Stikle's Build

Well, here's pretty much the last mod on the current list - don't know what else I really want to do at this point.

Added an ignition light ring and bezel from a '97 Camry and upgraded the light to a red LED.



Superbrightleds.com part #: 74-xhp3 in red.

I wired it to the dimmer circuit that I picked up off of the ECT button near the ignition. That way it's on when the cluster lights are on.

The downside that I discovered on the way to work today: There's a red reflection on the window in my line of sight. I might have to rethink that.

 

Nice, I have reflections from some LEDs, I just deal with it for now

 

Still like the build and its fun to read my old posts haha

 

Yeah, absolutely nothing new on my build.

I'm considering the Tundra brake upgrade now though...mine have developed a horrible howl at times. The last time I was told by Les Schwab that my rotors were glazed and needed turned. So I had that done, and it was fine for a while. Now after towing my boat this last weekend, it seems worse, so I suspect my brakes aren't up to the task at this point. I'll probably have to pony up for the upgrade and slotted rotors. Because I didn't need that $500 for anything else...

 

Dang man. I'd do the tundra upgrade and wish I could do something to upgrade my second gen ones without having to get larger wheels to fit them

 

Well, I got the next upgrade done today!

A buddy of mine bought an Atlas lift from a going out of business shop and installed it in his home shop.

I never want to work on the floor again!

The

Callahan CCK11988 FRONT Powder Coated Red [2] Calipers + [2] Rotors + Quiet Low Dust [4] Ceramic Pads Performance Kit

Callahan 2005 Tundra Brake Kit is an (almost) bolt-on replacement upgrade that fits 95-97 (and maybe others) Tacomas. I went with Callahan because they had a nice red caliper that matched the other red accents on my Taco. There's plenty of other options as well.

(I'm sure glad Callahan didn't sell to Zalinsky (Tommy Boy reference FTW!))

I also bought to upgrade at the same time from .

Add brake cleaner and a bottle of DOT 3/4 brake fluid and the total price of the upgrade was right around $420 and 2 hours of time.

It was relatively straightforward. The hardest part was getting the damn passenger side brake line "U" retention clip off. Took two of us 20 minutes.


In position with the arms lined up properly on the frame:



Going up!



Wheel removed:



Old pads removed and caliper unbolted:



Removing the driver's side brake line retention clip:



You can see the lip of the passenger side retention clip. It was a bitch to grab hold of.



I managed to turn it almost 90* - gee that was sure a help.



My buddy took a turn at the clip while I went and cleaned off the new rotors:



New Tundra 13WL caliper (left) vs stock Taco caliper:



Here's the two parts of the dust shield that had to be trimmed so the bigger Tundra caliper would bolt-on properly. Only about 1" or so from the top and 1/2" from the bottom was required. 30 seconds or so with an angle grinder and a couple of quick swipes with a file to clean up the edge.

We also had to bend the dust shield back so the new rotors didn't touch. It didn't take much.



And after trimming:



Hand tightened the new rotor on with two lug nuts to hold it in place and then bolted on the caliper:



Inserted the new pads and figured out how the retention clip worked since it's a different style from stock. Also remembered to put the bottom pin in too:



All done!



Everything torqued to spec, and bled the brakes on both sides. The first side was totally mushy. I felt the pedal all of a sudden get firm about halfway through the second side. We did about 3 cycles past when air stopped coming out just to be sure.

Topped off the brake MC, mounted the tires, torqued down the nuts, and took her across the street to a school parking lot and did some speed runs and slowdowns to try and "bed" the new brakes. They grab pretty hard now...locked them up at about 30mph and had some tire squeeling.



Plenty of clearance on 16" wheels. As others stated, you can't do this on stock 15's - there's just no room.



The only problem is that when I was backing out of the shop, the brake light indicator lit up on the console. I checked the Scan Gauge and no codes were thrown. Checked the E-Brake and it was definitely disengaged...not that it should matter since that's the rear brakes and we didn't touch them.

I drove about 20 miles home and the light was on all the way until I parked it in the garage. I did plenty of braking on the way and everything feels tight and solid, and no odd sounds.

I'm going to have to do some Googling or something to figure out what's up.

Edit: I let her sit in the garage for an hour or so. Went back out, added a little more brake fluid (even though it was above Minimum), started her up and left her in park with no foot on the brake, and released the E-Brake. No more brake indicator light. <shrug> Who knows...I'll just watch it for a a while and see what happens. Looks all good now.

So...there we go!

The next mods I'm considering now are:

• Alternator upgrade
• Ditch the step bars and add sliders
• Maybe a new skid plate

 

Nice!

 

Let me know when you plan to buy a skid plate. I fubar'd mine at TSF. Possible we could save funds shipping to one address.

 

It's going to be a while I believe. Think I'd rather have sliders to help keep carts and other cars away from my pristine body at this point. Oh and for the next off-roading adventure.

 

well was it worth it, how much better does it feel?

 

I'll comment on that after a week or so. I didn't really drive anywhere else this weekend, but since it's become my DD I'll know before long.

Initially though it seems to have a lot more grabosity.

 

Grabosity ftmfw

 

Ok, one day later and I can definitely feel a difference. It's no longer "when" and "if" I will stop in time.

Also, I need to get rid of this pussy horn.

*meep meep*

 

Yea haha, first gen 97-00 horns aren't the best

 

(Heavy sarcasm) It sucks that you have that funky device taking up room in your garage and being able think just lift you truck up and work on it.

 

Yes, it would suck if it were in MY garage...

 

I deserve that. This is what I get for reading threads on my phone.

 

ok, it's been a few weeks, what are your impressions, do you feel like the back should be upgraded now as well? Still feel equal when braking? Hows the "grabosity"?

 

Grabosity is still optimum. Well...now anyway.

Lesson learned: After installing something, go back and check the bolts after a couple of days.

My console brake light came on again the other morning. I checked the reservoir and sure enough, the fluid was way down. Not dangerously so, but still, there shouldn't have been any change.

So I got down underneath and sure as shit, there was brake fluid all over the underside of the passenger well and all over the inside of the tire and wheel. I wiped the caliper off and then pumped the brakes a few times to figure out where the leak was coming from. Turns out the banjo bolt wasn't quite snug enough. A 14mm wrench later, more fluid added, and all has been well again for days. The pedal also firmed up a little more. I hadn't realized it was slightly mushy, but it was.

So yeah. I'm still pleased with the result and so far don't feel the need to upgrade or replace the rears at this point.