Sacramento, CA area specialty shops?

Does anyone know of any shops that specialize in working on Tacomas? I'm looking to have a rear bumper fabricated and welded up. Maybe more work in the future. I'd really love to have the auto trans pulled and have a manual put in, but the only shop I contacted (https://www.toyonlyswaps.com) didn't get back to me. Plus they're kinda far away from me.

My truck is a 5vz-fe prerunner so I'd also consider paying for a 4x4 install if I found a shop I felt good about working with.

Suggestions?

 

@jbrandt

 

There’s a place called Stellar Built that does good work. I’ve only stolen some scrap DOM tubing from them (they gave it to me, lol). I have a few friends that had work done by them.

 

Why would you pay for a 4x4 conversion? It’s very simple to do yourself. I did it over a couple days on my back in my garage with no previous experience at all.

The most mechanical thing I’ve done prior to my 4WD swap was change brake pads.

 

I guess I'm not very clear on the entire procedure. I thought there was cutting/welding, etc. Lots of wiring to re-do...? Is none of that the case?

 

Not at all. I would say it's 99% bolt-on. If you went with electronic ADD it's a little harder, but if you do Manual Hubs like most people do it is 99% bolt-on in exception of lengthening the speed sensor wire.

 

If you think of a pre-runner more like a 4x4 where they just took out the transfer case and front diff (which is actually what Toyota did), then it'll make more sense and will seem less daunting.

There are a LOT of threads here were people have done it. The hardest part is finding all the correct parts.

Do a bunch more reading and research on the topic. If you're still not comfortable doing it by yourself, then think about a shop doing it, but you will pay through the nose for it.

 

I agree.

It’s really not that bad. The most daunting thing in this swap would probably be hooking up ADD which does require some VSV’s and wiring - even then it’s not that hard.

I slowly collected parts piecemeal for six months until I had everything.

 

So did you start with a particular part first and build off that, or was it just whatever you found first?

If you're doing a 4x4 conversion, now would be a cool time to throw something like a Taco Box in, instead of a toyota T-case. have you seen those things? Guy is running a 580:1 final ratio with a triple T-case. He gets out and the thing walks itself down this steep incline in Moab.

 

I made a list of everything I needed and started searching. And searching, and searching, and searching. That’s why it took me six months.

Many of these parts are very simple to come by. I used car-part.com to find the transmission/transfer case, differential, etc from the same junkyard in Reno. This was a stunning junkyard with a whole section just for Tacomas.

Since I wanted to do Manual Hubs to keep it simple, I had to find manual hub steering knuckles which are becoming increasingly rare. Car-part yielded results that was too expensive, so I posted a WTB on the marketplace here. I get a reply the next day, and I drive an hour to Santa Cruz to pick up my conveniently located Manual Hub setup.

Other things that are very speciality (like the blank manual hub axle tube for the front differential) require more work. I had to practically beg someone to separate it from his differential, since usually people don’t like separating them. We eventually came to an agreeement and I had that part.

By far the most difficult piece was the differential. Here’s the thing: they’re very plentiful. BUT unless you see the gear code on the car it came from and called Toyota to confirm the ratio, or decoded it yourself you have no way of knowing the true gear ratio unless you count the teeth on the ring in pinion. You have to leave your trust in the junkyard, which I stupidly did.

They told me it was a 4.30 but when I opened it up to swap the ADD gear stub six months later, it was 4.10

Little things like that. My best advice is to do your research on parts and how they fit together. I forgot to take the differential mounting brackets and hardware with me from the scrapper because I didn’t realize they were part of it.

I replaced almost everything that’s consumable or has a reasonable lifespan. I rebuilt the manual hubs by having them sandblasted, powder coated, and replaced the clutch, pall, o-ring and snap rings on both sides. I changed all the axle seals including the rear main seal since it was right there during the transmission drop.

Funny story with the rear main seal. I didn’t have a 2” seal driver, so I went to Home Depot and bought a 2” ABS toilet flange and used that to tap it into the engine block.

 

Yeah, if you plan to re-gear and/or add lockers anyway, you don't have to worry as much about what diff you get.

I went the easy way and bought my truck with the 4x4 conversion already installed by the factory, lol

 

Well considering I’ve had my 4x4 conversion for seven months already and have never even left pavement yet, I don’t think I have to worry about lockers for a long time. Haha.

I tested 4LO by driving up on curbs on my street.

Disadvantages of living in the middle of an urban area. Haha.

 

Mall Crawler.

I did plenty of work on my truck(s) when I lived in apartments. Only thing that really sucked is that my parking space wasn't close to my apartment, so I couldn't run extension cords.

I still do most of my work outside, but at least the extension cords reach now... lol