wi_taco 2015 TRD OffRoad build "The Gray Ghost"

New Tool Tuesday. Getting ready to do front hub bearings and 4Runner big brake swap and needed something to do axle nuts. This should hopefully last the rest of my lifetime.

 

Small preview of finishing using KBS Coatings system (KBS Klean, RustBlast, RustSeal, BlackTop). Might do a final coating of bedliner/undercoating to better match the OEM frame color, not sure yet. Will share more later but too many projects going on right now, crazy dash to get everything done before winter kicks in!

 

Been way too busy with work & life and procrastinated on painting my 4x Innovations bolt on sliders. Now in November and it's getting cold and I don't have room in the garage to store these without getting in the way. Been a couple days of unseasonably warm weather so I figured it's now or never. Started by taking them outside on saw horses and washing/degreasing them multiple times to get all the contaminates off. This would happen a few more times throughout the process.



All the supplies I have accumulated for prep & finishing. Going to use KBS Coatings system of Rust Seal and Blacktop for the finish. Went this route because they are relatively close geographically and I have heard more positive reviews on it versus POR15 or Eastwood products. I figure this will help protect against the heavy road salt we use in the Milwaukee/Chicago corridor that loves to eat metal. KBS is based in Indiana so they know as well as I do how that works. Time will tell...

EDIT: These threads were helpful in making a decision how to prep and paint. I am thankful for everyone that posted in these topics that led to my decisions on this project. Each method has it's own benefits and drawbacks, and again for my usage & the elements in my geographic location I still think KBS/POR15 is a good choice versus Rustoleum rattlecan for salt protection. For me it also beats powdercoat since you can touch up KBS later while powdercoat will die from the inside out if left unchecked.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/rust-prevention-treatment-consolidation-thread.355928/
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/paint-for-sliders-por-15-topcoat.446457/
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/tutorial-for-por-15-and-bedliner-coating-of-sliders.628414/
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/painting-sliders-rattle-can-vs-linex-vs-powder-coat.472365/
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/self-etching-primer-vs-epoxy-primer.649890/



After degreasing it was time to clean with a wire wheel on the angle grinder, a small wire brush on my drill for tight spaces, and then 80 grit sandpaper by hand for the entire thing to get a good surface profile. Follow that up by more washing, more sanding, and final cleanup at the end using denatured alcohol.



Closer view of the surface after cleaning & sanding. Those scratches are a good thing - will help with adhesion and the finishing products will cover it up nice & smooth.



Final step after all surface prep is using KBS Clean as the final degreaser/cleaner, then using KBS Rust Blast as a chemical etch. Notice I'm doing this outside at night in my shitty driveway. Give yourself plenty of time and don't be like me so you can do it during sunny daylight hours, it's more fun that way!



After doing the Rust Blast it was time to get ready for paint. I decided to hang them from my garage trusses using ratchet straps since I had them around. Smaller parts were hung using bailing wire and a spare tube of square stock. In restrospect I would NOT have hung the sliders like this (more about that later, keep reading).



Closer view of the metal surface after doing the Rust Blast etching. It leaves a white/yellow chalky type of coating from the chemical reaction. Supposedly this helps with adhesion. Also this is a required step even with clean new metal unless you prep by sandblasting with aggresive media like aluminum oxide.



Getting ready to start on the Rust Seal. I am going with the brush on method but if I had to do it again I would spray them. Using small 2" foam brushes gave me the best results in this project but not ideal. IMPORTANT: MAKE SURE YOU USE A RESPIRATOR, THIS STUFF IS NO JOKE. Also rubber gloves are a must - this stuff does not come off skin or clothes, it is permanent!



Right at the start I promptly dropped/kicked over my first can of product all over the floor. It's never coming off but my garage is trash anyways so whatever. First can was black in color...



And somehow in my infinite stupidity I ordered the other 2 cans in gloss white. It turns out this was possibly the worst idea I had. The white paint did not level out and tacked over VERY quickly leading to large runs, globs, and brush strokes. Nothing I could do now but forge ahead anyways. Ugh.



One thing to note about the foam brushes: You will go through LOTS of these. It seems after about doing half to one full slider it will start swelling, tearing, and falling apart. Not sure if caused by the chemicals in the finish but they don't last long. Buy these in bulk.



