Oldie2007 - The Little Big Red Readers Digest Renovation, Revival, and Restoration Thread.

You can call me small all you want but the truth is...

​

 

Gifs make the world go round.

 

Hey oldie my taco close to 100k I have about 1300 miles more to go what needs to be checked or replaced at 100k

 

I have no idea! I didn't own it at 100K, but a soon date, I will send you a download manual and links!

 

Girls make the world go round and that is why guys are pretty much cripples.....

 

Kurt that looks great!! Very detailed write up an pics very impressive as always.

 

What he said. You’re write ups are kick ass man.

 

Back to Reality!

The Secret Ground Clearance Project - Phase Fifteen; Oh, Heck, It Got Lifted! I admit it!

First off, have to give thanks and props to my main benefactors here. @LostHusker , huge thanks for the deal and the labor! Huge. And @MattCowsmasher , who puts up with way too many questions from me, and helped supervise and wrench on this change! Me, I take pictures and ask even more questions. But I will admit, I missed the OBVIOUS one on this tinker!

This started because I wanted a little "ground clearance" at very low cost. Enough so a little extra comfort on trail rides or the beach; NOT to avoid rocks, large or small! I found that installing OEM 3'rd Gen fronts (Toyota-Bilstein's) with the stock spring would provide about 1" of lift, with no other mods, and supposedly improve ride quality over OEM. Even though I just replaced the fronts with Monroe OEM replacements, I was offered a cannot refuse price, and at the rate I rack up miles (NOT), even used will last me over a decade! Mark also had a rear spacer block that would give a little to the back as well. Beer and such were negotiated, a schedule was made, and a trip to Lost Husker Estates was planned! The surprise came along the way in one of those little details that didn't seem like much at the time. I will give CLUES with a little "*" along the way!

Here's the parts. Note the parts on the stool* in the second photo!




So that's what we got. Off comes the wheel, and off we go. Mark does the hard work, Matt helps, I watch in awe!








OK, front is done... uh, that jack is still holding it up, right?*
Right?* NO, those spacers that I said "sure" to are 2", so the front goes up 3"! (They knew that! My face said "NO, I did NOT realize that!"


All right, now I know, I can't call it Ground Clearance anymore. I am thrilled, embarrassed that I could not do the math, I really just thought those spacers were part of the 1" I was expecting. So, on to the back, where I am promised I will be less surprised.








We're finished! Drive it down to the end of the road and back to "settle it in" and see how it feels. Better than I drove in on! Excitement rules! And now it looks like this!!!!!!





I know measure it! First attempt with a yard stick didn't work (I'll show you), and I couldn't keep the tape in place. So, from approiximate center or wheel to fender lip, and fairly straight. Results were same on both sides within a skosh, so level.



Not going to work that way! Fronts - was 21" center to fender, now 24" center to fender



Rears were 22" center to fender, now 22 1/2" center to fender



Little Big Red at Triple C in January


Most recent comparisons after the Predator steps



And thanks once again!!!!!!!! TTC must be an abbreviation in some language for "friends and family", after all, "Tejas" does mean friend. So grateful to our wonderful members!



Edit 5/4: To add alignment spec - their printer was broken;
Before

And After


And of course, "But, wait! There's more!"

 

Great pics! Thanks for sharing!

 

Awesome Kurt thanks for sharing

 

Tires Now " GO BIG".Looks Great

 

I might cut pizza!

 

Looking good, can't wait to see it in person! Little Red's not so little anymore

Do it

 

You might be sitting taller than me now, I dig it!

 

Truck looks great Kurt!

 

The Lost Electric Fan Replacement - Phase X-Files; I Totally LOST This Somewhere!

Have to rescue from FB posts - September of 2018.

The thermo-clutch fan was making grinding, dying noises if let set for a while - which the truck does a lot of. A good replacement was a few bucks, so I researched electric-fan replacements. Won't give better mileage (probably), but you can control the operation, and it takes about 10 pounds off the rotating mass of the engine. So, I found the Flex-a-Lite in the Amazon warehouse for about half price (as new), spent a lot of time on the Tacoma forum, and decided to do it! I did plan two four hour mornings, and I used every bit of it. But mostly because I don't try to go too fast, and take breaks. And, you learn after you do things, that there are things you should to NOT in the order of the installation instructions! Not too bad of kit - missing ONE nut, and a little skimpy on the wire (I had to buy 2 8" rolls of #10), and tie wraps (of which I have hundreds on hand). And you want shrink wrap - I used every last bit of the needed sizes - time to go to Harbor Freight again. So, it still being very hot, I got to test drive it a little bit to the Post Office, gas station, and car wash. The temp guage used to run at just over "half" (say 55%) on the scale - now it runs less than half (say 40%), so it does run cooler. It runs with the AC engaged (all the time right now), and then will run on it's thermostat until it cools down when you shut it off. When the AC isn't on (HA!), it will run under thermostat control, which is adjustable. I tweaked that a little higher when I got home. So, it was almost fun, and I am happy how it all turned out. Next up - shocks and struts that I won't be paying over a grand to have installed! But, when it's cooler - much, much cooler! This is the Flex-a-Lite 678 that I am putting in

First off, the shroud cover has to come off. Reaching in to the back of the fan & clutch, remove the nuts connecting to the pulley. Then, only two bolts hold the shroud.

