benbenww 2014 AC Build Thread

2014 Access Cab SR5 4x4

Here's how it currently sits (4/21/2019):


2.5 inch OME lift
-OME 885 Coils
-Bilstein 5100 Shocks
-Dakar Medium-Duty Leafpack
-3 deg Shims
-SPC Light Racing UCAs
-Cab Mount Chop

SCS Stealth 6 17x8.5
BFGoodrich AT TA/KO2 285/70r17

ACEkraut License Plate Relocation
Color-matched Grille
Anytime Fog Light Mod
Black Headlight Mod
Baja Designs Squadron Sport Fog Lights
Plasti Dipped Badges
Fumoto F103S Valve
aFe Pro Dry S air filter

Hypertech Inline Speedometer Calibrator
Husky X-Act Contour Floormats
Clazzio Leather Seat Covers

Thule XSporter Pro Bed Rack - Chopped
Yakima Showdown SUP Carrier

 

Here's what I started with:


I cheated a little bit and installed the Yakima Bedrock bed rack system with a couple Thule Sidearm bike carriers before I took a picture, but otherwise completely stock.

First up: Installing a bed rack system to carry bikes without losing bed space.

I've always liked the low profile look of the Yakima Bedrock and I had a couple Thule Sidearm bike racks in the garage from a previous vehicle. Initial research indicated that the rack setup would give enough clearance for my Yeti cooler so I went for it. Fit is great, bed is still useable, and the bikes don't sit too high above the cab.

 

The chrome grille looked out of place and kept catching my eye in the wrong way. After several considerations, the stock grille with color-matched surround looked best to me. The Pro grille looks nice, but I don't want to misrepresent which model I have, and the custom options look really out of place on an otherwise stock truck.

I ordered the grille through Camelback Toyota here:
https://parts.camelbacktoyota.com/p...e&partid=1118073&siteid=214329&catalogid=9000

 

While working on the front end, it bothered me that the license plate was drilled into the front bumper cover with reckless abandon. I stumbled upon ACEkraut's solution here:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...rill-license-plate-bracket-35-shipped.429680/

I don't have immediate plans for a light bar in the lower grille, but I like the look and functionality and am considering it for the future. In the meantime, the license plate has a home that looks a bit more intentional and that was well worth the price.

ACEkraut's mounts come as bare metal and won't rust. They are mostly hidden, but since I was doing this for aesthetic reasons I decided to paint them Rustoleum satin black.



The original mounting location left visible screw holes and the only retail solution I could find was Bumper Plugs. At $27.95/pair plus shipping, I went another route.

If you don't want to deal with DIY, color-matched plugs can be found here:
https://www.bumperplugs.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=1_11_98&product_id=98

The DIY option:


Dorman Assorted Push Rivets: $3.99 at O'Reillys
Rustoleum Primer: Free from the garage
Duplicolor MGM Paint: $9.39 at Amazon
Duplicolor Clear Coat: $9.39 at Amazon

It's only about $5 cheaper this route and takes a bit of time waiting for primer and paint to cure, but now I have a mostly-full can of color-matched paint for other projects.

 

The bike rack solution worked great, but as we head into summer I am planning on hauling stand up paddleboards pretty regularly. My bike rack setup did not have enough room for 12' SUPs, so I needed an above cab option.

I bought Thule's Xsporter Pro and Yakima's Showdown SUP carrier. The Showdown allows me to load and strap the boards at a lower height, then pivot them up on top of the rack. My old Subaru was not a problem, but the Tacoma sits much higher and lifting a board that high (especially in windy conditions) would not be a good time.





Pretty slick, right? I encountered some compatibility and fitment problems that I would not trust at highway speeds.

With the way the Yakima rack slides out, it has very specific mounting parameters. This means the rack needed to be mounted directly over the Thule tower:


Causing this mounting integration:


I could pivot the entire rack off of the bar using just my hands. With something the size of a SUP catching the wind at highway speeds, this would not end well for anybody.

Yakima and Thule support both told me that it was an incompatible system that would not work. I didn't like that answer. The Xsporter rack system has a T-slot channel on the top, so I found some old T-slot bolts and shortened them with a dremel and stone wheel and replaced the stock Yakima mounts:




Since I exposed the metal when I cut them down, I taped the area off and used Plasti Dip to make the mount waterproof. If I ever have to take this off, I can just peel away the Plasti Dip and re-spray when I remount it.


Old setup:


New setup:




The flush mount has also eliminated the wind noise that resulted from the gap.