See all those trashed brushes? That was just first coats. LOTS of brushes. Also do yourself a favor and buy one of these paint cups with the disposable plastic inserts, makes life much easier and cleaner.



View of the three cans - 1 black, 2 white. Notice the lot code on the black is much newer which makes sense as they probably sell more in black than anything else. White seems old and defective. I called KBS but they just said they will check the products on the shelf & pull anything they find is bad. My suggestion is to ONLY buy the black color



One 8oz can does about 1 full coat on both sliders & small parts. Ended up doing 2 coats of the Rust Seal and 2 coats of the Blacktop in satin finish. For my taste the "satin" was too glossy (lists as 50% gloss on their site). Ordered some more paint and since they are close it ships in like 1-2 days.



After doing 2-3 coats with the Blacktop product in "flat" finish (this time using aerosol cans) here is the result. Much better gloss level for my taste and the flat finish hides some of the ugliness in my application. Never again will I brush this stuff on - aerosol or spray gun only for me.



Slightly closer view of the final result. You can see all the ugly stuff through from my poorly brushed on finish. Thankfully since most of this is under the truck nobody will see unless they look close. I still have to live with it but whatever. Unhappy with how this worked but it's my fault. At this point I'm calling it an experiment to see how well KBS handles the road salt and nothing more. Somewhere down the line I will have them sandblasted and then do aerosol/spray gun application only.



Lessons were learned. This is what I get being rushed by time & weather. Next time I will do better.

 

I think they look really good, nobody is going to see the bad part that is under the truck, all they are going to see is the outer pipe which doesn't look messed up to me.

 

Thanks and yeah for the most part I agree. They look worse in person versus the photos but like you said nobody is looking under the truck. I'm just the harshest critic since I know where all the flaws are and it's my own crappy work on display lol. I'll live with it and make efforts to scratch them up doing actual offroad stuff and not mall crawling so I can repaint them faster

 

Removed factory tube steps in preparation for mounting the sliders (or the first attempt to anyways).



Before installing I weighed the old steps & new sliders using a hanging scale I got at the local big box hardware store.



Steps are 30 lbs each. Sliders are 65 lbs each not including mounting hardware. Net gain is ~70 lbs total.



I almost got one side installed but having issues with the square nut mounting inside the front crossmember. My square nut just spins and I can't get it secured using a screwdriver/prybar through the small access holes. I'm assuming this is caused by each truck being built a little different and mine just doesn't line up as expected. Fought with it for half a day and gave up for now as I have bigger fish to fry.



Another curious thing is the front mount point doesn't sit fully flush against the vertical frame rail. Really shouldn't cause a problem and I expect once I get that lower bolt figured out it will suck closer to the frame anyways. Just something odd I noticed.



Current view of how she looks. Without any side steps it looks like I lifted it, ground clearance looks higher. Can't wait to do a lift next year and fix that badly sagging rear end.



Original tube steps that will be sold (for sale thread here; Edit: SOLD!), dumped in my garage rafters and forgotten, or sent to scrap heap.

 

Finally received some missing parts I needed for replacing my front hub bearings, ECGS bushing, and doing the 2003-2009 4Runner/GX470 338mm "big brake" upgrades. No family dinner for Thanksgiving and reasonable temperatures means this is probably the last days of the year before freezing cold sets in. Time to get to work!

Full parts list for anyone interested:

• Front hubs with NSK bearings and new Beck Arnley axle nuts 103-3080 from @05Taco4x4 (see this thread to get your own)
• CV/knuckle seals 90316-A0001
• 4Runner brake backing plates: 47781-60120 (R) and 47782-60120 (L)
• Napa Eclipse 4Runner brake calipers: CAL SE3318 and CAL SE3317
• Toyota OE brake rotors for 4Runner: 43512-60151 (x2)
• New Tacoma front hard lines from caliper to flex hose: 43718-04130 and 47317-04080
• Brake fitting kit 04947-35050 (not required, I'm trying double clips for funzies)
• Akebono ASP976 "Ultra Premium" front brake pads
• @HeadStrong Off-Road stainless extended brake lines +1" front / +4" rear (24" Brake Linesx1/STFBLx1)
• ECGS clamshell bushing, installation tools, and differential seal 90311-47027

For historical purposes I should point out that my original brakes look good with plenty of meat left on the pads. At 105k miles I suspect the previous owner replaced the pads once before but rotors & everything else look original. As a rust belt inhabitant seeing something like this gives me a half chub for how easy it will be to take apart, we never see anything like this up here.



