Possible Tacoma Modifications

I'm pretty new to this, but I would really like to know more before I sink money into this. I have a 1999 Toyota Tacoma PreRunner SR5 with 125k miles on it. I'm wondering what modifications I could put on it without breaking the bank. I was personally thinking about adding a CB radio, with a PA system, a spacer lift, and 31" tires. I was hoping for any advise on the matter, and if it's even worth it.

 

Depends on what you are going to use it for.
Off-roading, commuting?
Is it an auto tranny?
Maybe maintenance work first, then mods.
Spacer lifts are not so good.
It’s worth it.

 

I would really like to mod it out for off-roading. Its a 4 speed automatic, and there's not much in the way of maintenance. The struts were just recently replaced, and I just changed the starter last weekend because it was giving me issues. But other then that, everything in the vehicle works pretty well.

 

I would give that tranny some looking into, not sure if the tundra brake upgrade fits 99’s
A lot people like OME, king shocks. There’s a thread here somewhere that explains how to use individual Chevy truck leaf springs to mod the Tacoma leaf springs. I hope you have tools.

 

I don't know about the king shocks due to the price, but I'll defiantly look into those leaf springs. Thanks.

 

Tranny cooler is good idea, even if you don’t tow.

 

You've got about as many miles as I do on mine, and here's the stuff I've done, maintenance wise since I've owned it (ignoring upgrades):

lower ball joints (twice), tie rod ends, suspension/steering bushings, MAF, IAC valve, plugs/wires, timing belt, water pump, coolant flush, and I'm sure I'm forgetting things...



But as for "mods" for off roading your pre-runner, hmmm.... what kind of off roading? Fast desert stuff, or slow crawling through forests, gravel roads, etc...

I assume it's not a TRD with a rear locker, which essentially means you have a 1 wheel drive vehicle for trails (if you ever get into a situation with loss of wheel traction). You can either get a locker for the rear or convert your truck to a 4x4. Both the locker and the conversion you can expect to cost anywhere form $1000 to $1500. A locker can be less if you can install it yourself, but you'd also need other stuff like an air compressor if it is an air actuated locker, etc... But an open diff 4x4 will be better off road than a locked pre-runner... There are several threads and posts about the 4x4 conversion, it's actually quite an "easy" mod and it is entirely bolt on.

As for other mods, just run what you brung for now. We can offer advice on how to accomplish certain things, but we can't really offer intelligent advice on what mods you should do since you are really the only person who knows what will work best for you.

 

Alright, well thank you. As for off-roading, I live in Georgia so mainly I'm going through muddy dirt trails and gravel roads, of course because its 2WD I wouldn't be putting it through hell. And as for either 4x4 or a locking differential, I would have to say that a locking diff would be a little more realistic due to the price point. But I was wondering, how much of a difference would mud tires make on a vehicle, right now I have P235/75R15 size tires on the truck. So would adding 31" mud tires on the truck with a leveling kit do much in the way of off-roading?

 

I'm sorry I'm new to this, but I don't quite understand what your talking about. Are you talking about upgrading the transmission?

 

No, but drop the pan, clean the filter, install a tranny cooler after the stock radiator tranny cooler, then over the course of about 3 months drain and fill with new tranny fluid.
I did this at about 110,000 miles and my tranny shifts real nice. Use Toyota fipg (form in place gasket) when re-installing the tranny pan. Hot fluid kills auto trannys.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/posts/21282238/

Start at page 1
I used plastic bushings I found at Home Depot.

 

Ahh, okay I get what your saying know. Thank you man, I'll look into that, and from what I've just seen, it's actually kinda inexpensive to do. Thank you very much for that, I probably wouldn't of even looked into that.

 

If you do this work, run your new tranny fluid hoses all the way to the Taco hardlines.

 

Best mod you can do for making it off-road worthy?

4WD Conversion. My entire swap cost me about ~$1,500. 100% bolt-on no modifications needed. The PreRunner is built on the 4x4 chassis, so all the provisions are there.

True 4x4 will beat any 2WD with a locker.

Difficulty wise? I did it as a Junior in high school with basically zero prior mechanical experience.

 

Tyler, pleas elaborate on your 4wd conversion. I plan on starting that project soon. Manual hubs?

 

You’ll need to swap your transmission for the 4WD counterpart; I4/V6 Auto - A340F, I4 Manual - W59, v6 Manual - R150F.

Hub wise, the easiest way will be to run manual hubs. However you can also run A.D.D. or Pushbutton 4WD but this will require wiring of VSV’s among other things.

Front differential must match your rear ratio. You can’t use a 4.30 front in a 4.10 rear truck.

Driveshaft wise, I wouldn’t bother finding the right one it was too difficult for me since there aren’t any part numbers and most resellers don’t label them. I just had my 2WD one shortened by a driveline shop.

I see you are a 2003/2004 truck. If you’re a v6 Auto, this swap will me much more difficult for you since you can’t use any transmission. You can only use 03/04 transmissions with the ETCS-I electronic throttle system, which lacks the kickdown cable all early transmissions do. You can either tear down the entire transmission to swap output shafts and tail sections, or you can swap valve bodies.

 

I've been researching info and have decided swapping tranny output shafts and installing manual hubs is the way to go for me. I may hit you up again soon.
Thanks for the info!!!

 

Swapping trans output shafts is really not that easy. This is a 9 out of 10 on the difficulty scale. The whole transmission has to come apart to do it — not a job for the faintly hearted.

An easier way is to swap valve bodies so you have the correct one. I don’t remember who did it on here, but it isn’t as involved as swapping an output shaft.

 

Sounds like finding an 03/04 tranny is even easier, lol

 

They’re pretty hard to find, and when they do come up they’re big $$$.