What can go wrong with my truck - or RysiuM build

Still waiting for my low voltage automotive wires order to be ready for picking. I have ordered 13 different colors matching circuits I'm planing to tap into in the future. But for now I just need these wires to tap into front corner lamps and front blinkers. This is for the project I have ready to be put in the truck.

Inspired by the post https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...asy-way-on-1st-gen.61586/page-2#post-18208476 I simplified circuit to just DPDT relay (removing 4 diodes). Then I found AXICOM miniature relay (about 3/8" x 1/4") handling up to 5A. So my new diagram for using Polarity switchback LED bulbs is:



There is no way I could wire this miniature relay directly, I had to use PCB for that. So I designed and made me a set (easy to do using "iron transferring method").



That was the most difficult part. Next was drilling tiny, tiny holes for relay and a little bigger holes for wires:




On the next picture the soldering might look crappy but it was intentional. I wanted a solid layer of solder on the top of printed copper. Just to be sure to be sure.




At least the other side of the board looks clean. By putting all wires through holes in the board I assured that soldering point will never be under the stress from pulling force or even vibration.




Now everything got heat shrink wrapped and sealed on both ends with silicone.

Because I don't know how long the polarity switchback LEDs will last I decided to make this mod "removable". There is a weather proof connector on each set of wires and the matching connectors will be on put on truck's harness. If I ever have a problem with LEDs or relays not working I will be able to remove the circuit and reconnect truck's harness back together.




So the set of black and white end goes to the corner light, black and green to parking wire harness (originally going to the corner lamp) and the blue goes to spliced front blinker.

Now waiting for my wire order to be ready for picking. I ordered FLRY - special automotive wires that are designed for high current but still have thin insulation (same as most wires in cars). Wires sold in auto part stores have very thick insulation, that is overkill if you want to put them inside a wire loom. So far I "dry tested" the circuit and I like the result. But the real test will be when I mount bulbs in a truck.

Continued here.

 

Finally I did it. I got inspired by the post https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...0-000-3-4l-v6-fsm.571200/page-4#post-18865466. Apparently his truck had original ball joints installed 330k miles before they failed. I'm currently at 320k mark so such post made me quite nervous. If LBJ would fail for me, that will be long, long waiting period for parts to arrive to Poland. I have alreday bought OEM set more than year ago, but I hesitated to install them as old ones did not have any noticeable wear. No play at all, rubber not leaking so I had no motivation at all. Till I read that post by @96BlueTacos .

I said, screw it, no more waiting. I have all tools needed, I have great instruction video by @Timmah!, I have FSM, weather is good, so no more excuses. I decided to follow @Timmah! video to the letter and besides the nut size on the steering knuckle I had exactly the same process and "issues". Zero surprises. You gotta love Cali truck with no rusted bolts. The job was super easy with all tools Tim recommended (OTC set worked super awesome for disconnecting outer tie rod and LBS from the lower arm). Once I was getting into putting new LBJ I found a surprise: there is an error in 96 FSM (I have PDF version) on pageSA-84 showing torque for four bolts. The FSM shows 83 ft-lb which is not consistent with Tim's video and other pages of that FSM.




It should be 59 ft-lb like it is showing on the same FSM on page SA-22




When I sorted it out the rest was super easy. Actually the most "intense" task was lifting up and putting back wheels - so bulky and heavy.

The second surprise in the whole task was the condition of my 23 years old 320k miles LBJ. They look exactly like Tim's on his video. Zero play, very tight almost like the new ones (anyone wants to buy almost like new OEM LBJ). Rubber age shows very little. On the driver side I can see some surface cracks developing but still not leaking. Her is the set I just took out of my truck:




Rubber boot stressed on passenger side:




Rubber boot stressed on driver side




Here is the closeup on that crack:




So my conclusion is that original 1995 Tacoma LBJ will last over 23 years and past 320k miles. The ball in the socket is smooth and tight, but what probably would eventually kill it (and probably killed in @96BlueTacos truck) is the water damage after such crack in rubber boot develops and the boot start leaking. As soon as LBJ starts leaking it is a matter of months (or maybe weeks depending on driving environment) before the ball grinds and pops out.

