wi_taco 2015 TRD OffRoad build "The Gray Ghost"

Ooh you almost had it, got to be quicker than that!

Unsurprisingly, the internet makes a T-shirt for this exact occasion:

 

Took a few days waiting on decent weather and some work/life things but finally got the driveshaft reinstalled. I didn't have any string in the shop but my trusty laser line came in clutch again to align the center bearing. First test drive afterwards and I had zero vibrations. It's smoother than I've ever experienced but I know it still isn't perfect. Come springtime I'll probably shim the pinion to get optimal angles to prolong the bearing lifespan.



I don't remember exactly where I read this, but the grease zerk near the center yoke is not in a directly straight line with the other fittings. It's off by 1 degree, give or take. This is because the splines on the center yoke only have so much adjustment and this is as good as it gets. Keep that in mind and use something else as the index instead of the center zerk. The small hole on the center bearing support bracket is a good reference point in this instance. Use your finely calibrated eyeballs and best judgement here.

 

For some time I have been trying to find a front bumper that fit my desire to keep it looking "OEM Plus" and not super aggressive so as not to draw attention. I made an ill-fated attempt to acquire a C4 unit last February only to find out it was in fact the wrong model and a complete bust. First week of December '23 and I received my "stingray" Gen2.5 low profile front bumper courtesy of the @RelentlessFab ongoing group buy. Construction, fit, and finish are all top notch but I wasn't able to install it right away because it was finals week and I had to focus on that stuff. Then had a death in the family, and then my U joints finally called it quits. I am a patient man but damn it's hard sometimes.







I did give the ComeUp SEAL Slim 9.5rs winch a test fit and everything looks good. Clocked the handle forward which turned into a much bigger pain than expected but it's done. Fairly sure I'm going to mount the control box on the winch itself in the "standard" location but maybe I'll relocate later to the engine bay.



For now, I'm leaving this on the workbench because I can't figure out where to mount the power cutoff switch. Typical location by the battery is already taken by my Redarc charger so it's going to require a bit more thought.



I ran into one other problem that was entirely my fault but an easy thing to miss. On first glance, it seemed the bumper frame tie-in brackets mounted on a hole filled with a plug that sat right behind my front shock reservoir mounts (my old photo shown as reference, red circle below). After the test fitting, they actually mount to another hole that is underneath the bracket (green circle) that I totally forgot were there. I cannot stress how much I loathe messing with these brackets and tonight on a time crunch wasn't the time to open that can of worms. Plus there is a new bracket design that I might buy for other reasons and no sense doing this job twice. I'm not comfortable running a winch without these supports so for now it stays off.



Fast forward to yesterday 1/8/24. I nearly have my garage cleaned up for the winter and bumper is taking up space and staring at me every day. I wasn't planning to install it until springtime because why rush and subject it to all the glory of Wisconsin's road salt when I can just wait? But I got sick of looking at it lying there and with a pending snow storm headed my way, it was time to do it at the last minute because I always do things last minute and it seems to work. Right? With only hours to spare before the first big winter weather of the year I threw myself to getting it done, whatever may come.



Pro-tip: The hydraulic lift cart from HarborFreight makes an excellent tool for saving your back when installing onto the mounting studs. Easy-peasy lemon squeezy. Might build a jig out of 2x4s later to help it sit more flat during future mounts to make it even easier to install winch bolts.



This bumper requires cutting the plastic center area out of the OE plastic cover. I was going to do this using my angle grinder at first but couldn't find the right arbor plate or the wrench (I have chronic problems with losing these). Instead I switched to using a Milwaukee M12 rotary tool with a cutoff disc and this worked well for a nice precise cut. Made a rough cut to remove the bulk of center material first, then did the second tight to the red line as shown below. Worked out perfectly.



I wasted a lot of time fiddling around with the stupid fender liner flathead screw/clips, but otherwise everything went back together very quickly. I need to massage the fitment of the plastic bumper surround a bit but it's good enough for now. My initial plan was to also install new headlights and foglights at the same time but alas it didn't work out that way.



Come the next morning, all the snow we were supposed to get in SE Wisconsin / N IL burbs was just rain and slush. Great because I can take a clean photo of the results in daylight but a bit disappointing because it would have been more dramatic with a layer of the white stuff. Friday forecast is 8-9" so there's still a chance. After that temps are going to be an arctic blast of single digits and negatives so it's time to hibernate and plan all the work for springtime.



Bonus: Found a 375mL bottle of Jameson while looking for some tools in my storage drawers / camping gear. It fits perfectly in the sweet Relentless magnetic coozie that came with the bumper. Cheers!

 

Finalized my MPG tracking for 2023. See previous year stats here: '20, '21, '22. News flash: lifting your truck makes it worse, whooda thunk it?

