Bob's, "hold my beer and watch this" 06 DCSB build.

They've had it since last Wednesday, and set me up with a loaner tundra. I think they want me to trade my truck in and buy the tundra. I'd have to really think about it. Soooo much room for activities in a crewmax.

 

Haha it's probably the loaded TRD off-road huh? Sneaky bastards

That gas mileage tho

There's a guy right around the corner from my house with a black on black Pro

 

Ya, 38 gallon tank! I thought it was just an sr5 with katskin seat covers. I put $50 in it and only got 1/2 tank so I read the owners manual and found that out. Man that's a lot of gas. Also found the window sticker in the glove box and realized it's an off-road in disguise.

 

Well today while I was just putting along a forest service road at a low rate of speed, getting criss crossed in snowy ruts when next thing I know I'm steering one way but my truck can't seem to decide which way to go. I stuck my head out the window to take a look at the front tire and the damn thing was going the opposite direction of the way I was turning the steering wheel. Got out to assess the problem and this is what I saw.



I was a bit confused at just how and why this occurred, and assumed I was going to need support for this problem. After digging out my emergency adult beverage I keep on hand for situations like this I realized just how simple the solution to my predicament was. Busted out the hi-lift and inspected the threads of the rack ram and also the threads on the tierod, I determined I wasnt SOL as I originally thought. After scavenging my truck for any sort of tool, I was able to thread the tierod back into the rack and I was on my way again.



Or so I thought.

I know I'm not more than a 1/4 from the main road at this point so I continue my way out only to find a 6' wall of snow holding up the whole show denying me of a easy exit. After just experiencing a steering rack failure, which luckily happened at ~8mph and not the 70mph I was cruising at 20min prior, I wasn't about to accept defeat and back track 5miles with my tail between my legs. A friend and fellow TW member arrived and after a few rounds of us alternating car ram rod on the snow wall, aired down to ~8psi and I gave it a healthy stab of the skinny pedal cresting the slushy ice mound but falling short of the finish line. A quick assist from the other rigs winch and I was on my way, leaving this unexpected shit show in my rear view and my newly acquired knowledge about the components that make up the steering rack.

I thought for sure the only solution was going to involve the work truck and trailer and ordering a new R&P. I feel lucky the threads weren't damaged in the process and IMO was one of my easier fixes so far.






There was also some random guy driving a suburban who decided his exit strategy involved him shoveling a path through the snow in his flip flops. I told him to stand back while I blazed trail, and once I had knocked it down, he braaaaap'd that heavy Chevy to freedom without issue.

My casual back road travels almost always end in unnecessary detours while on the way home.

 

Some things I've done or added lately.

Frame was replaced and I received the truck back mid April. That was quite the headache for me. Some of it my own doing, but mostly getting the dealer to fix electrical issues that where a result of the frame replacement process.


After the frame was replaced I had to go back through and reconnect and fix wiring for any misc add-ons I had that weren't factory installed like an aftermarket backup camera, aftermarket fog lights, winch etc. I took the time to do it all right with heatshrinking and wire loom.

I added an onboard air tank to work with the

$592 ARB CKMTA12 '12V' On-Board Twin High Performance Air Compressor, Ideal for Air Lockers Locking Differentials, Tire Inflator, Air Horn, Air Tools and Pneumatic Tools.

ARB CKMTA12 twin in the spare tire location, using the spare tire winch to secure the tank. The compressor is mounted to the core support in the front so I ran air hose front to back and then also ran hose to both driver and passenger side cubbies in the bed with quick releases for airing up or anything else air related.



I ordered and just installed 2 days ago a

$158 uniden cmx760 bearcat off road series compact mobile CB radio, 40-channel operation, ultra-compact for easy mounting, large 7-color backlit LCD display on mic with built-in speaker mic, black

uniden cmx760 CB and 2 3' firestiks. The cmx760 is a compact handheld with the main housing being small enough to tuck away concealed. I located it below the front cup holder of the tranny tunnel area. All the controls are located on the mic itself. One thing I wish was different about it is the squelch. It requires you to push a button 3 or more times to adjust the squelch, and IMO a dial or knob would be much quicker more user friendly. The FS3-W's ate mounted on springs to the track rail behind the cab. The driver's side antenna is wired to the CB and the passenger side provides reception for am/fm radio. I went this route after reading dual phase CB antennas actually hinder your reception and units that allow you to use one antenna for both purposes have mixed reviews regarding performance. My factory antenna got deleted via drive through carwash a while back and the replacement 8" antenna a replaced it with was worthless for reception. Way better now with terrestrial radio reception coming loud and clear.




