2Runner

So incase anything bad happens to you, your wife knows I'm donating to st judes in your name and the seats get shipped to me right?



Coming along super nicely, appreciate the good photos and attention to detail.

 

Thanks for the kind words!!

 

This week I took my SR5 white gauge cluster with tach to get the miles adjusted to the miles shown on my truck.



My miles are a bit high since I have been driving with my smaller diameter than stock tires. The speedo reads about 5% high when tested against my phone gps speeds. So up next I am going to pull out my speed sensor gear to find out how many teeth it has on it, then get a hold of one with one extra tooth to get closer to actual speed and mileage for my odometer.

 

you made sure that cluster was from a 4 cylinder right?

 

Today I had to return some mirrors I bought from a local dealer that has great online pricing and free shipping currently. I had ordered 95 base 2wd side mirrors, but they sent over the same 2002 mirrors that are on my truck already.

I also attempted to replace the antenna nut on Trudy since it was all rusty and crusty. Sadly the slots tabs cracked off as I tried to remove it, then I proceeded to ruin the threads on the assembly trying to remove the nut with some vice grips!

Luckily I had to go to the dealer anyhow to return the mirrors, so exchanged the antenna nut for a whole new antenna assembly while I was there. At least the oem cargo net worked out ok, and I used it to hold the box of returns in place on my way to the dealer!!

Just trying to squeeze in some extra projects while I am still waiting for my custom build drop springs from Deaver and the elusive supercharger from LCE...

 

Indeed, a 4 cylinder manual to be exact. I think the autos have an at temp fluid light if I am not mistaken?

 

only 4x4 ones. all you need to worry about is if its a 4 cyl or not. the v6 RPMS will be WAY off

 

Ahh, must have seen a couple 4x4 ones during my search. This thing was pretty rare but I think I got a great deal compared to some prices I saw out there.

Cant wait to have a tach and I actually use those trip-odometers to measure mileage per tank refill, hence why I am trying to get it (more) accurate!

 

it is indeed a nice thing to have!

 

I thought about going black too, but the white looked a bit sportier to me and I think it matches my overall build a bit nicer.

Plus I already have the black cluster in my 3rd gen 4Runner!

 

Today I was able to swap from a 30 tooth to a 31 tooth speedometer gear. My speedo was off about 5% with my smaller than stock 25.7" diameter tires, and now with the new gear I am reading only about 1% too fast, or just about 1 mph fast at 80 mph! Used my phone gps speedometer and a side of the road radar speed limit sign for testing before and after.

I also decided to drain and fill my manual tranny fluid while I was at it, since a bunch leaked out the other day while I was checking to see how many teeth were on my stock speedo gear. Thanks to the forum I decided to try out Red Line MT90 GL-4 and I am super glad I did. I definitely noticed smoother less notchy shifting and less whine sounds coming from the tranny tunnel already on my first 30+ mile test drive.

Finally got the email notice I have been waiting for yesterday.. my super charger is built and being shipped as we speak!! Too bad the USPS tracking systems is down at the moment, but hopefully I will be getting the power adder sometime this week.. cant wait for the 30% increase in power, Trudy is already super fun to drive but she is really gonna come alive soon!!

Finished off the evening installing an oem Tacoma radio into my Mom's Tacoma, her eyes lit right up when she saw the oem goodness in her truck (she hated her aftermarket JVC) and she loved the orange display and buttons when I flicked it on and turned on the headlights to show her how it matched her interior lights perfectly!!

All in all, another fine day in the world of Tacoma's.

 

Love the build! Sharp and well done. Where'd you get the weather stripping?

 

@nchiker1 Thank for the compliments this truck is really quite fun to drive and gaze upon now, hoping to get back out wrenching soon for a few more juicy updates I have in the pipeline...

I got my weatherstripping on ebay a while back, search by the part numbers below so you get the proper OEM part and scour for the best deal you can find out there!

68160-04020 is for the right, 68210-04020 will be for the left.

Hope this helps!

 

You're the man! Thanks 2Runner, I'll check it out.

 

Updates?

 

Updates certainly do seem in order since I actually was able to get a couple of things done for Trudy lately..

Sorry to keep those interested in Trudy in the dark!!

