AdventureTaco - turbodb's build and adventures

I know we all keep this thread PG, but that term is no longer PG.

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=good buddy

I learned about it from a guy who used to work for me who drove a truck in the past. He said it was a reference to someone at a truck stop who would perform "favors" of the drivers. Link for proof.

 

Up the Mountain - Aftermath #2
Part of the Aftermath (Sep 2021) trip.

With Pops heading home after a better-than-we-could-have-hoped day at his favorite camp site, I figured that I ought to explore a bit more of the forest to see the effects of the ***** Fire in a few more places that have become special over the years.

And so, after hugs, smiles, and the knowledge that we could return in the future, Dad turned left and I turned right - leaving each other in literal clouds of dust.

Even before we'd headed out, I'd speculated that the likelihood of me ending up back in our same camp site after running into closed roads - be they closed by the USFS or by downed trees - was probably about 50-50, and as I got under way, the trees around me definitely didn't add to my confidence.

Aftermath.​

I didn't make a lot of stops along the route, for a few reasons. Mostly, I was a little bit worried about the time. We'd parted ways at 4:30pm, and if it took me a couple hours to find a road block, that would mean that I'd be returning to camp in the dark. That's not a big deal, but it's always nice - especially in this place - to enjoy the sunset whenever possible. The other reason for the lack of stops was that the landscape was rather monotonous; brown, burned trees, everywhere. still, as the opportunity presented itself for a bit of a different view, I did try to make the time to take it in. As always, even in a state of destruction, nature can offer cool little sights worth enjoying.

Bright green grass offered a stark contrast to the surrounding trees.​

A first time for everything. Rather appropriate to see a cow on the way up ***************. Seems like a difficult time for this guy right now.​

Now only the shell of what was a living chimney.​

Eventually, the forest began to thin - not because I'd reached some amazing elevation and the treeline, but rather because - as had been the case in our camp site the previous day - the ground was beginning to change to a more granitic surface, less hospitable to a thriving forest. The effect of this change was immediately apparent: as in our camp site the previous day, more and more trees had survived.

Into the first of the living trees.​

Cresting the ridge.​

Excited that I would surely make it to my planned site at this point, I realized how lucky I was. Deep in the bowels of the ***** Fire devastation, it was as though some of our favorite spots had been saved! I find a perfect spot, with a view of the southern border of ******** to the north, and set up camp.

Lucky to be here.​

I spent the next couple of hours reading and wandering around the top of the ridge - the views spectacular as usual, though a little smoky for my taste. Eventually, late afternoon turned to evening, and I'm sure that same smoke contributed to the colors spilling across the sky.

************, a bit further away than it'd been earlier in the trip.​

Some people ask me why I don't carry levelers. Why would I, when nature supplies them?​

This tree seemed to grow directly out of the granite. There weren't even any roots snaking along the top of the rocky surface!​

Always a welcome sign, though as usual, an UTV had continued on. ​

With the sun finally below the horizon, I started cleaning up the few things I'd gotten out around camp - my chair, the water, the dry food box - and got my chompers polished up with the help of my electric toothbrush. Normally, this would have been a not-more-than-a-few-minutes operation, but for some reason tonight, it took me nearly half an hour.

Oh, right - because every time I looked up, there was more - or different - color spilling across the sky in every possible direction.

Color all along the horizon to the north.​

A light layer of pink everywhere!​

For less than two minutes, it was as though all the color in the sky concentrated into a super-saturated finale of color.​

As darkness fell and the stars came out, my eye didn't detect the purple hue that streched above me, but the camera sure did!​

I went to bed with the camera pointed generally south, a photo snapped every 30 seconds or so. My hope was to come away with a fabulous star trail, the foreground illuminated by the waning - but still bright - moon that would rise sometime after 10:00pm.

Alas, while the setup worked well and I awoke to photos snapped through the night, the wind picked up about the same time that the moon rose, and only a few of the photos were crisp enough to use, the camera shuddering as the gusts blew over the ridge. No matter, with a set of earplugs and my extra-comfy Exped Megamat Duo, I slept like a baby through the entire night.

The wind had been coming from the east, so when I awoke in the morning - before sunrise as usual, and because I knew I had a long day ahead of me - I was definitely a little surprised to see that it had gotten smokier than any other time during this trip. I'd have expected and easterly wind to clear things out, but the weather can be a strange beast, I suppose.

