Jerzsubbie's 2018 Cement DCSB TRD OR **Lots of PICS & Links**

Just did my 5th oil change (every 5k) and swapped the plastic oil filter housing for the upgraded aluminum version for a whopping $22. I’ve seen a few posts about the plastic versions cracking due to too much torque or road debris.

Genuine Toyota Part# 15620-31060

$20 Toyota Oil Filter Cap - 15620-31060

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008BHP68A

I also installed an EZ Drain oil drain valve in the oil pan. Since I have an SOS skid plate that protects the drain plug area really well, I’m not worried about something hitting and damaging the valve or drain lever. The nice thing about this for me is that there is a drain hose nipple that I can screw into the valve then open the valve and drain without splashing so much, which makes a huge mess currently.

EZ Oil Drain Valve EZ-103RH Oil Drain Valve

$42 EZ-103(12mm-1.25) EZ Oil Drain Valve with removable Hose End Combo

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HTV2M90/

I also decided to change my rear diff fluid at 25k miles with Lucas 75w-90 GL5 full synthetic. I read the ECGS document and did some other research, and decided to go with a high quality full synthetic GL-5 gear oil.

The magnetic drain plug had a big ol’ glob of very fine metal shavings, which after only 25k, less than half what Toyota recommends, and having only gone off roading twice, was a little surprising.

Before


After


Lucas 75w-90 GL-5

$50 Lucas Oil 10048 Synthetic SAE 75W-90 Gear Oil - 1 Gallon

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000IG20RC

Slippery Pete Fluid Pump

$17 Slippery Pete Fluid Pump for Gallon Bottles and Wide Mouth Quart Bottles (Not for Standard Quart Bottles) - Transfer Gear Oil, Transmission and Differential Fluid, Antifreeze with This 30cc Hand Pump

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DTS8N7P

Toyota Oil Drain & Fill Plug Crushable Gasket

$21 Toyota Oil Drain Plug Crushable Steel Gaskets Set of 10 OEM 12157-10010

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FUVMDBC

 

Check this out.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/diy-fumoto-valve-on-oil-filter-cartridge.566918/

I want to do this on mine, but don’t have the means to get the machine work done (at a reasonable cost anyway).

 

Yeah I saw that one too. Definitely a nice mod, but, like you, I don’t have access to cheap machine work. I do really dislike that dang drain nipple design tho.

 

I finally got a chance to pull apart my front suspension the other day. I had to replace my rusted JBA ball joints and install extended top hat studs & wheelers spacers.

First I replaced the JBA ball joints. When I purchased my UCA’s in early 2018, I did so right before they switched from clear powder coat to silver Cerakote. The clear PC did not hold up well at all. Cerakote is a very durable and high quality coating used for firearms among other things. These were covered by JBA under warranty.
BEFORE


AFTER


As you can see in the after pic, due to my suspension sag and my not noticing/getting an alignment again, my driver’s side tire is wearing badly on the inside. A little bummed about this but I’m hard on tires so I rarely get 3yr out of them.

Next, I installed the Wheeler’s poly spacers. Initially I was gonna install 5/8” on driver side and 1/2” on passenger side to get me to a full 3” lift and account for “driver side lean”, however I was concerned that I may push CV angles too much.

Therefore I decided to use a 3/8” spacer on the driver’s side and 1/2” on passenger side. This was perfect! After driving around for a day, hitting a few bumps to help everything settle, I’m just shy of 3” lift and side to side difference is under 1/4”. I’m back to being almost level front to back with similar tire-to-fender gap, which is what I wanted.

BEFORE


AFTER

 

Next up will be:

Gusseted Spindles, retain sway bar
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/total-chaos-gusseted-spindles.379567/

Marlin Crawler LCA Gussets
https://www.marlincrawler.com/axles/front-axle-armor/hd-lca-frame-brace-2016-tacoma

 

Well I learned that I caused the failure of one of my UCA bushings, making a new mistake. Not a huge deal, I’ll buy the improved JBA bushings and replace them in the near future.

Because I didn’t follow the instructions in the TC video, roughly 30% of the flange of one of my bushings just snapped and is hanging off the bottom.

 

I would have never thought to loosen the bolt/nut to grease the bushings, but it does make sense.

 

How are these holding up? getting ready to lay down some Noico and want something for the vents.

 

They're doing just fine. No complaints at all. I did remove one a few weeks ago just to show a local TW member and the foam is still in excellent condition. Maybe after many years the foam may begin to degrade, but it's in the interior and well protected from the elements, aside from temperature changes, so I don't foresee any issues.

 

Thanks man

 

Got out on the trails this past weekend. A friend recently bought a 19 4Runner OR Premium so she brought it out as well, all stock except sliders. We went to Uwharrie and kept to the "Moderate" trails since she was on stock tires and I'm not that confident to do the Difficult trails as the point person.

A few clips from my dash cam thrown together.


GoPro capturing my friend on the last 10min of her ride.

 

Front Bumpstops

I’ve been eyeing some SuperBumps for a while, waiting for a good sale, had some issues with their site and ended up spending that money on gun stuff before getting a hold of them, then a couple weeks ago they raised their price on front SuperBumps by 40%!! At that price I’m out. And I contacted them to confirm the new price was accurate.

