What Have You Done To Your 3rd Gen Today?

Finally got a picture of both roof racks together.

 

Sometimes I want extra beef on my Taco...

@TOTAL CHAOS cam tab gussets (had them on for the past year) now paired up with @Marlin Crawler LCA frame braces and front shock tower reinforcement rings
New oem Toyota UCAs
Not pictured and going on tomorrow: RC Fab gusseted spindles and WarFab tie rod sleeves, alignment

 

2023 SR5 4x4 25k miles, 20K towing. Installed hayden transmission aftercooler, prefilled, drained, and flushed 4 quarts at 25K miles. Posted here:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/to-flush-or-not-to-flush.851948/page-2#post-30582475

 

Falken wildpeaks 285 75 17 on 0 offset method wheels and eibach stage 2r lift kit with a dobinsons light duty 2 inch leaf pack in the rear, and some freedom offload UCA's. Super stoked with where this set up is at and not planning on messing with it for awhile we shall see lol

 

Nice set up! I also went with Freedom Off-road UCA’s. Love the clearance they provide and the extra 3 degrees of positive caster.

 

woah this forum is fuckin' SPICY

 

Added some decals to my softopper

 

There’s parameters we try and stay within, I never want to come off as that guy, but some times… lol
I appreciate how moderated, on topic (usually) and supportive this forum is (for the most part) and try not to be a complete ass hat. Sometimes a lil Reddit-quette nonsense slips out of me though. I apologize to everyone for that. This forum skews in the upper age range but I try my best to be respectful and keep my digs/insults to a minimum. However if I feel like you’re asking for it I’ll be your huckleberry!

 

Couldn’t have made it more simple to understand. Everything is expensive plain and simple unless you do it yourself then it’s less expensive. You value your time more so you hire out the work, the cost is the cost or you shop it out. You value savings so you put the time in yourself and make it happen. And sometimes it bites you

 

Exactly...
As a retired Master Tech (disabled now), I can rebuild the transmission (once I have any/all the special tools for it) if needed, and I have done engines, transmissions, rear ends, front ends, electrical, rewired bumper to bumper, HVAC, diagnostics etc etc and have worked on thousands of vehicles, including big all terrain forklifts (Lull)... I pretty much do all my own work, but damn, sometimes I'd rather just pay to have something done, cause I have done it and got that t-shirt, so I don't need to prove to someone I know how to do a filter etc... lol
Now my son does most of the work, I walk him through it if/when needed, but I am still involved...My 24yo daughter knows how to do a lot of stuff to vehicles also, she has done struts, brakes, axles, engine mounts, etc etc, heck a few years ago she asked me to supervise her doing brakes on one of her friends cars... she was helping dad early on in life, but has always worked her ass off, she worked 40-50 hours a week while going to college full time... Now she had rather pay someone to do maintenance on her vehicle...

No disrespect to anyone, but my prior post was just educating whoever as to how and why things in the automotive world cost so much, unless you are in the field, you have no idea...

And most shops go by flat rate and have set fees for items, it doesn't matter if the freaking janitor does the work or a 50 year Master Tech does the work, the price is the same either way, and yes techs will do quick jobs if waiting on parts or the sales staff to sell the job etc, or even sometimes the shop might be running behind and if an appt comes in they might ask a tech to knock it out real quick if he/she is waiting on something... If the flat rate pays a 1/2 hour for a job, then the labor cost 1/2 the shops hourly rate plus the parts and any shop fees added on like paper floor mats, steering wheel covers, and seat covers so your interior doesn't get grease in it... (hopefully lol)

 

Sorry man. Glad you’re ok. Fingers crossed everything is taken care of for you.

 

Cabin air filter change and topped off the 24f agm with the noco genius 10.

 

No tune? I’m definitely happy I finally did it w/the batt charge voltage adjustment- I haven’t thought about topping the agm in in a couple yrs

 

Not yet, but probably after the lift and tires get slapped on.

 

I had the exact same damage happen to my truck. Total repair for mine was $3500 back in 2023.
They were able to straighten out my fender.
If you ever wanted a steel bumper now is the time to buy because insurance will pay for it.
And if you want to make some extra money buy a used taillight, insurance gave me around $250 for replacement and I found an OEM take off for $100

My one mistake I made when getting repairs was going to the shop I liked because they have really good rates. I should have gone to a big chain shop, gotten a massive quote from them, taken the check from insurance, then go to my shop.
After it was all done I took home $300 in cash from getting a used tail light, installing my own steel bumper, and skipping a few paint scratches they wanted to touch up.

 

Few years later, how you liking these now? I’m looking at them now myself for my 2023.

 

Moved my solar panel from the GFC to the top of my newly installed Sherpa rack. I did this so when I use my RTT the panel isn’t covered up. The old 1” VHB adhesive was a nightmare to remove and took forever. After being in there a couple years I am definitely impressed as to how well it held up.

I wasn’t sure how the flexible panel would hold up due to how thin it is but so far so good. I attached the panel to the roof using the existing grommets to install to the track. The grommets were a little small and wouldn’t fit the 1/4”x20 screws but I drilled those out slightly larger without compromising the grommets. I also put 1/2”

$7 3M VHB 100x200mm~ (4" X8") Double Sided Foam Adhesive Sheet Tape 5952 Automotive Mounting Industrial Grade Very High Bond 5952 (1 Sheets 100x200mm)

3M VHB tape on the long edges of the panel and also where the middle crossbar meets the short sides of the panel. So far it has held up on the freeway and a weekend in Mojave during a recent wind storm.

 

Even though I will never have the skills or the tools to most of that, I do enjoy learning about how things work: whether mechanical or the operation and economics of a shop. I appreciate your perspectives.

 

Thank you for the kind words sir...

 

Velcroed the relays on top of the OEM fuse box. If anyone has a better suggestion I’m open to ideas.