• Drove 10k miles (-1k down from '22) and spent $2,086 on fuel (-$365 from '22).
• Less driving is a result of work from home and buying a backup vehicle. Combined overall I did drive more miles but only a couple thousand.
• Average MPGs was 17.22 overall which is about exactly the same.
• Best single tank MPG was 19.41 - ouch. Worst single tank MPG was 14.6 - small improvement.
• Looking back since installing the lift, overall MPGs are lower. I have not eclipsed 20 MPG since lifting. Aerodynamics are such bullshit.
• Didn't get around to all the maintenance I wanted to do such as throttle body cleaning. For sure it will happen in 2024, curious to see if there are improvements.
• I do plan to move up to 33" tires this year so it may only go down from here...

(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)

 

Completed the best mod of all: paying off the bank note mod.



Weather has been bitter cold lately (single-digit highs and negative windchills) but forecast is warming up rapidly. Didn't expect temperatures like this again until March but maybe I can get some time back in the garage before spring. Snow on the ground may all be melted by end of the week. Very strange winter so far this year.

 

I have faith in you, you can do it! And good luck with your part installations during the warm-up! I'm drooling over the prospect of hitting 40 degrees on Thursday, it'll be like summer came early lol.

 

Sounds like a manageable workload. I have a long list but for now targeting just a few things: possibly remove the new bumper, drill the brackets, and install the winch; fog lights, ultimate headlight upgrade, and reverse lights for rear bumper; most of those things require me to finish wiring up the new aux fuse block. I think that's it for now, rest of my list requires warmer weather and longer sunlight.

 

You're rite the payoff is a really good feeling,
I paid mine off 10yrs ago still haven't changed the title, I just put the release letter with the title.

 

As usual I haven't gotten done the things I want, though this time it's mostly because of weather. Days I had time were rainy & nasty and it just hasn't worked out. We have some super warm temps coming up this week so crossing fingers I can do something.

In the meantime, my focus this winter is building out my recovery gear and anything that can make me more self-sufficient for longer trips. Had some store credit for Walmart so I picked up a NOCO Boost X (

$125 GBX45 1250A 12V UltraSafe Portable Lithium Jump Starter, Car Battery Booster Pack, USB-C Powerbank Charger, and Jumper Cables for up to 6.5-Liter Gas and 4.0-Liter Diesel Engines

GBX45) portable lithium jump starter pack. Also grabbed the accessory protective case (

$25 GBC101 Boost X EVA Protection Case for GBX45 UltraSafe Lithium Jump Starters

GBC101) and the 12V fast charger cable (GBC011). Supposedly the fast charger has some extra chips/logic about it that can "wake up" the jump pack in case it goes completely flat otherwise I would have stuck with my other existing chargers. Could have used one of these back in fall 2022 when I ran down the old lead acid battery listening to the radio for weather/storm warnings. Had to track someone down and give me a jump in the middle of nowhere and got luck even to find another person at all. Jumper cables are only fool-proof when you can find another fool in your area. This should help in a pinch when I can't find other fools like me.

 

Finally received some pieces I need to finish off (for now at least) my main recovery gear kit. This is definitely version 1.0 seeing how I am going from having nothing at all to lots of stuff all at once. As you will see below, my credit card company loves me and I have certifiably lost my damn marbles. Here is everything thrown on the tailgate, let's dig in to individual pieces.



First let's start with that folder looking thing on the right. It's a case from Adventure Tool Company intended to hold/organize paper road atlasas. Was a bit of an impulse buy since my main goal was the other case, but I have to say it has been annoying putting my atlases in the seat back or under rear seats (which I don't have any more) and they were always sliding everywhere. I also realized I need to update that atlas from 2017 because it's tempting fate otherwise. Both of the ATC cases are the olive drab color and made from their "premium" canvas material and I must say materials and construction far surpassed my expectations. Bomb proof is an apt description.



Here is the main collection of recovery gear as it relates to winching and towing. All new to me, feel like I made the best decisions I could based on what I've seen others doing during our outings to the OHV park and elsewhere. Read a lot of things online. And I could have gone less expensive but I considered these pieces a "buy once, cry once" type affair as I may never need to buy them again (or if I do, that means I did some things).

• Factor 55 standard duty 2" x 30 ft tow strap held with a Keeper velcro strap
• Factor 55 extreme duty 7/8" x 30ft kinetic recovery rope (not shown here but in other photos below)
• Factor 55 Fast FID for re-splicing synthetic winch line
• Bubba Rope Tree Hugger tree protector 10 ft held with a Keeper velcro strap
• Bubba Rope Gator Jaw chafe guards (4) that I kind of ordered by a happy little accident
• Yankum 7/16" soft shackles (2) with red sleeves
• Yankum offset winch snatch ring XL
• ARB 19mm type S (ARB2014) bow shackles as backups with some Daystar isolators/washers to prevent clanging and banging

Definitely not playing favorites with a single brand of gear. In fact, many of my choices were influenced by companies not having items available and then making me go different routes, or just finding good sales/promotions where I couldn't pass up that particular option. Yankum is currently having problems manufacturing their tree straps which led me to Bubba Rope. Master Pull wouldn't even respond to emails or calls which led me to ignore them completely. Factor 55 seemed way too expensive until I found a couple resellers that had some huge discounts and again I couldn't say no.