I fixed my P2716 shift solenoid issue after splicing in a new plug to my wiring harness. A closer look at the plug showed a fried pin that is on the circuit for that shift solenoid. It took a bit of convincing to make the cut into the harness but it went about as good as it could since it solved my problem and has been back to normal and CEL free since.




Finally relocated my af/r sensors on the DTLT's from the upper bung to the lower bung at the collector with the URD extensions.

While installing the CB, routing the coax and cleaning up wiring for the Joying Android headunit I had the dash apart and noticed the TPMS ECU behind all that so I removed it following the TPMS guide. I also wired the power outlets to be hot all the time with the ignition off. I haven't had TPMS installed for over 3yrs, so its nice to finally have that light eliminated also.



Ongoing projects and plans for the truck at 190,000 miles include:
-Replace my rear 3rd member which is failing with a 4.30 geared elocker from a limited t4r. I also need to source a front diff from 2016+ 6spd manual trans off-road Tacoma as they came factory with 4.30 gears.

-Replace ujoint in front driveshaft, probably when I upgrade the front diff to 4.30.

-Gather the last few misc pieces for, and install the manual shift tcase I picked a while back out of a 2012 t4r. I'm on the fence about including swapping the a750f trans I got from the same t4r. I should probably just do it anyway.

-Install my long awaited and most outstanding mod, the power rear window. I've had everything to do this project but just haven't done it yet.

-Rebuild and replace the entire suspension on the truck as it is currently not lifted since I removed everything and returned to stock prior to the frame replacement. With the coilovers having 60k on them with no prior rebuild, and the rear leafs approx 40, everything needs new bushings and just all around TLC. The ICON coilovers were definitely showing signs of needing rebuilt, and suffered from a broken top mount that some owners have experienced. I'll also be making them into the ET version removing the internal spacer. My rear Dakar cso47r's showed no sag or reduction in lift or load capacity. They also appear to be in the minority of dakars that don't squeak obnoxiously. Reinstall and assemble the archive garage shackle flip with new bushings also. Upper and lower total chaos arms will receive new bushings and uniballs also.

There's probably a few other things but those are the ones in no certain order, minus the rear diff that are on my punch list.

 

Did you ever figure out why the tie rod came loose in the snow back in March? That seems sketchy..

 

From what I can tell, nfc. It's been fine since. I check it periodically now, but haven't found it even a c-hair loose and can't gain any more on it when I put a wrench to it. A fluke?

 

Well just recently I was offered a 1991 Lexus LS400 by my boss for $500. It needed the starter replaced according to him. I said I might be interested and to let me think about it. It has 250k on it with a thick stack of timely maintenance records to go with it. It's ultimately a 1 owner car but on paper it shows 2 title transfers, each to family. His niece had been driving it the last 20k and it wouldn't start for her one day so she went and boughte a newer t4r and the Lexus sat unused in the driveway since it wouldn't start.

So a week goes by and he asks if I'm still interested and I told him I would have to pass as the timing was wrong and $500 wasn't in my budget at the moment. He returned with that if I got it out of his driveway I could have it free. Without another breath I said ok. I trailered it home and tried some magic tricks read on the Lexus forums with no success. The starter would just make a click and quit. I decided to put a wrench on the crank and turn it over by hand. I jumped back in the driver's seat and turned the key, to my surprise it stumbled to fire and a cloud of carbon/black smoke blew out the tail pipe and began to idle.

The starter sounds like hell and I've already got a denso/oem replacement enroute. Along with the t-belt and water pump. For now I'll run it till the starter really shits the bed. The last major service of those items was around 160k, and the starter approx a year ago. Given the mileage acrewed and the confined work space in the early LS400's it's preventative maintenance to do it all now.

