2000 Turbo Taco - Race Truck Edition, to include wannabe fabricator and machinist stuff(PIC HEAVY!!)

It would seem there is going to be some fine tuning once you get her all together for sure!

I lucked out a couple years back and scooped up the sport seats and both sway bars from a 2001 SRunner for way to cheap too believe in this day and age. I am running the front currently, but the rear is still gathering dust in my shed... one day when I am wrenching on old Trudy again she will be getting the rear bar..oh yeah, and that supercharger also still laying around somewhere!

Looks like your thread is going to be my motivator to get to another phase of Tacoma tuning going soon, thanks for this!

 

Cut and tapped some "adapter" sleeves for the new rod end-tie rods, as well as some misalignment spacers. It doesn't need much, and I think I managed to get plenty of room for suspension travel. The only down side is I need to shorten the inner tie rod about an inch or so. Still contemplating on that one.

 

I have the front on. The rear is somewhere around my shop

 

I *think* I've got the tie rods finished up for the most part. I ended up having to shorten the stock inner tie rods and reduce them from an M15x1.5mm thread to an M14x1.5mm thread and run the threads further down the shank to make up for the extra length that the heim had with the sleeve. I wanted to keep them at the M15 but I couldn't find a die that size anywhere locally and I've already placed like 5 Amazon orders this week.




And just for archival purposes because it seems like the info is pretty hard to find online (without some ridiculous time spent searching) the (stock unmodified) inner tie rods have two different threads on them. The inner portion that threads into the rack is a male M14x1.5mm and the outer portion that the outer tie rod threads onto is a male M15x1.5mm thread, which means the outer tie rod is a female M15x1.5mm thread (duh).

All I could find was the inner tie rod was M14x1.5mm...it, in fact, has 2 different size threads.

 

So it seems that I've gone down a rabbit hole on this bump steer/tie rod flipping adventure. But in my digging, I seemed to have identified something that I can find no other documentation of anywhere online.

There are a couple of Lexus models that share a lower ball joint design (sorta, bare with me) with the first gen (5-Lug) Tacoma. 1998-2005 GS300 / 1998-2000 GS400 / 2001-2005 GS430 / 2002-2010 SC430. The TRE mounting position is flipped and arched opposite to the Tacoma's. This is where it becomes beneficial for lowered trucks, and I honestly can't believe that it hasn't been discovered/discussed before.

I had a hunch after randomly seeing a picture of a lower ball joint from a GS300. I'm not really sure what led up to it, but I'm glad it did.

I have a friend who works at one of the local Orielly's that happened to have one each of the lower ball joints in stock for a 98-05 GS300. He took some measurements for me and confirmed what I thought I knew just from looking at them. The mount holes, alignment dowels/sleeves, and ball joint orientation were IDENTICAL to that of the Tacoma. The difference is on the end where the tie rod bolts up, which is why this is so important. Since all of the Lexus model ball joints are from cars that sit lower, they orient the ball joint opposite of the Tacoma to keep the tie rods at a more level angle and not have the joint itself in a bind (which is what happens on the Tacoma TREs when lowered beyond a certain point).

I ordered some lower ball joints for a 98-05 GS300 from Amazon because they were a fraction of the cost, this is still an experiment at this point. Can't be wasting too much money on R&D when it's not guaranteed to work. lol. $40 for the pair on Amazon, vs $45 for just one at Orielly's (even with my friend's discount, $74 each with no discount!!!)

One came in today so I got to work.

(This is the one that I ordered)
1998-2005 GS300 / 1998-2000 GS400 / 2001-2005 GS430 / 2002-2010 SC430


Comparing the 1998-2005 GS300 / 1998-2000 GS400 / 2001-2005 GS430 / 2002-2010 SC430 measurements to the stock Tacoma LBJs


(Notice the bend at the end where the outer TRE attaches is completely opposite. That will get rid of your bump steer/binding TREs and all you would have to do is flip the stock TRE over. It couldn't be any easier!!!)







I tried mounting it up and ran into a problem with the lower caliper mount bolt. Since the Lexus LBJ curves UP at the end for the TRE it was interfering.



