What Have You Done To Your 2nd Gen Tacoma Today?

Even though the truck is a 2012, it only has 68K miles on it. So I doubt that "wear factor" is an issue. But... I have two new keys and neither one will turn either the door lock or the ignition after being cut. So I guess they must be cut badly if they don't turn the cylinders? They sure look identical to the original.

So again, just to be clear, the proper chip isn't required to turn the key?

 

Is your steering wheel locked up?

 

Since the key won't turn in the ignition with the new key, it is locked with the new key. Doesn't unlocking the steering wheel depend on the ignition cylinder being rotated?

With the original key, everything works as expected.

 

Fluid filmed (black) the whole frame

tomorrow is spark plugs , PCV, maf, and throttle body.

2011 DCSB w/46k

 

Installed an rci high lift mount after years of just throwing it in the bed. Had to cut a few inches off the lift to fit it sideways.

And just in time for a mojave road run this week, finally installed a fuel pax I bought last year on black Friday. Still will bring a Jerry can of gas lashed to the bed though. Don't feel prepared in mojave with just 3 gallons.

 

Bent up the spare tire tabs and cut off the exhaust hanger in order to fit a 255/80R17 STT Maxx spare under the bed. It looks like it's clear of the diff and I think that I'm good to go, but haven't had a chance to test it yet.





Meso Customs: "Remove Phillips head bolt from inside fuel door (TIP: Use a #2 bit on an impact while holding pressure on the door. Toyota has been known to install these tight)"

Meso Stupid: *puts hand pressure on door, uses #2 bit on a hand screwdriver, promptly strips screw and has to remove with lockjaws*

 

K&N cabin air filter. Finally got my winch line pretensioned and installed a Smittybilt winch line thimble.

Also got my platform installed. Mainly built it so I can strap these 2 bins down that I use to carry my noncold foods for camping.

Used the factory seat hinges so I can still access the factory storage cubby.

 

9 years and 180K Km later, out with the old & in with the new. Galvanic corrosion where 1/4" aluminium spacer met shock hat. Applying lots of antiseize this time around.

 

Limit straps added

 

Created a "proof of concept" for an idea I had.
Basically, the idea is to be able to mount a 10" touchscreen Raspberry Pi 4 onto the dash of the truck.
The Pi has a USB GPS device and is loaded with 60+GB of offline aerial and topographic maps.



Here is the mount, ignore the books and the rock, they are just holding it up there so I can see if the dang thing even fits!
It's not perfect, but that is what happens with you try to just make something, by hand, with barely the proper tools.
(and yeah, that is a really really good guidebook to have. )


the (hopefully) finished mounts now look like this:


Anyways, thought some might like to see this.
I'll update when I am done.

 

That screw on the gas cap door was one hell of a stubborn bitch. I had to drill mine out because I later found out it was welded on for some crazy stupid reason. The torx screw on the right side of the tailgate was even worse.



(Inside the gate)

 

Boys, the Yota Coma is fixed. After a month without it

 

Congrats man! Enjoy it!

 

I used one of those step up drill bits. Worked good for getting that nut off. But I was also replacing the entire assembly. Car wash broke it off. Stupid I know. But lesson learned.

 

All I did was take a pic of it today.

 

Thanks for the tip. I have a Dremel and step drill bits, it's coming off one way or another.
I'll be using a small amount of anti-seize when it goes back together.

 

A small tip that I just thought of. You can get some Allen set screws the same thread as the bolts. You can plug up the hole but not have the bolt head protruding above the sheet metal.

 

That thing's going to be street legal?

 

I was happy that my screw came right out without the need for a impact driver. I was dreading trying to remove that screw.

 

Long post and formatting was being weird so hopefully this all comes through okay.

Nice good mod/maint weekend, cleared up a few long bothering me issues finally In preparation for an upcoming trip.

Not pictured re-routing my rear camera wire in the cab and reinstalling the trim that's been rattling in the back for weeks.

Pulled the bed bolts so I could left the bed, change out my fuel filler neck and clean the purge canister and lines hopefully this fixes my CEL issues, P2401 P2402 P2419 P043E P043F that have been popping up on occasion since I got the truck.




Putting a new gas cap on fixed it for a while before but they usually come back when it's cold so taking a closer look at the mouth of the filler neck it seemed a little scared from hitting it with gas pumps and possibly a hair out of round from over tightening the gas cap as well as I had some concern about the vent that is contained in the plastic collar just below the mouth of the filler neck could have been plugged up from off-roading so I just changed it, may still need a new charcoal canister and purge valve pump/filter.

Cleaned the lines with compressed air and reinstalled with super tacky bushings grease to hopefully help seal. I sprayed a few quick air bursts into the openings of the pump first and second time was like spraying into a blind hole, third time sounded like I got some movement out of the valve so maybe it was just stuck up, uninstalled it and the charcoal canister and sprayed them out with compressed air, used a little electronic sensor safe cleaner on the purge valve assembly and followed that with deoxit shield. Hopefully they lights stay off but will update.







