"Taz" - ProfHobbit's Build Log, 2007 Access Cab 2.7l

I have to do some work on the truck next week anyway, I'll take a gander at it after letting the capacitors on the airbags die down.

 

I hear ya, but I got it for a really good price from a friend. With less than 11k on the clock, it's hard to pass it up. I was offered a good price for it, but I can't get myself into even a 3rd Gen with that kind of mileage without spending a lot of money.

 

I feel with the frame replacement and you replacing suspension components, it will be a perfect truck when finished. Doesn't appear to have any rust on the body.

 

Anyone have experience with DORMAN 950001 wheel bearings? For a DD, I'm not sure I'm going to need to get anything more fancy than that. Only replacing the originals because of rust, and the fact that all the parts around them will be new.

 

Update on the Cruise Control addition:

Thanks to @BEE-ROCK 's insight on the cruise control, I was able to source the parts mentioned in his post. I installed them last night, with the exception of the Clutch Cancel switch. I ran out of daylight on that, and had to take the truck to work today. Here's a couple pics...

This is NOT a full walkthrough. Read the thread linked above. You are working with part of the electronically controlled throttle of your vehicle - if you don't feel you can do it, don't.

Removing the airbag from your steering wheel isn't hard, but make sure you have the battery negative lead disconnected, and have given the capacitor a few moments to discharge. If that freaks you out, don't do it.



Here's the two Torx screws. They are torqued pretty hard, so go easy and make sure you are using the correct size of driver.

There are small covers to either side of the steering wheel you remove to access them.


Once you've taken those out, you can gently pull the airbag part of the steering wheel toward yourself, and lay it down. Now you can undo the ground, and take the two retaining clips off the airbag. I recommend using your Swiss Army knife!


The switch will sneak in under the side metal part, like this.


And can then be fastened in place with the two 10/32 screws you bought at a local hardware store, because Toyota made you laugh a lot with what they wanted for them.


Now you're ready for the complex wiring. Stick the $5000000000 dollar wiring harness you bought from Toyota after selling family members for medical experiments, and plug it into the switch, the harness, and the ground on the airbag cover. If you don't plug the ground back in, your horn won't work.

Put the clip connectors bag into the airbag, and replace those Torx screws, taking your time to line everything up nicely, make sure no wires are being jammed, and getting a good turn to tighten those screws down.

Take the fancy cover for the right of the wheel, with the flap material for your CC switch, and put it on instead of the old one.


If you have an AT, you're basically done. Reconnect your ground wire at the engine and rejoice. If you're a hard working MT person, you have one more step.

You'll look down at the clutch pedal, and get excited because you'll see a wire and switch already there.


Not so fast, Poncho. That's the Clutch Start switch. You have to install the clutch switch up under the dash, in a place only Smurfs can reach. Lots of good pictures on other threads about this, but this is the one that most helpful to me. NOT MY PHOTO.




That green pad is where the clutch pedal hits the bolt, which is currently in there because the jerks at Toyota were too cheap to install a clutch switch and just throw cruise in on the base model. Before you take the bolt out, mark how much of the bolt is sticking down to make contact with the clutch pedal. I used a dowel and a sharpie to mark this. You want to duplicate that travel length as closely as you can. I used a stick to depress the clutch, to give me some room to work.


The bolt is a real killer to remove. I used a 14mm shortie ratcheting wrench. By the way, this mod is a great excuse to get a set of metric shorty ratcheting wrenches.

Match the thread length, and screw in your switch. Attach the harness. What harness? The one with two wires that lurks just above that area, electrically taped out of way. Toyota almost had to do more work to NOT include cruise on my truck. Good grief.

Once the harness was on, I used the dowel that had the length of the threads below the nut marked to make sure the clutch switch was dialed in enough, then I snugged the locking nut down.

You'll notice that my knuckle is bleeding. The impression I get from this forum is that if you're not bleeding from at least two knuckles, you're not tinkering with your truck enough.



Once it's all tight, reconnect the negative terminal on your battery, and go for a drive. That moment when you take your foot off the gas, and the truck keeps moving? SO worth it. That moment when the clutch and brake make your truck stop moving on its own? Also worth it.

As always, I'm really indebted to the guys on this forum, particularly @BEE-ROCK for steering me straight on this one.

Base model no more!

 

Looks awesome!! Glad you were able to get it installed and working. Looks like it was more of a PITA than I thought! At least your not running an after market cruise setup. Those are buggy, and I wouldn't feel comfortable using them.

 

It's not bad - really the clutch switch is the only part that's awkward. Some guys will, apparently, take the fuse panel and lower dash trim off to make it easier to access - to me, that's more of a pain than a benefit.

I agree on the aftermarket stuff - just too important a function for me to trust to my own jury-rigging skills. Other guys are far more confident.

 

Can't wait to see what else you have planned! Good luck with the build!