Anyway Thank you Tim for excellent video that mad this job easy and stress free for me. You guys need to remember that if something goes out of whack I have no option to drive to Toyota dealer to get broken part in emergency. If I brake something during my repair I'm grounded for 2 months - that how long it takes to get spare part here. So whenever I do something to my truck it has to be well thought through and all steps done with a backup plan in mind. That makes repairs a little bit more interesting. The LBJ swap took me total 4 hours from the time I put my overalls on to the time taking it off. It includes taking out my tools, lifting the truck, taking wheels off, removing LBJ on each side (and everything back in reverse order).

By the way @Timmah! how can you work in your overalls in California weather. We had very nice sunny weather today - close to 80 and I was about to die from the heat inside that uniform.

 

Yours looked to be in much better shape than mine! I'm always amazed with OEM taco parts, but I would still say, don't push your luck if you are around 300,000 miles and haven't replaced LBJs.

I think you made the perfect decision. There are some parts that you can wear out completely before servicing them and if those parts fail, your truck might stop running or something minor like that, a starter, spark plugs, etc..(still better not to let anything wear completely) Then, there are parts like the LBJ that you DO NOT want to risk letting wear out completely, because if these types of parts fail at the wrong time, the results could be seriously destructive. I am grateful and extremely lucky to still have my health and my truck. A few minutes later and I wouldn't have been pulling out of my driveway, but been on the highway....im gonna be doing a timing belt soon, I can't find paper work to confirm that mine was ever replaced by PO that makes me nervous if I have a 343xxx mile timing belt. Im glad I helped inspire you hahaha

 

Yes you did . Thank you for that . I ignored stories about MOOG failing after 20k miles or OEM failing after tearing the boot while wheeling broken bolts that are not torqued to spec. I had OEM not abused, not crossing water and I was finding them to be in perfect condition every time I checked them (in Poland we have annual inspection required an they check all suspension parts for wear). Your 330k miles was scary for me. And my street is full of potholes, patches and speed bumps so it feels like rock climbing every time I drive there. I just could not take that stress and risk anymore. Every clunk was causing my blood pressure to jump. Now I'm good for ... a lifetime

 

In in Colorado, a few weeks before my LBJ failure we had a huge rain storm and I drove through multiple "road rivers", im certain that my rubber had been cracked, but due to the dry weather here in CO, not much corrosion had occured, until I was having a blast tearing through a foot of water in the streets and im certain that water got all up in the ball joint and like you said, a matter of weeks and BOOM!. I almost pooped when it happened. and also F**K that repair, getting that arm off the pavement was a nightmare. but still better than a totaled truck!!!

 

First, what? "ball joints are tres none have failed"??

Second, certain what didn't happen?

I can tell you, certainly, that the ball joint boot cover on my 330,xxx mile Ball joint had certainly cracked, and that I had certainly drove through very deep water which submerged that very ball joint in water.

Now, I don't know, but i'm pretty sure driving through water that is deeper than my ball joints, with a cracked boot on the ball joint, would probably let water into said ball joint....

 

nah man, my joint was corroded I don’t know what your talking about, but broken boots means water and dirt which means corrosion over time. Especially if you already have corrosion starting and then have a very wet week of driving, corrosion will be worse with trapped water. Mine were worse than his.

Seriously this is such an easy fix, if you have 300,000 miles on your truck and haven’t replaced them, do it. Or not, I don’t care honestly, if you want this to happen to your truck driving down the highway
I am not the OP of this thread, just so you know.

 

I think that was to my truck. Boot in pass side is all OK, driver side has surface cracks but not all way through so it is still OK. But it is already going so the clock was ticking till it brakes. When it brakes then it's done.

I think it was a mix up: two different trucks. Mine with 320k miles LBJ still OK but quite ready to be gone soon, and Colorado truck with 330k miles which had already cracked boot, drove through deep water and few weeks later LBJ failed.

Driving trgough the water with boots sealed is not critical, driving with boot cracked at any condition (water, mud, sand or pavement ) is disaster to happen.

