My "Build" Thread - 2006 Tacoma Sport DCSB

Looks great man. I like the way you are giving it some needed attention. I hope it treats you as well as you are treating it. Good for you. The paint blends great, I couldn't even tell it was repaired once you were done. Loving your progress, keep us updated

 

Not a whole ton happening in here lol. Picking up 4 new tires next week when i get the truck inspected. Up next in the mods category would be to reinstall my cb stuff from the reg cab and i think a satoshi grill with my hella lights behind the grill is next. I need to stop spending money on my integra to make that happen though.

I hit all 8's yetserday. Everything is still going as it should with this truck.



I clearly need to dust off the gauge cluster...

 

Finally got some more updates. I've been driving the Acura so much i've only put 600 miles or so since i've taken the last picture picture. I've had quite a few good deals pop up on CL lately. I purchased a brand new OEM bed mat for $25, and i purchased a new to me LEER cap. Not perfect shape, but the price was really good. Of course a couple of photos are necessary:
I really dislike the factory leaf springs. I will need an upgrade at some point to get the factory rake back.

Does anyone know how to take out the third brake light to get that condensation out of there? I did not see anything on the inside of the cap...unless its under the carpet?

I'm still in process of the not fun stuff... My one caliper was completely seized and the other one wasn't doing much to help. So i got 2 rebuilt calipers, new pads and rotors since the stuck calipers cooked my current pads and rotors. What a freakin disaster this is turning out to be.

Painted the calipers to hopefully eliminate some of the rust factor

I knew the brake lines were going to brake from the rust. I ordered new ones from the dealer, and they are not even close to being correct. I matched vin number and everything an it says they are for my truck. I had to bend these things so many different ways to try and get them to fit the truck. Unreal. Then, the one brake line's flare nut was stripped. I could not get it to budge from the caliper. So i said fine, i'll remove you from the hose. Well, that stripped out too. So i ended up getting a new hose just so i could get the stupid brake line off.

I still need to bleed the brakes, there is where i left off yesterday. I do like the little lift i have going on in the front of the truck right now while its up on the jackstands lol

 

The truck is driveable again, thank God lol. I started hooking up some other things i have yet to hook up from the old truck. I mounted the CB antenna this weekend and i'll route the cable and mount the CB itself probably this weekend coming up. I did the diff breather mod on the rear diff this weekend and broke the bed cubby in the process. whoops. I also changed the rear diff fluid again after experiencing some weird shuttering. after researching on here, i determined it was because i used Mobil one synthetic. I changed out the fluid for some standard gear oil with the LSD additive and she is good as new.

 

Heard a loud bang underneath the truck followed by clicking that increased along with speed. Had to replace these guys over the weekend...

 

I'm having a bit of a hard time deciding which direction to go with my truck. Since adding the cap, the rear of the truck sags and i hate it. This truck had the new leaf springs from the Toyota recall (or TSB i cant remember which it was) when the frame was replaced. So it is 3 leafs and the OL leaf. I really want the rake back to the truck, but i don't want to lift the front much if at all. I've been researching options and i'm not sure which is the correct direction. This truck sees little to no offroading, nothing that i would call serious anyways. I have had the truck full of passengers and had camping supplies in the bed of the truck before and i am pretty sure we were riding on the bump stops. I am purchasing a small trailer(utility size trailer) this summer, but i do not anticipate towing anything heavier than that at this point. i also assume replacing the rear shocks with all of these options

option 1: AAL to the factory leaf springs - Cheapest option, however it sounds like the ride quality is not fantastic and it doesnt sound like the lifespan of an AAL if all that great.
option 2: Wheelers or other brand 3 leaf AAL - Sounds like a better ride option, but to leave in my OL leaf it sounds like the rear would be lifted a good bit more than i would like. I dont want my hauling capacity to suffer by removing the OL leaf.
option 3 (getting more expensive): Firestone air bags - seems like a straight forward installation, i'm not sure if this is just a band aid for the crappy leaf springs though. I'm also not sure how these things hold up long term, especially with our salt and winters. Essentially it seems like i would just inflate these until i am happy with the amount of rake on the truck.
option 4 (most expensive): Replacement leaf pack - looking at the wheelers HD leaf pack, it is supposed to add 1.5" - 2" roughly of lift per an email discussion i had with them. I may need to lift the front as well compensate for a new leaf pack.

Here is a picture of my old truck, i would be perfectly happy with this amount of rake. You can see a few posts above how my truck sits now with the cap.

Any suggestions or input on my options is greatly appreciated.

 

Such an update.....

I havent done anything with the truck due to winter, so i felt like i needed to add some sort of update.

 

More record keeping really. 98,500 miles on the truck now and 5 new TPMS sensors and 2 new wheel bearings for the front of the truck.

 

Some minor updates and some research for some minor future mods (finally). So, time for some suspension updates and improvements. I've decided on wheelers or another comparable brand AAL 1.5". i have a couple of questions regarding supporting mods:
With a 1.5" AAL, do i need to order shims to correct the angle at all? or is 1.5" not enough to worry about?
And do i need to worry about anything with the brake hoses or are they long enough?
i know i will need new u-bolts, but i am not sure what length?
Will 5100s for the rear extend enough to support the AAL?

I think thats it for now, i plan on lifting the rear first and see how the truck sits before i determine what i do with the front suspension.

As for updates, i'm closing in on 100K on the odometer, and i'm starting to experience the "sticky" automatic transmission lever issue i've read about on here. I'll have to do some more research and see how i'm going to attack that issue. I have a few other things i'd like to get done before this truck becomes the daily driver again whenever bad weather starts to set in like flush out 3 quarts of tranny fluid, re-apply the fluid film to the frame, and few other odds and ends.

