Betterbuckleup's 2000 taco build & BS

Sure did!

I enlarged the hole a bit to fit some 1/2" tubing that I cut to length. Welded the top and bottom and the surrounding cracks the best I could.
Then ground it down, painted it and bolted it back together.

Much more solid now and it doesn't visibly flex like it did before

 

Also mounted my winch battery isolator.

I ordered some Contura switches to match the ARB ones in my switch plate to power the winch and another to connect to my ditch lights.

 

Looks pretty solid!

 

This is an awesome build. Great job!

 

Thanks man!

 

Got my new assembled thirds from ECGS installed yesterday. 4.88's with ARB's front and rear.

Also got the compressor and switches mounted and wires this last week.

Only thing i'm missing is a ferrule for the front locker air fitting at the bulkhead fitting that wasn't in the package.

But the rear is plumbed and everything is working as it should. Loving the new lower gearing!

Can't wait to put them to use on the trails once i'm done with the break in process for the next 500 miles.

Here are some pics from the process.











Old open diff




Found out that there's no stub shaft in the manual front diff assembly. Just the intermediate shaft. Interesting...

 

Found out that Dakota Digital recently came out with a new module that does both speedo correction and tachometer correction in one. You can also control it via bluetooth too which makes adjusting it while driving way easier and safer.

Ordered one up and got it installed and spliced into the TK2 connector behind the glovebox.

The Dakota Digital customer service is top notch! They even drew me up a wiring diagram with the correct wire colors and everything after talking about the application and other details.
Although the speedo out signal should really be wired into OUT2 instead in order for it to work.


I used @boostedka old build thread on his supercharged single cab as a guide for the wiring for the speedo. It's the same wiring on this

$110 SGI-100BT Universal Speedometer and Tachometer Interface

SGI-100BT as it is on the older SGI-5E. The tach was easy with just the one black wire in the same TK2 connector.
The setup in the app took about a minute to get going and get everything corrected.

I used spade connectors so that I can connect up the sensor wires back to each other if I need to for whatever reason.

The wiring before wrapping it all up:


Installed in the glove box with velcro for easy access. Still need to add a zip tie anchor to hold the wiring out of the way.



Needless to say, I'm pumped to have a proper reading Tach and accurate speedo.

 

Sub’d, that’s a good looking build!!!

 

Thanks Devin!

 

Good job man.

 

Changed the gear oil last night after the 500 mile break in.

Everything looked normal and no excess metal.



Also recently got an ARB air up kit and installed some warranty replacement parts from ARB that were leaking & missing on the front locker solenoid & bulkhead fitting.





Pic of the switches installed

 

Looks Good! Looks like a normal amount of metal but it may be worth changing it in 5k miles just to make sure its full clean. But it all look awesome!

 

Yea I'm gonna keep an eye on the heat of the rear diff on long drives for the next thousand miles or so.

Couldn't hurt to do an oil change at 5k too.

 

That's what I did with my Jeep, just to be double sure and keep and eye on it.

 

Off topic question, when you changed the front output seal on your T-case, did you have to drain the case?
Haven't been able to find an answer and have been putting if off cause I would rather not if I don't have to.

 

I Don't remember fully but I want to say that I did, however If you park the truck on and angle, A$$ down, you can get the oil level to drop below the output seal. Theoretically, of course. For mine it was just time to change the fluid anyways.

 

Gotcha. I'm getting close to needing to change it anyways so might just do it a bit sooner and get it done.
Good idea with the parking on an incline and doing it that way.

 

Mine was an Unknown when I bought the truck so I just did that and the trans. Both looked very clean and seems like all fluids were changed right before I bought the truck.

 

I was in the same boat. Very few records for work on the truck when I bought it so I did all the drive train fluids shortly after I got it.
It's been about 25k or so since then if I were to guess.

 

Yeh sounds like it's about time to change it so you might as well do the seal next time you get a change. It's super easy maybe an hour tops start to finish.