Here is everything put inside the new Adventure Tool Company case which is aptly named the "recovery bag." It has small pockets on the inside and I stuffed the bow shackles there to stay out of the way. Tow strap and tree saver are held in a bundle using these Keeper brand velcro carabiner straps I found at the local Ace Hardware for a couple bucks and they work perfect for the task. Camera angle here is a bit misleading making the bag look huge but it is almost the exact perfect size that I needed.



Crashpod organizer bag on the left which currently just contains my bedding sheets for camping. Compared to the new Adventure Tool Company case on the right. About the same size just a little shorter for the new bag.



Here's the Factor 55 7/8" x 30 ft kinetic rope still ziptied together from shipping. It's a big unwieldy mess of spaghetti. I wasn't even going to buy one of these just yet, but someone tried to organize a TW group buy for the Yankum-brand products and then backed out when their vendor got butthurt. Apparently it was partially my fault, F me right? Boo hoo I don't care. But then I came across a smokin' deal on the nearly identical rope from Factor 55 so I shared in the Deals section to recoup karma and that was enough to twist my own arm into picking one up. Too big and bulky to fit in the ATC case but that's okay as I don't expect it will get used as much.



Here's the cherry on top of the whole sundae: The Adventure Tool Company bag + gear and the kinetic rope fit in my custom drawer system that I built a few years ago. Purely accidental but totally happy about that. Helps keep it out of the way until I need it. Stuffed all the way in the back of the drawer and my other existing Crashpod cases fit and perfectly fill all the remaining space.



My reaction when it all fit so well together:

 

Still accumulating more parts which means more work needing to be done. Still cursed with the weather where every day I have time it's freezing, and every other day has been crazy warm and I have to be indoors doing work/school/domestic stuff. Well boy do I have some exciting news: I have found yet another way to prevent myself from being productive! Behold the results of fighting gravity, aka I was walking on hardwood floors in socks and slipped and lost the battle with gravity breaking my fall directly with my face. 8 stiches in 2 layers, partial fracture of my orbital, maybe slightly concussed (I was KO'd for maybe a minute), and some brusing that looks like I lost a fight and blood in my eyeball. Photo is 2 days later and looks way better than it did, no before pictures because I basically looked like that scene in Carrie with the bucket of blood.

That being said I should only be out of business for a couple days until it heals enough to keep dirt out, and next weekend looks warm so crossing fingers I can catch a break. 2024 not my favorite so far. Crossing fingers that the CT scan in the ER isn't going to eat up the future mods budget.

 

Yeah it was a blast lol. Exactly what I wanted to do after work on a Friday night. I believe this now rates my skull at 250 lbs x 5 feet of vertical drop in impact force. Fairly sure that's more than the latest Milwaukee impact can put out in ugga duggas. So I got that going for me, which is nice...

 

You're kinda young to be doin stupid shit like that, you should save that for the older folks!

Or learn to tuck & roll when you go down!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LOL

 

I agree it was quite silly. On the plus side, I only inflicted damage to the least important part of the body - my face! Maybe I get a cool scar out of the deal and it improves my look.

 

Been a while since I updated anything here but trust when I say there are lots of things going on behind the scenes. Mostly just accumulating & waiting for more parts, and also waiting for bi-polar Wisconsin spring weather to settle the F down so I can get something done. I did re-stock my Amsoil supplies for the next year including some of their Signature Series ATF for a DIY home "flush". Was originally going to just use MaxLife synthetic but decided to use that on the Jeep when I try to ressurect it this year.



Lately I've been having issues again with my Pioneer DMH-W4660NEX head unit crashing at random intervals. Went about 2 months over winter with no problems and then March rolls around and they are back. I'm still logging all my problems periodically over on post #95 and keep in mind this is head unit #3 because the others have died. Frankly I think the current issue has more to do with Apple's iOS 17.4 and beyond being janky but nothing I can do on that. Current firmware version is 3.00 which is the original firmware that came out like 5 years ago. Why would Pioneer do that for a radio manufactured in 2023 that already had new firmwares available? Ugh.



Pioneer's Car AV Assist mobile app is about as fun as getting stabbed repeatedly in the gonads with a rusty fork. "Some people pay extra for that, Cotton" you say. Well I say good for them but not for me. Even as an IT pro who deals with this technology daily this was a huge huge huge headache that I don't wish on my worst enemy.



And then promptly the next morning it crashes. FML. I am definitely buying a different brand the next time this thing dies.

 

On a more fun & interesting note, the TW WI crew recently gathered for our annual caming & TWAT section run from Wyalusing State Park. It was a good trip - peaceful and without any problems, and a great group dynamic where we all generally get along quite well. More event photos can be found here in the WI events thread. I'm re-posting photos of my own truck here just so I can find them later.