A smoky day. Time to hit the road.​

The sun, forcing its way through the haze.​

Smoke riding the jetstream above.​

It was only a few minutes after sunrise when I climbed into the truck and started back down ***************. In front of me, the ridges in the distance, danced in and out of the high layer of smoke, sometimes visible as towering ghosts, other times, obscured completely. It was probably a good thing, as it meant I wasn't constantly stopping for photos as I worked my way down the mountain.

I always love driving between these two giant boulders.​

Portions of the trail are... slightly off-camber.​

Back into the trees - or what's left of them. A few small ledges help to keep some of the riff-raff out.​

Having descended the trail significantly faster than I climbed it the previous afternoon, I reached the bottom and noticed a fork that I'd always put off "for next time," on previous trips. Well, I decided, there was no better time than the present - after-all, it'd been more than a year since I'd last been able to visit.

So, I headed up.

Of course, the landscape was nothing like what it would have been had I made this trip on one of my previous visits to the area. Like much of the rest of the forest, the ***** Fire had obliterated much of the life here, resetting the lifecycle and tipping the scales in the favor of ... whatever grows back first!

The fire was hot through here.​

Trapped in the blaze.​

I don't think headlight glass is usually bent like this.​

This trail was quite a bit shorter than the others I've explored in the region, and didn't terminate in nearly the views of what have become some of my favorite places. Still, it was nice to finally answer the question of, what's up that road? If everywhere were spectacular, then everything would just be normal.

Newly (re-)built weather station at the end of the road.​

The only view, and even it was partially obstructed.​

And so, back down the road I went - my exploration nearly complete and my sights set on a long drive north. As I headed out, I made one final stop - at a bridge I've crossed many times - to witness once again how things can change in a heartbeat. It'll likely be another year or more before this is rebuilt, allowing easier access to this area.

The ****** bridge along ************, no longer in service.​

From here, I had some 8 hours before I'd reach my next destination - thematically similar to this one, I was about to see a small slice of the aftermath that California's Dixie Fire had left in its wake.

 

Through Land Ravaged by Dixie - Aftermath #3
Part of the Aftermath (Sep 2021) trip.

Heading north on CA-99, I was obviously going to have to stop somewhere along the way in order eat lunch. It just so happens that my favorite restaurant in the world is in Turlock, and as I pulled at 11:57am, my timing couldn't have been more perfect.

The chips are simply a mechanism to get the cabbage salsa into your mouth.​

#2 - Quesadilla supreme with chile verde, guac, rice and beans. $12.50.​

I don't know what I was thinking, but unlike usual, when I order two or three (or more) plates to go, I only ordered one this time, and it was gone way too soon. Still, I must admit that it was as delicious as ever, and after settling up and saying thanks, I was back on the road and headed toward the tiny town of Taylorsville in the Plumas National Forest.

My route would take me up CA-99 through Sacramento where I'd branch off onto CA-70, ultimately following the North Fork of the Feather River. This, also, was the southwest corner of the million-acre Dixie Fire; still burning in places, it had burned through this area nearly 2 months earlier.

This drive along CA-70 has always been one of my favorites. The canyon walls rise up steeply as the highway follows the river. For me too, it revives memories of my childhood - trips from the Bay Area to see my two - favorite, of course - uncles who lived in the area, or to go camping at one of our favorite campgrounds in the Plumas National Forest. Today was no different, and as the highway and railway crisscrossed over the river, I couldn't help but wonder what I would encounter just a few miles ahead.

The Pulga Bridges, just one of several places where the highway and railroad grade trade sides of the river.​

​

Back in 1936-37, the WPA (similar to the CCC) didn't let a little granite get in the way as they built the Elephant Butte tunnel.​

Why go around when you can just tunnel through?​

I started to see the aftermath of the fire just after the Elephant Butte tunnel. Trees - on both sides of the highway - were scorched, but the ground was largely covered in pine needles and shrubs were beginning to regrow, so I assumed that what I was looking at was from a previous year's fire. I'd later hear from my uncle that until only a couple weeks before, the ground had been baren, the pine needles having only just begun to fall.

Only a few weeks after the fire had passed this way, the cleanup was in full swing. Several points along the highway were reduced to a single lane as sawyers cut, and heavy equipment hauled away, trees that threatened to fall over the highway.

