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Katzkin Leather Kit DIY - 2001 Tacoma DCSB PreRunner

Discussion in '1st Gen. Tacomas (1995-2004)' started by m32, Aug 13, 2018.

  1. Aug 13, 2018 at 2:46 PM
    #1
    m32

    m32 [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
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    First Name:
    Edwin
    Vehicle:
    2013 DCSB TRD
    DIY: Katzkin leather kit for 01 DCSB

    Back story: So a few weeks ago, we bought a 2001 tacoma DCSB Pre-runner that was driven by a grandma (original owner) and it had about 91K miles. Figuring this would be in the family for a while, we took it to our mechanic to get it looked over. After a new valve cover gasket, front rotors and brakes and new spark plugs and wires, we started to do some mods.

    Here’s the list:

    · AVS Window visors (done)

    · Viper alarm (done)

    · Ultraguage (done)

    · Tailgate lock (done)

    · Katzkin leather kit (see below)

    · TRS projectors

    · Aftermarket radio and back up cam

    We tackled the leather kit over three days and took some pics. We didn’t take pics of everything but we did find some neat tricks and will post below.

    The standard Katzkin kit was purchased from John Huey (TW: jhuey8947) and was configured the exact same as the gen 2 kit I bought and installed in my 2013 Tacoma DCSB (Dark Charcoal with ice grey stitching and perforated centers).

    Placed the order on 6/25 and kit arrived on 7/19.

    Here is my first look/feel of it… looks great!

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Daisy says let’s get this party started!

    [​IMG]

    First one up… passenger front seat (Fyi, the driver side is the same other than there’s a plug underneath the driver seat).

    First thing to do is take off the headrest… I assume we all know how to do that. The difference between the kit for my 2013 taco and the 2001 is that you can take off the oem cover of the gen 1 headrest (while 2013 kit goes over the headrest). Take a small curved shaped tool and pry in and up.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Take your time and “unfold” the plastic pieces. It’s hard to explain but once you start working on it, you’ll see what I mean. The new leather cover goes on the same way but it’s just a lot tighter.

    Once you got it off, take the headrest and wrap a clear grocery plastic bag over it. This will make it easier to put the cover over.

    [​IMG]

    Now start on one end of the headrest and insert it into the cover.

    Tip: Try to minimize the pulling and stretching of the cover over headrest (or any part of the seat). Always squeeze and squish the foam first. I tore the stitching on one of the headrest covers b/c I was trying hard to “pull” it over headrest when all I had to do was squish the headrest.

    Once you have the cover over the headrest, you have to fold the flaps over and fold in (same way you took off the oem covers). This is one of the hard parts of the whole job. Take your time and don’t give up!

    It should look like this when done…. Nice and tight

    [​IMG]

    Repeat four times for the rest of the headrests

    Ok, now to tackle the body of the seat.

    Take the screw off handle and the side plastic panel and pop out

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Flip over and this is how the bottom of the seat looks

    [​IMG]

    Unbolt the two bolts on each side of the seat

    [​IMG]

    Once you unbolt these, the bottom seat pad can be taken off.

    Anywhere you see these hog rings, start taking them off

    [​IMG]

    Tip. To take off a hog ring, I prefer to use a plier and twist them off. The alternative is to cut them off but you usually have to look for the other piece that went flying and if you have pets or soft feet, you want to make sure you find them.

    On the seat pad, once you taken off all the hog rings on the underside, flip the seat pad over and start taking off the cover by peeling over the corners. You’ll notice that there will be spots where there are more hog rings (like below). Take those off as well

    [​IMG]

    There should be 6 hog rings to take off on the top side once you’ve taken off all the hog rings on the underside.

    Here’s a pic of the seat cushion and where the hog rings were

    [​IMG]

    If you look closely in the red circles, there is a black metal rod inside the cushion…that’s where the hog rings hook onto.

    You’ll notice there are these metal rods that are inside the oem seat cover. You will not need to reuse them on the seat bottom cushion (you will need to reuse one when you do the seat back – more on it below)

    [​IMG]

    Now it’s time to lay on the new cover. Flip it inside out and lay it over the cushion

    [​IMG]

    Tip: Line up the stitching over the seat cushion and make sure it’s sitting in the lines/cut-outs of the cushion. This will make sure the lines of the seat cover are straight and tight.