Tip the shroud back, pull the fan and shroud up, and we have a big empty!



This is what came out

Put a lock washer and the nuts back on the pulley.

First, the drivers side bracket is attached to the new fan and shroud

Now, not in the instruction, and NOT in order - the fan wires just lay around inside the shroud - not ideal. So, I drilled a hole in the bottom, and put some split loom over the wires, and pushed it into the hole. Then drilled 2 smaller holes to make a tie wrap hold down.

The bottom of the bracket actually mounts into a slot in the radiator frame. Then the nuts are loosely installed.

The overflow tank is bolted to the passenger side bracket. They shorted me ONE 10mm nut. Amazingly, I had exactly ONE in with all the US thread nut bin

Another out of step lesson learned. You have to connect a hose to the short tube

A REALLY GOOD time to do this is BEFORE you install the passenger side bracket! That way, the coolant you add doesn't leak out...

Then you install the tree bolts loosely - two on the shroud, and one to the frame.

Last, compress the shroud gasket to the radiator, and tighten everything up.

This marked the end of the mechanical, and day one. Four hours that could have gone quicker, but it is 103 in the driveway, and someone cut down the shade trees!


This is the controller. Given that it has a mechanical thermocouple connection, that doesn't go real far, it needs to be close to the radiator. And, it has an adjustment knob, so accessible as well. I threw in a couple O rings to provide a little mounting cushion.

The thermocouple needs to be near the inlet hose, so passenger side, up on the front looks like the place.

There is room enough, and of course, existing holes are too big, and not in the right place

So, drill a couple holes, and that is where the controller will reside.

Crimp and shrink the controller wires. I used a jumper on what can be a "switched" hot, because I want the fan to be able to run after shut off for cool down.

I like to wire from a known starting point! And everything has to connect to the controller, so there you go!

Routing the wires across the radiator, and over by the battery, shows me that they did not give me enough wire to make the controller to fan connection. So, it's off to the store for some #10.

Since I have about a half mile of 1/2" split loom, two harnesses it is. One for power, one for fan.



I really would have liked to use a connector, but the local shops had nothing. So, butt connectors suppiled got used.

Bottom wires to fan, meet your harness.


I tied off the harness to the top hole in the bracket.

At this point, I fnally disconnected the battery. The instructions have this as step one! Ha! After this, I wasted a LOT of time searching for a wiring connection for the AC clutch wire. I removed the battery, and completely unbolted the fuse block, hoping to get inside. A Taco forum friend had identified where it was in the block, and I didn't want to go underneath to try and find the compressor harness.

I put the ground wire (in the harness) under this body connector

The positive had an accessory nut on the top, and I grabbed that.

Now, the Readers Digest version of the AC Clutch wire (to run the fan when AC is on, which is like all the time here, these days) The red wire points to the relay.


The terminal I need is the right most (vertical) one.

The relay does NOT like solder to the terminal - So, at least I have a tinned 90 degree wire.

Using some needle nose, I got it placed inside the fold of the terminal. The relay tab will keep it in place.


I drilled a small hole on the engine side for the AC wire.

And here they meet, and soldered in place.



And you thought I would forget the fuse, didn't you? No, I wanted is accessible, and the top shroud bolt was just that place



This is the thrmocouple that has to go into the radiator.

The top two, unfortunately, were not accessible from the other side to put the cap on. In place, I heated up some wrap to help hold in place.

At this point, I have everything connected, so it is time to connect the battery, and fire this thing up!
HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY. Runs with the AC on, not with it off, runs with the temp control. Runs after turn off for cool down. It is quieter, and AC seems a little cooler.

I didn't want the harness to sit on the radiator core, so I brought the wires
between the hoses, and used the two "extra" nut-serts on the shroud top.


A couple insulated clamps hold the harness away from everything.


Final harness tie off. The adjustment knob is easy to get to.

On the battery side, the harness stays OFF the trans cooler pipe.

And last, the shrould cover goes back on, even though the back doesn't hit anything. It will keep you from touching the top of a hot radiator!

I don't have a photo editor that I really like, but the STAR shows where it normally ran, versus where it was after I warmed it up last night. So, it does run cooler.


DAMMIT ADDENDUM
I have since found little clips that might work better with the relay wiring, and bought a replacement relay since I chewed mine up.
You all have since seen a redo of the harness to fit in a single loom over the radiator.
I don't know how this phase got LOST - I must have deleted it.

Oh well, another SECRET project coming up, so But Wait, There's More!

