I want a truck that Toyota never made

The first 2 pictures below are of the “demon eye” feature turned on. Since I have not wired them to a toggle switch as of yet… I am connecting them to the battery just to test them out and see what it looks like. The 3rd and 4th pictures below are of the Amber Halos that are hooked up to the factory DRL switch in the truck. The 5th and 6th pictures are of the headlights turned on which switches the Halo from Amber to White to blend into the headlights.



over a year later and I finally got around to wiring my demon eye red led light to a factory style toggle switch.

 

I had my side mirror covers repainted and installed some smoked Sequential Dynamic LED side mirror turn signal lights. I got them off of Amazon. An easy install once you get the cover off. Just take your time and pry slowly. Don’t force it too much. I used like 6 different small plastic pry tools and slowly worked my way around the mirror. I would get an area lifted a little and leave the pry tool in here and work about an inch to the right and leave another pry tool in there and so on. You can do this with the mirrors on the truck or off. I choice to do it with the mirrors off the truck because I was going to have the mirror covers repainted and I put on a used set of side mirrors while this was being done.

 

Auto Ventshade (AVS) in channel Vent Visor

$90 2005-2015 Toyota Tacoma With 4L Right Petrol intake air snorkel kit high performance system compatible kit Replacement black Rotational Molding (2005-2015)

2005-2015 Toyota Tacoma Access Cab Smoke 2pc. Model number 192706. I used a touch amount of "Goof Off" on a towel to remove the "AVS" grey logo from the vent visors. Then wiped the area down with another towel that was dipped in water. I just wanted a simple dark look and didn't like the "AVS" logo because it stood out too much for me. The vent visors are super easy to install and work great.

 

Those retrofits turned out killer.

 

You may not have started this build with the intention of making a show truck, but here we are. That thing is amazing!

 

In 2017 I also wanted a truck that Toyota didn't make and built what I wanted from this website using all the discarded parts everyone was taking off their trucks for mods. I didn't do anything extreme, but I did take a red base SR extended cab with the painted bumpers option and made it into a top-of-the-line Tacoma LX appearance wise and it was still a base truck which is what I really wanted. I added a tonneau cover, billet wheels and bed rails. I would never have bought that truck if I had not seen Tacoma World first.

 

Great job. I think that is what it is all about.... creating the truck you want. Stock sucks... lol. A few people have voiced their negative opinion about me making an automatic X-Runner like it is a bad thing but it is what I wanted and that is all that matters. Everyone has an opinion and everyone has different taste that is what makes us all different. I love these sites because you can learn and see what others have done. From this, you can create your own opinions and your own ride. Keep modifying your ride and make it your own and keep posting to Tacoma World it is a great site.

 

Incredible attention to detail.! Love the headlight look. How is the pattern/output at night?

 

I like it a lot. To me, the light pattern is more controlled and was able to adjust it where I wanted it to be. I had the upgraded LED bulbs in the factory headlight setup before. They put out a lot of light but harder to control the light pattern was all over and a lot more people would headlight flash me. It seems I am not annoying other drivers now and while still getting a bright light pattern to cover a good area ... win win. I was nervous with going with the 35 watt ballast instead of the 55 watt ballast but took the advice of the person at "The Retrofit Source" and I am very happy with the out come.

 

For a while now, I have been noticing a light bump coming from my front driver's side suspension. I never really heard it in the cab of the truck but I would feel it in my left foot that was resting on the floor of the truck. After a lot of looking around... I believe it to be my front left sway bar just bearly bumping my spring on the inverted coilovers. For some reason, I have about a 1/4 inch of clearance between the driver's side sway and spring but on the passenger's side I have about a 1/2 inch of clearance. I have tried adjusting the sway and it goes back to this spacing. I bought a new factory sway... thinking that mine had been damaged or bent over time but the sway bars side by side seem identical. I installed the new sway bar and the clearance was identically the same. I have tried another set of sway bar links and different sway bar bushings. With no resolve.

 

After a lot of research, I could never find anybody else with this same problem. I started looking around for a slightly long sway bar link to lift the sway bar away from the spring but could never find one for the X-Runner. I did find a few different adjustable ones for the rear of a Toyota 4Runner and the FJ Cruiser that looked like it would work. I took a shot in the dark and bought a set of "Dobinson Extended Rear Swaybar End Link Kit for Toyota 4Runner 2003 to 2018, FJ Cruiser" model "SE59-529" and installed these today. After a few miles on a test drive today... I think I have solved the problem but will know more after a few days of driving the truck. In the 3rd and 4th picture below... I have put a spacing of 25mm between the top locking 17mm nut and the bottom of the metal bushing washer. I have more adjustability in these Dobinson sway bar links if I need to raise the sway bar higher. So far, no more light bump in the floor board and the truck seems to handle the corners nicely with the sway bar being raised.

 

sshadow69, any reason for running the coil overs inverted? I've been thinking of flipping mine over once I put the DJM kit on but really don't see any good reason to.

 

For a few reasons... First, I followed "arcenik's" thread here on TW and that is how he mounted them. Also, I think it is much easier for me to adjust or play around with the "Compression" and "Rebound" knobs on the Coilovers. I personally, I think it is safer to have the adjustment knobs away from moving suspension parts like the sway and away from any small flying road debris. Overall, I don't think there is any performance benefits either way... that I can tell. So, I guess it is just a personal preference.

 

Sounds good. I was pretty certain it was personal choice but was just checking. I didn't think about flipping mine until I had already put them in and didn't feel liker taking it all back apart to do it. Maybe I'll flip them when I put the DJM control arms on. I'll have to see what the clearances are like then decide.

 

Just read this whole thread, what a masterful build! Kudo's to you for knowing what you wanted and making it happen.

 

If they haven’t changed the design of the DJM control arms, you’ll need to flip them - the eyelet on the control arm is too square/tall for the shock body to clear.

 

I saw a thread here on TW and wanted to make my own solid one piece splash guards. I started by using blue tape. I started covering all the area that I wanted the one piece splash to cover. I placed the blue tape vertically and also horizontally to make the template stronger. I also applied a few different layers. When I was done, I used a marker to trace around the outside of the template for a border. Using a Philip screw driver to punched the holes that would hold the splash guard in place. I used all factory drilled holes except for one that I drilled into the frame at the front of the truck. When I pulled off the blue tape template... I place this on a piece of ram board to give it more support and to get rid of the sticky part of the tape so it is easier to handle. I added a few small pieces of black Gorilla tape close to the edge just for more support. Next, I cut the template a little wider than the marker border that I made earlier with a good set of kitchen scissors. I test fit the template a few times making maker reference points and then did a final trim.

 

The material that I am using to make these splash guards is 1/8-inch-thick heavy duty Neoprene solid rubber. I bought it from Amazon and came in a 40 x 40 size for $43.99

 

For the most part the tools that I am using is: 9/32 leather hole punch, hammer, Phillips screw drive, heavy duty scissors, Sharpie marker, plastic fastener remover tool, 5/16 drill bit, cordless drill, and X-Acto #2 hobby knife