One of several stops I - and many others - made for flaggers managing the flow of traffic.​

With hundreds of millions of dead trees - many of them quite large and still usable, I wonder where this wood will go?​

A little after 5:30pm, I rolled through the last town for the evening. Luckily, fire fighters had been able to save it, and the effort put into the fight was still obvious. Everything on both sides of the road had been sprayed with fire retardant. And, even though the blackened ground was beginning to be covered by needles here too, it was clear that the fire had burned through the area - tree trunks singed black and the normal shrubbery largely gone.

Every little bit helps. Knocking down a fire at a break like this is obviously extremely important.​

Fifteen minutes later, I arrived at my home for the evening - one of my uncles' places. It'd been a tense several weeks as the fire had burned through their area in the third week of August, an email I'd gotten clearly showing the stress they were under.

Of course, fire talk was a close second to all of the hello's and how-ya-doing's - and soon I was getting a tour of their property - complete with walking the dozer line that'd been plowed in, the sprinklers he still had running in case of another approach, all the work that had been done to reduce the risk of ember infiltration to buildings, and even where he was planning to hide out if fire overran him and the couple dozen fire fighters who were defending the half-dozen houses in the area.

Already, new life starting to poke through.​

Just as we were wrapping up the tour, I happened to glance up and noted a plume of smoke in the near distance, commenting on how things must still be flaring up now and then. The look on his face - and the neighbor talking to my aunt about the same plume of smoke when we got back to the house - said it all.

The danger may be lower, but it clearly isn't over yet.​

The rest of the evening was spent enjoying a wonderful dinner, desert, and each other's company. A new - to me, but probably 10 years old - single-room guest house even meant that I got to sleep in a real bed rather than deploying my mobile palace.

The Following Morning

I'd planned to leave around 6:00am, but realized as my alarm went off that sunrise wasn't until an hour later - a sign that summer is surely coming to an end - and so I moved slowly with my goodbyes. You see, a big part of the reason I'd come this way was to check out the town of Greenville, and it wouldn't do me any good to arrive in the dark.

Having dragged out the farewells, and with ample understanding that I was welcome any time, I pulled out a around 6:45am, and started making my way toward Greenville. It was clear as I drove around the perimeter of Indian Valley that - as had been the case with the ***** Fire aftermath earlier in the trip - the path of a forest fire really does create a mosaic on the landscape. Some mountainsides appeared untouched, others completely burned - the fire creeping or climbing as fuel sources and wind fed its progress.

It will be some time before infrastructure is back to normal, but it's amazing how quickly the work has started.​

Line down.​

Cleanup underway.​

And then, I started to see homes. The ashes of homes, really. And cars. Of everything. At first, it was just a single property, nestled along the side of CA-89. Then it was a small group. I was on the outskirts of town. And then I wasn't.

An ominous welcome to what was the town of Greenville.​

Nearly the entire town, lost.​

I didn't really have a plan for when I got to Greenville. I figured that I'd take a photo or two and then be on my way. But as my speed slowed, I found myself turning off the highway and onto what was once a residential street. A few houses - a business or two - and the high school - stood unscathed amongst the rubble. But the vast majority of everything was destroyed.

I wasn't just going to be here for a quick photo. I parked the truck and decided to walk through what was left of town, doing my best to pay my respects to the enormous loss that had occurred.

A shell of its former self.​

I came across these nails on a concrete slab, and realized that they used to hold the structure that sat here together.​

Twice fired. Once as part of its creation. And again, as part of its demise.​

Still standing, but there are no seats.​

A 1st gen Tacoma caught in the blaze, now sporting one of several flags flying around town.

On a lighter note, for those who understand the market for 1st gen Tacoma's these days,

"FS: $12,500. Minor smoke damage, I know what I've got!"​

Familiar aluminum wheels; melted away. Leaf springs, inverted.​

I found it interesting how arbitrary the fire was in this situation; the rear tires didn't even melt.​

Main Street.​

Eventually, I made my way from residential to the business section of town. Here, buildings that had been standing for hundreds of years - built of brick and stone - fared no better than the houses I'd seen elsewhere.

What was once a bank, though was not used as such prior to the fire, as I found childrens toys and a vaccuum in the vault.​

Protector of its contents, they smelled of smoke but were otherwise unscathed.​

It must have been an oven in the jail, all of the paint on the exterior, bubbled.​

The remains of the Bransford & McIntyre Store after the 2021 Dixie Fire. Note the plaque on the wall.​

The Bransford & McIntyre Store has burned before.​

Instead of spending a few minutes, I'd spent nearly two hours walking around town and taking it all in. There was so much that I could never see it all, and even if I could, I wouldn't really know what I was looking at. Here and there, property owners were looking through the rubble, and lawn signs from various insurance companies decorated the landscape, promising to help with the rebuilding process. By and large however, it was a ghost town - one that will take decades to return to its former glory, if it ever does.