 

Checking my notes I see back on May 3rd I removed my under the rail oem bed liner. Ahh the good old days..

The truck had came with a camper shell and it seemed whomever installed the shell figured they may as well cut up a perfectly fine vintage bed liner in the process!

Just assuming since the lip that normally goes up and over the bed behind the cab was completely trimmed off sadly.


Even worse when I got on the freeway and picked up speed after removing the shell, I found the loose fitment of the bed liner would allow it to flap around and slap the bed making a tappity-tap sound constantly as I traveled down the highway! This sound had to go and I was also curious as to the condition of the bed under the liner all them years so it was reluctantly time to remove that huge oem goodie.

I found pulling in the corners of the liner and giving it a twist was all it needed to get it loose enough to pull right up and out. After I pulled it out I realized the entire liner had been trimmed all around the top edge, not just by the cab. Maybe some one performed the "over the rail to the under the rail bed liner mod"?!!


Underneath the liner I was greeted with a bunch of nasty grime and garbage, dirt, rocks, and screws and such.

After a good washing I found the bed is not in terrible shape yet the liner did not seem to fully protect the bed, yet more so it left it's own marks in the paint scattered around the bed as it was apparently sliding back in forth in there over the years.



Of course my bed liner was all hacked up and I could slide it around by hand, but hopefully this isnt the same for all these wonderful old trucks running around with bed liners "protecting them"?!?!

I was thinking of getting a new bed liner replacement since I found an OEM new source for $125 and that seems pretty reasonable. But now I am not so certain this is the way to go.

Does anyone have better luck with these factory liners or is it all spray on stuff nowadays?!

 

Let's see, yet more notes here with updates of the Tacoma Worldy variety that I need to catch up on still ehh, ah here's a good one.

Way back in August, on the 20th to be exact... I was finally able to install those custom front 2.65" drop coils I had ordered so long ago BC ("Before Covid" if you will). I measured roughly 2" of drop each side after 30 plus miles of driving so I guess I had a bit over .5" spring sag from over the years. Here is how Trudy sits now, no drop in the rear yet, long story..


So it didnt come down quite as much as I had envisioned but still looks pretty nice and I can feel the difference in the ride with the lower center of gravity already. I think this may work out ok for me here once I get the rear down a bit!

 

I have been wanting to get the rear dropped too, but it has been challenging trying to get replacement oem bushings for the leafs and shackles to replace while the spring work is being done.

Online dealer tells me the bushings I ordered (also listed on toyota.com) for my truck only fit up to 2001 and not my 02 and I need the full shackle kit to get the bushings I need. I question them about the part I ordered since it listed as compatible on toyota.com and then they never get back to me sadly to say. I call and email with no replies, then finally had to cancel my order but also had to cancel an appointment with Deaver in the process since I had no bushings.
I went to my local dealer and had them do an online price match for just the bushings I wanted, guess I will find out one way or another if they will work!

Now I have all the bushings needed and my appointment with Deaver is October 24th!

 

The photos above were actually very recent and much newer than the coil spring updates they spoke of, and reminded me I have a couple more updates to add to the thread here..

September 13th turned out to be a good day in the World of Tacomas for ol' Trudy, she got two updates in one day actually!

The old green battery that came with the truck died on me and the truck would barely crank over in my driveway. I went to the zone and picked up an Optima Yellow top since their zone gold stuff or whatnot doesn't really do it for me.

Cranks over like a dream now but the install wasn't as quick as I would have envisioned, of course this is the norm living in Tacoma World isnt it?!


Found out the Optima did not fit with out a bit of manipulation as mentioned. Luckily it came with some parts I was able to use to make it work, the base was needed in order to raise the battery enough to get it level with the Tacoma mounting bar, thanks Optima.


A keen eye and/or fellow Optima owner may have noticed the other modification above needed in order to be able to clamp the smaller Optima battery into the factory mount. I used the other existing part (flat squarish piece) and trimmed out the center section to fit it under the clamps to fill the gap.

The arrows point to the additional "spacers" I needed to make to hold this thing down tight. Came out super sturdy, but a bit of a hassle and head scratching so I hope this helps someone else down the road!


I wonder what kind of other solutions folks may be using with Optima's in their 1st gen's?