Akebono brake pads. Not shown here are the OE pads which had two minor differences/quirks: Firstly, the 2nd gen OE pads appear to actually have more surface area which to me seems the opposite of what I was expecting. Secondly, the OE pads have two anti-rattle shims on the backside which I have never seen before. No dout the originals were quiet but I have no idea why they used two shims (unless the previous owner or their mechanic did it). Weird but whatever.



Started on the passenger side to get that knocked out quick. Pretty dang easy, hub bearing came out with only minimal whacking with a hammer. I also replaced the inner seals because they are cheap insurance for the future. As you can see now is an ideal time for the big brake upgrade since I can easily swap the backing plate. I already have 17" wheels that should clear this no problem.



Next up was the driver side. Since I'm also swapping the needle bearing to an ECGS bushing it's a little more work but only need to pull the CV axle. Compared to other rusted out shitbox vehicles I have worked on in my life this one is a piece of cake.



CV axle pulled, showing the original needle bearing and seal. Removed using the ECGS tools that I bought with the bushing kit - extra $$ but cheap insurance knowning I can get everything reinstalled without trips to the store (and today being Thanksgiving they are all closed anyways).



ECGS bushing and new rubber seal installed (see this thread for how-to instructions). Refilled diff with more Amsoil 75w90 Severe Gear, only lost about 1/3 quart so not bad. Having that 14mm Lexus fill plug also made that part super easy compared to the crappy original 10mm hex plug.



Swapped in the rear stainless flex lines. Bought from Headstrong but are manufactured by Crown which are known to be top quality. Luckily I'm short and could sit up fully underneath the bed which made it easier. Still challenging due to the upper clips but got it done with minimal fuss.



Everything reassembled up front and ready to go. Stainless steel flex lines also installed up front. One other thing I'm trying out is using two brake pad clips as people in other threads believe this can lead to smoother operation. Giving it a whirl, if it doesn't work it's easy to remove them.



Bled the brakes using a homemade bottle & tube setup for a one man job. Since I have the OffRoad it has the hydraulic/electric actuator making this fairly easy. I still don't like the brake pedal feeling - too soft, not sure if "spongy" or just needs to break in. Going to follow up on this until I get the pedal feel right. Since there is also a way to do this in TechStream I need to research that more as well. (Here are some source threads causing my confusion if you want some fun reading: thread1, thread2, thread3, thread4)



And after getting reassembled it's time for a fresh coat of Woolwax to prepare for winter & the road salt coming my way. Always looks good right after application using the black dyed stuff.



Edit: I also rotated my tires and greased the u-joints while I was under there. Currently showing 105k miles. No photos because it's not a glamorous bit of maintenance. Adding just for my reference later if I forget.

Update 12/28/21: Pads seem to have bedded in now and braking has improved. There were no instructions that came with my Akebono pads so I just drove normally and tried not to do emergency stops for the first little while and now it feels good again (though my pedal feel could be better but I'm a perfectionist on that so it's probably fine and I'm just crazy). Is it worth the upgrade? Still hard to say, but if I really put my foot down it seems to stop faster so there's my $.02 opinion to share.

Update 10/27/22: Someone asked me how these are doing so figure I'd update. Still going strong, pads are most definitely fully bedded now. I had to do a hard emergency stop the other day for a deer and going 40mph-0mph happened fast enough that even I was surprised it stopped so fast. 10/10 would do this upgrade again.

 

Nice truck! Greetings from Glenview Illinois neighbor

 

Thanks and greetings neighbor!

 

Finally also got around to installing the extended rear differential breather using write-up from this thread. Sourced 9 feet of 3/8" fuel line from local auto parts store which was more than enough. Also got the Ideal Tridon fuel injection clamps locally (part number 52F1658). Union plug

$8 90404-51319 Toyota Union - 90404-51319

90404-51319 and breather plug

$6 90930-03136 Toyota Breather Plug - 90930-03136

90930-03136 were ordered online with one of my previous batches.



Breather plug installed up behind the driver side tail light and zip tied to the small bracket. I put it here because I don't tow any boats where it would get submerged, and I have no intention of ever going this deep in mud puddles. If for some reason I go this deep there are bigger problems at hand.