The driver's seat shows the wear of 250k and exterior has your typical scratches and dings for a 28yr old vehicle. It still rides and drives like a Lexus which is amazing for the luxury vehicle that made Toyota into a manufacturer desired by Americans and the first production vehicle of the Lexus lineup. I plan to tastefully mod it to be era specific with some personal custom touches along the way. With the gaining popularity of the 1UZFE among the drift scene there are more and more aftermarket parts becoming available for this 4.0L v8 that pushes 250hp. It was truly ahead of it's time and blew the others in it's class away when released by Toyota/Lexus in late 1989.

Here she is.

 

Step 1 - slam it
Step 2 - tint the windows

 

We're on the same page. It has the factory air ride adjustable suspension, and one is bad causing it to sag in the right rear when parked. It works fine while driving but I'm shopping around for some adjustable coil overs, reading up on the clublexus and lextreme forums.

 

When i was in highschool I had an old Cressida with a 7M-gt motor. It was a complete tank! One time cruising around 45mph i accidentally put in reverse, it dragged the rear tires for 50 ft and didnt even blink. I thought for sure I had broken something in the drivetrain, it was fine and lasted another 4-5 yrs

 

Just leave it like that. Like if I put my Jeep in kneel mode it sinks to the ground when I park

 

No slam! It’ll ride like a buckboard wagon
U bought a luxo boat it should ride like one!
Having said that on a bumpy road in my Porsche it was fun watching Kris’s tits bounce around!

 

Not if you do it the cheap way and cut the springs

 

Well since it's air ride, I "adjusted" the limit switches that tell the ECU where each corner is relative to the selected height. Now high is normal height and normal is low. Just can't go over 80 mph. Once this thing hits 81mph you're gonna hear some serious shit! Like tires rubbing the fender skirts and feeling every crack and joint in the highway panels.

The air suspension ECU enters the low setting at 81mph for a lower stance to improve handling and maybe aerodynamics? The low setting isn't normally user selectable. I was originally thinking I could intercept the 81mph signal that is sent to the air susp. ECU wiring in a switch and there for entering low mode on demand.

Tucking tail in the rear currently. I'm headed to Monroe to buy a set of 17" wheels with tires off of OfferUp. Still have some research to do but I'm going to be ordering some coilovers in the near future also. These air bag struts aren't going to last much longer me thinks. They're 28yrs old and one already leaks slowly.

 

Way worse

 

Had this guy come up behind me in Monroe, thought he was gonna come up over the trunk. Not used to being this low to the ground.

 

Well I went with 17s instead of 18s. The price for the 17s was hard to pass up. $400 with tires at 90% tread. 2 18s alone would have been $400.

 

Looks good

Now just put a screwdriver through the last 3 airbags and lets dump this thing lol

 

Finished up the timing belt, water pump and starter R&R. I didn't quite get the timing right and it seems I was sent the wrong timing belt tensioner. I tore the front apart again to check on a noise and discovered the new tensioner was already bad. It had allowed one cam to become 180° off. Still shopping around for some coil overs for it but I'll ride the factory suspension till it's dragging frame on the ground. Need to get some skid plates fabbed up for the engine and rear diff. I wacked them both pretty good the other day. I'll probably dog through the old "shitty" aluminum road construction signs at work for material.

The whole timing belt, water pump and starter was a bit of a headache, mostly due to the lack of working room, and my butter fingers dropping washers and bolts into no man's land like through open valves and into cylinders, but I'm glad it's out of the way and I should be good to go for another 100k. I deep cleaned all that carbon and oil buildup from the intake so it's nice and clean now.

I also made up some egr block off plates, installed a new pcv and dug through my toasted electronics pile and found a 10kohm resistor to keep the egr CEL from popping up. Engine bay looks less cluttered now with minimal vacuum lines. Next is to simplify the intake.










The Tacoma is gonna get some love soon. I'll be installing the fj/t4r tcase, rebuilding my icons and also attempting to swap a 2012 t4r a750 in my truck with the tcase. They say it can't be done, but I call BS.