 

Toyota parts are amazing, just it your around 300,000 keep an eye on them, if you have shiny joints still, chance are they won’t be falling out like mine did

 

Another beautiful day, hard to believe it is mid October. Sunny weather with 80F outside. So I got to install my new project: blinkers in corner lights. Don't bash me that 194 bulbs are not bright enough for blinkers. That is correct, they are not good for replacing original blinkers in lower bumper area. They are just add-on blinkers to increase visibility and safety. Something like blinkers in fenders or mirrors. The circuit and board design is described here https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...k-or-rysium-build.457350/page-6#post-18885349.

You probably know me already, that I hate t-tap for wire splicing. So here is how I do it. When I need to connect two wires (for example to do extension) I use crimping method. I bought a bag of "wire ends", that is just a thin metal tube about 1/2 inch long and about 2mm internal diameter. It is the perfect size for automotive wires. Both wires are stripped from the insulation and inserted from both ends into the tube so the bare wires are interlocking inside. The tube is crimped holding both wires together. Here is the picture how it looks like after crimping:




the connection is insulated and sealed with heat shrink tube:



This is a pair of wires going to corner lamp I had to extend so I can put weather proof connectors.

Similar technique is used for "tapping" into wire (Y-connection). I use a bit bigger diameter metal tube so I can squeeze two wires from one side but the idea is the same. Copper from all three wires is interlocking and crimped together. All wires are also crimped by the insulation to hold the connection mechanically.



This is how I tapped into driver side blinker. Keep in mind that for that the original wire has to be cut and stripped from insulation before it is inserted to the tube from each end. The same technique can be used to connect 4 wires - it will be just a pair of wires from each end of the crimped tube.

To protect the connection from the environment a heat shrink tube is not enough. A heat shrink tube will wrap around two wires but still there will be a gap between wires. This can be sealed with electrical tape that is wrapped around each wire individually and then sealed them together. Alternative solution would be liquid electrical tape over the heat shrink tube.



As you can see I use only water sealed connectors - cheap on ebay. They are advertised for 10A but I don't put more than a couple amps through them. But they are sealed correctly. For higher amps I use US made Delphi Weather connectors. A bit more pricey but they are guaranteed for 20A.

Now about the installation. As you see I disassembled some part of the original wire loom but then after all connections were done I rebuilt the loom to its original shape. And very impressed by the way how original loom is made and routed. Toyota thought about every detail to make this truck so reliable.

Passenger side was a little bit more work as inside the blinker light loom there was also a wire going for horn. So to make my life easier I just removed the grille and the pass side headlight so I could reach all wires with my fat fingers. As unexpected benefit of that operation I replaced one broken clip not holding the grille anymore.

I work very slow and methodical, so the whole operation took me 5 hours including lunch brake and helping my wife in the kitchen. But the result is exactly as expected, so I am very pleased with that mod.

Video of lights in action is here
https://youtu.be/BOsJIr_KP8k

 

Nlooks good!

 

Going back to my corner lights mode I just took a little video at night and composed it into two side by side pictures. I like the way it works. Even during the day I see my corner lights blinking in reflection of other cars. So they are visible. That's good thing. And the switching effect at night is clearly visible too.

 

I had plans to improve light in my camper for as long as I remember. I bought the truck with camper lighted by the simple single bulb lamp mounted in the top rear:



The first thing I did was replacing the incandescent 3156 bulb with the best LED I could buy. The improvement was huge but still was not what I wanted.
Later I bought a LED strip but I was struggling how to mount them inside so it does not look like crap.

Finally few days ago I found the post from @LeftCoastNerd who just Velcro-ed the strip to liner. I thought it was a genius idea. I tested some Velcro (the "hooking side") and it grabs my liner pretty solid. I went to local fabric store and bought Velcro by yards (actually in Poland it is by meters ) and was able too buy only the "hooking side" with the sticky back.