View of the rear diff with new union barb and hose installed. Union plug installed using Permatex PTFE automotive pipe dope rather than the teflon tape junk. I had so much extra hose that I routed it up & above the diff in a curved shape. Figure this should give all the range I will ever need even at full droop/articulation and then some. Routed the remaining hose up along the frame rail and zip tied where it looked appropriate. It ain't going nowhere.

 

After waiting out some cold weather days and getting tired of my garage floor space being unusable I got around to installing the sliders on New Years Eve. Also sprayed the rest of the frame with Woolwax to protect against road salt which thankfully we haven't seen yet which is weird. Installing sliders by yourself is not much fun but it helps to be patient and use lots of jack stands. Methodically using 3 jack stands and a floor jack in the middle I raised into place. The front captured nuts inside cross frame had to be man-handled a bit but after that it was pretty easy going. The instructions call for putting 3 bolts horizontally through frame but on 2nd gens (or at least mine) I can only fit 2 of them. No matter, I'll look at this closer in the spring.



Not a very good photo but here's how they look with the inner part coated in black Woolwax. Blends right in and hides my crappy paint which thankfully you can't see without crawling under the truck anyways.



Another photo showing the final installed product. Hard to photograph them, they kind of just disappear right into the truck which is a good thing. Better ground clearance than the OEM cheesy side steps and of course much better protection. Around these parts it mostly means against dumb drivers in the snow for now but that's fine with me. This photo also clearly illustrates my terrible sagging OEM leaf springs which I fully intend to fix in 2022.



When I was researching which sliders to buy, one of the constant questions coming across my mind is how far they stick out from the body/frame. There really aren't many good photos of this I feel. Here's how they look on my truck. Thankfully with the SCS BR6 wheels in -10 offset, the kickout is just about flush with how the tires "poke". Very pleased with how this looks.



Alternate angle from above. You can see the sliders don't go all the way back to the wheel arch but that is also fine with me. These things are beefy and I have no doubt they will do their job for what I plan to throw at them as my daily driver / Bro-verlander.

 

Finalized my MPG tracking for 2021 (click here for 2020 stats). Added basic color coding to more easily see trends. Some takeaways for my fellow analytics nerds:

• Drove 16.4k miles and spent just shy of $2,600 for fuel. Average MPGs at 19.17 which is up 0.31 from last year.
• Best single tank MPG was 21.27. Worst single tank MPG on old Duratrac tires was 16.39.
• Worst single tanks on new General Grabber ATX tires were 17.02 and 17.76 but both were on hunting/hiking trips with lots of screwing off and idling.
• Worst single tank of Grabbers when not screwing off was 17.88 and even then it was during temperatures below 20 degrees.
• Moral of the story is I get fantastic mileage and it usually doesn't drop below 18mpg combined which apparently is some sort of miracle for Tacoma World anecdotal reports.
• New General Grabber ATX tires installed on the 3/13 fillup and had immediate improvement in mileage compared to previous KO2s and Duratracs.
• Outdoor temperatures still have an impact on mileage no matter how much I drive like a grandpa. Seem to lose about ~4mpg in coldest winter months.

(Ignore the horizontal lines - these delimit my trips/vacations and don't have any meaning. I'm just to lazy to remove them from the photo)

 

After getting sliders installed it's time to get some curb weight data so I can choose the right leaf pack upgrades for 2022. Visited my local truck stop (BP Kenosha on I94 and Hwy 142) and paid $12.50 to use the CAT scales. Current curb weight is 4,940 lbs with full tank of gas and with me NOT sitting in the front seat.

Configuration at time of weigh-in: Empty cab minus basic things I always carry under rear seat (spare qt of oil, small tow strap, and similar - none of them weigh much); camper shell which I assume is +200, custom drawer system estimated +150, small bag of tools estimated +50, and the new sliders which only add net +70 over the old step bars.

Just with those basic things I'm easily +500 over stock and I haven't even started adding "fun" stuff yet. Add my kayak & rack for a weekend trip and that's another +100. Add camping gear and food for another couple hundred if it's just my solo travels.

 

Doing lots of reading & research for suspension upgrades this year and realized I never posted my original alignment back from 2020. Posting here in the ol' build thread so I have data points to reference back later. Pretty boring stuff for the most part but this is my build gosh darnit so I'll do what I want!

