1999 Tacoma SR5 TRD Imperial Jade Build, Sweat and Tears

Update

Added velcro to the newest patches and stuck em up


Repainted back part of shell that was fading.


Tired of slipping of the bummer when I step to reach in the back. Ive been waiting to add clear skate grip tape but I found this for a $1.00 so black it is.


The passenger door handle stoped working.


Thought something was broken and it ended up being that the the outer door handle mechanism was really dry and sticking. put a bunch of white lithium grease all over everything and it kinda crazy, it opens like a new car door now. The tiniest effort will open it. Regret not doing this to the driver side when I replaced the window.


I ordered grill clips, a screw that was missing from the door latch and 10 black number 11 lower ball joint bolts, which Im going to replace on both sides.

 

Clamshell install




Needle bearing pulled


Bearing driver was too short, used a socket and extension to extend it


installed


Still shaking, so idk how much this did. It appears I still have driveline issue and further inspection of the front end, it appears the LCA bushings are toast, which pisses me off because I asked the alignment shop that just alighted it a couple mouths ago for $120 if they were okay and they said yes. This explains the bad cupping on the tires. Ill be putting the shop on blast shortly.

 

Now im checking everywhere to try and fix this damn vibration. 5 years and over 100k of shaking has me over this truck. Tire balance after tire balance, drive shaft rebuild, needle bearing replacement, alignments, carrier bearings, carrier bearing spacers, days of testing and trouble shooting. Absolutely insane.

Inspecting the driveline it looks the carrier is toast. Tons of slop. Looks like these things need to be change every other oil change.


I flipped it for a 100 mile trip to see if it would do anything. It ended up getting slightly better but still didnt go away.


As much as I wanted to order the spicer one its $100+. I opted for the SKF for $50. It appears it doesnt matter which one you buy, they are all trash quality.


I thought I was going to be cute and save myself some headache by taking it apart on the truck. Nope, had to remove the front portion to make life easier.


Made sure to make a mark so that I dont screw myself.


So I reinstalled then noticed the washers were stuck to the old bearing, seems I cant escape my stupidity. Was just going to leave it, but I hear squeaking. Still might just leave it.


Its crazy how much it sags with a new bearing. Its like it already junk from the get go. Still shaking with the new carrier bearing.

 

Ordered OME AAL since I seem to be carrying so much stuff on all these road trips.


Upon further inspection of other things that want to be a pain in the ass

My dingle berry mount is broke


The soft cap in my front driveshaft slip yoke is missing. I cant grease it because the grease just pours out the front. Looks like it might of gotten hydro locked and blow the cap out on the road. Its bone dry and theres lots of play in the slip yoke. I wonder if im getting some vibes from here. I know that its in neutral but it still spins at highway speeds. I might just pull the shaft and drive without it to see.


Exhaust clamp wasnt clamping causing an exhaust leak. Cheap ass Amazon clamp. Its marked 2.5in and it measures well over when fully closed. I added some shims for a temp fix. Ill pull it eventually when my ass stops hurting from all this maintenance bs and weld it on.


And it looks like trans or transfer is leaking from the shifter gaskets.

 

I checked the driveline angles with a real angle gauge, not my phone and it seems like the driveline should be within the limits it needs to not vibe, but here we are, again.

Since Im going to install the AAL Im going to just jump ahead and shim the rear axle. Its around 2.5 degrees at the rear, within the "allowed" 3 degrees but Im going to install a 4 degree shim and then take some of the sims out of the center carrier bearing. Im guessing the AAL is going to give it a slight raise increasing the angle more plus removing some of the carrier shims will increase it even more, so Im guessing 4 degrees might be the way to go. At this point no methods seems to work so Im just gonna start guessing.

On the, make my ass bleed more list of this to do, hopefully within the next week.

Replace lower LCA bushings with Whiteline, replace lower ball joints bolts with toyota black number 11s. See if this helps vibrations.
Install AAL with 4 degree shims.
Maybe weld exhaust where clamp isnt clamping.
Order gaskets for top of shifters and fix leaks, check fluid levels.
Check front diff fluid level from clamshell install.
If vibs still are going Ill pull front driveshaft.

Honestly the vibe shit needs to stop. Im starting to burn out on this truck. It shouldnt be this ridiculous. Im tried of driving thousands of miles at 1 go with this things just shaking like crazy the either time, at some point its not worth it to me. In the entire time Ive owed this truck Ive never felt what its like to not shake.

