MatosTaco's Build Thread

I also painted the bumper mount brackets in the same paint and then installed the bumper. I have to say, this is the worst paint match in the history of paint matches rofl! I'm not sure if it's because of the color of primer I used, the age of the can of paint (like 10 years), the oxidation level of the paint on the rest of the truck, or all of the above lol! However, the bumper has a noticeably bluer tone to it. In any case, I do need to repaint the entire truck as it is peeling up top, so this may be a good excuse to get going on that project.
20211210_191559 by Jose, on Flickr
20211210_192216 by Jose, on Flickr

You will notice that I haven't reinstalled the bumper lights. This is because I did not like how they looked against the painted bumper. I am thinking of making a black brake duct with an LED ring around the perimeter in order to fill this all in.
20211210_192221 by Jose, on Flickr

Paint match aside, I do love how sinister it looks now!
20211211_183239 by Jose, on Flickr

It will look awesome once I clear coat the hood
20211211_183859 by Jose, on Flickr

 

Here's some more detail on the front end build. There are still some adjustments to be made, but I am pretty happy for now.
https://youtu.be/IxSUBG8iJK4

 

I recently decided to get a decorative front plate (we don't require front license plates in Florida). The Tacoma valence has two divots on it to indicate where you can drill it out for the license plate bolts. There are two plastic tubes behind, likely with the idea that you can tap them and thread a screw in. I don't like anything that involves threads in plastic; it's simply a bad idea and plastic threads ALWAYS fail. So, I ordered up a rivnut tool so I could do this properly.

Here's my decorative tag. It's common to see custom cars in Florida owned by people who are of Puerto Rican or Cuban heritage rocking decorative tags that represent that heritage. Same for Texans actually lol. So, being that I am of Dominican heritage, I got a plate that represents that.
20211219_131100 by Jose, on Flickr

It actually sat on my truck like this until the rivnut tool arrived
20211220_175835 by Jose, on Flickr

However, it will obviously go like this
20211219_200550 by Jose, on Flickr

This is the rivnut/nutsert tool I got from Amazon. This one was affordable and had pretty good reviews. Note that it comes with rivnuts but I ordered some stainless ones to match my stainless M6x1.00 mounting screws.
20211222_125020 by Jose, on Flickr

 

I drilled the holes out to just below the diameter of the rivnuts and then pressed and crimped them in
20211222_125026 by Jose, on Flickr

Then, I installed the plate
20211222_142732 by Jose, on Flickr

Of course, generic hardware would not do, so I used stainless Allen head bolts with finish washers. I burnished the washers using a micro torch in order to get one to a bluish tone and the other to a purple.
20211222_142713 by Jose, on Flickr

I may move the plate off to the side in the future, since it looks a little like a bucktooth there in the middle. For now, I'm happy with it and think it looks good.
20211222_142801 by Jose, on Flickr

 

Here's the step by step on how I did the rivnuts and the license plate
https://youtu.be/DU-sf4dREf4

 

I realize I haven't updated this thread in a while. Here is what I've been up to
https://youtu.be/TadDObb62jE

 

Well, I headed down the highway toward the in-laws and the truck would not exceed 60 mph in 5th. I pulled over and called a tow truck, but it took so long I called it off and just drove in 4th till I got home. It worked just fine in 4th, heck I even stopped to eat at a restaurant as the wife was starving. No matter how I slice it, my clutch is on its way out. As I remember it, one of the pressure plate bolts damaged the threads in the aluminum flywheel back when I redid the clutch, so I will also need a new flywheel. Man has this truck turned into a money pit lol. I wish I had put all that money in bitcoin, I would be replacing the clutch on a Ferrari instead rofl.

 

The question now is, LC Engineering clutch combo or Spec Clutch? The reality is that they are all the same 11 lb aluminum flywheel and LC offers a better price. However, are the Spec clutches better than the LCE? Will it even matter with the power goals I have for the near future lol?

 

Well, I ended up going with the LC combo. It included the aluminum (11 lb) flywheel, clutch, pilot and throw-out bearings, all bolts, and the rear main seal for less than it would have been to get it through Spec. This clutch is only rated for 300 hp, but that is more than I plan to make for a while- especially with these gas prices!!!

Here is the flywheel
IMG_20220303_193613104 by Jose, on Flickr

Here is the clutch
IMG_20220303_193702369 by Jose, on Flickr

 

Well, the transmission is out and I will be installing the clutch. Check out the process below:
https://youtu.be/v5CZXoZ-kdc

 

Well, I got the clutch in last night. It was a long process since I took the time to film it for youtube. That should be of use to anyone who takes this on afterward, you can learn from my mistakes.