 

Intermittent Wiper Switch Upgrade

Part arrived today from Rock Auto. Installed same. The videos on Youtube are all true:

1. Take out the two screws from your steering column cowl.
2. Take the lower part off.
3. Gently work the top part off.
4. Unplug both harnesses from the bottom of the existing, non-intermittent wiper switch.
5. Undo the lower black clip on the switch, and then press firmly with a screwdriver in the middle clip area.
6. Pull it out.
7. Push the new one in until it gives that satisfying click.
8. Plug the two harnesses back in.
9. Put the upper and lower cowl on.
10. Play with your new switch.

 

Adding Keyless Entry

With the kids getting in and out of the truck, and my wife using it as her DD, it’s a whole lot more convenient to click a key fob and be able to lock your doors. It took me a lot of research and planning before I could work up the nerve to try this mod, but I’m so glad that I did.

As always, remove the negative lead from your battery. You’ll be messing around with electronics, and within reach of the airbag knocking parts of your brains out. If you don’t feel comfortable doing this, don’t do it. This isn’t meant to be a guide to someone who isn’t capable, just a collection of research I did that may make life easier for those who are.

Once you get the door off (there’s pretty good info on getting that done around on the forums, and here), you’re looking at a cable driven system. That means that

InstallGear Keyless Entry System with Two 3-Button Remotes & 4 Door Lock Actuators - Central Locking System - Keyless Entry Door Lock for Car, Auto, Truck - Power Door Lock Kit

the kit you purchased is going to need a little help. If you look up

$15 Install Essentials 524CL Cabled Door Bracket Kit - 2 Pack

this kit, you will notice that some kind person put a ton of really good install photos for our trucks in the links. I’m using my own photos here, but it was that kind reviewer on Amazon who finally convinced me to give this a try.

Peel back the plastic, trying to leave the tar/sealant on the door, if you can. That mounting bracket has two clips in it. I put the clips on the cable, placed them (not pushing them in all the way) in the bracket, and then marked the holes to drill.

Keep in mind you’re doing this with the windows down. Let’s mark our drill bit and be really careful not to punch through and into the glass, shall we?

Once the brackets are mounted, things look like this:


Go ahead and place your retainer clip in now, at least on one side. Cut the plastic away between these two clips.


It reveals a Fort-Knox level of security around that sliding cable inside. Using a small screwdriver, good wire clippers, and some patience, cut aware that shielding a few strands at a time, being really, really careful about the cable in the middle.


Once you’ve exposed the cable in the middle, it’s time to put the other clip in, and move the lock manually a few times to get a sense of the amount of travel on that cable within the sheathing.

If you need a break, you can choose this time to run the leads from the control box, which I chose to mount in the driver’s side kick panel, through the existing door grommets, up to the actuators.

Now, about that actuator. This was a real pain for me. The plastic door panels on my truck flare out and in in such a way as to make locating this thing tricky. Ideally, you want that actuator to be in line with the cable - inline force is what it is designed to exert, and you’ll have fewer complications down the road. No bent rods, no catching pieces of trim, wires, or moving windows with a bend or angled rod that shot out the wrong way. Here’s what I can up with:


And here is a close-up so you can see a few details.



Let’s return to the cable for a moment. The rod connects to the cable using a lug that came in your bracket adapter kit. Those who have done this before will tell you up and down to use lock tite on those little setscrews, and I didn’t feel like arguing with them. The bracket allows just enough travel for this thing to go back and forth. I hooked the control unit’s positive and negative leads to the 12V source to test it, and it worked great. This also made sure that I had connected the actuator with the right polarity. Some people report have to reverse the leads, especially when just using actuators with OEM setups. Just be aware it’s better to test things before putting the door back together.

Mounting the actuator? There are backing brackets in the kit. I ended up not using them, and drilled the door out carefully. Using the screw that came in the kit for the actuator, and a Phillips screwdriver head in a small compact ratchet, I reached into the window hole below the actuator, dodged the window glass, and was able to get the screws through the door and into the actuator, tightly. I then secured the wires. I was so happy to hear this sound:



Put your plastic back on, pressed nicely into the black goop.

Repeat for the Driver’s side door, but remember that the driver’s door actually has a different actuator than all the others, in my kit. It has more wires to connect.

As I mentioned, I put the control box in the Driver’s side kick panel. I used a good ground screw there, and then tapped the ignition harness 12V constant for power.


Here’s the wiring diagram for the kit:


Now, I wanted the unit to be able to activate my parking lights to tell me that I had locked it successfully. To do so, there are two purple leads off the box. One goes to parking lights (+), and the other to parking lights (-).

It took me ages to find the parking NEGATIVE lead. People said it was the “green wire” in the turn signal harness on the steering column. Which green wire? Thankfully I guess rightly the first time:



Finding the parking light (+) lead was a little easier, as it is in a 13-pin connector that plugs into the fuse box right about the driver’s side kick panel. Sorry I didn’t take a picture, but you are looking for the 13 pin connector, plug 10.

And that was it for wiring, in terms of connections for the truck: 12V Constant (+) and then a ground, and the two parking light wires.

