AdventureTaco - turbodb's build and adventures

Thanks for posting your trip to this part of the country @turbodb. I am heading down there in about two weeks. Hoping to get at least to Three Forks or possibly North Fork Owyhee rec. area to camp for the night. Thinking of taking the Juniper Mtn/Mud Flat road back out to the freeway, then on to Utah.

 

That'll be a fun trip. If you go in the east side of Three Forks (which I'd recommend for most folks - you get to see things like the Owyhee Canyon overlook if you go that route), you can actually get to Juniper Mountain road without going back to the highway first; that's what I'd do if I were you!

Our first trip (apologies for the crappy trip report, was our first!) to Owyhee Canyonlands: Owyhee Canyonlands (May 2016)

Owyhee Canyon Overlook (from east Three Forks access)

 

Yeah this is the route I am planning to take. not going back out to 95. I'll look for your tire tracks!

 

Rig Review - Twice in Owyhee - What worked and what didn't?
May 24, 2020.

Our last two trips have both been to the Owyhee area of southeastern Oregon and western Idaho - Into the Owyhee Uplands and Owyhee Redux. The truck performed well on each trip, but as always there are little tweaks I want to make to the setup, so let's dive in to the rig review.

Front ADS Coilover Spherical Bearings (update)
TL;DR - The spherical bearings are doing OK, but I think that's temporary.

With a new set of spherical bearings from ADS installed just before the first Owyhee trip, the bearings seemed to do just fine through the two trips. However, after chatting with a few folks, I'm convinced that the current bearings I'm using won't be my long term solution. The current bearings are standard COM10-T bearings - steel with a Teflon liner. The steel rusts, and that rust then acts like sandpaper, quickly destroying the liner. So, I'm going to use up my current stock of COM10-T's and then I'm going to try some stainless steel FK bearings (FKSSX-10T). The idea - perhaps obviously - is that the stainless steel won't rust, thereby prolonging the life of the Teflon (and bearing). If that doesn't work, I'm going to look into making my own rubber/poly bushings to replace the spherical bearing in the lower shock eye.

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Second (House) Battery (update)
TL;DR - The (warranty) replacement battery is working great!

Not much more to say about that - here was the write-up where I replaced the faulty battery. Props to Mike over at GPCarAudio for great customer service.

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Propane Bottle is Leaking (update)
TL;DR - I threw away the leaky bottle and got a few used bottles to fill and use on future trips.

I hate the idea of throwing things away after a single use. So, if you have a need for propane, I recommend filling bottles yourself - from your own 20 lbs tank. That's what I did with some used Coleman 1 lb bottles that I got from a buddy. This filler/refill adapter works great, and you can get a full pound of propane into the small bottles if you freeze the bottle before you fill it.

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Mobilinkd TNC 2 failure (APRS) (update)
TL;DR - no trouble on the last couple trips.

I don't know if this is really solved, but I'm going to say it is. Because, I'm not doing anything about it.

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Cooper ST/Maxx Tires

TL;DR - I've really liked the ST Maxx tires, but they are on their last legs. Time to start a search for replacements.
I put a new set of Cooper ST/Maxx 255/85R16 tires on the Tacoma a little over a year ago when I switched to 4Runner 5-spoke wheels. They've performed very well, a couple of them are now nearly bald. I might have a bit of an alignment issue, but regardless, I need to get new tires. I'm currently considering another set of Cooper ST/Maxx, a set of BFGoodrich KM3's, or... well, that's about it.

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It's Noisy in the Cab
TL;DR - I wish it were easier to hear podcasts, and that the long stretches on the highway were a little quieter.

On long trips, @mrs.turbodb and I often listen to podcasts, music, etc. as we tick away the highway miles. Sometimes, we have to turn these up reasonably loud in order to hear them, and I'd like to not have to do that. I also wonder if I ever want to get true mud terrain tires, if I'll hate myself for all the noise they make on pavement. So, it's time to start researching sound deadening for the Tacoma.

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The Air Conditioning Doesn't Work
TL;DR - I need to replace the evaporator core inside the cab of the Tacoma so we can get cold air again.

I'm not sure why this hasn't been in past rig reviews, but it's definitely been an issue for over a year. I took the truck in to get the AC recharged before trips last summer and the tech (at Toyota) initially said that I had a leak. However, upon recharging the system, they couldn't find the leak so they called it good and told me that I could come back and they'd apply the amount I'd paid for a recharge to the diagnosis if the recharge didn't hold.

Sufficed to say, a few months later, the AC wasn't working again and I took it back to Toyota. They were great and diagnosed the issue for "free." Turns out that after filling the system with dye, there were no leaks in the engine compartment, but when they used a sniffer on the AC vents, they discovered 134A blowing out into the cabin. This, they assured me, was because the evap core had a leak, and so as air blew over it, it was blowing the 134A into the cabin.