This was done right after installing Bilstein 6112s with 600lb springs on lowest height setting, stock UCAs/LCAs; Bilstein 5160 in the rear with stock saggy 3+1 leaf springs; and new (to me) 3rd gen OR wheels with my used BFG KO2 E load tires that were pretty well worn to like 6/32" tread. It was right before I drove across country to New Mexico for elk hunting and I wanted to make sure things were A-OK before driving that far.

From what I can tell the alignment shop knows what they are doing. Usually I get it close at home first but my garage concrete is trash so sometimes it can be an adventure. Normally I do all my own wrenching but happy to pay a knowledgeable, reputable local shop who can confirm using frickin' laser beams. Cheap insurance for longer tire and suspension parts life.

 

Having some ongoing issues with my Pioneer DMH-W4660NEX headunit unexpectedly rebooting itself.
Making this entry in my build log to capture all the dates/times to help better see a pattern.
More details/photos of this stereo on old posts [#46][#50][#70].
Disclaimer: This is 100% not a complete listing since I didn't start paying extreme close attention to dates/times until it really started driving me nuts in Feb '22 after already doing 2 RMAs to Pioneer.

Pioneer DMH-W4660NEX unit number 1: RMA under warranty within 6 months

02/24/21: Ordered brand new from ABT Electronics, delivered a few days later. Waiting for other parts to arrive before installation.
03/18/21: Initial installation into my Tacoma.
03/22/21: Finished tidying up connections to Maestro RR, microphone, and wiring behind the headunit after the initial shakedown.
04/23/21: During a trip for turkey hunting the unit would randomly go unresponsive, touch input not working, random reboots, no audio outputs. Happens at random regardless how long truck is on.
07/02/21: During a trip for hiking/camping on 4th of July, Carplay audio skipping badly regardless if I'm streaming or playing a locally saved file from iPhone. No recent iOS updates so assuming it's the W4660. Happens at random regardless how long truck is on.
07/12/21: Stopped pairing to Bluetooth at random. Later on that day after several key offs/ons it started working again.
07/19/21: While driving home from work got the error "Function is unavailable because Maestro is disconnected. Please check connection with Maestro." The functionality would restore itself later without me changing anything.
07/24/21: More random freezing. Happens at random regardless how long truck is on. At this point I have factory reset the unit multiple times, reset & reflashed the Maestro, reset my personal iPhone and work iPhone, etc. Nothing changes.
08/04/21: Pulled the W4660 and sent back to Pioneer for RMA repairs/replacement.

==========

Pioneer DMH-W4660NEX unit number 2: Dead as of October 2023

08/20/21: Received the W4660 back from Pioneer. Same unit, was told they repaired the USB-C port on back and nothing else. Skeptical of repairs to say the least.
08/23/21: Reinstalled W4660 into my Tacoma. Initially I had a problem with touchscreen not working so had to factory reset and very carefully accept the terms/conditions (if you miss a certain one it does this, there are YouTube vids on it somewhere).
09/06/21: Same issues as before still happening - random freezes, reboots, etc.
09/22/21: Same issues as before, now more frequent. Pulled the W4660 and sent back to Pioneer for RMA repairs/replacement.
09/24/21: Bought a brand new iPhone 13 Pro. Set up as new device, did not restore old data.
11/05/21: Received the W4660 back from Pioneer. It's a completely different unit, has stickers on it showing refurbished and says only 90 day warranty now? Funny, original purchase is 1 year...

*** Starting here in February 2022 I am paying more close attention to the issue so reports will be updated more frequently than before. Mostly has worked great since the refurb unit was installed 11/05/21. ***

01/31/22: Unexpected reboot 1 time while driving to work about 2 minutes into the commute.
02/02/22: Unexpectedly stops connecting to Apple Music app, error on screen just says "There was a problem connecting to Apple Music." Key off/on and problem is gone. Had cell service the entire time and not moving.
02/10/22: Unexpected reboot 1 time while driving home from work about 20 minutes into the commute.
02/16/22: Unexpected reboot 1 time while driving home from work about 10 minutes into the commute.
02/19/22: Unexpected reboot 1 time while driving on a long trip (8 hours total). Happened about 3 hours into the first leg after one pit stop, seemingly random timing. Some audio skipping but most likely it was Apple Music's crappy buffering and only happened briefly once.
02/22/22: Unexpected reboot 1 time while driving home from work about 20 minutes into the commute.

