It might even drive better than it did before the lift. The shocks had a 129,000 miles on them, so there's a chance they were riding a little too low anyway.

The shims:
http://toyteclifts.3dcartstores.com/Solid-Steel-Axle-Degree-Shims_p_358.html

 

Blacked out the emblems on 9/12. Took a few days to make enough time to peel all the excess off, but finally got there. Used a good chunk of pencil eraser to remove overspray. If there's another time that I need to take a lot of Plasti-Dip off, I'll look into getting an eraser wheel that goes into my drill.

Also, on 9/30, I took the headrests off the backseat to try to improve rearward visibility, and it did! I can see so much better when backing, now. I'm not sure why it took so long for me to do that.



View without the headrests

 

The week of October 4th, about 6 weeks after installating the lift, I noticed some oil had leaked onto the outside of the ball joint boots of the upper control arms. After much research, I've decided I'm going to have to go with uniball UCAs, even though they're overkill for what I do, as well as how much I want to spend, but the only company that makes balljoint UCAs for 1st gens is Light Racing / Specialty Products Company, and those arms have very mixed reviews.
So I'm going to bite the bullet and get either Icon or Total Chaos UCAs. I can get either for about $685, shipping included. The Icons have dust cover caps available, but some say that they just trap dirt, instead of keeping it out. I'm not sure how I feel about that, so that's why I'm still undecided about which one to go with. Total Chaos is supposed to be a little better, since they have stainless steel uniballs, and they have a long-travel kit, if I'm ever interested in that in the future, which, since my truck is a Prerunner, would be pretty sweet. Go do some desert racing or something.

I'm also researching tires. I've been thinking I'd like to get some 255/85/R16 Cooper ST Max. They're 33" diameter, but 10 mm narrower than stock, and so should not rub, but would fill the wheel well more than my stock 265/70/R16. The downside to that is, I have to get 5 of them, 1 to replace the spare, so that I don't end up with one small tire in case of a flat.

 

Waxed my truck on October 23rd for the 1st time. Got 2 coats of Nu Polish on it after a wash and clay bar session. Truck is much glossier now, but could still use another couple coats to deepen the clear coat more.

Picked up some tips from Larry at AmmoNYC YouTube channel. Razor blade on the glass after washing to get them smooth, then clay the windows, then apply Rain-X to improve water beading. Pics to come after the next time.

 

Yesterday, 12/8/15, I ordered the Total Chaos UCAs from downsouth motorsports. Talked to Micah and got a great deal! Normally $743 plus shipping, got them for $685 including shipping! Should be here this weekend. It seems crazy that I'm getting something that so many people dream of getting someday, including me.

It took a while for me to reach this decision, though. At first I thought I had to get uniball UCAs for my truck with the lift, so I was trying to find some for a price Sarah wouldn't freak at, and found a couple things, but I didn't feel all that great about them. Then I discovered there are balljoint UCAs made for trucks with lifts, and I was like, "Yeah! They're cheaper and lower maintenance. Sounds perfect!" Then I found out the only balljoint UCAs available for my truck were some made by SPC/Light Racing, which had really mixed reviews. Fully 50/50, so I was a little sketched out by that. Plus, to get the alignment right, you had to make sure to assemble it a certain way depending on different factors, and since I wasn't doing it myself, I didn't trust a shop to do it right, nor did I want to pay for them to figure it out. So I ended up telling Sarah, I can do it this cheaper way, but it might not last as long. Or, I can spend a lot more upfront, but not have to worry about it breaking, like, ever. So she consented to the Total Chaos after a while, and I will be getting them installed sometime in the next month.

 

Total Chaos UCAs installed on 1/3/16 at Clint's place at a KC Tacoma Club workday, thanks to the man, Clint, himself.

Then, on 1/6/16, went to Boulevard Tire in KC to get some new tires. Used them to get new tires for Sarah's old Accord, and was really impressed. I was planning on having them install the UCAs, but the workday happened to come up, and we had time, so we got the installation knocked out then. So I had them install the new tires, Hankook Dynapro ATMs, as well as replace the pads and rotors. The rotors were the originals, but the pads had been replaced once. i had noticed a mild shimmy when braking at highway speeds, which prompted the new rotors. Got OEM pads and rotors from my dad's parts guy for $192.14.
Boulevard put the tires on, balanced and aligned them for $159 apiece. And after my alignment being crappy since I put the lift on, it has made the truck so much better. They really know what they're doing. They also install lifts, which is good to know, in case I stay in the area and want to lift my next truck.

I really like the tires! They've been great so far, in the wet and little bit of snow & ice I've run into with them. And they look much more aggressive than the HTS, so hopefully I can try them out on something besides pavement. I'll get a picture posted later this week. But at this point, I would definitely buy them again.

Here's the pics:


Last thing, I replaced the passenger side headlight bulb today. It's been out for about a week, just haven't had a good chance to install until today. Been rainy and cold as hell since last Tuesday. The plug on the back was a bit of a trick to pull off, and the boot was tough because there was no room. The airbox doesn't give you much room to work. I had to pull out and down to get the boot off. Then the retainer clip came completely off, so I had to put that back on, too.

 

Tuesday, 1/19, we got a few inches of snow, so I went to the college parking lot across the street and did donuts for almost an hour, and got a little photo shoot in, too. Annnnnd, I managed to spin the drivers' side into a curb, which threw off my perfect alignment, which, and when I got redone, was told bent a steering knuckle as well. Super.

 

Finally got a toolbox (1/23)! I have been wanting one for a while so I can clear out the space behind my backseat. I've got a tow rope, chain, shackle, used belts for emergencies, trailer hitch, jumper cables, and tie downs back there. The big motivation for the toolbox was the recent installation of the carseat base, which significantly hampers access behind the rear seats. I did a little looking on Craigslist, and after only a couple of tries, I found the one I wanted, and it was only $60! It's nothing heavy duty, but it will do what I need it to do, and the aluminum construction means rust won't be a problem. I wanted a low-profile (2" above the bedsides) toolbox that was only 12" or so front-to-back, due to the already very short bed on the double cab (5').


After moving all the items from behind the back seat to the toolbox, I realized there were some items that would make a lot of noise if given the opportunity, like the trailer hitch and the tow chain, so I thought I wold find a closed-cell foam sleeping pad for camping and just cut it to fit. After just a little searching, I discovered that EVA foam would accomplish the same thing but better, because it's less squishy. So I searched Amazon and the first result was some home gym foam tiles. 12 sq ft for $12, with interlocking edges. Perfect! I ordered it Saturday (1/23), and it arrived Monday (1/25). Finally got a chance to pick it up from the leasing office and install it today, and it didn't fit quite as well as I hoped, but it does the job, and I still have some left over.

 

Walked out to this grisly sight this morning, after a storm last night. It didn't sound all that bad, but apparently it was bad enough. Trying to find body shops now so I can get an estimate. I hate not having any idea which shops are reputable or not, since I just moved. And also, I don't really know anyone to ask.