 

The factory bed mat had been accumulating pollen and it didn't come off in the car wash. The rubber had turned pretty slick, so to restore some of the tackiness I wiped it clean with Simple Green and a toothbrush. It made a significant difference and I'm considering spraying some tire shine to treat the rubber.

 

Got these today:


I tried to play the waiting game with SCS but the last several releases weren't the rim I wanted. I was told that it would be this summer, but piecing together a lift kit with wheels/tires on optimism meant I would be waiting a long time and with no guarantees. During my research I saw that there were two Toyota dealerships in the country that occasionally carried stock, and one of them was about an hour away from me. I called up Michael's Toyota of Bellevue and they had them in a couple colors! With what I saved in shipping cost I bought a fifth rim for the full size spare.

I have a set of 285/70r17 BFG AT TA KO2 tires I bought on a Father's Day special that are backordered, but should be here in the next two weeks.

 

Playing the waiting game for lift and tires...

Plastidipped the emblems because why not:


Debadging the clashing brands on the rack:


Taking it out one more time before the truck goes out of commission for a few days:

 

WA plates, what's your location?

 

Lift arrived! Now the fun begins.

Bilstein 5100 with 885 OME springs and the medium duty dakar pack.




Dakars had some paint worn off in shipping so I did some spot coverage for extra protection.

Front was done in one evening while I waited for the dakar paint to dry:


Air tools make it go much faster:


Rear was finished up the next day:

 

Tires arrive tomorrow, then I need to find a shop to mount and balance.

How it sits now:


Center of hub to wheel well measurements:
Before:
DF: 20 1/4" PF: 20 1/4"
DR: 21 1/2" PR: 21 3/4"

After (before settling):
DF: 22 1/2" PF: 22 1/2"
DR: 24 1/2" PR: 24 1/2"

I'm expecting the rear to settle down quite a bit more once I add the spare tire again (took it off for install) and racks. I should be close to factory rake, which is what I was going for.

 

I'm in the Gig Harbor/Tacoma area.

 

ah, ok...

Have you been over here?
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/nw-wa-meet-bs-thread.224544/page-2102#post-18161251

 

Tires arrived, appointment at the tire shop for install is tomorrow.

 

Tires mounted up great!

I asked the alignment shop to kick the lower control arm eccentrics out to maximize clearance and they were able to hit my requested numbers:

Camber: 0, 0.01
Caster: 3.0, 3.0
Toe: 0, 0

I still had to trim this little plastic piece, and if I flex it out I hit the cab mount. Time to figure out a shop who can do the chop for me.



Okay, nobody wants to see plastic. On to the good stuff.

 

I went back and forth on whether I would pay the $220 for a speedometer calibrator. Previous lifted vehicles have only required a $15 speedometer gear to be swapped out, so I was a bit salty that the Tacoma was all electronic. I purchased the Hypertech In-line Speedometer Calibrator Module off of Amazon after a long road trip. The mental math to determine my actual speed was fine, but I knew that an inaccurate odometer would bother me.

The instructions left a bit to be desired and I had to call the customer service number to help my computer recognize the module so I could set it up properly. It all came together easily after that and the speedometer is now dead on accurate.

 

Super clean build! ​

 

While I had the dash apart and a workspace set up, I decided to take a stab at the anytime fog light mod.

I used ND4's walkthrough as it seemed the most reversible if I ever needed to go back.

Fun Fact: SR5 trims don't have the hot wire for the AC/DC inverter for the bed outlet to keep the wiring tidy. I had to run a wire into the main fuse box.



But it worked! I now can turn on fog lights without a key in the ignition. We will see how many times I forget to turn them off and if I opt for an ignition source in the future. In the meantime, this is proof of concept for aftermarket fog lights.

 

Summer was wrapping up so I chased the sun for a weekend.



Had a truck date with a friend who just bought a 2018 Off Road. Playing in sand dunes sounded like as good a time as any, so we drove down to Oregon and had the OHV park to ourselves.

 

I started the black headlight mod last weekend. After disassembling the grille and cooking one of the headlights I didn't like how the plastic was deforming while trying to separate the lens. I aborted the project, reinstalled everything and ordered some pre-blacked headlights for cheap off of Amazon. I'm expecting these to yellow over time, but for now I've got the look and a fully functioning set of OEM headlights if/when these fade. For ~$120 I don't have to worry about ruining my only set of headlights, so I'm good with it.

Fit is about 95% of the stock housings. Maybe I only notice it because this was the second time in a week I've removed and installed headlight housings, but it doesn't line up perfectly flush. Pretty darn close, though.



Edit: Amazon link removed because they were junk. See post below.