And, it would only be $3,800 to fix. So yeah, I passed on that and haven't had AC since. With summer coming (a second time), it's something worth noting - because even on this last trip, there were times where it would have been nice to have some cool air blowing on us.

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Seemingly solved from previous Rig Reviews

1. Front ADS Coilover Spherical Bearings - "solved" in that I know they are going to require constant maintenance for a while.
2. Second (House) Battery Seems to be low - completely fixed with a new battery.
3. Propane Bottle is Leaking - threw it away, got some new-to-me second hand bottles that don't leak.
4. Mobilinkd TNC 2 failure (APRS) - it's been working for the last two trips, so I'm calling it fixed. Plus, I know how to fix it if it fails again in the future so...

Unchanged / Still an issue from previous Rig Reviews

There are some things that have been featured in Rig Reviews that are - as yet - unchanged from when I originally reviewed them. Rather than highlight those things again, I'll simply link to them here.

1. The Ham Radio Antenna - continues to have the shortcoming mentioned.
2. Oil Leaking from Transfer Case - I haven't done anything about this yet, though I seem to be getting less leakage.
3. Relentless Skid Plate Attachment - continues to need the modification mentioned.
4. The Windshield Has Seen Better Days - I plan to wait until summer to fix this, just so winter rocks, sand, etc. don't immediately destroy the new one.

 

Hey Dan, I’m pretty sure you had a post about the middle mounts for the ifs skids, yours ripped off? Do you have pictures of that fix?

 

Sure thing, here you go: Fixing the IFS Skid Mounts

 

Thanks Dan! Appreciate it.

 

I just gave that a shot, welding about your head is hard as hell! Lol I definitely didn’t get nice beads like yours

edit- my shielding tank was empty! Makes much more sense why I couldn’t get a good puddle to save my life.

 

Its a pain but definitely do able to replace the evap core by yourself.

I did it in about 2 days on my second gen. Could have completed it in one day I think if I hadn't had to pull the supercharger to get access to disconnect the heater core lines going into the cab.

 

I didn't think it was so much of a pain . Well, except that the first evap core I got was faulty, lol. Story coming soon, just been too busy to write it up!

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...Into camp - and by the looks of it, as the first visitors of the season - I hadn't even turned the engine off before @mini.turbodb flung open her door and bolted out into the forest!

After months of seclusion at home, it was time to explore, and great to be out!...

Keep reading the rest here (4Runner related, so not posting it all in this thread)
Into the Forest​

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Keep reading the rest here
Into the Forest​

 

Tell her those marshmallows are done. As in "Done For".

 

@miniturbodb isn't as mini as she was in some of your earlier write ups. I've been reading your stories for far too long

 

Another 4Runner adventure with the Tacoma out of commission for a couple weeks at the beginning of June... This was a trip I'd been waiting for. Well, not this trip exactly, but a trip to this location, in the Sierra National Forest. See, after our last trip there, Pops and I regularly chatted about our next chance to visit this special place - we'd planned for it to happen in early July, but we'd both been keeping an eye on snow levels and road-and-forest status since January...

Keep reading the rest here
We've Arrived in Paradise - Escape to the Sierras #1​

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Keep reading the rest here
We've Arrived in Paradise - Escape to the Sierras #1​

 

Sound Deadening a 1st Gen Tacoma - Materials and Prep
While I believe the saying, "They don't make them like they used to," generally does apply to a 1st gen Tacoma, it most definitely does not apply to the sound deadening of these old trucks. Nearly any vehicle you get today will have better sound deadening than a 20-year old truck and after thousands of freeway miles, I decided it was finally time for some peace and quiet in the cab.

Or at least, that was the plan. Oh, and while I'm definitely no audiophile, I figured I might as well put in some new speakers while I was at it.

Before we get started... this turned out to be quite long - so I've broken it into two parts. Read it all, or only the part you're interested in, and enjoy!


Options

It turns out that there are lots of different opinions out there on sound deadening. I did a medium amount of research before deciding on an option, ultimately basing my decision on a few factors: recommendations from friends, cost, and online reviews/research. I won't list all the pros and cons of each option I looked at here, but I think there are really three leading contenders when it comes down to it. If you're going to sound deaden, you'll probably be happy with any of these three:

• Dynamat Xtreme and Dyaliner
• SecondSkin Damplifier Pro and OverKill Closed Cell Foam
• RAAMmat BXT II and Ensolite IUO Closed Cell Foam

Oh, and of course, you need to know how much to get. That will vary a little bit on whether you have a standard, xtra, or double cab, and of course on which parts of the cab you're planning to cover - doors, rear quarter panel, rear wall, roof, and floor. I've put together this handy little table that should give you a sense of what you need for each of the options, and the approximate price as of June 2020.