There is actually a simple fix for this, and it's something that has been done for a different reason in the past. You can just space the knuckle up from the LBJ and get an extra drop. There is a guy that makes "Drop Spindles" for this truck that basically just makes the spacer a part of the spindle so it's all one piece.

See this thread for more information:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/got-them-1st-gen-2-drop-spindles.812469/

As well as the guy that makes them:
https://www.instagram.com/carswellweldedit/

But obviously, in the name of R&D, I just machined some small spacers to solve my clearance issue:

(This *WILL* require longer bolts if I decide to keep these lower ball joints and spacers. There is definitely not enough thread engagement right now to drive on. Only for test fit purposes.)



I then was able to attach my TREs (with some temporary spacers to see if I could get it to line up properly, again, just for test fitting and R&D, lol)



I forgot to get a pic with the truck on the ground but I was able to get the Tie Rod completely flat and level with the ground. Not to mention, since the mounting point for the TRE is a little different shape than the Taco's you get a slight bit more steering angle and a slightly different Ackermann. The steering angle I'm not all THAT concerned with (for now), but getting more Ackermann would be nice.



This realization opens up other options for the first gen 5-lugs as well.
Like for instance if you were into drifting or "stance" you can run a "Negative Camber Roll Center Adjustment" block as seen here:
https://meganracing.com/suspension/type-suspension-arms/lexus-toyota-arms/mrs-lx-0251

That block does the same thing my spacers do except they also push the bottom of the knuckle out giving more negative camber than can be achieved with just the upper a-arms alone.

Megan Racing also offers just plain "Roll Center Adjusters" that don't add camber. These do exactly what the spacers I made do, and would bolt up to a stock Tacoma LBJ and provide the thickness of the spacer in drop.
https://meganracing.com/suspension/type-suspension-arms/lexus-toyota-arms/mrs-lx-0250

Edit: I stumbled upon these again, an option I forgot about from a long time ago. Same thing as above though just labeled as made for our trucks.
(If this link dies then just search eBay for "TACOMA LOWERING SPINDLE SPACERS")
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1158381550...jPpUQ6MSA2&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

The same guy also sells an upper ball joint that relocates it to add more caster:
(Search eBay for "Tacoma Lowering Upper Control Arm Ball Joint Assembly 1st Gen Camber Caster Fix")
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1158381550...jPpUQ6MSA2&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

There are several different versions of these spacers all over the place. They're just sleeves that space the knuckle up however far you want. Super simple.
A few examples:
https://autosportsengineering.com/p...-center-adjuster-30mm-fits-lexus-gs300-98-05/
https://xatracing.com/xat-2gs-roll-center-adjusters-front.html


There is also stuff like this to go even further into modifying the steering geometry:
https://shopfigs.com/v5/by-vehicle/cat-gs/cat-gs-160/L1276?limit=100

https://shopfigs.com/v5/by-vehicle/cat-gs/cat-gs-160/G1224?limit=100

One thing I'm trying to work out is if having wide lower control arms like our trucks have will come into play. It looks like all the Lexus models use a pretty narrow lower arm, so steering modifications aren't as limited just because of the width of the arm and the outer TRE colliding with it before you run out of rack travel. More R&D is definitely needed if anyone tries to go with the routes listed above. *DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH AND TESTING, I CAN NOT CONFIRM THAT YOU WILL GET HELLA SICK DRIFT ANGLES WITH STOCK TACOMA LOWER CONTROL ARMS*


I do believe custom lower control arms are in my future... Maybe I turn this thing into a multipurpose race/drift machine!!!


Edit: Removed info regarding the LS400 LBJs since I did order some of those and they ended up having too large of a ball joint stud and the mounting holes were about a 1/4" inch or so further apart than they needed to be.

Edit...again: The IS300 LBJs also did not pan out. Thanks to @Icecoast for gambling on those and following up. The mounting holes are too narrow on the IS300 joints.

 

Holy wealth of information! This gives me some ideas to look at for my 2nd gen because my rack angle and bump steer is pretty significant. I'll have to look into this!

