PennSilverTaco's "Perfect 5-Lug Regular Cab" Build, Aspergers, and General BS MegaThread!

05 Prerunner with standard deck didn't sound that bad to me. The cd plays clean as far as I can tell. Problem is the lack of power (though they matched the speakers handling quite well), and most obvious the speakers, especially the cone tweeter. The mid goes deep for stock, but the cone tweet barely did anything to help out. Could barely tell they were playing.

If someone was on a tight budget, I would add some small amps with high level input, swap out the cone tweeter for a dome type and improve the passives between the mid & tweet. Of course a better deal would be to swap all front speakers along with adding an amp at least to bring more clarity and output into the mix.

 

It's awesome! Had it in my tundra I sold, I will put it in my 2016 tacoma!

 

I didn't know where else to put this, so I put it in off-topic discussion. My "craziest things you've ever hauled or towed with your Taco" thread seemed to be pretty popular, so we'll see how this goes.

Almost every week, I help the owners and manager of the bar/music venue where I work by making runs to the Wine and Spirits store, the food supply distributor, the produce market, and numerous other places.

I also hauled the remains of my friend's deck to the dump after another friend who is a handyman dismantled it (photos can be seen in my "craziest things towed" thread).

In December 2014, I bought myself an emergency kit with jumper cables, at the local Bon-Ton of all places, on sale. Since then, I have assisted 3 stranded motorists with dead batteries.

The first one was an older couple with a 2000 Chevy Silverado at Rice's Market, in May 2015. This was right after I'd gotten a brand new heavy-duty Interstate Mega-Tron battery installed in my Taco. Needless to say, my Taco made short work of getting the Chevy started, and the owner insisted on paying me $5 for my help even though I tried to turn it down.

The second one was a European guy (I think he was German?) with a late model Mazda6 in the parking lot of the Dunkin Donuts. He had been charging his phone off of the car's USB port, but it was a mild day so he had the windows down and the engine off. I think there must have been some underlying electrical problems because I charge electronic devices in my truck with the engine off all the time. Even in the winter of 2014-2015 with the original battery from 2009, the truck never once failed to start. I left the dome light on a couple of times overnight by mistake, and the battery NEVER died. Anyway, the owner of the Mazda hooked the cables up and we got the car started in minutes. He thanked me, thankfully DID NOT pay me (come on people, I'm a nice guy who does stuff for strangers out of the kindness of his heart; Plus, I have a job where I make plenty of money; DON'T pay me for being a good samaritan!)

This brings us to incident #3, the most noteworthy one. I went to Puck one night. It was either Friday or Saturday, I forget, but I know it was after my truck got clobbered by a drunk driver in a Mercedes-Benz.

A great band called the Cabin Dogs was performing at Puck that night, and when I arrived there, I overheard some guys talking about how one guy's car had just died a couple blocks away. I of course had my trusty jumper cables, so I offered to help. I found out that the vehicle was an older model Nissan Maxima, and that the battery hadn't died, but rather the car had started having electrical problems and completely died, barely giving the driver enough time to get it off the road. At this time I was still not aware that the owner of the car was a band member. The car actually belonged to his dad or something and he was borrowing it. The driver had been forced to leave his car illegally parked and was afraid it would get towed.

So, me and the driver of the Maxima hopped in my Taco and I drove us the ridiculously short distance to the where the car was stranded. Sure enough, we saw flashing red and blue lights, and I had to drop off the guy right there so he could stop the police from having the car towed.

Meanwhile, I still had to maneuver my Taco into the cramped area where the Maxima was located. I got stuck behind a burgundy Honda Pilot, and I got impatient. The parking lot was obviously full, but this guy wanted to be absolutely sure before he turned around and exited the parking lot. As such, he was stopping and going at every freaking space, and as is usually the case when I get impatient behind the wheel, I become very horn-happy. I was also convinced for some stupid reason that the Maxima would be towed if I didn't show up at a certain time. The older gentleman in the Pilot became fed up with my beeping and got out of his vehicle to confront me. I rather hastily and rudely explained the situation, and his response was "I'm not a mind reader," but he more or less seemed to begrudgingly understand. I managed to drive around the Pilot and it to the Maxima.

