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

Drums always suck. Damn springs are always a hassle.

 

Pops old axle is apart.. weld the new cover on tomorrow. Paint it next week. Toss it under his truck and prep the one I tossed under his for my 1995 to get a freebie elocker
(95s diff has 481k miles, 8.4” and leaking pinion… soo.. why not

 

It's tedious. Once you do it once you'll realize how easy it actually is. The thing i struggled the most with was with the adjustment of the drums. With new shoes you have to back the star gear way back to slip the drum back over the shoes, and then you have to adjust them the other direction to get them so the shoes just barely drag and thus are ready to engage when you used the brakes. Take your time and you'll get them dialed in. It's a fun job if you like learning! Good luck!

 

double cab 3RZ 4x4 conversion coming along

 

It was a lot easier than I expected. I watched Timmah’s video on rear brakes first and it went pretty smooth. One thing I’d recommend is buying the spring pliers and the spring compressor tool. I tried making do without and ended up walking to Advance to buy those two items before reassembly. But I’ll sum it up like this, after doing it once, I’m perfectly comfortable with the idea that I might need to take it off again to address a suspected axle seal and seized parking brake arm, but I don’t view it as an inconvenience to do so. So yeah it’s easy.

 

I think Tacomas have the self-adjust drum brakes (most drums self adjust if you jam the brakes while rolling backwards, in my experience) except you have to use the parking brake to adjust them.
I typically just make sure the self adjuster isn't jammed up with brake dust or rust, then tighten the brakes until they're sorta close, and let the self adjuster do the rest.
I love drum brakes.

 

Other side done. And it’s finally sitting on all four new wheels.

 

95 has a bed. Frame is ever so slightly tweaked. So spring time I’ll get it straight and the cab corners. But it’s a TRUCK. Again

 

Anyone mount an ultra gauge under the pillar WITH a two pod gauge cluster ?

 

Removed and returned my ATOTO F7 Pro. The sound quality was such a disappointment. Now it sits in the driveway with the dash all apart.

 

Tonight I Wrapped up a 7th injector install with a 2.2 pulley. I had a few minor issues, a bit of overreaction too lol. Jb weld, longer bolts and sealant and I’m good to go. I feel like this has waken up the SC, too bad all the roads are ice covered around me.

Discovered I believe my sunroof seal is now leaking too.. balls.

 

not sure of related, but less then 2 weeks after I did the radiator flush my water pump began to leak.
so now timing belt, seals and water pump replacement are scheduled for next weekend.

sigh

 

It's got the high-speed vinyl kit on it too

 

Racing to rust

 

At minimum to make your life SO much easier, I recommend this tool:

$10 Performance Tool W86557 Headlight Adjusting and Brake Spring Tool, Heat Treated Alloy Construction, Easy Access to Hard to Reach Areas

https://www.amazon.com/Performance-Tool-W86557-Brake-Spring/dp/B003WZPP50?th=1

The hardest part of the job IMO is getting the large spring back on. And I like that the hook is way less clunky than pliers.

 

URD short shifter installed with Marlin Crawler heavy duty shift seats/bushings. Before this I had to throw That lever for yards and hope to land in a gear. This is now real crisp and short. Perfect.

 

Hey @Empty_Lord is this how you do them at home?

 

I’ve got a fancier setup… I beam with a trolley and chain fall!

 

Doesn’t look bad for being totalled by a dodge Durango. Frame needs to be pulled a little bit. But it’s not terrible

 

Got the last package today. Ordered all pieces individually (brand new in box) on ebay.
Total after shipping and tax: $207