 

Good work Kurt!​

 

Audiology - Phase Sixteen; My Speakers Really Seem to Suck - I Want to Fix That! (Amazon = "This fits your truck")

This has just been a growing little annoyance = my speakers don't sound as good as the truck gets better. I KNOW I am a hearing aid person, and I'm not looking for "ghetto bass" or "power tower Metal", just some better sound. So, I invested in a mid-grade upgrade that I figured would work well for me. All of the highly recommended things were not available at Amazon or at a decent price elsewhere, so I went with a Pyle combination that looked reasonable. I have Pyle speakers on the Sunroom TV, and they are great - so figured I could live with it.

As I found out, I should remember that I am the FOURTH OWNER of LBR, and should have known what to expect - the worst...…
I asked several people about noise control, got many different opinions, looked at a lot of video, and made my choice which might not be what everyone will do. I chose to go halfway up the outside skin, thereabouts, because it is easily reachable, and with the 6" wide Peel and Seal, very easy work around. On the interior side, I only chose to wrap the surrounding area of the speaker, to cut down on the metal vibration. As far as road noise, seems all agree it comes from the bottom, so not expecting a lot. Just some better sounds. I stared in back driver side, went to front, then Passenger front and back. I did have some back and fort work - because stuff. And OFF we go.

This is the combo I ordered. 6x9" multi-speaker and tweeter with crossover for up front", 6.5" in the back.


So take the skin off, and I'm sure most of you know this, so only once..... handle screw, door pull screw, little button fastener (of course mine was a crap replacement), and sail panel. Oh yeah, the sail panel on the back of the door/window, the door lock/window control (from the front). Then yank.....





So, what do we find after that? That someone made a pressboard adapter, to stick a fairly good speaker (I might still try), and used TWO dang screws to attach it. ONE of which was still attached and the pressboard was devil dead from moisture. (New yellow, old silver)




I put new wires in for the speaker, and started the insulation after an alcohol spray and clean of the inside. I decided I am going up to the mid belt supports - halfway up. Since the Press and Seal is 6" wide, that was basically 3 strips, 32" long. Later, I cut them in half (lengthwise) to more easily install. Both ends of a plastic shot hammer did fine to mold stuff...






Dang, this is only the first speaker, and it's been all afternoon. That "adapter" really sucked, but I soldered new wires and shrinked them up for the new speaker. @hoverlover came to the rescue with some speaker adaptor dishes that I met him for on Thursday afternoon. THANKS @hoverlover (He already drank his beers!) So, I know I will be back to that door, now on to Driver Front. Pop, pop, fizz, fix!







Well here we are - what have we got? MORE F'd up shit!!!!! Two screws left in place, two treads hanging on. I would discover that the "adapter" was actually a gutted speaker and its mount. No way to even mount my new 6x9 without being equally CRAP>



Old and new



Mount it? Yes, I had to butcher the adapter @hoverlover gave me because it was for a 6", not a 6x9". Crude, but I love having some tools.....



So, we're off to the peel and seal... and will get back to actual speaker install. I cut up both sides and sanded them smooth somewhat, so they are ready to go... Again, up to the mid-belt reinforcement.




Oh, it should be easy, this "fits your truck". LOL
Tweeter time. Here is what I got - one piece - and what they gave me (smaller). Had to sabre saw the speaker frame off, and then epoxy the new ones into the old frame! Nothing to it.....








Meanwhile, back in the door! Wrap up outside, and remember to put the crossover in! The peel and seal works great for mounting this.



And it becomes Margarita Happy hour time. So, next up is passenger side - had to hold off until I got new epoxy for the tweeter, so now back driver, and driver, and passenger front are all under surgery - good news, I know what the plan is,...
Bad news, it's about to go wrong! Saturday AM, going to pull the passenger front, and make the tweeters ready so I can do the epoxy at one time. So I hook up the driver tweet as a temp, and fire stuff up for a sound check.
AND I AM NOT HAPPY! There is no sound from driver door. Wiring check. Cut off the splice of NEW zip wire from INPUT to Xover - freaking OPEN in the wire. Got get real wire, solder, shrink, and NOW I have a driver door. Sheet, do not need this as a start for the day.

Passenger front = oh look, two screws, and one is attached. Strip it, and insulate it.





AND GUESS WHAT DOES NOT WORK?'
That's right, the NEW 6x9 is "preblown". Amazon will have a replacement here <Monday!
So, it looks like this:


DANG, are we having fun yet? Back to the back doors, because I have the other Hover adaptors, and I know they will work, and I should have NO MORE FREAKING SURPRISES, RIGHT? Nope, last door more crap. One screw in, and one screw out, you do a shitty job, and you shake it all about....




And in FINALLLY closing this out - I bought way too much of this, because I figured all my doors would need this for the plastic vapor seal. Hit me up if you need some.




There will be an edit with the Sound Meter values I had before and after. As far as toonage sounds, all subjective, but will comment!

And I nearly forgot, but, wait, there's more!

 

Wow! Nice write up but what a pain brother! I hope it really makes a big difference for you once you have all the working parts in place. Looks like you took your time and are trying to do things the right way this time. Good for you. I probably would have given up and taken it to an installer. I have no patience for dealing with other people’s messes! I look forward to the sound meter results!