Some guys wire these up with a switch so they can control the locks inside the cab. I didn’t bother, as I don’t have power windows either, and didn’t feel like cutting into the plastic on my doors. I think the brown wires that come with the kit are for that.

Because I’m a bit of a Nervous Nellie, I put heat shrink over the ends of any wires from the control box that I didn’t intend to hook into anything, and then nicely tie wrapped and cleaned things up. The control box nestled in nicely to the driver’s kick panel, and all the trim went back on. Hooked up the truck, and it all woked well.

One odd glitch had to do with the headlights. On my truck, the headlights can be auto-off. When you turn the truck off, and leave the headlight switch on, they stay on until you open the door. Then they go off. Well, when I would lock the doors remotely, the headlights would come back on when the parking lights flashed!

This problem went away on its own after I disconnected the negative lead again, to replace the head unit. The best I can say is that maybe the computer relearned something? No idea, other than the fact things work properly now.

A word of caution - the fuses that come with that kit are garbage. Replace them with fuses that are reliable. Same type of fuse as the truck, 15amp.

I hope this helps. The best advice I can give to people is to budget a whole day for this if you’re slow and cautious like me. You do NOT want to be in a hurry when trying to do this. It’s a really nice upgrade for our trucks.

 

Side Rails / Steps

I was able to pick up a set of side steps from @Misfit and finally made some time today to get those on. I like the look, and they make it easier for the kids to scramble into the cab. And me, for that matter.

 

Replace Wheels and Tires

I was delighted to get a set of Alloy 4Runner rims from @replica9000 . The tires and rims that were on there were original to the truck, so it's nice to get a reset on those. 11-year old tires could become an issue.

After a lot of research, I went with Michelin LTX tires in a 245/70/R17. I have run Defenders on my sedans for years, and had really good luck with them. Hoping to get a few years out of these, and I love the way these rims and tires look on the truck.

 

Front End Before and After

This post encompasses a few of the original items I posted to accomplish with this truck.

I dropped off parts, sourced from several folks, at my mechanic on Monday:



I got the truck back today, with the note that in addition to UCA's, Shocks and Coilovers, Rotors, Brake Pads, Calipers, Sway Bar, Inner and Outer Tie Rod Ends, Brake Dust Shields, and Spindles (Steering Knuckles), my mechanic needed to replace both front ABS sensors, as they were rusted into the old spindles so hard that they wouldn't release.

So with the addition of "ABS sensors" to the list above, here is the new front end of my truck, before and after:





As I've stated elsewhere, I'm very thankful to the TW members who guided me through which parts to get, the sources from which to get them, and sold me their unneeded items.

With the exception of the front and rear axles, diffs, drive shafts, U Joints, etc, and the Exhaust system - this is now basically a brand new truck. Just amazing to me, what a privilege.

** Side note - the hangers on the rear axle were so rotted, that he couldn't replace the OEM shocks with the Bilsteins. So that's a chapter for another day.

 

Looks great! Look forward to seeing what else you are going to do!

 

Thanks, Brock. In terms of the necessary stuff, it's looking like that back axle and diff just became a priority. Either I need to get some reinforcement welded on top of that existing strut bracket, or a new unit. The pocketbook is suggesting that the former is the way to go for now, unless I see evidence that it's weeping fluid. So far, so good.

For fun stuff, I'd love to get some fog lights hooked up. Had to do a lot of spending to get the necessary items done before the NC trip this week, but once I get Taz home and save up a bit, hopefully I can do some more tweaking.

 

Uni-Filter Mod

I read, with fascinated horror, of all the guys posting links to the damage that the rogue foam in their secondary air pumps did. I was pretty sure my truck didn't have that nonsense component. Welp, I then gave those threads a second read, and lo and behold, all '07 4-cylinder trucks do.

So, this is the fix. Foam removed (it was in pretty good shape, but it's a low-mileage truck), and the

$30 K&N Vent Air Filter/Breather: High Performance, Premium, Washable, Replacement Engine Filter: Flange Diameter: 1 In, Filter Height: 2.375 In, Flange Length: 0.4375 In, Shape: Breather, 62-1410

K&N version of the uni-filter installed. It's not the same one most guys use, but Amazon had a run on them, so I had to make due with what my local parts place had in stock.

 

Nice! What a difference!

 

Rear Axle / Shock Mounts

On our way home from a trip to NC, towing a 6x8 U-Haul full of lawn equipment, the passenger side shock mount let go. At first, I was assuming I would need to replace the entire axle, as the other one was also in bad shape. Looking at salvage axles and diffs online, however, convinced me that I would never find one with as few miles on it as mine, even if the corrosion was terrible.

A buddy of mine told me about these beauties: Lower Shock Mounts from East Coast Gear Supply. For $20, and a few hours of my mechanic's time to clean and weld up the mounts, I went from this:

To this:

 

Rust Check today in Portland, ME. Hoping to keep it looking pretty!

 

for "Install Power Door Locks / Keyless Entry", do you have the parts list? For some reason the link you gave only has actuators. Where to get wires, relays, fobs, etc? Thanks.