2001 DC Build and 2000 XC Tribute

I'm assuming its a DCSB and not a long bed but you should be just fine if you take your time. Having my rear locker allowed me to go through just as many obstacles if not more as my friends Jeep on 33s with open diffs. He had a lot more articulation and the shorter wheel base but the locker made a huge difference. There are plenty of bypasses for the hard sections too so take your time, have a spotter if you can and mostly watch the rocker panels if you dont have sliders. It's a fun trail but takes a few hours at least!

Also, I recommend airing down between 15-20 PSI before starting the trail and airing up once you get to CK.

 

Thank you! yes its a short box 5' bed...my son tells me he runs an ARB selectable locker in his offroader, that may be an upcoming purchase For now, knowing there are bypasses for the really rough sections makes me think I can pull it off. Also have N-Fab podium LG steps which may hang up on rocks but we'll see I guess ! Thanks very much for your advise, and nice pics of Moab too!

 

The stairs are spiral (obviously) but they are only like 3" in the center and anyone going down must move to the center for up traffic. So your standing on 3" of stair with people behind you, one slip and oh fu....

 

Recent update... the truck is currently parked for the time being. The rear diff rust finally got too bad and it started leaking through. The brake dust shields and seal around the third member needed changing soon anyways so I just went ahead and ordered a complete junkyard axle off a 137k mile California truck and I'm going to replace the whole unit. Also, threw together a bedrack for the rooftop tent since I have a garage to store my cap in now.

The old rusty piece...


The new one coming from CA in a few days...


And the bedrack pre paint... you can kind of see the rack I made to hold my cap and take it off by myself.

 

Liking your build. One question, when re-installing your fender flares, what weatherstrip did you buy for the fender flares. I bought some on ebay not to long ago and it just wasn't the right fit.

 

I just cleaned and reused the original weatherstrip that came with the flares. You might be able to buy a roll from bushwacker if you give them a call.

They let me buy just the rear set of flares a while back even though they typically only come as a set of 4. They might be open to just selling you a new roll of that stuff.

 

Good looking truck! What are you using for your turn signals on your All Pro front bumper? I just got the same bumper for my truck and I'm trying decide what to do with the signals.

 

They are just LED marker lights mounted with a homemade steel bracket. The only thing that sucks is the blinkers are really fast since they are LED lights and the sensor thinks you have a bulb out. 4 ways blink at a normal pace though.

Like one of these...

https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...87F-zjHguteN0LMpZAjCvm4hszywuY4gaAoTpEALw_wcB

 

How much did the complete axle run you? I'm open diff and had always thought about just swapping out my entire rear.

 

That's a easy fix by replacing the relay under the dash with one meant for LEDs. SuperBrightLEDs has them on their site.
I bought the "CF13JL-02 3 Pin Black Japanese Flasher" back in 2014 from them for $13.

 

I got a pretty nice rust free 137K mile axle for $1000 shipped from Rancho Toyota Recycling. I think thats a pretty good deal.

 

I thought about doing that before but just never had the motivation to since they still work haha.

 

Thanks guys! Trying to decide whether to go that route or just relocate the turn signals to the marker lights...

 

Well I got the new to me axle swapped in and I was impressed with how smoothly it went. Only one bolt from the ebrake cable put up a fight but eventually came out. The new axle is super clean. While I was at it I changed the diff fluid, new brake hardware, shoes and drums in the rear and made a bracket to extend the Brake LPV for the lift that looks a lot more professional than my last fix on the old axle. The bedrack also turned out great and is really compact when its off the truck which is nice. You can see the dent above the tail light is gone on the driverside as well. I think this is the first photo I have of that after I repaired it even though it was fixed months ago. It didnt turn out perfect but pretty good for my first attempt at bodywork!

 

What axle did you go with?

Nvrmnd: just saw the previous posts.

 

Turns out the new axle had a bad inner seal on the drivers side. Ended up changing out the wheel bearing, retainers and other seals while it was apart. I eventually figured out the axle I got was from a 1999 Prerunner Tacoma that must have had ABS at one point and was converted to nonABS. This meant the original wheel bearing kit I ordered was a newer design (they changed the wheel bearing design halfway through 2000). I eventually got it sorted out and the local Toyota dealership got the new parts pretty quickly. Got some cool new tools out of the job (Seal driver kit, Harbor Freight 20 ton press and special service tool) and some good experience. Hopefully its good to go now!

This video was extremely helpful as well as a number of Tacomaworld and T4R threads. The video is for an ABS axle but since mine no longer is ABS I just followed the same steps but left the ABS tone ring off.
https://youtu.be/AVhSDnw2ugo

Here is the link to the special service tool I purchased on Ebay from a guy who hand makes them. It worked great for removing the retainers and was a fraction of the cost of others I found. I also ordered the late model adapter plate that he sells in case I ever need the tool on a newer Toyota.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Axle-Beari...h=item2ce0764ffd:g:7LgAAOSwkfxb7DLi:rk:2:pf:0



I used a 1 1/2 inch galvanized pipe fitting as a press sleeve to press the new retainers on.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Halex-1-1-2-in-Rigid-Conduit-Coupling-64015/100196848



Heres the mess of gear oil and brake dust...unfortunately I had to replace the shoes even though they were only a few weeks old.


New bearing and retainers pressed on...

 

Not many trails in Mississippi unfortunately but I found this neat creek crossing while exploring part of the Transamerica Trail this weekend.

 

Much needed camping trip up to Hot Springs National Park and Ozark National Forest this past weekend!

 

Just go for it and put them up in the side marker lights. I finally did mine and it only took about an hour including soldering the new LED sockets in place.