What have you done to your Tacoma today? 1st Gen Edition

Mine works great, even on the rough driveway. I used a buddies, the casters weren't tight and it wouldn't pivot. It's just so much easier and faster using one.

 

That's one of the nicest, cleanest looking 3.4's I've seen. What did you use to paint your valve covers?

 

You should’ve seen it a week ago. Just recently cleaned it up a little. Still a few more spots I haven’t hit yet.
I used primer and then just some sort of high heat automotive paint from autozone.

 

Thinking about doing the same to mine. Maybe red, not sure. You plan to paint your intake manifold too?

 

I was torn between red or blue. If I ever get the space and time I’m considering it. But I would probably do black or even just micro polish the crap out of it.

 

Looking fresh!

 

All that red looks sweet! When I have to do my valve cover gaskets again I'll probably be painting them red too so they match the truck

 

#rustbeltlife

I know the frame is rusty. No need to point that out . We live with it here in the Midwest.

Front left junction block for connection to flex line sprung a leak due to rust. When I bent the new one, I tried to keep it low profile to leave room for future starter access & removal.

The old line measured 14". O'Reilly's had 12" and 20". So, I had to get creative on the bend.

 

Popped the hood today to do a one over before the weekends trip… saw white/pinkish dry spots and my heart sank…. Got a hairline crack in my upper radiator. Dammit..

 

A “nice” tweaker with a sawzall decided to give my Taco the no-cat-converter mod!

 

Love the truck and setup. Looks Good.

Off Topic.

I let a 2017 lease go back and regretted it instanly so I joined the 1st-gen Tacoma Club about 2 weeks ago. The factory fender flares are faded pretty bad and noticed yours look real good, what did you do/use to give them that look? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

I (and others on this site) used this with very good results.

CERAKOTE Ceramic Trim Coat Kit - Quick Plastic Trim Restorer - Guaranteed Restoration to Last Over 200 Washes – A Ceramic Coating, Not a Dressing

$17 CERAKOTE® Ceramic Trim Coat Kit - Quick Plastic Trim Restorer - Ceramic Coating Black Trim Restoration to Last Over 200 Washes – A Ceramic Coating, Not a Dressing

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SHJVK4G

 

Super late to this - was out on a trip in BC - here was the fix I made to mine when the same thing happened on the passenger side. Has held up well, and though I bought a Diamond housing to replace mine, I've never installed it.

On the Road Again – Temporarily Patching the Rear Axle Housing

Seems like you got your answer to this. I was interested when I first heard about it, but two things turned me off to it - I'll mention them, just so you can think about them as well (or perhaps you already have):

1. I have no problem locking up the wheels (even with the heavy truck) with Tacoma calipers. With the 13WLs, it's obviously no problem. So bigger calipers won't give you more stopping power. You will get some more heat dissipation from the larger rotors, but I haven't warped my Tundra rotors yet, so...
2. Because there is grinding of the caliper mounts to center them on the rotor, it means you can't easily replace them on the trail should something go wrong. Since I had a 13WL seize up on me, I'm sensitive to that. So, I stuck with the 13WLs.

I'm running that STI antenna that a few others - @Blackdawg and @Phessor - linked to. It's awesome. I don't even have to think about it when I'm on trails now. I used to do it like @Phessor and run the Diamond, replacing it with the STI-CO when I was going to go somewhere with trees. Now though, I've taken to just running the STI, and replacing it with the Diamond when I go to Death Valley/desert.

https://adventuretaco.com/rig-revie...ting Caught on Branches (long-term, resolved)

 

Raptor liner! This is gonna outlast anything else out there on the market. This is what people use for bed lining the bed of the truck so if your ok with a textured surface then this is what you want. You can usually get a full kit at any orielly autozone or Napa store for around $150 I think.
1. Take flares off 2. Clean/degrease 3. Sand 4. Raptor adhesion (comes with the kit) 5. Spray on raptor liner. You’ll need an air compressor to spray it on or you can even roll it on (roller and tray comes with kit).
I’ve had this on for about two years now and still looks great. No maintenance required. I can’t recommend it enough.

 

Finished painting and re-assembly with Toyota Army Green.

 

Supercharged it combined with the 4.88’s I’m really happy with how well it pushes 35’s

 

Oo more pixs plz this is something I’ve been seriously considering

 

Finally went to Harbor Freight and dropped 15 bucks so my stuff doesn't fly around the bed.

 

Had another smooth order experience with Toyota of Colorado Springs. Expected it to take a few days at least for them to receive the parts and then for it to ship out. Order included lower ball joints, upper trans dipstick tube, a few seals and other misc items for the front end. Placed the order yesterday and it shipped today. Their prices are very competitive with McGeorge. Next time you need OEM parts, give them a look.

https://parts.toyotaofcoloradosprings.com/

 

My local dealer. I've had good experiences with them as well, both online and walking in to the service counter. My only complaint is that they took the "in-store pickup" option off their online ordering system... but that won't be a concern for most of you.