 

Mileage milestone!


Argh...i accidentally deleted the 100K mile one.....i suck.

 

so...anyone have any idea as to what is making this noise? this just started. i drive the truck 1 or 2 days a week when the weather is good because i'm always in the Acura. it seems to only happen during the first 5 minutes or so of running, having a hard time pinning the exact location of it. I"ll probably start a thread in the second gen forum just to get some additional eyes on it.

EDIT: i'll have to upload the video to youtube first, flickr doesnt seem to play nice with videos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H9ePChpu10

 

My truck made the news lol

https://www.post-gazette.com/local/...our-towns-revitalization/stories/201809010028

 

Random pic from this weekend while i was out with my dog.

 

well, my mbrp exhaust has crapped out. i have a hole rotted through the tail pipe at the end of the muffler. It came with the truck whenever i bought it, so i have no idea how old it is. It is clearly not the stainless model. I was never a huge fan of dual exhaust. I plan on replacing it before inspection (I have to, or else it won't pass) with either a Gibson cat back or the TRD off road cat back, whichever i can locate cheaper.

 

I cut off the old MBRP exhaust and installed a Gibson catback stainless still single exit. Holy smokes is this thing quiet compared to the MBRP dual exhuast, with a massive hole in it lol. I did notice some up the power up above 3500 rpm is gone, it feels restricted. But, it is noticeably how much more low end power it feels like it has without the dual exhaust. Now, this is all butt dyno, but it is noticeable. Once this exhaust gets fully broken in, i'm sure it will smooth out at all of the RMPs. only about 75 miles on it so far.

 

Adding more maintenance for my records. Changed out the spark plugs at 107,800 miles this weekend. I really need to order some parts for this truck, like parts that arent terribly rusty. this is absurd. Granted, the truck is 13 years old, but man...





@steveo27 does your truck look this bad under the hood? i know yours is newer than mine, but they have both experienced the same western PA winters.

 

One step forward, two steps back as usual with any vehicle project. I swapped out the hard lines that are mounted behind the bumper from the tranny cooler because they have rusted and were leaking. So while i did that, i did a pan drain and refilled with about 3.5-4 quarts of fresh fluid. My fluid still looked pretty red and clean from when i did the DIY tranny service a couple of years ago. I'm going to try and get into the habit of doing the same tranny service every year or so depending on how many miles i rack up - just the pan drain and refill.

so then i went to install my aux. fuse block so i can wire up some accessories. This is the same one i had in my red taco and it used the bolt holes in the driver's fender for mounting. The holes in this truck where looking pretty rusty, so i figured i would run my tap through it to clean it up. The first hole was no problem, the second hole snapped the freaking tap off almost flush. Now, considering the type of metal these taps are made from....does anyone have a good idea to easily (or somewhat easily) remove this thing?

 

So, i took this old truck on a nearly 1,300 mile road trip/vacation with the family. I did a little maintenance before we left just to make sure all was ready to make the trip. The trip was pretty flawless. Well, as flawless as a 1,300 mile road trip can be with a 19 month old and an 8 year old golden retriever. We left our home in Vandergrift PA and journeyed to Murrells Inlet SC and stayed there for a week. With the passengers in my truck, my 10.5 hour drive time turned into nearly 14 with all of the stops and breaks and traffic we had along the way.

If you looked at the back of my truck, you would swear i was moving. But no, i'm just going away for a week with a 19 month old toddler, my wife, and my dog lol. Truck was pretty well packed full.




Random picture of the sunrise behind is somewhere in West Virginia


First break in West Virginia, and then literally my first break...



The doggo at our lunch break.


Nothing else super interesting along the way to note, then our arrival! Finally! - Side note-being from the north east i rarely get to see palm trees, i love palm trees.

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Home for that week


The dog and my son seeing the ocean for the first time, neither was too thrilled until the last day we were there.



Beach and Ocean shots.








Went to Broadway at the Beach and visited the kwik-e-mart




And a couple of our last day there, when everyone was finally a fan of the beach.


My son ended up trying to eat this a few moments later lol


And we did our official "announcement" while at the beach.


Quick picture before our departure last Saturday morning.


This was the dog's favorite spot at various times during the drive.



Random stop again in West Virginia on the way back (the cargo carrier is on the car next to me). The ramp is for my dog because she has hip dysplasia.


And this happened about an hour from home


All in all a great time, and only a small handful of hiccups along the way. The handle broke off the cap, I had a piece of windshield trim try to leave the truck in west virginia, and my climate control motor broke. Luckily, my truck was stuck on cold so that greatly benefited me when i was in South Carolina. Other than that, the truck performed flawlessly and even got a little over 21 mpg on the way down.

 

So, working on my replacement plans for the truck next year. Not to replace the truck, but to do a whole bunch of repairs and maintenance. I'm probably going to wait to pull the trigger on most of the items until around the holidays when sales start going on, because why not? most of the suspension is OEM and worn out, so i'll be replacing upper ball joints, sway bar links, new 5100s or the front and rear, 1.5" AAL and the various other things needed to complete that upgrade, new brakes and rotors for the front, and pretty sure a new caliper for the driver's side. i cannot get the pistons to press in anymore. pretty ticked about that, these calipers arent that old. I think thats about it. Try to get this truck feeling fresh again!

 

So, i was changing a flat on my truck and noticed this awesomeness peaking around my fender flare. I poked it, and my finger went completely through. I'm sure this hole will be at least twice the size by the time i clean it out to good metal. Is this hole worth trying to repair? Or should i just try to locate a new to me bedside and paint it?

Since i think i'm the only one that comes through here, i'll post this elsewhere in the forum too.