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Pulling Together the Parts
Ultimately, I decided to go with RAAMAudio for my project. I'd probably made this decision even before I did all my research, based on the recommendation I'd gotten from friends about how well Package 1 worked for their 1st gen Tacoma. Ultimately, I wish I'd gotten Package 2, as I wanted to fully cover the roof and floor, as well as double up the RAAMmat BXT II in a few places, and there's not enough in Package 1 to do all of that.

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I also purchased some speakers for my front doors, and rear quarter panels. I've listed these here for completeness, but I recommend you buy what suits your taste from Crutchfield, since they will come with any necessary adapters, etc.

• Front doors - JBL Concert Series 521 5-1/4" Speakers
• Rear quarter panels - Kicker CSC65 6-1/2"Speakers w/Woofers

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Lastly, I ended up using a little bit of 3/8" split loom to house the interior door handle rods once the sound deadening material was installed, since without the loom, the rods would get stuck in the butyl rubber and cease to function.

Tools

I didn't need much from a tools perspective. No special tools or anything for this job - just an assortment of screwdrivers and sockets.

Doing the Job - Removing the Interior

With all the parts in hand, and only a few basic tools gathered up at this point, I dug right in. There's nothing glamorous about the first part of this job - removing nearly everything out of the cab! On the one hand I know that sounds exciting; on the other...terrifying.

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Mostly I was terrified that I'd break some clip, but I shut that thought out of my head and only broke two the entire job.

Start by removing the seats. This is done by popping off the plastic covers that clip over the rear anchor points, and then removing the four (4) 14mm bolts that secure each seat. Note: Make sure to disconnect any wires running to the seats prior to pulling them from the truck - in my case, only the seat belt sensor on the driver side.

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Disconnect the seat belt sensor on the driver side prior to seat removal.​

Next, remove the center console. This is done by pushing in the center of the two small clips securing the front-most piece of console, at which point the clips should simply pull out. This piece can then be removed, unplugging the two 12v aux connectors as it is pulled away from the dash.

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Six Philips screws and two 10mm bolts (inside the console compartment) secure the remaining pieces of the (MT) center console. Remove them all, as well as the knobs of the shift levers, and then remove all pieces of the center console.

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With much more room to work, the next step is to remove the trim from the rear wall. Start at the top and pry off the plastic trim using a flat head screw driver with a bit of tape over the blade to protect the trim. Start prying at one end and work your way to the other; there are five metal and two plastic clips that secure this piece of trim. Note: I find that these often pop off of the plastic trim piece and remain in the slots that secure the trim to the cab. If they do, just use some pliers to retrieve them and re-attach them to the trim.

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With the upper rear trim out out of the way, use a 12mm socket to remove the bolts securing the rear seat padding. Then, it'll lift right out.

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Next, remove the rear seat belt clips that are secured to the lower rear plastic trim. Simply lift up the rubber covers to expose the 14mm bolts, and remove them.

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The lower rear plastic trim is held in place with a dozen or so plastic clips. I've always been successful in getting these out in one piece, but if you break any, the part number to replace them is 67771-04040.

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Next, remove the quarter panel trim. To start that process, remove the clothes-hanger hook at the top of the quarter panel by removing the Philips screw that secures it. Then, pop off the cover for the Xtra cab window and remove the two Philips screws that secure it to the body.

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Then, pop open the covers for the upper anchors of the seat belts and remove the 14mm bolts that secure each to their respective pillars and let them simply hang down - you will not remove them entirely at any point. Note that the cover for the front anchor pops off entirely, but the cover for the rear anchor simply hinges up.

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Front seatbelt anchor with cover removed.​

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Rear seatbelt anchor with cover opened.​

With all the bolts that secure the quarter panel now out of the way, remove the four Philips head screws in the door threshold and carefully pry it up. The rear-most bit of that threshold secure the bottom of the rear quarter panel, so once it is removed, you can carefully pry the quarter panel away from the body. Note that the quarter panel uses the same clips (67771-04040) as the rear trim and door trim, in case you happen to break one or want to have extras on hand.

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Next we're going to work on loosening the headliner - because you don't want to go to all this trouble, only to leave the roof unattended. First, remove the two small clips at the back of the headliner - these simply pry out with judicious use of a slot screwdriver and your fingers.

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Next, remove the dome light by popping off the clear cover to access the two Philips screws. Remove them, and unplug the connector that powers the dome light before setting it aside.