The Maxima driver showed his license to the cop, who was very nice and offered to have the car towed to a dealership. But, the driver told him of our plans to rescue the Maxima with my Taco, and if we couldn't get it started he was a AAA Platinum member, so he could get the car towed for free. It's also worth noting that the driver, and presumably most of his band, were from New Jersey, and not right over the Pennsylvania line either. They lived well over an hour away, so it's lucky they had AAA Platinum.

It was during this time that I found out the Maxima driver was in the band set to perform at Puck that night, AND the Maxima also had a lot of the band's equipment and instruments in it. If the car had been towed, the show very well may have been ruined!

Anyway, first the Maxima had to be maneuvered into position. With no power from the engine, there was no power steering or power brakes. We somehow managed to push the car all the way into a parking spot belonging to a friend of mine who lived in the adjacent apartment building.

Next came the task of maneuvering my Tacoma close enough to the Maxima for the jumper cables to reach without damaging my truck even more than it already was (Remember, this was like right after the drunk driver hit it) or hitting the nearby building. I managed to get the Tacoma into place, and the other guys hooked up the jumper cables.

Amazingly, we got the Maxima started, and a woman who lived nearby kindly offered her private spot to the band for the night. Like I said, the guy had AAA Platinum, so he called a tow truck and had the car hauled back to Jersey for free.

The show was a success, and I was getting thank yous, high-fives, and pats on the back all night long from the band members and their crew.

In like January or February 2015, there was a band called Waylon Speed from Vermont performing at Puck. One of the guitarists broke a string and needed a new one in a hurry. The band's only vehicle was a Ford E-series van hooked up to a trailer, obviously not the ideal vehicle for a last minute run to the music store.

So, my friend who is the general manager of the club recruited me to drive the guitar player to the music store in my Taco. It's worth noting that this guy from Vermont also had a 2nd gen Tacoma, a DCLB 4x4 with a manual transmission. That show was a success and I got a free copy of the band's new CD for my trouble. Not a bad deal!

 

In August 2015, I rear-ended a 2014 Mustang GT. Damage to my truck was relatively minor and damage to the Mustang seemed to be virtually nonexistent. See pics of this driving foul-up in the "Let's See Those Wrecked Tacos!" thread. My truck needed a bumper, a bumper cover, a grille, and a left headlight, and the radiator support was bowed out slightly to the left. This damage did not effect the performance of the truck, and there were no leaks, or noises, no overheating, and the A/C worked great. I drove the truck for more than a month before getting it repaired. Unbeknownst to me, the horn was apparently damaged in the initial impact, but it took until late August or early September to manifest itself. I was driving to work one morning and I blasted the horn at a Honda Pilot that ran a stop sign. The horn did not shut off, and I wound up having to pull the fuse. This caused the Check Engine light to come on for some reason and of course rendered the horn inoperable. I brought the truck into the dealer and though it took about a day for the part to come in, the horn was replaced at a cost of about $115 and the problem was seemingly solved. The technicians at the dealership also reset the check engine light and replaced a faulty TPMS sensor that had been giving me problems since July. Shortly before summer officially ended, the truck was repaired. We have had a record-setting mild winter here in Southeast Pennsylvania so far this year, but when it did get extremely cold, like in the teens and twenties, I noticed a rather amusing problem with my new horn...

When it is extremely cold, the cold weather makes the horn sound extremely high-pitched like a clown car horn. Once temperatures warm up slightly, like in the 30s and 40s, the horn sounds normal once again. Make no mistake, the new horn does work, but it sounds kind of wimpy when this happens.

My truck was purchased new in September 2009 and has been through 6 full winter seasons since then (2015-2016 is it's 7th). The original horn never did this, even when it was BELOW ZERO!

As a gesture of good faith, my local Toyota dealership (Thompson Toyota in Doylestown, they're awesome!) adds an additional year onto the existing 1-year manufacturer warranty of any parts bought from them. This means if the part fails within 2 years, Thompson will replace it free of charge. What I am hoping to do is get the horn replaced with a new one for free.