*** This week I became aware there are new & ongoing problems with Waze and Apple CarPlay. Lots of different symptoms but I wonder if this is the reason for my crashes. Definitely the first W4660 unit I had was defective, but maybe this second unit is OK and the Waze software bugs are doing it? Not sure, no way to confirm...For now Waze app still installed on my iPhone. ***

02/28/22: Cancelled Spotify subscription and deleted the app. Switched to Apple Music and installed that app on the iPhone.
03/04/22: Unexpected reboot 1 time while driving home from work about 10 minutes into the commute.
03/05/22: Installed new X2Power 27F AGM battery, billet terminals, extra 6ga ground wire at terminal, and cleaned things up.
03/08/22: Unexpected reboot 1 time while driving to work about 35 minutes into the commute.
03/15/22: iPhone 13 Pro updated to iOS 15.4 (build 19E241).
03/17/22: Unexpected reboot 1 time while driving home from work about 30 minutes into the commute.
03/31/22: iPhone 13 Pro updated to iOS 15.4.1 (build 19E258).

*** I just became aware Pioneer released new firmware v3.0 for the unit. Not many results searching online for other users who have updated (just one Reddit thread here). Waiting to see more results before I pull the trigger since my device is currently stable for the most part. ***

04/30/22: No crashes experienced for a full month. Is this fixed now? (Commenting now from the future - NO it was not fixed)
04/30/22: Apple Music subscription cancelled and app deleted. Spotify app reinstalled and resubscribed.
05/10/22: Unexpected reboot 1 time while driving back from concert in Chicago. Spotify + Waze running.
05/19/22: Unexpected reboot 1 time about 2 minutes after leaving my house.
05/20/22: Unexpected reboot 1 time (no data on location or duration of drive).
05/21/22: Spotify app auto-updated to version 8.7.32.
05/22/22: iPhone 13 Pro updated to iOS 15.5 (19F77).
05/23/22: Waze app auto-updated to version 4.83.6. Minor rev with bug fixes per this Autoevolution article.
06/02/22: Unexpected reboot 1 time not far from home.

*** I have not experienced any more crashes in the past couple months. Is it possible this finally was fixed by some combination of iOS and app updates? I have since also upgraded to iOS 15.6 (don't recall the exact date) and still no problems. If you are reading this from the future and I don't post more updates assume it works. Hold that thought, I spoke too soon... ***

09/26/22: Unexpected reboot 1 time while driving on a long road trip. This was either running iOS 15.6.1 or 15.7 but I can't recall which.
10/08/22: Unexpected reboot 1 time while driving on a long road trip. This is about 2,000 miles after the previous crash so it appears to be quite random.
11/19/22: iPhone 13 Pro updated from iOS 15.7 to 16.1.1.
11/30/22: Unexpected reboot 1 time while driving home from work. Now on iOS 16.1.2 from an auto-update.
12/14/22: iPhone 13 Pro updated to iOS 16.2.
01/10/23: Unexpected reboot 2 times; once while just arriving at work, one just pulling into home after work. About a 40 minute drive either way.
02/18/23: Unexpected reboot while driving a section of the T.W.A.T. with the TW crew. Lots of driving that day, likely was playing music for hours beforehand.
03/16/23: Unexpected reboot just as I was leaving work to head home. Current iOS is now at 16.3.1 from auto updates.

*** I am noticing more recently that instead of the Pioneer headunit rebooting itself, now I see Apple CarPlay briefly freeze up and then quit the connection to the phone. I have to manually reconnect the phone and then it resumes like nothing happened. This is much better evidence than I have ever seen before that the crashes/reboots/freezes are directly from iOS and likely not the headunit. This may have been the case the entire time but it was expressed differently over the course of different phone hardware and iOS updates. ***

05/02/23: Unexpected reboot while driving 10 minutes down the road at work to another building. I think I'm on iOS 16.4.1 now after auto updates.
05/04/23: Unexpected reboot about 5 minutes after leaving work and driving home.
05/16/23: Unexpected reboot about 10 minutes after leaving home heading to work.

