2003 ALUMINUM WHEEL CENTER CAP MOD

My 2003 Hilux 4x has factory aluminum rims. When I bought the truck the center caps for the wheels were missing. I priced a set at the dealer, but they were way too pricey (135,000 Colombian pesos - $35 USD each). Couldn't find an aftermarket set here, so ordered a set from a China seller on Ebay for $13.99 USD/set of 4. Trouble is ... the only ones available are for 4x4s with auto locking front hubs and mine are manuals. So I had to mod two of the center caps to make them fit. Finished caps look factory and really cleaned up the look of the wheels.

I decided to post a how-to in case someone else want to give this a try.


the rim w/o the center cap


The stock center cap. FREE shipping from China to Colombia took less than a week !


I used a tool for cutting sheet plastic to put a deep score around the center of the cap.


Then I drilled a hole pattern in the center, removed it, cut it into pie-shaped sections and CAREFULLY snapped each piece out


The cap with its center removed. The rough edge needed to be cleaned up and enlarged to fit over the manual hub.


I used an exacto and a pocket knife to cleanup the edge


Installed center cap fits perfect and looks as good as the factory cap at less than 1/4 of the price.


This mod was fun and pretty easy. Only took about 2 hours to do both sides.

- JAMES

 

Great job, looks really clean!

 

I’ve figured this would work...glad to see that someone proved it.

 

Great idea, will be doing this on some wheels I just got put on.

 

Thanks to JAMES399 for the great idea on making front caps. I did it a little different by drilling a big hole in the center, then using a jig saw I cut around the edge. I used a dremel with a metal bit to smooth it out, then painted all 4 silver. I bought 4 used factory ones someone had painted black off eBay for $50. Worked out great.

 

Nice piece of work. Caps and Tacoma wheels look great on your truck. Sweet looking ride by the way.

- JAMES