Cynicalriders "J0hnny5 is ALIVE!" 01 build thread.

Did a little thing to the truck. Got this idea from @UtahTacoma02 and modified it a little for my needs.

The goal is to create a space to hold my staun style deflators while color coding them at the same time. I have different presets for my truck for front and rear and it's something I've always had a hard time with. I used to keep them in 2 zip lock baggies but could easily mix up a front deflator with a back deflator.

So the solution is to use the relatively unusable storage bin behind the center console.



Started with some scrap 18 GA left from the tub.



Cut out a length I can use and hit it with a wire brush for some style.



Used my super fancy and expensive brake to bend it up.



Drilled holes for the deflators as well as the color markers.



Also hit it again with a wire brush for a more consistent style.

Painted the deflator heads and glues a piece of painted metal underneath.




Then I just riveted it into place.




I know you can kinda see the jagged top edge in the first pic, but the angle from when you get the deflators from (standing outside the truck looking into the cab) you can't see it and it looks super clean. Now I have the deflators, digital tire gauge, and spare valve stems/caps all in one location.

 

Awesome, good idea, looks real clean! did you clear coat it? And what deflators are those?

 

Yeah I clear coated the bracket itself with 2 coats of clear.

And they are this style, got them on ebay a couple years ago. There are tons on there now.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/5pcs-Fit-Of...id=100005&rk=4&rkt=6&mehot=lo&sd=331903252558

 

Alright well have some voluntary and involuntary mods coming up.

First the voluntary ones. Picked this up over the weekend, second set of spindles and some bearings from @nj636. The plan is to get the TC gussets, replace the UBJ's, get fresh seals and get the bearings pressed in. Mine are fine but have 208k on them. I would like the get a fresh new setup for piece of mind since I would be pulling the spindles to do the gussets anyway.




The involuntary mod came when I left work and saw my voltage in the truck dropped down to 12.8 while the truck was running. Through the drive home it was slowly going up to 14 after I turned all my accessories off. I looked under the hood and saw my one cable seemed a little loose, tightened it back up and turned it back on. I was still showing low voltage even though it was only off for a minute. I was thinking my battery was the cause. I went and swapped batteries from another car and was getting the same voltage.

The next day I tried to turn the truck on again. Turned on just fine but now running at 11.7. If I load the system it goes down to 11.4 but then back up to 11.7 if I turn the accessories off. My next step is to pull the alternator and get it bench tested. At this point I'm 90% it's the alternator but I want to be sure.

Because of this, I started researching the big three upgrade as well as the CS-144 upgrade. So far I found this alternator:
http://www.partsgeek.com/gbproducts...2IDLOatAcOgiE3c3QP2RoCc2zw_wcB&ad=47584901292

@Blackdawg I know you did this conversion, what alternator did you use? Are you happy with it?

And this easy connector that I can use to convert it:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/200850434281?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

So I also researched the big 3 upgrade since I am fucking with the charging system and it seems like I should upgrade the wiring to go with it. My plan is to get 10ft of 2 AWG and do it for everything. The one thing that confuses me about the kit Bamatoy makes is that it seems like he just runs a cable from the battery to the alternator and bypasses the fuse?

Is that okay to do? I saw @Blackdawg installed a breaker which seems like a good idea, but was confused why bama skips it all together?

Ideally my plan would be a similar setup to Monte's setup, with one difference, no breaker unless he can convince me otherwise. 2 awg from battery to alt, 2 awg from battery to fuse panel, 2awg from battery to starter, 2awg from battery to chassis, and 2 awg from engine block to battery. I know some of this is overkill but I don't want to buy 2 types if I don't need to. Am I missing any other runs?

 

All of that should be fine. You can skip the breaker. More of just a cautionary deal.

don't forget you'll need to make a spacer for the CS144 top bolt. Should just be able to go to ACE or some other parts store and buy a zinc bushing or aluminum and cut it down to size easily. Just take the bolt with you and find one the right diameter. Needs to be close to the same outer diameter as the alternator mount or it'll hit the bracket and wont line up. But you have some leeway there.

 

Alright awesome thank you, do you have a link to the specific Cadillac alternator you used? I know I read elsewhere that it can be an issue with the way it's clocked as far as where the plug goes. Did you run into this at all?

 

i did not, I should have a PN somewhere. Hold on.

 

Not the exact one i have. but is the one i put in @Digiratus truck

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/...n=2206300&SID=two1569837&utm_content=10711125

 

Or this is the one i got.

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/...arch=-1&isAllVehicle=true&vehicleIdFromReq=-1

The pulley size is the difference. The Black pulley one(first link) has a smaller pulley so should put out a tiny bit more power at idle and all around.

 

Mike,

Put the military style battery terminal clamps while your in there, that way you can use some pretty robust terminal ends.

I'm trying to get to this upgrade when it warms up. Right now it's just sitting in a box.

It's Bamatoy's kit, Alt and big 5.

 

Hmm, it's a little more expensive but if I'm doing it might as well do it for the higher numbers. Did you need to use an ac belt like you did for yours or a ps belt?

Nice! Yeah I plan on running the military style clamps since I have a ton of crap on the wires now.



I did a Hail Mary and replaced the top connection to see if it fixed my woes and it didn't. Gonna need the alt and cables.

 

thats cheap man! haha

the one with the smaller pulley we just reused the alternator belt.

 

Haha this is true especially compared to oem or a similarly sized amp one. They are like $250+ I think I saw.

 

Took the day off yesterday to replace the manifold gasket on the DD and rip out my carpet in the Taco. Been dealing with wet spots for months after I subbed it and mold started forming on the carpeting.



It was kind of a mess so I half assed washed it, but then decided I never want to do this again anytime soon and ordered myself some vinyl floor.




This is what I was left with. I was surprised there wasn't more rust from 16 years of use.



Oh wait, it was just hiding.



Going to grind away all the rust, hit it with a rust converter and then paint it. Also am trying to figure out cost effective sound deadening since I will not run the jute padding it comes with. I've run through ideas from a rubberized bedliner to flex seal to thick rubber from home depot. Ideally the proper solution is mass loaded vinyl under the floor vinyl but that's close to $70 and I honestly don't care THAT much. If I can find a solution for $30 and seals/waterproofs/rustproofs I would be happy with that.

 

How big of a pain in the dick was pulling the carpet, Mike?

 

Pulling the carpet is actually quite easy, maybe an hour worth of work. A little longer than most people too because I have a ton of extra wiring in places. The biggest issue that stems from all this is the work it will take to properly seal/clean up everything that was under the carpet. Plus the washing/drying of the carpet. But the actual process of removing it wasn't bad at all. I was thankful for my impact though, the 14mm bolts that hold the seats go THROUGH the floor and to the outside. They were rusted to shit and event the impact was struggling to pull them and it's a 600ft lb impact.

This is how I left it because I needed it back out of the garage to let my wifes car back in:



Rass truck.

 

An hour?! Looks like I may be doing sound deadener this weekend

Edit: @cynicalrider so are you just cruising around town w/o carpet or a passenger seat now??

 

Haha truck is just sitting in the driveway right now, especially with my voltage issues. I figure it was going to sit a bit till I get my parts for the big 3/alternator install so I would tackle this in the down time. DD's FTW!

And the write up on carpet removal has been posted here:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/how-to-remove-your-carpet-in-a-first-gen-tacoma.478435/

 

Moldy carpet, good times! I dd my tacoma without carpet for a year and a half because my carpet got rained on and mold grew. Sucked, i ended up having to buy some "new" carpet. Hope you can get yours cleaned up. Intrested to see how you sound deaden, thats on my bucket list as well.