2LM PnP - Plug and play 2WD low range for the 3rd gen. Tacoma

My Aobs switch arrived 2 weeks ago, still waiting on the 2LM harness to get here

 

Update, installed. Why is removing the airbag such a pain??? The 2 tabs to "keep an eye out for" need to have the center pushed down from the TOP to release. The right one is fairly easy to get to, but the left one a bit of a pain. CH4X4 switch is a bit too bright for my liking.

 

Wrong daddy @Bigdaddy4760

 

Kit arrived today!

Too dead from work to install today

 

Thanks for the save ...

 

Works like a charm.
I was careful, and it took me about an hour and fifteen minutes with a small break.

tip for those who are about to install: there is not much room behind the glovebox, you will need to put most of the harness above the 4wd ecu or youll have to redo steps like I did.

if you do not follow the steps to engage and disengage EXACTLY you will get a 2wd/4wd error. Restarting the truck cleared it for me. I was curious.

 

Same here. I took a lot of time being sure that the wires were not going to chaf over time and that I didn't strain any on the harnesses or bend them too tight. It took me about that long also.

In the end, worth every second for this killer mod.

 

did the relay end up above the 4wd ecu for yours? I wasnt too thrilled about that but it was the best place i could get it

 

If you look at the pictures in the link of my install I put in the first post, there is enough wire length to drop it down to the right toward the door sill.

 

I installed it where @lapoltba / @BigWhiteTRD showed. I might have flipped the orientation though? Relay up.

I think that I rerouted that one a few times until I was happy.

 

gah totally didnt notice that. I might tackle that another day. I think when i taped my harness up i made is so stiff that i couldnt reach there

 

Harness arrived a week ago. I waited until Saturday to risk learning how to pull the airbag and glovebox. It installed exactly as described. It works perfectly. I took it up Moody and Page Mill, down the back side of Alpine to La Honda, up Old La Honda and down the front side. I let it idle up and down a 10% to 12% grade. Taking curves and grades through the mountains without breaking a sweat. And best of all, I can back up a 10% grade.
Thanks. Well worth a few $ to have access to the other half of my truck! Looking forward to when things get normal and I can take out the 3500 lb RV trailer.
I used a small switch in the lower center console. Just below the 4WD selector. I was able to route the wire through from the glovebox side so I did not have to disassemble the center dash, just lift up the gear shift base so I could access the side.
Easy to use.
Engage before downshift. Disengage before upshift.

 

^^ I miss those roads, the trees, the fog, the pain on the bike or running up on dirt, the joy of leaning through the turns on the descent on two wheels, such a perfect place to play.

OP, received my kit. It exceeded my lofty expectations, can’t imagine anyone who can do this themselves thinking this isn’t well worth the money, it’s just beautiful and no way I’d want to spend the time cutting what looks like 10+ wires + solder + heat shrink vs this piece of beauty. I almost want to frame it.

For anyone like me who is waiting on the aironboard small new blue switch for the location below 4x selector (my only blank) I inquired and was told they should be back in stock in 7-10 days.

Pretty excited for this!

For anyone who has installed it with stock gearing and MT, does it completely eliminate any desire for bigger gears or do you think the two are not really related? I’m not sure I can justify the cost of replacing perfectly good gears with a higher ratio, especially with 2wd low a few clicks away.

 

daveeasa,
So far I just went on one test drive yesterday.
My truck is a MT. When using 2wd-low I would keep it in low and use the gears all the way up to 6th.
On the steepest corners I tried 1st gear as a test but could have used 2nd or 3rd.
When low range is not required and I want to keep up speed I used 2wd high range.
With a normal RPM range, going 2wd-low in 5th or 6th gear is still only going 35 or 40 mph. Low range is great but it is slow.

The trickiest part of the test drive was this:
At the top of Old LaHonda, I need to cross Skyline (Hwy 35) where I am well aware motorcycles like to race more then 60 mph. I took a chance and left it in low range because across the highway I was going back down Old LaHonda. So I had to get across the highway as fast as possible to not get t-boned.
It is weird to try to go (accelerate from a stop) fast in low range. In hindsight I should have taken it out of low range to avoid being a sitting duck on a highway crossing.

This is where Old LaHonda crosses Skyline where people race at high speed.

https://www.google.com/maps/@37.371...4!1sxWUt4tyacwz72BoJ7Vz9dg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

 

Thank you for the kind words. I was originally planning to make these myself when I didn't think demand would be 1/10th of what it ended up being. There are 80+ crimped terminals for the 5 plugs plus all the soldered splices and relay connections. When I made the first few prototypes, it took me a good 3-4 hours to make 3 at a time. Doing all the crimps manually blows. If I went that route, I would have to charge at least double what I am now, because I have to put a value on my time.

I was able to find a supplier that was happy to do small runs as well as make these exactly as specified. The first iteration used PVC tubing instead of the harness tape and I did not like how they turned out. They just didn't feel or look as nice as I thought they should have. For this batch, I am happy I had them use the harness tape and also wrap the wires between the relay and connectors.

I can't answer your gears question, but I view gears and 2LM as being for two completely different purposes. Being that you need to stop the truck and go through the process of switching to 2Lo, it is not well suited as a gear swap replacement. Gears will give you the all around ratio benefit while also working in 2Hi and 4Hi. 2lo really shines when towing a trailer in tight spots and trying to back up.

3rd gear in low range is approximately equivalent to 1st gear in high. I have used all 6 gears while in 2lo but once you get up to 30-40 the TC whines quite a bit.

 

@lapoltba this thing is amazing. Well worth the money. Now i just have to find time to install it. Im patiently waiting for the lighting harness as well. I wouldn't dare add my hack job wiring to this lol. Thanks again for making this available to us!

 

When I used a rod to guide the switch wire behind the center console I must have bumped something because the in/out air diverter switch and the AC switch both stopped working.
Or I bumped a harness plug.
Even though the 2wd-low works perfectly it looks like I have to pull out the glovebox again to fix it.
Understandable since I has to wrestle with the bulky parts to not break the tabs. I will try over the weekend.

PS: To access the side of the console without removing the console, I lifted the base around the gear shift without taking the boot off the e-brake handle.

Update: 2020-06-13
Was not a fuse. It was a loose plug behind the glovebox. The glovebox comes out much quicker the second time.

 

Anyone that ordered in the last few days, sorry for the delay. You should have received shipping information from PayPal already, but all remaining orders should go out tomorrow or Friday at the latest.

 

I'm in the same boat, waiting for the lighting harness before tearing into the dash so I only do that once.