 

This is my favorite thread to follow as a casual observer

 

Thanks, I appreciate that.

 

LCA bushings here we go


Putting these here in case I need them

Front Front


Front Rear


Rear Front


Rear Rear

 

And the nightmare begins

The rear cam adjuster just fell out like it was new, the front one, was pretty much welded in.

Torch, Nope


Air hammer, Nope


Air saw, Nope


Yep


For the next nightmare

Toyota jack didnt work, was flexing a lot, Nope


Moved up to a bottle jack, jacked as hard as I could pump the handle and after hitting it with heat for 10 min straight it finally came loose.


The other side (the side I had to cut off) wouldnt come out no matter. No matter how much heat or jacking. I even broke the washer in half I was pushing on trying to get it off. No photo but I moved it to a press. I had to rig it up with an extensions and a socket and press through the opening of the bushing I just took out. When it popped loose it was just like someone shooting a gun next to me with no hearing protecting. It threw one of the 10lb press shim a few feet away off the press. Pretty ridiculous.

Just cutting the front adjuster and trying to get the bushings out took like 3hrs.

 

Installing the bushings took like 3 min. Im kinda worried they might spin hitting hard bumps because they pressed in so easy.




Now I gotta wait around for a couple days while an adjuster comes in.

 

Wish they would bring this color back

 

Where does the vibe feel like it’s coming from?
I wonder if you have a bent axle shaft or bent/out of balance drive shaft.

Great thread by the way
Whats your camera setup when you’re working on the truck?

 

Felt like mostly from the front, but honestly from pretty much everywhere. Im pretty sensitive to where things are too but its just all over the place. Im gonna start at the front and start replacing everything thats bad and working my way towards the back.

The driveshaft was rebuilt and balanced not too long ago. Who knows though with all the crappy work everyone does.

Thanks, its a bunch of different cameras and lenses all through out the thread

Sony A7RII
Sony A7RIII
Leica M9P
Leica SL
Canon 5DMKII

The funny thing is, Tacoma World murders the quality when I upload, they are probably 50% worse. Almost all the photos look out of focus because of it.

 

Todays hell.

Took 6 hours to get this side off and replace the bushings.

Had to cut everything, both LCA adjusters and the Bilstien 5100 bolt. The strut mount it toast too. Looks like I need to get replacement for both sides.

Didnt get too many photos today, was too pissed off.

Bolt seized in the sleeve in the bushing and twisted the rubber apart. I guess this is what happens when you just sit back and let them put salt and magnesium on the roads in the winter.


One of the adjusters was broke. I wonder if the alignment shop broke it and didnt say anything.


Spent a lot of time trying to cut these off. Some of the sides I couldnt get to the adjusting rod, I had to cut through the metal bushing and adjuster sleeves.


Trying to salvage as many pieces as possible since they are a rip off to buy.




Some of the blades I went though to make 5 cuts


Couldnt cut the one side of the 5100 bolt because the metal sleeve as all the way against the ear/mount on the LCA, spent 15min with the sawsall and it did absolutely nothing. The bushing sleeve was way too hard. Decided to risk it all and hit it with a cut off wheel. Took less that 10 seconds.


Not even messing with the bottle jack




Whitelines are in




Pure hell. Apparently this is in good condition to the alignment shop.


This is about as far as I can go for now. I need to order a bunch of stuff and try and find the 5100 bushings, Im not buying new struts too.

 

Just found out that the Toyota World Runner's couple passed away while on a trip, I guess they rolled off a cliff. Their youtube channel is one of the few off road channels I would watch. They had great content, the best ive see as far as off roading content goes. Its a shame. Respect to them for living life to the fullest on their terms.

RIP

 

Seen there was a 4runner in the junk yard went to salvage some strut bolts.

Seats were nice but someone painted the whole interior black including the seats. Bummer, I would of taken them if they were left brown.


Only got one and its pretty rusty.


Didnt get the 2nd one, someone installed it backwards and I didnt want to fight for it.

 

Podríamos compartirnos tus plantillas, hermano, seria de bastante gran ayuda

 

@Fx13 No todos los años tienen la misma forma de luz trasera y una carcasa diferente a la de una carcasa Jason también tendría una forma diferente.

 

Sightings

 

Former Japanese fire dept truck. Pretty cool rigs.