    Now re-install the hog rings where they were before (six of them on the top side).

    Once the six rings are on, take your time now to massage/fix/pull/push the cover to have it fit well.

    When you’re happy with it, flip the seat cushion over, pull the edges over and start hog ringing the sides down (same as how you took them off).

    Now it’s time for the seat back cushion.

    Unfold the bottom of the seat back cushion

    [​IMG]

    Start by flipping the corners over and start pulling up.

    [​IMG]

    Once again, you’ll only get so far until you hit parts that have hog rings. Take those off.

    [​IMG]

    As mentioned before, you’ll see a few of these metal rods… you will need to reuse the one that’s in the center (this one here)

    [​IMG]

    After you’ve pulled off all the hog rings, you can pull the rest of the seat back cover up. The next part where you’ll get stuck is where the headrest plastic plugs are. No problem… just pull it over to one corner and take it off. DO NOT TAKE THESE PLASTIC THINGS OFF.

    [​IMG]

    Now it’s time to slip on the new cover. Flip the cover over and start from the top

    Don’t forget to reinsert the metal rod in the middle of the seat and start putting in the hog rings where you pulled them off.

    [​IMG]

    Once you got all the hog rings on, massage/pull/squish/yank on the cover until it fits nice. Now all you need to do is zip up the cover. Take your time and don’t pull too hard. Another person is helpful for this.

    You’ll notice that the seat cover is still covering the headrest posts. Yes, we’ll need to cut holes.

    Tip: I saw this on a youtube video (and it works!). Feel for the plastic post and place a penny right in the middle of it.

    [​IMG]

    Use a marker and trace over the penny and put corners on it so it looks like a square. Now take your time with an exacto knife and trim it off.

    It should look like this when done.

    [​IMG]

    Now just pull the seat cover over the headrest post (one corner at a time) and you’re done!

    You’ll also have to cut holes in the bottom seat pad. I used the same method but used a quarter instead. Feel for the metal, place the quarter in the middle and trim it out. Of course, take your time!

    Once you put it all back together, it should look like this

    [​IMG]

    I’m going to keep it short for the rear. The process is the same and you will not need to reuse any of the metal rods in the oem seat cover.

    To take off the rear seats, pop the plastic covers off and take off the four bolts you see here.

    [​IMG]

    You’ll need to take the seat backs apart from the seat cushion so there are a total of 7 bolts (three on each side) and one between that holds the small seat back to the wider seat back.

    Make sure you keep an eye out for where the hog rings were on the top side as you’ll need to hog ring the new seat cover in the same place.

    You also have to trim quite a bit of holes into the new cover. I used my “quarter” method and worked fine.

    Once again…take your time. The rears should look like this when it’s all done

    [​IMG]

    And finally installed in the taco

    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]


    Out of 10, I would rate this difficulty at a 5. It’s not hard but is very time consuming. If I haven’t said it enough, take your time! One mistake/slip/tear can set you back. I suggest tackling this over a weekend and make it a project!

    Thanks again John…great service and pricing. Now the Tacoma feels like a million bucks

    Next up… TRS Retrofit!
     
    Last edited: Aug 13, 2018
  2. Aug 13, 2018 at 2:56 PM
    #2
    ThunderOne

    ThunderOne Well-Known Member

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    Well done. I'm too damn lazy to do all that. Wrestling with my Wet Okole's was enough. Looks great though! Jealous for sure.
     
    m32[OP] likes this.
  3. Aug 13, 2018 at 2:59 PM
    #3
    SwampYota

    SwampYota Strange things are afoot at the Circle K

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    Floor mats
    On my list, looks fantastic.
     
    m32[QUOTED][OP] likes this.
  4. Aug 13, 2018 at 3:56 PM
    #4
    Itchyfeet

    Itchyfeet Well-Known Member

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    I tried to install my Roadwire kit, but decided after messing around with one jump seat cushion that it was not for me to attempt.

