Operation Crash Bandicoot 4x4 Swapped 05' Tacoma

The old motor is out and the new one is going innnn

 

New motor is in. Should be able to drive her from the shop on Monday. No major hiccups that the shop informed me of. Just the exhaust being seized in a few spots for the cat convertor.

 

So got the Truck back on Thursday. Paid right around 7800$ OTD for a new Jasper Remanufactured motor with a 3 year warranty.

The truck had cylinder 5/6 damage. Saw it on a borescope. The head was in fact allowing moisture in, we suspect a piece of the rings broke off and caused the damage to the cylinder walls.

I trust my mechanic not to fuck me over. I've had a great working relationship with him and he basically said there arent any good machine shops worth a shit in columbia. With that knowledge and if the machining didnt solve my issue i would be out more cash than i already got in it and i risked the bottom end potentially blowing up and being back at square 1 again.

Theres another fellow im friends with who had a similar issue on his 08 FJ cruiser i believe. Went with the junkyard motor route and it bit him in the ass. He advised i didnt follow in his footsteps. "Buy once, Cry once".

Now that it's finally done im working on getting the 500 or so miles driving it around town, monitoring guages and such for it's oil change so i can start beating on it in TN for the 30 GSMTR in Oliver Springs.

All that being said, i feel i did what was best for the truck and my overall well being. I wouldnt be able to get anything remotely close to what i have for 15K let alone the 7.8K i put in the repair.

The Tacoma will live to wheel and ride another day.

With this, the only stock part on my tacoma is truly the lower control arms lol.

 

Been driving the taco everyday since the engine swap because

1. i need 500 miles on the new motor so i can swap the oil out before my GSMTR trip next month
2. if this joker is as solid as it looks.


Im honestly glad i did it. This truck is super important to me and i couldnt leave it unless someone drove into me lol.

That being said its back on track

Found some issues looking over it yesterday

1. D/S CV boot has a tear in it
2. P/S Inner tie rod boot has a tear in it. (looks like Power Steering fluid is coming out so the rack n pinion may be on the way out as well).

Nothing super crazy really. Got a new Tie rod boot on the way.

Ordered a OEM CV axle from LKQ for 90$ and a buddy could get me another one for 60$ so instead of rebooting the torn one right away i'll just have a backup already.

When the wheeling trip is over i'll reboot the torn boot so i'll end up with 2 spare CV's

Cheap insurance i figure.

 

My rack has been leaking slightly like that for years. The PSF will eat up boots, and likely cleaned out the grease in my Inner tie rods so I have about an inch of play in the wheel driving straight. Finally biting the bullet and Friday I will have a New Cardone rack to install that comes with Inner Tie rods.

 

i suspect mine are starting to do the same. It's probs been like this for at least a year or so now. i'll band-aid it for now. Low on funds after replacing the motor lol.

Any reason you didnt want a OEM Rack?

 

Money.. They high as hell

 

i havent looked but i suspect i'll be hitting up an LKQ lol.

 

I got one from another yard other than LKQ and it's a bit rusty for my liking... It definitely came from the beach or north.

 

lol son of a gun. I have a guy in Florence with the hookup. He get parts from a LKQ locally

 

Finally got OBA. didnt want to drop 500$ in an ARB or the like air compressor system that was stuck on my truck.

Opted for a 20lb Co2 tank / fixed 150psi regulator / ARB digital guage. Got it all for under 180$ out the door and i gotta say airing up from 15-35 under 30 seconds is pretty fucking awesome

Links to the shit i bought on Amazon

$6 T TANYA HARDWARE Air Hose Fittings And Air Coupler Plug, Air Compressor Quick-Connect FNPT Female Plug Kit (Industrial Type D, 1/4" NPT Female Thread, Solid Brass, 2 Piece)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074SY2L13?ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details

$14 ABN Recoil Hose, 1/4in x 25ft – Portable Polyurethane Coil Hose for Air Compressor, Nailer, Sprayer, Staple Gun

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075H2BKPS?ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details

$8 Anderson Metals 56122 Brass Pipe Fitting, Hex Nipple, 1/4" x 1/4" NPT Male Pipe

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003NXYB5Q?ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details

$8 Primefit IC1414FB6 1/4" Industrial 6-Ball Brass Coupler with 1/4" Female NPT

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IDYYBF0?ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details (x2)

$51 GTC Direct Gentec 227C-150 Flow Regulator for Light Duty Applications

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0085EVSOU?ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details

$70 ARB ARB601 Digital Tire Pressure Gauge with Braided Hose and Chuck, Inflator and Deflator 25-75 PSI Readings

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073RS57L5?ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details

 

Nice! That’s what I have been eyeing for a while now...airing up super fast after a long day on a trail! Would be nice.

Did you buy the 20lb on Amazon as well?

 

found it locally for 65$. Got super lucky. it's brand new and the local shop the tank belongs to will exchange it for 33$ everytime. Its right up the road from me as well so i cant complain too much

 

A/C condensor leaking lime green oil lol.

Got a new Denso on the way.

Oil change was done yesterday by the shop and everything looked good. Im free to beat on it

Before the trip in 2 weeks i plan to:

1. Replace the Torn CV boot with a new one (reboot the axle as a spare)

2. Replace the torn Tie rod boot

3 Replace the A/C condensor so i got A/C in TN lol.


Other than that she's been a blast to drive.

 

Just got back from GSMTR Yesterday.

The truck did amazing. 33's on AT's aired down to 15 psi with 4.56s is the move. I didnt have to use the rear locker but one time all weekend. I can only imagine what M/Ts will do once my current tires wear out.

no overheating, the new motor purred the entire time.

CV boots need replacing. A/C cold as eskimo tits.

some photos of the event

 

Damn I feel ya on having to replace the engine. We put a used engine in my wife’s Subaru Outback after replacing the head gaskets didn’t fix the problem. Not fun.

 

man it was tough forking over that kinda cash but i cant turn my project truck ive had for almost 12 years for a motor

 

yea definitely!

 

Another weekend in TN for the 31st GSMTR in the books. Truck did pretty good again, Need some tires soon lol. Wheeled with the owner of BudBuilt so that was pretty neat.

No broken truck parts and that's all we can ask for. Next step i think is moving my stuff off my tacoma and onto a trailer. Base camp is the new move i thinks

A tree tried to take it out but failed

 

In preparation for GSMTR next month and ATR in Windrock i took the truck to the shop and had it looked over. All the steering was shot lol. So 1600$ later and a alignment she's back good to go. All new UBJ/LBJ/tie rod ends, control arm bushings all that jazz.

Sold the bedrack/RTT setup that ive had for 10 years almost. Now that we've got a teardrop camper, i'd rather shed the bulkiness and weight and make the truck more capable on the trail. Looks weird without the shell. Still might go get a hardshell just for the dry storage

My reliable General All terrains are getting replaced with some 285/75/16 General X3 mud tires before the trip as well. finally going to see what the hype is with mud tires.

Andddd pics