*** I bought another vehicle now (2011 Honda CRV) to use as a backup. Not being able to wrench on my Taco without fear of missing work isn't cutting it any more. In turn, I haven't been driving the Taco as much due to the 2nd car and lots of work-from-home. So while the reports of problems have slowed, it isn't due to anything improving on the headunit side of things. ***

09/14/23: My reverse camera has not always been working for the past several months. Usually it either works or does not, nothing in between. Today for the first time it was flickering like a strobe light which is odd. Seems like I need a new camera...or do I?

09/28/23: While I was on like day 4 of a 3-week road trip, the screen went completely white and stopped responding to touch input. Still played audio automatically from my connection for a brief time. I had to make a tough and/or stupid call, so while at the local Best Buy I bought...another Pioneer 4660. I didn't want to and I really hate it. But it was plug-and-play and I fixed it in the parking lot to continue my trip. The brand new unit also randomly reboots itself so there's that, hooray! Sending it back to Pioneer for repairs and from there it's going into one of my other vehicles.



12/03/23: Pioneer charges a $80 fee just to send back and RMA and investigate. Then they quoted me nearly an additional $300 for repairs. Total that would be far more than halfway to a new unit. Decided not to throw bad money after good and told them send it back broken. First unit is dead. second unit lives on, and I guarantee I will not be buying another Pioneer again.

==========

Pioneer DMH-W4660NEX unit number 3

Going to continue tracking problems here for the newer unit. Might as well keep going with the pain to illustrate how much of a pain this is at times. The good news (if there is any) is that my reverse camera is working perfectly fine right away so it was the bad headunit all along and not the camera itself!

My iPhone is currently on iOS 16.6.1. There is new release iOS 17 that just came out, but numerous reports online of phones overheating and problems with CarPlay. For now, I'm sticking with the known evil rather than upgrading while I was on a road trip and possibly facing even worse conditions. I'm waiting until they do a few more iOS 17 patches before upgrading.

09/28/23: New unit installed 09/28/23 in the parking lot of Best Buy in Appleton, Wisconsin at 7:30pm. New unit came with the default v3.00 firmware right out of the box which is a bit puzzling considering it has a manufacture date of 2023 after the newer firmwares have been released.
10/02/23: Unexpected reboot 1 time while driving somewhere in northern Wisconsin on vacation.
10/03/23: Unexpected reboot 1 time while driving somewhere in northern Wisconsin on vacation. After restart, fails to connect to my iPhone wirelessly. Had to reboot the device / key off the truck to get it working again which is odd.
10/05/23: White/gray screen on key on of vehicle and no audio out, seems to be frozen. Had to key off/on a few times and it started working again.
10/11/23: Unexpected reboot 1 time while driving somewhere in Wisconsin on vacation.
10/26/23: Unexpected reboot 1 time while driving to work. First day I have driven since the last crash so this is happening quite frequently.
01/03/24: I haven't been driving much the past couple months because I needed to rebuild my driveshaft and some other things, and my backup vehicle became my daily for a while. After fixing the Taco, random crashes immediately happened on the first test drive about 5 minutes away from home.
01/17/24: Unexpected reboot at the worst possible time. Was using Waze to navigate my way to night class and in the middle of an icy roundabout to enter the freeway it died. Waze already gave me bad directions and I was backtracking and this caused me to get lost even more.

*** Much to my extreme surprise, have not seen any crashes in over 2 months. During that time, my iPhone has undoubtedly auto updated several times on versions of iOS 17. ***

03/29/24: Unexpected reboot 1 time while driving home from work after about 30 minutes.
04/03/24: Unexpected reboot 1 time while driving to night school after about 20 minutes.
04/05/24: Unexpected reboot 1 time while driving on weeked TW road trip to Wyalusing. Did not occur until several hours into the drive.
04/08/24: iPhone 13 Pro updated to iOS 17.4.1.
04/10/24: Unexpected reboot 1 time while driving home from night school after 40 minutes and about 2 blocks from home.
04/10/24: W4660NEX updated from default firmware 3.00 to latest 3.05. [#279]
04/11/24: Unexpected reboot 1 time while driving home from work after about 30 minutes.

 

Pretty boring winter this year but have a few updates. Not much snow but they have salted the crap outta the roads this year as you can see on my new sliders. Definitely putting the KBS paints and Woolwax undercoatings to the test. So far they are holding up great.