 

I know I used drop spindle spacers on my 07 access cab 5-lug when I had it before I got the DJM kit. So I know you can do the spacer thing. But I can't remember where the TRE mounts to on those knuckles.

 

Hmm, I've got the DJM arms, but I'm curious if some of the lexus/car TRE's will have the same effect/design as the 2nd gen. I'll have to get some pictures/measurements some time soon off my truck. I'm also talking with a local circle track racer about getting some of his old QA1's and playing with his massive stock of springs and shock dyno to try and get my truck set up better next year. Talking about doing a coil shock in the rear with maybe a 100lb spring to give the rear end a pseudo progressive spring rate combined with the leaf springs.

 

Wow, Lexus tie rods on the first gen Tacoma, this is quite the discovery!

I never even looked at my steering angles... this is getting far beyond my limit of comprehension, keep up the awesome creation here please!!

Curious with all the mods if you plan to go larger on your tires too for the next phase of performance?

 

I'm already pretty large. 275/40ZR17 is significantly wider than the stockers. Haha. Tread width is right at 10 inches but sidewall to sidewall it's about 10 3/4 inches. Wheels are 10 inches wide at the bead with a zero offset.

If I was feeling froggy I could probably get away with 2 more inches in width on the rears, but def not fronts.

 

Goodness, I forgot how meaty your current rubbers were.. 275's on 10's sounds pretty darn juicy indeed.

That was my ultra late maybe doesnt make sense thought, with all the mods in the rear you may be able to create clearance for some 315's back there!!

 

I actually ended up ordering the LS400 LBJs last night, but in the mean time I whipped up some damn near perfect spacers to juuuuust make these LBJs clear the caliper mount bolts.



With a flashlight behind it you can just see light between the bolt head and the LBJ.

 

I was doing some more thinking on this and had to find some pictures of the 2nd gen 5-lug front knuckles. It looks like your outer TRE is connected to the spindle directly, and your LBJ doesn't have a TRE mounting hole like the 1st gens do. Using any other LBJ won't help in your case it seems.

 

Yeah, I came to that conclusion as well and forgot to post about it. Have you stood in the back of the truck and jumped to see how it felt yet?

 

Lol, oh yeah. Like a lot.

 

Welp, I officially caved and committed to just grinding off some of that fresh paint and welding the sway bar end link tabs to the axle housing.

This is the only pic I have, which doesn't even show them welded up yet, lol. But they are welded already and repainted. I'll try to add more pics today if I remember.



Edit: The pics I promised:





Also, the reason the sway bar isn't painted yet is a buddy of mine is going to powder coat it for me. All I have to do is provide some simple green for cleaning and the powder. So I'll probably give it to him this weekend, and then the next time you see it it'll be powdered and reinstalled.

 

The LS400 LBJs came in the other day, at a quick glance they looked like they'd work. Then today I got off work and went out to the shop to start swapping them out and noticed right away that the ball joint stud itself was pretty big compared to the stock one or the GS300 one. Then sized up the bolt holes and they are slightly wider apart. So that's a no-go on the LS400 LBJs. Oh well, I still have the GS300 ones and just finished installing those. I did end up ordering a proper TRE conversion stud, and the taper on them is slightly larger than the Toyota taper, so I reamed out the GS300 LBJs to match the studs and got them temp installed for fitment.



I edited that long informational post to remove LS400 info since they didn't work out like I hoped.

 

I ordered a set of the IS300 LBJs, they should be in on the 7th and I'll report back with measurements. It would really be nice to get an off the shelf solution to the bump steer issue.

 

Yeah, depending on the amount of bend in the TRE side of the joint you may get away without needing a spacer. But even then, there is still an "off-the-shelf" solution. You'd just get some "Roll Center Adjusters" from one of the many available online sources.

 

Got the bed back on today. It should be the last time. Fingers crossed. Finished the fuel lines that come up through the bed and I was going to finish wiring the fuel level sending unit but can't find the paper any where that I wrote the info on for which wire goes where! That's what I get for trying to get random things done waaaaaaaaaay before they are necessary. Lol