Unlike the excitement I'd felt at my Dad's favorite camp site, and the relief I'd experienced at my Uncle's place, the feeling I was left with as I waited to head out of Greenville - a flagger managing traffic as more trees were cleared - was entirely different. A feeling of sadness and for an uncertain future of hope.

Waiting our turn as the excavators clear the way.​

Once again headed north, my next destination was home. I had 12 hours or so to get there, and I passed the first couple of those driving through the charred remains of the Dixie - the largest fire in California's history. Along the way, plumes of smoke still rose in the air, teams of CalFire - and other I'm sure - fire fighters still working to tamp down and extinguish hot spots.

Still much work to be done.​

Eventually I left the Dixie behind - headed for Mt. Shasta, and then Oregon, before crossing back into Washington. It'd been a whirlwind of a trip, with ups and downs that I could have never predicted before I left home. It was a good reminder to enjoy - and be in the moment - this wonderful land in which we live, because there's no telling what tomorrow will bring and the aftermath that we'll need to work through.

Mt. Shasta rising up in the haze.​

 

Wow. Those photos in Greenville are intense!

 

Thanks Dan.
Heavy stuff, but important to see.

 

Rig Review: What worked and what didn't - Sep 2021?
Part of the Rady Can't Wait (Sep 2021), Aftermath (Sep 2021) trips.

September 12, 2021.

Whereas my previous update was several months in the making, it seems that I've already got several updates regarding the Tacoma after my trip to Canada and a few days in California, so let's get right down to it.

Hella HIDs fail to turn on (resolved)
TL;DR - My Hella's are working again, and the problem wasn't the Hella's or the HID upgrade at all. It was my Bussmann relay/fuse block.

After my previous fiddling with the Hella's, I decided to take a closer look at the rest of the circuitry for them when I was creating wiring harness for the Diode Dynamics SS3 fog lights that I installed recently. As part of that, I removed the Bussmann relay/fuse box from the engine bay and carefully looked it over for loose connections, etc. I didn't find any, but it did seem like - perhaps - the connections between the relays and the Metri-Pack terminals that they seat into might have been less-than-ideal. As such, I pulled the connectors, inspected each one, and reinstalled them, adding some dielectric grease to each connector prior to reseating the relays (and fuses).

Since then, the Hella's have worked flawlessly - turning on and off when they should. My best guess is that over time, a bit of surface oxidation had taken place to the contacts in the Bussmann, and so current wasn't flowing like it should have.

I'm still not totally happy with the HID Hella's since they emit quite a bit of radio frequency interference (RFI), and putting some high-powered Diode Dynamics lights on the bumper is very much top of mind, but the issue of the Hella's failing to turn on is now resolved.

Relentless Skid Plate Attachment (resolved)
TL;DR - I finally got off my butt and fixed the skid plate. Mostly.

For over a year, the center attachment point of my mid-skid has been broken off. It's not a big deal, because I really only run my mid-skid when I feel like I'm going to need it, and that's not very often - usually about once a year on my annual 2-week trip with buddies. With that coming up for this year, and with unknown terrain ahead of me in Canada, I decided I should get the skid sorted.

So, I measured for, drilled, and filed, a couple of holes for carriage bolts to extend up through the transmission cross member. So far, it seems to work a charm. I'm going to run it this way for a while, but I may ultimately cut out a small section and weld in a plate to make a little recess for the head of the bolt.

It's always fun to drill a square hole.​

Should be more secure than some cantilevered mounts.​

The Diode Dynamics SS3 Pro Fog Lights (in Selective Yellow)
TL;DR - I love these lights.

I had the opportunity to use the fogs for the first time on my Rady Can't Wait trip to British Columbia, Canada. All I can say is wow. I had no idea what I was missing, and quite frankly, I figured that the install of these SS3 Pros would be more "for show" than anything else.

