OEM+ Overlander

As she currently sits


Started w/creature comforts: Sony XAV-AX100, Wheelskin, 2009 lower panel w/seat heater controls and USB port, and Wet Okoles



First OEM+ mod was the 3rd gen TRD Pro skid; ~27lbs


TRD Baja kit, SPC UCAs, LCAs, full tie rods, sway links, steering rack & sway bushings, Icon AALs


Old non-OEM exhaust rusted through, so it got replaced with the TRD cat-back.



Current parts in the queue:

• A-TRAC
• Bussman/PowerTray
• T4R heated/puddle/signal mirrors
• US Offroad front winch bumper/mount

Parts approaching the queue:

• Leer canopy

 

I got a wild idea to fit a front torsen differential, and ended up with three: full details. That thread lazily drifted into my AWD conversion, so I'll try to properly document it here. The parts I used for this should work for any 05-08 4x4 Taco with automatic transmission. I won't cover the details here, but I've also removed ADD and am working towards essentially a V8 T4R full-time 4WD.

I'm using a front drive shaft from what was supposedly a 2018 AWD T4R (taken off for trail gear) I picked up on eBay, but it appears to be at it's limits lengthwise. I will probably have a custom one built soon, or see if this one can be lengthened and rebalanced.

The install is super straight forward. Remove the front and rear drive shaft. Drain your part-time 4WD transfer case and remove it, 12 bolts and a few connectors. Bolt the replacement transfer case up to the transmission, and fill it with new fluid (I used Ravenol J1C1003 SAE 75W). Bolt up the new front and rear drive shaft. Go for a spin!

 

Is the AWD case electronically or manually shifted?

 

Today it doesn't shift, but once I finish the wiring it will be electronically shifted. I will post a video once everything is working, hopefully in the next week or two. The manual transmission FJ Cruisers came with a manually shifted AWD transfer case.

 

Nice Truck

 

A lot more work that I would have done, but I applaud your endevour.


Waiting to see the progress about the t4r mirrors

 

Honestly, most of the work was staring at wiring diagrams to find a way to make everything work. It dawned on me halfway through to use the ADD wiring. Once I figured that out it was just learning to disassemble the harness connectors.

Ha, you and me both. Driver's side is dangling in the wind thanks to the last drive through car wash.

 

I ended up using the 4WD dash light for the center differential lock instead of the RR diff lock dash light. First it was easier. Second, it looks more like the switch and the truck is actually in a similar configuration (front/rear locked together) as this light previously indicated. I’ll try to update the wiring above but it’s just swapping the L-Y wire at pin 20 with the red wire that used to be at pin 19. Here are some crappy videos of me trying to use a camera phone and failing to switch 4WD modes at the same time.

 

nice job man!

 

just so I'm following correctly - you got the switch to work like 2wd=AWD, 4H=4H, 4LO=4LO?

 

No.

2H = 4H (AWD)
4H = 4L
4L = 4L

When I plug the V8 T4R selector switch in (same connector, but only has 4H and 4L positions) I get:

4H = 4H (AWD)
4L = 4L

Honestly, I didn't touch the stock selector switch and wasn't sure exactly how it would function. Since the V8 T4R computer I'm using doesn't expect a 2H position, I pulled that pin from the 4WD control computer; now the only signal the computer sees is 4L (just like the V8 T4R). I wasn't sure how the internals of the switch worked and figured that would be the best option. Turns out, the internal circuitry of the Taco's switch signals this pin when moving from 2H to 4H.

 

I decided to just shove the V8 T4R switch in there, because truck. Fits snugly enough to not bounce around, but will spin a little if turned hard enough.

 

looks good. So will you have a separate switch to lock/unlock the center dif?

 

Already in, you can see me pushing it to actuate the locking mechanism in the videos I posted.

 

Is your 4x4 cluster light always on now?

 

whoops, missed that! Over there on the left - gotcha. That's clean man, nice work.

 

nope, it comes on when I lock the center diff. I didn't capture it very well in the first video, but you can see it flashing after I push the button and then solid after I switch into D (drive) and the lock engages (the video ends right after that, so it's not easy to tell that it stops flashing). In the second video, I tried to show it going out when I push the button again to unlock the center diff.

 

So when will you finish the drive train and swap in the 4.7L?

 

Haha, that won’t happen. I love the truck as it is, but might add a supercharger, someday.

 

That's more than expensive and less cool