Kyitty's Humble Build Thread

Oil change at 39,053 miles. New Toyota oil filter and Mobile 1 Full Synth 5w-30. Engine air filter looked pretty good so I left it in.

Sending oil sample to Blackstone Labs to check it out!

Removed my URD MAF Calibrator. It was on the entire last oil duration. My fuel economy sucks this winter. Been getting 12-13mpgs. Want to compare without the MAF Calibrator to see what happens.

 

Always will.

 

That's not a sammich. Sammiches have more meat than whatever that is.

 

You must have pony'd up the $$$ for the harness.

Mine is soldered in, if I remove it, it would stay off.

 

Yeah. And it took over a month to get it because they didn't have the connectors in stock.

 

Getting the alignment did. Noticed uneven tread wear on the outside of each front tire. Truck has ALWAYS pulled right really hard.

Alignment shop set my front caster on the right front at 4.3 and left at 3 to see if that will straighten her out.

 

fixed*

 

Finally did the filter mod on the government exhaust pump.

 

Just ordered new tires today. Trying something totally different due to budget concerns long term. My ST Maxx have been awesome tires however the tread life has not been great for me.

Installed at 13,258 miles on the odometer.
Current odometer reads 44,791.

Tires are not worn evenly due to lack of rotations and perhaps inflation issues. Outside edges has less tread depth than inside edges. Center is lower than inside edge. Lowest point on tires is about 7/32nds. Highest on inside edges is about 10/32nds or so. Varies from tire to tire. This is after about 31,000 miles on the odometer (which is admittedly off by 9% due to tire size).

These ST Maxx have taken a beating on the handful of off-road trips. I've never questioned whether I'd get a flat with these. Tough tires that show the scars.

 

Need a CMC before install...

 

Cab Mount Chop complete thanks to a local Fabricator/Welder.















For reference this is what got cut out:




Once I get the 285's mounted I'll take time to trim the fender flares as needed.

 

Time to visit Toyota I think:

Yesterday I took a little drive. Dropped the truck into 4WD on a dirt road. Legitimately no "off-road" action. But with my window down I noticed a whistling noise all of the sudden. Really loud like bad brake squeal. I stopped a couple times. Drove in reverse a couple times in case I had a brake drum sticking. Ultimately determined that the truck ONLY whistles in 4WD. Once it hits 2WD the whistle instantly stops.

No thunk when engaging/disengaging. Drives just fine. Just a loud whistle.

Truck is at 46k miles. So I should be within the 60k powertrain warranty.

 

Toyota could not mimmick my issue. They had two mechanics drive the truck on two separate trips. No whistling in 4WD anymore.

Put it in 4H on my drive home for a few blocks. No whistle.

Who freaking knows. Off-road problems... lol

 

Finally got my Falken Wildpeak AT3W mounted.

 

What are your first impressions with the Wildpeak AT3W?

 

Over 100 miles so far. Nothing by rain/wet and dry roads. Fairly quiet. My ST MAXX were quiet too but as they aged I think they got louder. Pretty sure these are quieter on the highway. Ride smooth so far as well.

Bumps feel smoother too. But I'm at 30psi right now on 285s. My ST MAXX were 255 at 34psi. Granted both my UCAs just got replaced so it's not a specific comparison. Though the Coopers are known for rigid sidewalls.

I've yet to get a chance to chalk test to determine the right PSI. Roads keep being wet.

Good looking tire. But I got them for price and snow rating. Looking forward to see how they fare this winter.

 

Truck Updates:

Finally got some time to peel all the stickers off my truck that advertised for a bankrupt company. Thought about leaving a couple on because it looked funny.



Then, last night, on my drive down I-90 in Montana I hit a deer. I have to say the bumper, made by the bankrupt company, prevented a LOT of damage. Cruising at 84mph and hitting a full size whitetail deer dead center would have completely disabled a stock Tacoma. Of that I'm certain. In the video below you can clearly hear me stop talking mid sentence. I saw the deer and immediately hit the brake pedal. It all happens so fast that the GPS in my dash cam doesn't even register the speed change until after the impact. You can JUST see the front end of the truck begin to dip (as I hit the brakes) just before striking the deer.

It was pitch black on the interstate and there was a lot of traffic behind me. I didn't go back looking for the deer for safety reasons. On my journey back through this stretch of road today I saw what was left of the deer. It was literally in pieces. Looking at my truck it appears the main portion of the deer's body impacted the area where my winch fairlead is located. The head would have gone under the front passenger tire. I clearly felt both passenger side tires go over the deer. You'll see in the video the truck was forced partially out of my lane due to the impact to the front passenger tire.

There are small blood spots all over the passenger side of the vehicle. There also seems to be blood and such on the undercarriage and likely on my skid plates.

The truck was completely drive-able thanks to the protection afforded by my steel bumper. This is exactly why I bought this particular bumper, adding in the hoops going over the headlights. Because in Montana we have deer. Everywhere.

 

That’s some clean work! How much did he charge if you don’t mind me asking?

 

I can't say. I was the first Taco he'd done so there was some give and take. He's clearly skilled though. And he's a perfectionist. He wasn't done until he was done. His welding rig is mobile too!