I couldn't have been more wrong. There are three things I really like about these lights:

1. The brightness. After installing them, I was worried that they sat too far back in the bumper, and that their position would result in a lot of light being "lost" in the tunnel of steel before it ever made it to the trail. I'm sure some of the light is lost, but plenty of it makes it out to where I need it, and there is significantly more near-field light (than when I'm just running my low beams) when the SS3s are on.
2. The color. The selective yellow is fantastic. It's so easy on the eyes compared to the whiter and bluer light of many of today's LEDs. It was such a pleasure to drive without any eye strain or feeling like I was squinting.
3. The interaction between the SS3 Pros, my high-wattage halogen headlights, and my HID-upgraded Hella 700's. I adjusted my SS3s so that they'd illuminate the near field - ranging from directly in front of the truck to midway into the lo-beam headlight range. My headlights (both lo- and high-beams) then cover the mid-field. And that leaves the distance range to be covered by the Hellas. This results in a ton of light output, and the SS3 selective yellow (3000K) does a great job of mixing a bit with the 5500K Hellas to provide a more pleasing transition from dark to bright white.

Here are a couple photos:

The only forward-facing lights that are on in this photo are the SS3 Pro fog lights. Notice both the quantity of light, as well as the pleasurable hue it projects onto the surroundings.​

In this photo, note the clearly defined beams of the fogs and Hellas, with a nice transitional area between the two. Additionally, note how much yellow light reaches the mountainside some quarter-mile away.​

Verifying Offline Maps Prior to Departure (new, resolved)
TL;DR - I got lazy with my offline maps this trip, since they've become so "easy" for me over the years, and it really bit me in the butt.

I've really come to rely on the maps I use with Backcountry Navigator XE as a part of my route planning. The Accuterra (Neotreks Land Use) maps have been fantastic all over the western United States, and so I didn't really think anything of it when I downloaded a big chunk of British Columbia, Canada for my trip across the border.

Unfortunately, the Accuterra maps are complete shit outside the US. This makes sense, as they are focused on US Land Use - it's even in the name!

Upon my return, I took a closer look at the map options that are available in the app, and I'm happy to report that there are some great options. I just need to be sure to download one of those next time, and do a quick check through my routes before I head into the unknown.

The Accuterra maps I had with me (left) vs. some actually useful maps I should have downloaded (right). ​

Replacing the Hood Insulator (resolved)
TL;DR - Just a little bit of maintenance, replacing the insulator under the hood. Easy and done.

For a long time, my hood insulator has been falling apart. I probably didn't help the situation by trying to pressure wash it once to get some of the dust and dirt out. I resisted getting a new one, because Toyota wants over $250 for an OEM (53341-35010) one. I even looked into making my own high-temperature blanket to cover the old one and eek a few more years out of it. Finally, I did a search on eBay and found that there is an aftermarket replacement from Detroit Muscle Technologies for between $40 (non-foil backed) and $55 (foil backed). I ordered one up, it fit perfectly - including the replacement clips that it came with - and now this probably-doesn't-do-much blanket is no longer drooping down onto my engine as I bounce down the road.

My original insulator has seen better days.​

Ready to protect the paint for another bunch-o-thousand miles.​

The Axle Housing is Cracked (new)
TL;DR - My rear axle housing cracked at the passenger spring perch. I've ordered a new axle housing.

I've been quite lucky when it comes to cracking - or not cracking, rather - parts fo the Tacoma. I'm sure this is partly due to the fact that I've only been using it to adventure for the last five years, but I've surely watched as others have had all sorts of problems. On this trip however, I ducked under the truck for a quick look around as I was making my way home, and noticed an oil stain on the rear axle housing, just under the passenger leaf spring perch.

I've seen this before, and the problem is that the welds on the perch were done too cold at the factory. Over time, they fatigue, and the perch begins to rip off of the housing, cracking the housing as it does.

Successful fixes have been rare, the only real solution being a new housing to replace the cracked one. So, that's what I'll do, but I'll need to find a way to patch up my existing housing until the new one arrives.

To say I was not happy upon noticing this would be the understatement of the day.​

Seemingly solved from previous Rig Reviews

1. Hella HIDs fail to turn on - resolved as noted above.
2. Relentless Skid Plate Attachment - resolved as noted above.

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. Oil Leaking from Transfer Case - I haven't done anything about this yet, though I seem to be getting less leakage.
2. The Drawer in the In-Cab Battery Cabinet Rattles - unaddressed. Still rattles.
3. Front ADS Coilover Spherical Bearings - I'm giving the new FK stainless steel bearings several thousand miles to see if they perform better.
4. The Zipper on the CVT Tent is Shit - I don't know how I'll ever address this, short of getting a GFC.
5. I Need New Seats - Still rocking the bottom-cushion-swapped OEM seats, but I've already got something in the works; won't be long now.
6. My Steering Rack is Leaking - still leaking slowly. Brand new rack waiting to be installed.
7. My Suspension Squeaks - still squeaky. I'm not all that worried about it, so I'm in no rush to fix it.