Anyway, what I'm wondering is if anyone has had to have their horn replaced and if so, does it become high-pitched and clown car-like in extremely cold weather? Or...

Has anyone's original horn that came with the truck from the factory had this problem?

My truck has been extremely reliable in the nearly six and a half years I've owned it, but it's worth noting that my truck has had a number of completely random things go wrong with it.

Take a look at my other post for into on the problems...

 

TLDR

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My Tacoma was purchased new from Peruzzi Toyota in Hatfield, Pennsylvania in September 2009.

Every late model Toyota owner knows about the gas pedal/floor mat/unintended acceleration problem, so we'll just skip that. My truck was modified for free under that recall in late 2009 or early 2010.

In the summer of 2011, the factory radio started acting weird. It would turn on and off completely at random. One particular day, I had just left the gym and was making a U-turn. I had Songs You Know By Heart in the CD player, and as I was making a U-turn, the CD player switched on by itself and "Margaritaville" started blaring out of the speakers. Startled, I slammed on the brakes and shut off the radio. The radio continued to do this and I finally brought it in to Thompson Toyota (closer to me than Peruzzi). Apparently this was not the first fairly new Tacoma to come into the dealership with problem, because the dealership agreed to replace it free of charge under warranty and immediately ordered a new radio. The job was done in a matter of hours and I couldn't have been happier with it.

Probably not even a year after the radio was replaced the first time, it started acting up again, though only when I had my iPod plugged into the 3.5MM AUX jack. This was back in 2011 or 2012 so I don't remember the exact problem, but the radio would either switch to another source (AM/FM or CD) or shut off entirely and then turn back on. I brought the truck back into the dealer, and they ordered a new radio yet again, only to determine based on the symptoms I had described that the problem was the AUX input this time. Needless to say, this was a cheaper and quicker job, and I had my truck back within a half hour. The radio never gave me problems again, but despite being free warranty repairs, they were a waste of time because in April 2013 I replaced my entire system with a Pioneer CD head unit (with Bluetooth, USB, MP3, etc) and a Pioneer component speaker system. The factory systems in 2nd gen Tacomas SUCK and the difference in quality between it and my $240 Pioneer system is night and day. Best investment I ever made in my truck.

In either 2011 or 2012, the blower motor for the HVAC system started making a ticking noise. This only happened when the heat was on, never when the air-conditioner was on or when the temperature dial was turned to COOLER (the blue part). My best friend thought I was crazy, saying I shouldn't care as long as the heat worked, and I ran the heat with him in the truck but the problem couldn't be recreated. Finally, one chilly evening I turned on the heat and it made the noise. Me, my friend, and my parents agreed that I should try to get the problem fixed under warranty. I brought truck to the dealership, and within minutes the dealer decided to replace the blower box under warranty. Even better, they had the part in stock and I would get my truck back that day!

I went shopping at Kohl's with my parents and when we were done, so was my truck. The blower motor was replaced free of charge and has not had a problem since. The A/C in my truck numbs fingers and hardens nipples, and the heat is capable of roasting a pot pie on it's highest setting.

My master cylinder went in February 2014 but I think that story deserves it's own thread.

In late summer 2014, some part in my transmission failed, which caused trouble when shifting from Park into Reverse or Drive. The 3-year/36,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty had run out in September 2012, but the 5-year/60,000-mile powertrain warranty was good until the end of September 2014. If a major repair needed to be done, I wanted to get it done for free under warranty. The good news was that my transmission was completely fine. The bad news was that the minor part that failed cost over $100 and was not covered by the powertrain warranty.

 

With the way people drive in my area, I did that more often than I care to mention, even when the horn worked fine.

 

This was back in February 2014, but I figured it was worth sharing.

I love my truck and would never sell it, but it has had seemingly random and extremely annoying problems over the years. I believe this story deserves its own thread.

I was driving to college the day after a snowstorm, and in everyone's opinion school should have been cancelled that day.

