What have you done to your Tacoma today? 1st Gen Edition

This is the best pic I have on hand.. it took multiple passes to get the driver foot well area cleaner, but definitely made a notable difference. First vacuumed it good, then used a drill brush and stain remover vigorously, then hit many times with the steam cleaner filled with stain remover and more brushing in between rounds. The seats were from the salvage yard and where also cleaned using the same method, I found the steam cleaner was the tool that made the most drastic difference that you can see!


Here was the "before" shot - you can see how dark it was with grime around the area that was not covered by the floor mat. The floor mat was missing so it started getting grimy all around the foot mat pretty badly too, so this was a tough zone in my truck as well.


The red stains towards the rear center of the tranny tunnel were the part that I could not really remove totally. No idea what that was, as all these stains came with the truck.

This infomercial shot shows how well the steam cleaner changes the color from decades of dirt brown back to showroom 2002 Charcoal Gray. ACT NOW!


I really was super impressed by this thing as this was my first run with it, and didnt even return it to the Amazon! I found myself wishing I bought a bigger one though, as I refilled the tank many times throughout the day.

This was all in the past though..

TODAY I actually cleaned my K&N air filter that also came with the truck. Regained my full 6.19 horsepower increase as noted by the feeling in my mind!!

 

Haven't hit mine yet, but it's harder to hit when it's raised above the frame rails.

Bravo to you sir for a really new and cool idea. I dig that a lot.

 

Someone whose garage is as organized as mine

 

do you have access to a spring compressor?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrrtazxg2eg

 

Rent a tool from autozone so i guess yeah

 

have you ever used one before?

 

Both kinds the 300 dollar one is blessed the 30 dollar one... works

 

i need to change the front shock absorbers on my old SR5 for once in its life
local Toyota mechanic is bunk not letting me use my own supplied OEM parts i can save probably $100+ buying wholesale and not paying list+ from his source
and i am not even sure about the quoted labor time i got from him to do the work if its out of whack or anything

 

Im at the point where i can do both sides in like 3 hours

 

well if i just cannot find any local/regional TW persons (basic 3rd gen nonsense around here) that may know how to fix these good with no fcks how much interest do you have in toiling on an old SR5 if you have done this front suspension stuff before

 

I do it for fun on buddies trucks

 

You don't need a spring compressor. There's a video on how to do it with just the weight of the truck and a floor jack.

 

That only works assuming there isnt any rust

 

How does rust interfere?

 

I had to cut the strut mount off my buddies set of shocks and when they did mine they had to cut it off too

Not even an impact... so if theres rust chances are he has to take the assembly off try impacting the mount nut off the shock than try cutting it

 

Looking at Home Depot website. Do you know what's the difference between the friction ring and pin detent?

Which one is better?

I have the basic M18 battery pack. Would I need a bigger battery pack like the 5.0 ah battery pack?

 

You want the friction ring, NOT the pin detent. And the bigger amp hour battery is nice but not mandatory

 

@Venom

@cruiserguy is right

 

Not yet. For now I will keep the dakar leafs with OME's AAL. Eventually, when I figure out what high(er) end shocks I want in the rear (these Icon's are placeholders) I'll look closer into getting custom Alcans most likely

 

Friction ring like @cruiserguy mentioned and @Uphillshunter validated, I'm just double validating

I've chucked off several leaf spring bolts, multiple wheels on a few trucks, as well as doing a pick n pull run on an old truck. Finally went through the small battery it came with.

Can't imagine how long the bigger 5AH battery will last which I have 2 of but have yet to use.