 

Is the only purpose to the hood insulator to protect the hood paint? I am wondering if it also raises the ambient temps in the engine bay?

Does the shape of the hood play a role in how the paint fares long term? My truck did not come with one.

 

yes. Yours has more space especially up front and a bigger grill to allow more air flow. My 95 and Frank had one but Igor does not.

 

I can understand about wanting to protect the paint, but I worry a bit about heat retention in the engine bay.

 

I think its not worth worrying about. The difference I'd think would be very minimal. If anything it'll help avoid heat soak of the hood for a period longer than without one. Not a reason to get one though either..

Air flow is still the solution. Which either means parking it and popping the hood or driving.

 

I replaced it just because I had one before and figured that Toyota put it there for a reason (which I assumed was paint).

My engine temps are always nice and consistent at 188-189, so I wasn’t worried about that.

I had no idea that 01-04 didn’t have them, that’s interesting!

Crazy for sure. Was a few weeks ago now, and I’m sure things already look very different- esp. given the big storm that went through over the last few days.

 

I think part of it might be a safety thing as well. My understanding is that the clips that attach it are designed to melt and drop the blanket over the engine in case of a fire.

That sucks about your axle housing, I'm a bit surprised something that beefy would crack.

 

My janky hood blanket has been bothering me for a while. Thanks for sharing a good looking replacement. Mine should be here in a few days.

 

Replacing My Rack
September 26, 2021.

For the last few months, my steering rack has had a slow leak. I first noticed it when we were exploring New Mexico on the New Mexico Backcountry Discovery Route (NMBDR), but it hasn't taken much to keep it topped off so I mostly ignored it, except for buying a new steering rack and letting it sit in the box.

This is the story of my replacement. I'll gloss over a lot of details, and share the nuances of my install. Think of it as entertainment, really. If you're looking for how to do it, I've written a guide for that. It's got all the little details for you to do the job yourself:

Step-by-Step:
Replacing the Steering Rack on a 1st Gen Tacoma
(or 3rd Gen 4Runner)​

As I mentioned, my first order of business - several months before I tackled the project - was to pick up a new Genuine OEM Power Steering Rack (44250-35042). I could have gone with an aftermarket rack and saved quite a bit of money but I've heard tons of horror stories about that - how quickly the aftermarket racks fail - so decided against it. Plus, the original lasted 22 years and nearly 200K miles.

I think I'll spend several hundred dollars on a new part and just look at it for a few months.​

After a quick little trip with my Dad to explore the areas affected by the 2020 Creek, and 2021 Dixie Fires in California, I'd discovered that my rear axle housing had split, and that just added to the list of maintenance items I had in the backlog for the Tacoma:

• replace the steering rack
• rebuild the shocks (all four)
• replace the timing belt and water pump
• replace all the diff/transfer case/transmission fluids
• replace or repair the rear axle housing

Whew.

Starting to feel a bit overwhelmed, I figured I had better get on it, so on a Sunday that looked like it was about to rain outside, I made one of my not-so-better choices and decided this was the day for the rack. Actually, first I looked at the weather report - it was noon, and the rain was supposed to start at 4:00pm, so I figured I had plenty of time to loosen a few bolts and tighten them again.

I got started - as usual - by jacking up the truck after removing the wheels and skid plate. Fifteen minutes in, things were going swimmingly.

Maybe I'll be done early!​

The next order of business was to remove the rack, and the first step in that was disconnecting the OTREs. This is where I came up with a fabulous idea to make reinstallation of the OTREs easier - I could hit them with a quick spray of paint and have a perfect mark that would indicate positioning when I threaded them into the new rack.

Using spray paint to mark the OTRE position worked great!​

Progress continued steadily, and it was something like 1:00pm - only an hour into my 4-hour window - when I was ready to disconnect the rag joint. That's the joint that connect the steering rack to the steering wheel, and everything I'd heard suggested that this was a very important step. It was important because once the two are disconnected, they can quickly get "out of sync," such that when you install the new rack, the steering wheel might be all wonky (turned 90 degrees or something).