Here's the transmission on the ground
IMG_20220311_111339512 by Jose, on Flickr

That Competition Clutch smoked itself and dirtied the bellhousing pretty good
IMG_20220311_133842988_HDR by Jose, on Flickr

It also managed to crack the clutch fork
IMG_20220315_105233099 by Jose, on Flickr

No biggie, it's under $30 at Toyota
IMG_20220315_113239640 by Jose, on Flickr

 

It's always fun to look in here with the transmission out
IMG_20220315_200822877 by Jose, on Flickr

This process is currently making my garage into a big mess lol
IMG_20220311_144850499 by Jose, on Flickr

Old flywheel vs new. The wear surface was mostly gone, one of the bolts that holds the wear surface was already being shaved down
IMG_20220315_201744131 by Jose, on Flickr

New Hotness from LCE
IMG_20220315_201806149_HDR by Jose, on Flickr

Old Fidanza
IMG_20220315_201817536 by Jose, on Flickr

The designs are slightly different.

 

Here is the flywheel once installed
IMG_20220315_213209233_HDR by Jose, on Flickr

I used brake cleaner to clean the flywheel and the pressure plate (surface that contacts the clutch disk only). The cleaner that dripped off caused some of the paint to come off the front. That paint is not really adhered all that well. Not like anyone will see it I suppose.
IMG_20220315_215226421 by Jose, on Flickr

The paint process is kind of sloppy, I found some oversprayed on the clutch fingers
IMG_20220315_221448944 by Jose, on Flickr

Here it is in the truck
IMG_20220315_230732508_HDR by Jose, on Flickr

Now I just need to put everything back together and take it for a spin

 

Disregard the numbers on the flywheel. I did not tighten them in that order.

 

Here is the installation of the clutch and flywheel
https://youtu.be/qzLNeqAJRxg

 

Here is the latest on the clutch/transmission series. Unfortunately, I have not been able to finish it due to a broken pivot bolt for the clutch release lever.
https://youtu.be/InUu8r_0FaQ
I actually ended up ordering the same bolt on eBay from a Toyota dealership in California since it was taking my local place too long to get it. They ended up getting it just before the eBay one arrived, so I picked the local one up yesterday and the eBay one came in today. Hard to believe the entire truck is useless without this one, tiny bolt
IMG_20220402_173414536_HDR by Jose, on Flickr

 

In the interim, I have devoted more focus to my steering wheel wrap. I think this one came out quite good. I started stitching it, but I decided the string was too thin for my liking. I am awaiting the arrival of some proper steering wheel thread I ordered so I can finish it.

IMG_20220402_205316985 by Jose, on Flickr
IMG_20220402_205324971_HDR by Jose, on Flickr

I'm beside myself with joy at how well this thing fits. If you want it done right, clearly, you have to do it yourself!

 

Well, my transmission is back in and the new clutch is nice and soft. It is rated for less than the previous clutch (300 vs 350) yet it feels way softer. I'm talking factory clutch pedal softness vs the other one where I was doing an awkward leg press every shift lol. Unfortunately, my ECU did not like being disconnected this whole time and now struggles to fuel the truck on startup. It normalizes once the truck is warm, but will struggle to start and struggle to idle once it cools down again... the eternal battle smh. Check out the video below:
https://youtu.be/9_hyFrLp0Fg

 

On another note, I discovered that my Brake Booster pin was not adjusted correctly. I had not set a sufficient gap between it and the master cylinder. While driving, the truck struggled to move forward and I thought the new clutch was already bad. Turns out that the brakes were engaging once the brake fluid warmed up. I ended up resetting the gap and driving the truck three times before I got it right, but it's finally acting right. Now, if I can just figure out the starting issue, this thing should finally be road worthy once more!

 

Thanks to Enola Gaia (Customtacos forum moderator) I was able to figure out why my truck had trouble starting. Turns out, I broke my coolant temperature sensor or ECT that feeds a temperature signal from the back of the head over to the ECU. Without this signal, the ECU attempts to start the motor as if it were warm and those fuel trims clearly don't work on a cold motor. This is why it runs and starts perfectly once the motor is warm. The sensor is between the head and firewall, on the passenger's side, just above the bellhousing. It is easy to find because there is an electrical connector coming off the main harness that goes straight to it. In order to remove it, unplug the connector. From there, you will need a rig consisting of a couple of extensions and a flex joint. A deep 19 MM socket is the size you will need for the sensor itself. It goes without saying, there is coolant on the other side of that so it should only be changed when the motor is cold... and with the motor off...

My setup
IMG_20220418_181142440_HDR by Jose, on Flickr
IMG_20220418_181148720_HDR by Jose, on Flickr

Here is the broken sensor, I probably broke this while tightening down the bolts on the upper bellhousing
IMG_20220418_181325478_HDR by Jose, on Flickr
IMG_20220418_181640989 by Jose, on Flickr

I ordered two OEM replacements just in case one comes in first. One on eBay for ~$35 (38.52 after tax) and one off Toyota for $24.35($26.05 after tax). It is part number 8942235010.