I used dual row high power LED strip (600LED 5050 per 5m) that is 14.8W per meter (11.8W per meter in LED power) and IP67 rated - it is basically a led strip inside a silicone condom (similar to this:

$25 LEDENET® 16.4ft Double Row 600LEDs SMD 5050 LED Flexible Strip Lighting DC 12V LED Light Strip White 6000K Dimmable Light Waterproof IP67 Outdoor Use

https://www.amazon.com/LEDENET-600LEDs-Flexible-Lighting-Waterproof/dp/B00MEHR5EG).



I think I overdid it a bit as I went full length on bots sides total 3.5m that is 51.8W total (41.3W in LED power). With 885lm per meter My camper is lighted with 3100 lm (plus some from 3136 original LED bulb). But the result is exactly what I wanted - no more looking for that little thing that is somewhere here.

The power comes from the original lamp - I use the same switch to turn all light on



Don't mind the while Velcro stripes holding wires - I will replace then with something permanent soon - just need to buy more Velcro.

The good thing is that the location of LED strips is that LEDs are not blinding. Just giving even light through entire camper.



So Picture taken at evening after sunset with low light outside. That how my truck looks like



And now with camper lights on:



The good thing is that the mod is 100% reversible or fixable. LED strips are connected using BST connectors so if LED goes bad I can easy replace it - I would just need more Velcro.

Edit: Updated power/light output numbers to measured values.

 

No worries, I still do not have guts to drill into my perfect California frame

 

Thanks for the picture and clarification. I can tell you your frame is as clean from rust as mine.

I just checked and have the same holes in the same location. I just wish the first and third holes are size like in the second picture. The first and third holes are so small that do not provide good drainage of mud that is threw into the frame through the frame opening above wheels.

 

Small step into direction of rustproofing my truck. Original screws mounting corner lights are zinc plated steel that do not hold to the environment for long. They started to rust bad making rad stains on the chrome. I replaced them few weeks ago but I knew it was just a temporary solution. Today I replaced them with stainless steel screws. The original size is 4mm x 30mm but only size I could find was 4mm x 25mm. It is just long enough to secure lights on about 5mm thread. When I find the correct size I will replace them again but for now I call it good.

Can you see the difference? If not, I'm sure that change added at least 5hp to my truck.



Next step will be replacing the frame with stainless steel one. Just kidding.

 

Are you asking for more details or complaining abut to many details ?

 

Ah, got it. Thank you. Sometimes I think I have OCD . When I do projects around the house my wife has always mixed feelings - she knows I will do it right to very little details, but it takes forever to complete the job.

 

There is a chain of stores in Poland that are very similar to Harbor Freight Fools (which is not available outside of USA). It's called JULA, and it originated from Sweden. It has many articles, that are not available in big chain hardware stores like some automotive tools, unique hardware etc. It is indeed very similar to HFT, but the quality of products is a bit better (JULA also sales articles outside of "own" brand names).

Anyway, Yesterday I found these screws over there:



That is exact equivalent of #8 1-1/4" imperial size. Perfect fit for all corner lamps. My truck needs exactly 12 screws (2 in each front, and 4 in each rear lamp) so I bought 2 packs and now I have all lamps good for life.

Tonight I compared my new camper lighting with the custom upgraded to 800lm LED lighting (true lumen, not marketing BS) in my 4Runner (normal EBay or Amazon LED upgrade kit for 4Runner is 250 lumen at most).



There is no comparison really when camper in Tacoma is lighted by over 4 times more LED light (4Runner on the left, Tacoma on the right). I guess I need to do something similar to 4Runner.

 

Update on frame treatment. I looked under the truck to check if there is anything I can do to protect the frame from winter chemicals. Not really surprised I saw the surface of the frame well covered with fluid film (with some dust embedded) from my sprint treatment. The layer of Fluid Film did not wash out during summer, still stays on the frame just get a little coating with dust.

Over the rear tire




In front of the front leaf spring hanger




over the front tire




So I'm confident that the frame with Fluid Film applied in spring time is well protected through the following winter. Some may say it is a lot of work to do the full wash, dry and spraying every year, but it my case it is the only option I have here. There are no junk yards where I can buy a spare with 1995 Tacoma frame, and importing it from USA would cost the same a buying a new truck here.