I must admit a bit of nervousness as I disconnected the rag joint.​

In the end, I think that everything I'd heard was actually not quite right, and the "right" way to replace the rack makes the removal - and alignment - of the rag joint immaterial at this point. That is, as long as you don't go spinning the steering wheel once you've removed the rack.

Anyway, I got the rag joint disconnected, and then it was time to disconnect the power steering lines. These didn't make me nervous, but I knew they were going to be messy. In fact, I'd prepped a couple of rubber plugs to shove into the lines once I disconnected them, to try to keep as much of the fluid in the lines as possible.

The right tool for the job. A flare-nut wrench makes quick work of the power steering lines.​

Plugging the lines is not worth it.​

Having done the project, I can say with full authority that plugging the lines is not only a waste of time, it actually makes the job harder. This became obvious to me during installation of the new rack, when it is much easier to work with lines that are fluid-free. As such, rather than plugging the lines, I'd recommend letting them drain completely while you eat a tasty snack. You'll thank yourself when you aren't getting power steering fluid all over your new rack - and yourself - a second time!

With the lines disconnected, the rack was ready to come out, and I proudly beamed at the old and new racks sitting on the workbench. It was 1:45pm.

This really is going well.​

The problem, however, was that as I was basking in my glow of success, I heard the first raindrops hit the ground outside. I figured they'd stop in a moment or two - after all, it was more than two hours before the rain was supposed to start - but no, they actually got larger and more frequent. Soon, it was a downpour.

And of course, with now steering rack, the Tacoma wasn't getting pushed into the garage for a drier day.

So, I did what anyone would do - I solicited the help of @mrs.turbodb and we setup the beach awning that she'd gotten for a trip with her Dad earlier in the year. It seemed pretty great - and plenty large - as we deployed it, but as soon as we maneuvered it over the Tacoma, I knew I was still totally screwed.

Not the perfect way to change a steering rack.​

You see, the awning wasn't quite big enough to push the water that cascaded off of the sides to a place where it would drain away. In fact, our driveway is slightly lower in the center, so the water would hit the ground and simply pool under the truck. You know, right where I was working to replace the rack. Fun times.

Still, I soldiered on. Stupid soldiered is perhaps a better term, all of my clothes soaking wet by the time I was done, just before 4:00pm. That's right, just before the rain was supposed to start.

Won't take long for this to patina like everything else.​

Of course, it turned out that I wasn't really done. I'd gone to a lot of work to keep the steering wheel from moving when I was replacing the rack, and had similarly been quite careful to keep the rack from moving at all with respect to how it came from Toyota. Naturally, this resulted in a steering wheel that was turned 90 degrees to the right when the Tacoma was driving straight ahead.*

* I should note that the actual alignment of the wheels was quite good when the steering wheel was turned 90 degrees, which meant that my OTRE spray paint trick had worked fabulously in keeping the rest of the system adjusted.

I didn't realize it was a problem at the time, so took the truck in for an alignment. It was only after the alignment shop spent nearly three hours getting my truck onto the lift - while I patiently waited outside - that they notified me that there was no way they were going to be able to align it with the rack so out of whack.

So, back home I went, thinking the entire time - how am I going to get this aligned correctly? I realized the correct method about 5 minutes from home, and withing half an hour, I had everything apart, and was correctly aligning the rag joint on the steering rack. It was simple really - rather than try to align the two halves of the rag joint, the key was to assemble them first, and then slip the entire joint onto the (centered) rack when the steering wheel was also centered.

I did, and everything was perfect. Finally. Which I was due for, really, having done the job twice, and once in the rain!

​

For more pics of the process, now that you know the story, feel free to check out the guide!

 

Nice rack! I hope mine lasts 21 years, based on the price of those things.

 

Mine lasted 12 years. Pretty happy with that.

 

man you did all that work and didn't put in poly bushings? Wtf dude? haha

 

Remember when I put poly bushings in everything a couple months ago? They are in the new rack now dufus.

 

nooooope i don't

Your poly bushings are black? Huh. Interesing. I have a memory Franks were black too I suppose..

 

At least in the case of Energy Suspension poly bushings, the black variants are graphite impregnated. With no first hand experience, I believe they are supposed to be quieter and require less greasing than the red (or other, non-graphite impregnated) variants.