glwood6's 2003 PreRunner

I wanted a place to document all the work done on my 2003 Tacoma Prerunner, instead of putting things all over the forum, then trying to find them later...

Not too exciting, but works for me.

Sept. 2021 - Driver's door weatherstrip replaced with Toyota oem - current version was torn and wearing thin. New weatherstrip makes closing the door require a bit more effort, but worth the improved sealing property:

 

Did the cupholder thingie fix this past weekend. Free. I got some black rubber/vinyl baseboard trim from work, and used the templates from

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/cup-holder-thingies.14384/page-5


Worked like a charm.

 

"Not really a build thread" "Not really my truck" "Nothing is really real here thread" Nice fix on those cupholders - much nicer than the dealer part prices (even online) for those

 

Working on it...

Thanks.

 

The baseboard material works great when the truck is warm inside. When cold, they're pretty stiff. I may try it again with some softer rubber sheeting.

Edit: Ended up picking up a set of cup holder rubber inserts from the dealer in Albuquerque. Much more flexible and useful:

 

Some cosmetic fixes:

Wheel hub covers were pretty beat up looking:


A little sanding:


Adhesion promoter, wheel paint, clear coat, and voila!

 

Tailgate saga - the one that came on it had some nice sized dents. Unfortunately, my efforts to fix some only made it worse:


Enter @1bad2k, who just happened to have a mystic gold metallic tailgate for sale. From the photos, it looked much better than mine...he's in the Dallas/Ft Worth area, and I happened to have a co-worker going there for Thanksgiving, so the sale was made and the pickup tailgate pickup (har har) went off like clockwork, thanks to both of those gentlemen.


Once it arrived, I couldn't really tell which looked better, so I decided to take both to a dentless paint repair shop for their opinion. Turns out they said my original was the better candidate for a PDR repair and look better in the end, so I left it with them for a day, and this is the difference now:




Live and learn. However, the tailgate from @1bad2k did not go unused. I posted it on Craigslist the next Friday, and by Saturday it was sold for the same amount I paid @1bad2k, and the older gentleman who bought it was thrilled! His truck was the same color, and his tailgate was smashed to he##, and didn't even work. So he was happy, I'm happy, and a fellow TW member got a tailgate he no longer needed out of his garage.

 

Not too long after I picked up the Tacoma, it seemed in need of some shocks...enter the Bilstein 4600s at all four corners. Old next to the new:

 

My seats were in pretty good condition, so I wanted the original upholstery to stay in good condition. I had already ordered CalTrend seat covers for my 4R and the wife's Kia, so I placed an order for another set for the Tacoma. I really like how they fit and look:







You might notice my el cheapo rubber floor mats in some of those photos. Couldn't justify the prices Husky or others charge. This is my third, run around town, drive once in a while vehicle...

 

Billet latches for rear side windows:


Plastic nut inserts for door sill trim, whose tabs were for the most part gone...
New Energy Suspension swaybar mount bushings
New steering rack bushings
New Whiteline lower control arm bushings - that was fun. Thank heaven for a NM truck - nothing was seized, and all the hardware (cam adjusters/bolts) was perfectly reusable.


New lower ball joints.

Found a set of 4 oem lug nuts thanks to @CrustyTaco, who sent them my way.


I got rid of those pesky locking lug nuts & key my truck came with. Those went to a fellow TW member, but I think they weren't what he was looking for, sorry about that...

Honda Odyssey/Pilot/Sienna (whatever they're called) windshield washer nozzles arrived, installed as of 1/9/2022. These are great! Not only do they spray in a fan instead of two thin beams of water, they are adjustable up and down. Great improvement. 5 minute installation.

 

2-2022 DrawTite Hitch installed.


3-2022 New water pump, radiator, timing belt, pulleys:

 

4-2022 Replaced PS rear tail light with this from Amazon:


Sorry for the huge image...

 

6-2022 Spiker Engineering hood struts:

 

8-2022 New oem door checks installed.

 

9-2022 Bought and programmed an OEM key fob and a couple of spare keys.

 

12-2022 New oem window weatherstrip installed:



12-2022 Battery died. New from Wal-Mart:

 

1-2023 LED bulbs installed in shifter bezel, ashtray, glove box, map lights, dome light.

 

3-2023. New headlights from Rock Auto (CAPA certified):


Of course, removing a 20-year old grille meant broken clips. EBay and local dealer provided the replacements for these broken suckers:


Added plugs to the ends of the tube steps (for the second time - 3 of the first 4 disappeared; used E6000 this time):

 

Oem rear bumper ball hitch hole plug: