BigFishAllDay's Truck Thread

I added a few small touches as well...

First, an LED dome light. This is a great small mod, and is very bright, however it seems that on this vehicle when the key is in the "off" position, the voltage at the dome light is reduced such that the LEDs won't light and only put out a dim glow. Once a map light is turned on, or the key is turned to ACC or ON, the dome light gets full voltage and the LEDs light at full brightness. I'm thinking this has something to do with the alarm system on the truck.



Next, I had to paint a Pitbull face on the skidplate... gold to match the truck.



I've always liked the OEM warning/instruction labels that Toyota puts on the driver side door for their vehicles with special equipment. My Mk3 Supra had one that listed info on caring for the turbo and engine warm up/shut down procedures. Tacomas with the TRD package have one that has basic instructions for the e-locker. The label was missing on this truck, so I replaced it.



When I got the retro stripes, they came with a cool "TEQ" sticker that was integrated into the japanese Rising Sun flag. I found a home for it....



Last, the ABS light has started flashing rapidly on intermittent starts. Sometimes it does it, sometimes not. I checked all the fuses, sensors at all 4 wheels, and the wiring throughout the system and couldn't find any faults. Upon doing further research, it turns out that this is a common problem encountered when running a ScanGauge2 on 1st gen Tacomas.



I guess the issue is that the OBD2 ports on the Tacomas have pinouts that accommodate troubleshooting of the ABS system via the OBD2 port. The ScanGauge2 cables are pinned out to be universal and thus there are pins on the SG2 plug that are used in some applications (ISO, CAN, etc) but not others. 1st Tacomas use ISO protocol, and apparently some of the unused pins for CAN and other protocols create a bridged condition in the Tacoma OBD2 plug that puts the ABS system into diagnostic mode, resulting in the fast blinking ABS indicator light. The threads I read on the subject said that if you call Linear Logic (SG2 manufacturer), they will send you a special cable that is pinned out only for ISO protocol, and that the protocol specific cable eliminates the problem.

Well, sure enough, it's true. I called them up and had an ISO cable the next day for free. I'll take some pictures of the pin variations on the two cables and post them later for reference.

 

The big update this time around is regarding the camper shell I picked up for the truck.

I had considered spraying it black with Duplicolor Truck Bed liner to keep costs down, and figured that the black shell would blend with the overall color scheme of the truck. So, I got my palm sander and started sanding/prepping the shell. Once I had sanded the roof down to bare gel coat I found that the surface wasn't in too bad a condition and decided to take a second look at painting the shell.

I called the local Maaco and asked the guy running the show if he'd cut me a deal in light of the fact that I had done most of the prep, and that I'd be willing to accept "no warranty" on cracks due to some small hairline cracks in the gel coat. He showed me a discount of more than 20% off the original quote, so I went for it.. price with tax to paint the shell was $293.

The finish came out much better than expected, and the hairline cracks on the top of the shell don't bother me because you can't see them unless you're right up next to the truck, and most of them are on top of the shell. The color match is almost perfect.



I ordered some 60" tracks from Pro-Line Racks (Proline Roof Top Track Slats). At $63 shipped for a set of two, they are a steal compared to Yakima/Thule tracks.

I drilled the roof of the shell and installed the tracks with 1/4" bolts and 1 1/4" fender washers on the inside of the shell for reinforcement. All bolts were sealed with silicone and the tracks come with a closed cell foam pad that seals the entire bottom of the track against the roof. Once installed, I mounted the Thule Tracker II feet and 60" crossbars that I removed from Tom's old tonneau cover. I thought about using the tracks from the tonneau, but didn't want to leave a bunch of holes in it that might hurt resale value.













I was excited about how the truck was coming together so I stopped one night on the drive home to get some urban night time shots...

 

After having done so much to the truck, I was anxious to get it out on the road for our first trip, so I took it fishing.

 

Wow, the truck looks great Nick!

 

Truck's looking nice! That shell came out sweet. I have the same issue w my speedo now after a re-gear. It's like 17-18% off! I ordered a yellow box for mine the other day so I'm still waiting for that to come in... Not sure how it differs functionally from the DD.

 

Ahhh so you were the one who bought that grill!
Great looking rig, definitely subbed. Where'd you catch that brown??

 

I knew you'd like that color match on the shell, Diego. It was definitely the way to go.

Thanks, man. I checked out that Yellow Box product, and yes, it performs the same function as the DD SGI-5. However, it looks like the Yellow Box is more expensive and IMO the DD product has a more user friendly interface.

The DD is only $80 on Amazon >>

Dakota Digital SGI-5E Universal Speedometer Signal Interface Controller

Dakota Digital SGI-5E on Amazon

Your Yellow Box would install the same way as the DD using the same connections.

Were you keeping an eye on it? I thought you loved your chrome?

Thanks for the compliment on the truck. The brown was caught in Northern NM...

 

I was thinking about getting it to color match it so I don't have to deal with prepping the chrome/just in case I messed up.

Nice fish. I worked in Northern NM in El Rito, Al Calde, and Taos this past summer. Damn there were some good little holes in and between those areas

 

This has to do with the lower amperage draw of the LED, not the security system. I bet your light also doesn't dim or flickers after the 30 or so second timer. It can be fixed by soldering on some resistors to the LED. I used two 1w 100ohm resistors.

 

I see. I've thought about color matching it as well, but the black is working for me. There is definitely some good fishing near the areas you mentioned... I spend a lot of time up there in the summer/fall.

So here's a few things I didn't mention... the LED light is a 24-SMD panel and it worked great the first couple of times that I turned it on and off... full brightness. Then after a few power cycles it started lighting up dimly unless the key was in ACC/ON or a map light was on. So I swapped it for another panel and got the same result. I tried swapping the adapter base and no change. This led me to a believe it is a problem in the circuit/wiring.

I'll look into the resistors and give them a try, but I'm curious as to what the difference is in the wiring between a Tacoma and a 4Runner, because I use these same panels in my 4Runner and they work great... no additional components (resistors) needed.

The 4Runner does not have the function where the dome light stays on for a little while after you shut the door. It's got to be related to that function and whatever wiring variations control it. I wasn't sure if that function was provided by the alarm wiring or was a function of the factory wiring. After you shut the door the LEDs remain dimly lit, then right as the timer runs out they flash to full brightness, then go dark.

 

Great work as usual Nick! I really need to look into the speedometer correction after getting my 34's. I'm now about 7-8 mph off which is annoying to try and calculate all the time. Did you use a gps to calculate your actual speed? I've used some of the apps for phones but not sure how accurate they are.

Otherwise the truck looks great. Love the retro stripes!

 

Thanks, Rob. The device in the photo is a Garmin eTrex30 handheld GPS unit. The audio head unit in the truck also has built in navigation/GPS and will display actual speed via the GPS. The eTrex30 and the head unit were consistent, but I calibrated off the eTrex30 because it had a faster response rate to changes in speed.

The only reason I messed with speedo calibration in the Tacoma is that the speedo read OVER actual speed, and resulted in the odo clocking miles in excess of what was actually traveled. In the 4Runner I'm off by about 3.5%, but I'm off on the low side (speedo/odo read UNDER actual speed). That doesn't bother me as much because the odo isn't racking up a bunch of excess mileage.

Do you know if Tundras get their speed signal off the ABS sensors like the 4Runner, or the trans ouput shaft like the Tacomas? If you're reading under the actual, I'll bet it's based on ABS sensors like the 4Runners, and vice versa if you're over.

 

My speedo is doing the same over reading. Miles are racking up noticeably faster. I kinda wish I would have gone with the DD just so I could already have received it. I ordered the yellow box 2 weeks ago and still haven't gotten it. I think they come from Australia

 

Better send a 6 pack of Fosters too if they're making you wait that long for the product. Cancel your order if it hasn't shipped... you can't go wrong with DD, they make good stuff.

 

Good point. I emailed them just now. I'll see what happens

 

Redline Tuning hood struts...

I picked up a set of these through the recent group buy. For less than $60 shipped I couldn't go wrong. I went with the basic setup because I don't care if the hardware/shocks are black or silver, and it's under the hood so it won't be a big focal point.

What's missing from this picture?



Driver side clearance to the aux fuse box was tight, but not too tight. If I notice rubbing over time I'll adjust the mounting plate for the fuse box.



Also, I went out with @TBuzz and did some wheeling in the 4Runner...

This climb got really sketchy when I decided to do it with the center diff (T-case) unlocked and both F/R axle lockers engaged.... Oops!



I decided to go up this and broke my first CV. I popped it right at the top as I was making the last foot or two of the climb.





Crazy ass line that you would think only the big rigs could go up...



Chris thought otherwise...



The end.

 

BFAD in a Tacoma?! I was wondering when the 4th 3rd gen would come. I'm surprised. lol

Nice build in all seriousness. Exceptionally clean as expected. Love the shoes too

 

Addison, you must have an account on every last Toyota forum. I've been following the Tundra build as well, and it might be your best yet... I can only look at it every now and then because the pictures make me want to get outside at times when I'm stuck inside. I'd love to see some of those Canadian mountain ranges in person.

I registered for an account on ExPo just so I could post a reply to your thread, but never got around to it. I'll have to stop in there some time.

Thanks for checking out the build.

 

I have to agree, that Tundra of @rickashay is so clean and functional, but the pictures he takes are mesmerizing, I just reread his thread to look at the pictures!

Looks like you had some fun in the runner, sucks about the cv, but they're pretty easy to replace on that gen?

 

Piece of cake. That was my 6th time... the others were in the garage for reboots/maintenance, but the experience helped.

We were in and out within 30 minutes of parking the rig... it's an inconvenience more than anything. The only way it gets to really sucking is if you're not carrying spare, which is why I carry two.