If you have a sunroof - as I do - now is also a good time to remove the two Philips screws that secure the plastic cover for the handle so that you can it off to expose two 12mm bolts that secure the handle to the roof. Remove the two bolts and let the handle hang down. Finally, pull off the edging that trims the opening.

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Lastly, if you have "oh, shit" handles secured to the headliner, remove them by popping off the two plastic covers on either end with a small flat screwdriver, and then remove the two Philips (actually JIS, but Philips usually works) screws in order to remove the handle.

At this point the headliner won't come completely out of the truck, but you should be able to pull it down enough to gain access - from the sides - for the sound deadening work. Note: completely removing the headliner is a PITA because it entails removal of the A-pillar trim, which is quite fragile.

The final three elements to remove inside the cab are the front kick panel, storage compartment trim, and rug. The kick panel can be removed easily - simply pull it towards you and it will come out.

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The storage compartment trim is removed by backing out what look like Philips screws, but are actually just plastic clips. The "screw" portion of these clips can be turned counter-clockwise while you push the pin from the bottom, and then remove the entire clip.

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And then, starting from both the front and back of the cabin, carefully remove the carpet! Note: There are several clips along the door threshold that need to be removed in order to fully remove the carpet.

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Remove these plastic clips prior to removing the carpet.​

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With the interior of the cabin removed, the final element to tackle in order to make access for sound deadening is the removal of the interior door panel. This is not difficult, but can be a bit finicky, so pay attention as you do this work. Note: there are many different door panels, so if you have a different panel than me, you'll need to research it's removal. It will be similar, but vary slightly from what I have here.

First, lower the window. This will be important later when removing the interior panel, at which point the ability to lower the window will be limited since the window lowering controls will be removed/unplugged.

Next, pop out the two plastic covers on the arm rest and remove the two Philips screws. Note that the arm rest will stay in place.

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Remove the single Philips screw securing the interior door lever, then, carefully push the door lever forward to unclip it from the door.

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At this point, you can see that there is a small plastic clip that secures the door lever to the metal rod that connects it to the door latch. Carefully release the slip by prying it towards you, being careful to not break the clip. Once the metal rod is released, remove the interior door lever.

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Remove the arm rest control panel by prying up from the front edge. Note that if you pry on the rear edge, you will break the rear clip. As you lift out the control panel, unplug any electronics that are connected to it - for power windows, door locks, and mirror adjustments.

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Next, remove the small triangular trim piece near the side mirror by simply prying on it from the bottom to release the clips.

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Depress the center of the clip at the upper-forward corner of the interior panel and remove the clip.

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Finally, starting along the bottom edge, slowly pry the interior door panel away from the door. Once you find the location of a door clip, pry carefully on each side of the clip until it releases; then move on to the next clip. Eventually, all the clips will be released, and you can lift the panel up and over the door lock to remove it from the door.

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"Never been off pavement." - Every Craigslist post, ever.​

With the interior door panel removed, the final elements to remove are the speaker and plastic weather barrier. The speaker removes by disconnecting the plug and removing the five Philips screws. The weather barrier simply peels off.

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And that is the interior removed! It will be out for a while, so arrange it in an orderly fashion somewhere while you do the rest of the work. Good job me! (And you!)

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All that's left now is a bit of cleanup and then actual application of the sound deadening material. Oh, and then putting everything back together again. And I'll address all of that in the next part of this story-turned-tutorial.

 

having JBL fronts and Kicker rears would make my head hurt. Why not stay consistent and hope for timbre matching?

 

LOL, I don't have good enough ears - don't even know what timbre is, hahaha. I just wanted to make sure I got a little oomph in the rear, and the JBLs reviews were that they tended towards the high end, even at larger sizes.

 

Per https://www.hometheaterforum.com/community/threads/what-exactly-is-timber-matching.12839/

For dummies (like myself), it's basically matching the speakers so that sound/pitch is balanced.

 

For a truck...it's not going to matter.


Plus I could easily make the argument that you should mix and match to let certain speakers work in a different range to fill out the spectrum in full better.




All in all, it's all BS. Sound is subjective as fuck and mixing speakers is not going to make the experience any worse. Shit, in my truck I had 2 different brands of speakers and way different sizes and 2 subs. There are so many other factors and things going on its all relative to what you want.

It'll sound better that what was in there either way.

 

Nice right up as usual! While not necessary, for tearing apart interiors a kit like

Prylon 13 Pc Steel and Nylon Auto Trim Door Panel Window Molding Upholstery Clip Removal Tool Kit

this can make getting all the different clips and panels out a much easier job in my experience. Its been well worth the <$15 purchase many years ago to me.