I came to a stop on a slight hill for a red light at a 4-way intersection. My Taco's brakes worked just fine. When the light turned green, I took my foot of the brake pedal and hit the gas. My truck revved and the rear wheels felt like they were spinning, but my truck wasn't going anywhere. The driver behind me beeped, so I turned on my flashers and waved everyone around me. Initially believing myself to be stuck on a patch of ice, I got out and inspected the truck. There did not appear to be anything keeping my truck from moving, so I got back in, threw it in drive, and gunned it. Succeeding only in roasting my then-almost-new BFG tires, I gave up and at this point the man who lived in the house right next to the road came out to investigate. He had an older model Toyota Tundra TRD 4x4 with the 4.7L V8, a truck more than up to moving a smaller Tacoma off the road. He chained my truck to his and I shifted into neutral while he floored it. My truck refused to budge, and this point he realized that my front wheels were not moving at all. We determined that the front disc brakes were somehow locked. The rear drum brakes, which only account for about 20% of the vehicle's braking power, were barely applied and thus the rear wheels spun just fine.

I had already called my parents before the good samaritan with the Tundra came to the rescue, and my dad left work to come and assess the situation. I also called AAA, which was busy because the roads were so bad. Right next to my truck, a young woman drove her Scion off the road, and apparently vehicles were going off the road all over the place. I don't know if a concerned citizen called the cops or if the cop who responded to my predicament just happened to be passing by, but the officer took a statement from me, ran my license as a matter of course as part of his report, and gave flares to me and my dad so other motorists would see and thus not hit my truck. My dad went back to work, and the guy with the Tundra invited into his house to warm up. He provided my with hot chocolate and popcorn.

AAA sent a man in a rollback and my truck was loaded up quickly. On the way to the Toyota dealer, we saw a semi truck with a trailer practically on it's side in the ditch. Maybe things weren't as bad as I thought.

My truck was dropped off at the Toyota dealer, and needless to say I didn't go to school that day. My professor understood completely and didn't take any points off. I didn't even have to show him the subsequent $1,200 repair bill.

That's right, my truck cost $1,200 to fix. The master cylinder had to be replaced, and since the warranty had ended in 2012, we had to pay out of pocket. When I hit the brakes that time, the pushrod was jammed into the reservoir and got stuck, clamping the brake pads down on the rotors.

Has anyone else's master cylinder failed in some way?

 

hey it happens but it is extremely uncommon

as those brake systems are incredibly reliable and over engineered
because...it is the #1 safety device on the vehicle. so I'd ask what part of the master cylinder failed, specifically,
to narrow it down to a component piece

was it cold ? really f'in cold ?

could have just been old brake fluid, had enough water absorbed into it, to freeze
into crystals below 20 degrees F and block the piston inside the master

 

OK.

 

I had the radio and fan issues in my 09. The radio quit doing it on its own lol

 

So in over 6 years you've had 4 problems of which 3 were covered under warranty and the 4th cost just north of $100. Hmm. Sounds pretty good to me.

 

I had a taillight bulb go out on my '04 Highlander last year around 100k miles.

I'm with ya. Toyota quality is in the tank.

 

It's SO bad! I don't see how they stay in business. Ha.

PS: Could you maybe run by Frenchy's and get me a fried grouper sandwich? I'd appreciate it!

 

You betcha. It's been a while for me too.

I'll tell wifey it's my 'duty' for one day this week. Support of community friends and all that..........

 

Yes it was "reall f'in" cold. In the 20s and probably colder with the wind chill. What happened is I applied the brake pedal and the pushrod never came back out. Because it was a non-serviceable part and completely sealed, the entire master cylinder had to be replaced.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-nDnje9drg

 

I bet it was moisture in the brake fluid...brake fluid is always scavenging water molecules at every
opportunity and if it gets enough over the years, brake fluid can freeze

at 5deg F and below my 4 runner has zero brakes for about 100 yards pretty scary
but if I keep my foot down once the brake pedal pushes the rod through the master, it heats up from friction just
enough so it moves. and it stays fine after that.

 

Ah yeah I had a ranger that use to do that. It would eventually go away and it wasn't under warranty anymore at this point so I let it go but it drove me nuts. I was told when it first started that it was probably just some debris down in it.