My main focus for 2022 is getting the suspension and lift squared away and finished so I can move on to other things. Hoarding parts like a squirrel hiding nuts. SPC UCAs courtesy of Mevotech/Rockauto. Was almost going to buy JBAs but I hate that red color and religious literature they put in the boxes; just personal preference and seems like SPCs have mostly happy customers too so doesn't seem like either choice is a bad one.



Yearly shipment of Amsoil special sauces for maintenance. Going to try their fuel system treatments this time and see if they do anything good or just placebo effect. Worst case I waste a couple bucks. They sent me a crapload of stickers this time!



My fuel cap stopped "clicking" so it was time to replace. Ordered a new one online as 77300-0C010. Arrived and it's mostly the correct part except the E85 warning texts are different...



Closer view of the different E85 warning texts on the fuel caps. Turns out I somehow ordered the wrong one and the correct OE part for our trucks is 77300-07010. That being said it still fits and works fine, didn't throw any CELs so I think only difference is that text. I'm running it until I have a problem. Still have no idea how I mistakenly ordered the other part since the website says "this fits".

Update 4/12/22: Stories in the news about more widespread use of E15 this summer prompted me to look into this a bit more. It turns out that I actually DID order the correct part number, however the one I was sent is the wrong part (see the bag above ending in 0C010). Cap fits but has wrong markings, it wasn't my fault and I'm not crazy based solely on this thing!



Special delivery from Archive Garage @ARCHIVE : Stealth HD U bolt flip kit with their yellow bump stops. BEEFY. Excited to install these once spring rolls around and after some other parts arrive (hopefully). Will be ordering more Archive items in near future.



With the upcoming lift I need a jack that can actually lift the truck if I have problems. OE jack (09111-04040) even now is too short. Bought a used/junkyard 4Runner (09111-35150) OE screw jack off eBay because the top shaft diameter is 1.25" (compared to our Tacoma shaft size that I measured at 1.375"). Planning to make a DIY SafeJack style extension pipe using DOM unless I get lazy/busy. More on that later.



Found a new-in-box never used Branick 7400 spring compressor for $450 from an online ad. Had to drive from Kenosha to La Crosse to pick it up but was worth it for the price. Now I can change my own springs/shocks without having to leave my garage and won't have to risk life & limb using those crappy "death stick" type compressors. Definitely a Buy-It-For-Life type item - seriously this thing weights like 100 lbs and is frickin' huge.



Other things that don't have pretty photos yet:

Already have all the parts for doing the headlights but waiting on that until after I do the lift (and warmer weather to be honest).
Waiting for Batteries Plus to call me and say my X2Power 27F AGM battery is in stock, was told ETA of 2 weeks.
Waiting for Deaver U402 stage 2 springs to ship and making decisions on what shocks to run (for now using my existing 6112/5160 setup).
Many other upgrades coming soon. I may need someone to take away my credit card.

 

You know the OEM jack top screws up just like a bottle jack.

 

Yep I know, it’s mostly the different diameter shaft needed to use the SafeJack extensions. I’m on my phone right now so I can’t share the link I have saved on the PC but there’s another thread about doing this mod somewhere in the Recovery section. I’ll share it sometime later when I actually get around to finishing it.

Edit: Here's the thread I was talking about for all your jacking needs.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/we-know-youre-good-at-jacking.508689/#post-15953743

 

Finished writing up my drawer/sleeping platform build thread (find it here) and shared it to the megathread on this topic (find that here).

 

Some parts orders are coming in. Archive 2.0 Trail Series shock relocation towers here but I changed the direction for my build (was convinced to go with stock location 2.5's based on the weight I'll have on rear end). Now selling them on the classifieds (2nd gen thread, 3rd gen parts thread; Update 4/28/22: SOLD to TW member Saechao503.). BEEFY just like everything else that Archive makes.



Hammer Hangers (latest version 3) and 3.6 shackles came too. These are getting installed once the rest of my suspension gets here, hopefully next month. BEEFY.

Update 7/27/22: SOLD to TW member pearing because I'm not going to have time for install this year and I could use the funds for other stuff for now. Will buy them again likely next year.
Update 11/11/22: Archive had a 10% off sale and I couldn't resist, ordered them again.



Even the packaging is beefed up!



More to come soon. March weather in Wisconsin is bipolar as usual so I'm waiting for some warmer temps to get out there and do some work. Waiting on parts, waiting, waiting, waiting...