I resorted to the budget option, Energy.
Energy Suspension 8.9101G

$36 Energy Suspension 89101G Bump Stop

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HMR54CI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_lpAtEbXZ15DS5
I got lucky and snagged a set for like $20 on Amazon, normally $35-40. They’re definitely harder than SuperBumps but way better than the OEM rocks.

Install is very straight forward but if you don’t have a 5/16” hex socket, it will take forever using a hex wrench small enough to fit in that space yet long enough to get to the bottom on the bump. I started with a hex wrench and verrry quickly grabbed a socket.
I added some blue loctite to the threads, put the washers on the bottom as the instructions say, turned the wheels to full lock on each side and knocked them out. I found the stock bumps easy to remove with a large pair of channel locks.

 

Marlin did a flash sale so I grabbed the HD LCA brace kit. Now to find some time to weld them in with my friend @Tacomasprime05 because we both have so much spare time haha!

 

Your kid was born already?

if you can take the LCA out, supposedly you can get a much better and stronger weld on those braces.

 

He was, 6wk old yesterday!

Yeah I saw their video where they mentioned you ideally want to weld the inside edges too, which requires removing the LCAs.

Depending on timing, I may do that since I’ll be replacing my spindles with gusseted ones and have to replace my JBA UCA bushings still. If I’m that far into it, it’s not a big deal to rip everything out. Also kind of depends on whether my friend and I weld them or I pay someone else to do it.

 

awesome dude...Our second is due in early July. Another girl!

if you need a shop to weld them let me know. I’m working at one in Concord right off poplar tent near Derita, and can get it done for you if you need.

 

Today I reminded myself again why rattle can bedliner is 100x better than powder coating sliders. Touched up some chipped and surface rusted spots in about 10min, and they look great again.

OV Tune
I bought my tablet tune kit during their Labor Day sale last year but the creator of the tablet has still yet to solve for the inability to read 2018+ ECU’s. I got tired of waiting and decided I needed to repurpose that $630 paper weight.
As I began reading the tune thread, I learned that OVT was shifting to a new tuning product, VF Tuner, and it’s less expensive, and it’s user configurable. Needless to say, I’d rather have VF vs the legacy OVT, however I was considering other options with my truck so no tune at all right now. Thankfully, I was able to get a full refund since I was never able to use the tune.
Then I took that money and bought a new suppressor!!! YHM Resonator K Now to forget about it for ~9mo...

OV Tune Turbo Kit
I was 100% down for getting the base TT kit since some early-mid testing showed it being able to produce almost 400HP/TQ at a cost of about $4k. Raptor level power in a smaller, more nimble, 1,000lb lighter truck sounds like a dream! Unfortunately they revised the base kit to be limited to 6.5psi @ 325HP, about +100HP/80TQ over stock. Still solid but I’m unsure if it’ll give me what I want.
As a result I’ve been contemplating selling my truck and buying both a 05-06 1st gen Tundra and a C6 vette or Porsche 911 996 C4S. The 1G Tundras are almost the same size as Taco DCLB +/- 2” in every dimension and have a bulletproof 4.7L V8! Idk, I’m on the fence ; the styling and features of 3G Tacos are a whole lot better than the 15yo Tundra!
I think I’ll wait for user reports of the first batch of OVT TT kits to see if I want to go that route.

 

Small updates...

Rear Seat Molle Panel
Long story but I was able to get a new aluminum molle panel for behind the rear seats. A member in Philly was selling his as he bought the wrong one and I was able to work out transportation. Can’t wait to install it and have some usable behind seat storage!

DDS4 LED Pods
I just bought some new Dark Defence DDS4 45w pods to replace my Auxbeam/Amazon pods up front. I plan on doing a simple comparison of them in an open field and posting the info in the DDS4 thread below. For $130/pr they seem like an awesome value, and in all for value (best mix of price & quality). I got both clear and yellow lenses so I can play around to see which I like best or change as I see fit.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/dark-defense-diode-defense-pod-lights.650139/#post-23732329

For now, I don’t think I’m gonna get rid of my truck. I’m anxiously waiting for OVT TT Kit’s to ship so I can get some user feedback. Also considering 5.29’s but need to look at some gearing charts a little more to see what highway driving will be like. I *may* like to cruise at 80+ when I seldom hit the highway.

 

Dark Defence DDS4 45w LED Pods
See my initial impressions here. On paper they match BD Squadron Pro’s but are 1/3 the price!

Suffice to say I’m very happy with them so far and impressed with their performance but still have a few other tests I want to do, particularly comparing them to my LED high beams on a country back road.



My old Auxbeam 3” 20w spots, no comparison, can’t even see the trees @ ~175yd

 

Well, bye!

So much for my plans with this truck... the lack of drivability/power where needed and my need to fit car seat(s) in the truck have pushed me to join the current Carvana craze!

This truck will be put back to stock by this weekend, it will have cost me only $74/mo to own (LOL!!!), and I’ll be getting a cheap vehicle until the next gen Tundras are released. At that point I’ll either buy the new Tundra or a Raptor.

It’s been a great ride(literally and figuratively), I love so many things about this truck and really understand why it has such a cult-like following.