Side note "cowboy's" as they're refered to by my ironworker buddy are great for removing those pesky two tape child tamper resistant safe evap and fuel lines. Screw the $85 sst!








Decided to make some 1/2 bed lift spacers as I had the stock lying around and since I did rhe cab mount inverted install the bed was noticeably lower than the cab, it's all even now.







Before:

After

But, my bed bolts were rusty and one of the frame nuts stripped out when attempting to toque with a torque wrench. Man I hate that righty tighty to rightly loosy feeling.

So I drilled and tapped the bed nuts from m12 to 1/2 13. I'm not worried about losing 1mm of the frame nuts, if they ever strip out again though (I doubt it) I'm just going to get longer half inch bolts and put nylocks on the bottom.







Put my camper shell back on for the first time in about 2 years, forgot how much it Impacts MPG POSITIVELY, that's nice, will probably leave it on until I get gears.

That said the 3rd brake light wasn't working so I made my own, foil tape in the void, drill some holes, some 194 bulb bases, 194 LED red bulbs, wrap the surrounding area in foil to protect the paint and took some plexi rough cut it, taped it in place and used a heat gun and gloves to hand shape it to where I could trim it up and put some 3M trim tape on it.



It works!



Will find out sooner or later if it leaks.

Drilled out and installed a 2 pin pass through for the cap taillight also so I didn't have a beat up gehtto pig tail sticking out of my left taillight gap it has a nice little weather cap for when I'm running topless. Which I mean who doesn't prefer going topless?



Installed the Total Chaos bed stiffeners beforehand but didn't get any pictures phone was overheated and shut off. Excellent idea if you wheel with a cap.



My cap window lock fell apart the last time I used it on a trip took it apart and realized the snap ring had broken and the play just let the rest of it work itself loose, lost a spacer of some kind so I replaced the snap ring and made a spacer now the lock and handle works great.







Also cleaned the back cab windows and the cap windows as well as vacuumed the cap, it's amazing how filthy it was from just sitting.

Adjusted my clutch pedal height a bit ago and was causing my cruise control to drop out at every pebble on the street so I did one of the things I hate the most; contorting myself up underneath the dash to fight small spaces, wires, being upsidedown, at an angle, one handed, surrounded by sharp lightly rusted stamped steel to adjust the cruise switch. Managed to fix that without too much swearing and blood and will be considerably grateful for it on the coming long drive.

This little bastard way up there at the top, unplugged it with a bent and sharpened screw driver then through trial and error learned the jam nut for the plunger switch is a 14mm with no room for throw.



I got Husky mats used from another member on here for a steal shortly after I bought the truck, they were for a 2012-15 but they fit the floor the same the difference being the attachment spots. I just threw them in and never had any issue but they would shift some especially when offroading, again never a problem but dirt would get under them, sometimes they would move forward enough that the gas pedal couldn't be fully depressed but that was the only issues.

Inspiration struck and I made a little bracket using a strip of stainless some nut-certs and stainless sidewalk bolts which were a perfect fit in the mat anchor points, covered it in 3M trim tape to keep it from wearing the cab floor and rusting it and to help it adhere in place. I placed the mat where I wanted it, marked the carpet with sharpie and then pulled it up put a board underneath for a drill stop then drilled through the carpet with a 1/2 bit which made a hole just barley big enough for the reversed nut-certs to fit through, you have to oversize some as drilling through carpet doesn't give a very clean hole.




Had to cut these down to about 3/8 to not go through the back of the nut-certs when tightened all the way.


That's pretty and works flawlessly, there's a lot of clamping force on it too I can't imagine it's going to move at all or waller out the carpet.


Lastly I got my SDHQ battery terminals on just now which is all I had really set out to do in the first place.



So side note SDHQ sells an additional ground strap as you're supposed to cut off your OEM terminal. I bought the strap as I wasn't sure if I needed it or not to be on the save side as I hate making and crimping my own cables, (I need to just buy a large lug crimper and stop using the bench vice) but turns out instead of cutting off the terminal you can just cut up the factory terminal and make it work just fine, I had already done that when I replaced my abused loose OE terminals with cheap "24k" ones, the "gold" ones with the rusty hardware. They were pretty crap and with adding a winch I really did need terminals with a good solid convenient hook ups. I decided to still use the SDHQ ground wire and ran it back to my blue sea accessories mount plate and fender bolt and back to the neg battery terminal side lug.

Maybe it's placebo effect but truck started stronger with the new terminals it seemed if nothing else.

Didn't have time to mess with the "big 3/4" though.

She's needs a bath so she can get dirty.