    I took the seats front and back along with the door panels to Roadwire's shop and had them put them on.

    Does the Katzkin kit come with door panel inserts?
     
    OneWheelPeel likes this.
  5. Aug 13, 2018 at 3:59 PM
    #5
    OneWheelPeel

    OneWheelPeel Well-Known Member

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    Phoenix, AZ
    The final project looks really nice. Good job on the install. Total cost?

    Only issue I see other than the door pannels like @Itchyfeet pointed out is the door cards & the overall seat comfort quality. I dont know that I would want to put that kind of money into the stock seats without upgrading the foam.
     
    m32[OP] likes this.
  6. Aug 13, 2018 at 4:49 PM
    #6
    BartMaster1234

    BartMaster1234 Well-Known Member

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    Flux Capacitor
    Looks expensive. How much was it?
     
  7. Aug 13, 2018 at 5:02 PM
    #7
    m32

    m32 [OP] Well-Known Member

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    It does come with panel inserts. That part I've never done so am waiting on doing that.

    Here's the pricing

    https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/katzkin-leather-for-your-tacoma.313544/

    Edwin
     
  8. Aug 13, 2018 at 5:03 PM
    #8
    BartMaster1234

    BartMaster1234 Well-Known Member

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    Flux Capacitor
    Jesus H. Christ. I can’t in my right mind pay $825 for seat covers.

    They look great, but WOW.
     
    Tim7902 likes this.
  9. Aug 13, 2018 at 9:45 PM
    #9
    SellyKlater

    SellyKlater Well-Known Member

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    3" ome lift 883. Fnfx pros.
    I used to get paid $100 to do the katskin kits for the dealers. They are pretty easy with basic nechanical ability. They make a nice kit.
     
    TRDSport10 and m32[OP] like this.
  10. Aug 13, 2018 at 9:49 PM
    #10
    Empty_Lord

    Empty_Lord Toyotaholic

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    Too many trucks and mods to list.. check builds
    haha you should see what a factory seat cover costs.. i think less than 1000 for a set is a steal. i believe seat covers oem from toyota for my avalon is over 5 grand for all the covers.
     
  11. Aug 13, 2018 at 11:02 PM
    #11
    OneWheelPeel

    OneWheelPeel Well-Known Member

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    Hoe Lee Shit. $825?
     
  12. Aug 13, 2018 at 11:03 PM
    #12
    BartMaster1234

    BartMaster1234 Well-Known Member

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    I believe it’s more for a double cab. I pulled that price off their pricing thread.
     
  13. Aug 14, 2018 at 12:07 AM
    #13
    ThatRedYota

    ThatRedYota Well-Known Member

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    Fox 2.5 IFP Coilovers, BTF uniball UCA's 295/75/r16 Toyo AT2s, front tube bumper (custom), rear tube bumper (custom), radiator guard, Assault light bar, Stereo, 3D printed Offroad switch panel/ mount
    Looks really badass but in the end I don't even like the first gen seats very much, I'd rather buy some nice, bolstered leather, suspension bucket seats. That is by no means an offense to your work sir as you did a fantastic job, props to you.
     
    m32[QUOTED][OP] likes this.
  14. Aug 14, 2018 at 3:47 PM
    #14
    m32

    m32 [OP] Well-Known Member

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    appreciate all the comments. I know it's not for everyone as it is an expensive upgrade but I think it's worth it. It'll help on the resale of the truck (not that we would ever sell it!) and it actually feels more comfortable. There is a thin later of padding on it. Also, it'll be easier to clean Daisy's fur off

    Edwin
     
    SwampYota likes this.
  15. Aug 14, 2018 at 3:48 PM
    #15
    m32

    m32 [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Btw, it was less than this. If you're interested, please contact John. He will try to work out something that makes sense for you. Mine was more b/c I added perf centers and deviated stitching

    Edwin
     
  16. Aug 14, 2018 at 5:21 PM
    #16
    tony2018

    tony2018 Well-Known Member

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    Looks bad ass, thanks for sharing.
     
    m32[OP] likes this.

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