The Frankenstein Build! LT/Expo/Trail rig..and BS

Blackdawg · Apr 17, 2016

j0shu4 said: ↑

When you mated your 3rd to the housing did you use a gasket and rtv, or just rtv?
Click to expand...

Just rtv. The gaskets are terrible.

j0shu4 · Apr 17, 2016

Appreciate that. Let it cure and seat, got it. I'm about to put my 4.88 ARB 3rd to the T100 housing. It's almost a brand new axle. Sick of prime, paint, and sand. Building my LT rear soon (next month). Ssscited!

Blackdawg · Apr 17, 2016

j0shu4 said: ↑

Appreciate that. Let it cure and seat, got it. I'm about to put my 4.88 ARB 3rd to the T100 housing. It's almost a brand new axle. Sick of prime, paint, and sand. Building my LT rear soon (next month). Ssscited!
Click to expand...

Idk what kind of money tree you have but i want it.

j0shu4 · Apr 17, 2016

Blackdawg[OP] said: ↑

Idk what kind of money tree you have but i want it.
Click to expand...

Money does grow on trees but I quit doing that years back. Lol. Now it's almost legal everywhere. Federal employee now. I'm sure Frank wasn't cheap.
: )

alee891 · Apr 21, 2016

Blackdawg[OP] said: ↑

Okay. So i really wanted to do a decent write up on cutting the front up..but i ran short on time so my photos aren't exactly what i wanted for this..but i have enough to give you all an idea.

There will be holes in it though unfortunately due to just getting the job done.

Its much more difficult then i thought it would be and i have come to the concussion its due to the 35x12.5r15 size. If your getting 315/75r16s, you won't have near as bad a time from what i can see of others jobs and such.

Things you'll NEED:

-35s..duh haha
-Nice comfortable place to work thats roomy
-Grinder
-Cut off wheel for grinder or a seperate angle grinder
-Sawzall
-Flap disks or some sort of power tool that can clean the metal off. Yes, power tool. Your good ole elbow grease aint gonna do shit to the toyota undercoating haha
-regular tools, ie. Sockets, wrenches, screw drivers
-pry bar
-Tape
-Same cool tool you used for the rear fenders
-lots of extra blades and disks for cut off tools
-20 ga steel sheet. I bought a sheet that was like 4'x2' for 10 bucks. More then enough
-welder and all welder gear( better be pretty good a welding..welding on the body SUCKS. Not a first time project thing..)
-Jack
-Jackstands
-Your old mud flaps from the rear..or some sort of rubber mat or wet towl for the inside.
-Hammers. Big, little, flat heads and round heads.
-hand anvil helps
-Shears
-Seam sealer
-Undercoating spray/or paint..

-Plasma cutter can't hurt if you want it to be one big piece like mine..or be REALLY good with saws and grinders haha

and above all..

a lot of time..more then you think.

But here we go.

Of course, take the tire off and get a jackstand on the frame of the truck.

IMG_7986.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

IMG_7999.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

Now you will want to take out your front Coil over. This is important as you will need to cycle the suspention a LOT to check for clearances. Its pretty simple. You should know how to do this as you probably installed your own lift..but here is a quick how too..

three bolts on top. Think they were 14s..either that or 12s..duh haha

IMG_8006.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

then undo the lower nut. Its a 19 I believe..or 17mm..

IMG_8008.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

Now here is a cool trick. Get your pry bar and slip it under where the UCA bolt runs and pry down on the UCA. This will allow you to take the weight off the CO for easier removal and installation.

IMG_8009.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

Now test fit a 35 with the fender on! You do this by putting the jack under the LCA or LBJ and jacking it up with the tire on it. Do it ALL the way to the bump stops and even a bit higher so its off the jack stand a tad. Why? Bump stops compress so you'll want to cut enough to clear the tire if you even hit the bumps while offroading and that'll mean the full weight of the rig will be on it.

BEAST!

IMG_7955.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

You'll find you cant turn..even a little bit due to the fender and maybe bumper like me. So lets start cutting

Now you'll recall how we did the tape and drew a line with the rear fenders from a few pages back? Do that here too!

IMG_7998.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

You'll see my Elite bumper is too long and I also had to cut 1.75'' out of it. This will vary with trucks/bumper makes/tire makes..so make sure you test fit the 35 you have first. Make sure that you take into account what a new tire would be like if you bought used ones.

Anyways. Cut like you did the rear. You'll have to cut more of the rear portion of the fenders later..but we will get to that.

Now slap the tire on again and make sure it fits!

IMG_7957.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

now take the fender off. All bolts are 10mm. Be three bolts up here

IMG_7988.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

One here behind the grill filler plate

IMG_7989.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

and two down here if your on stock fenders unlike me

IMG_7997.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

and one up here behind the door

IMG_8000.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

You will also have to take off the corner lights..which..you should know how to do if your doing this anyways.

On the driver side, you'll be able to turn it passenger usually fine. But you'll hit the fire wall quickly when turning passenger. On the passenger side though, at least with my tires, you'll see you still can't turn very far either way due to the wind shield washer bottle. You can even see my 33s have rub a hole straight through the plastic guard...it has to go!

IMG_8001.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

It's pretty simple to remove. First, disconnect this plug.

IMG_8002.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

There are 4 10mm bolts down here to remove. This shows you what i'll look like AFTER I have removed them. Obviously..just easier to see the holes. The plastic guard will pull right off after you have removed them.

IMG_8003.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

Now this baby is ready to come out. All thats holding it in is two big plastic tabs on the neck up in here..sorry for the shit photo

IMG_8004.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

HOWEVER!

You now have a choice to make..either pull the pump out of the resivour..or pull some of the tubing off the pump..

if your resivour is fullish..pull some tubing. If its not..just pull the pump.

KEEP THE PUMP! You'll want it later for a simple tank that I will show you all how to make when I get back to Wy after school. I pulled the pump and the rubber gasket in the bottle. I then pulled the wire harness and tubes back through the hole they were coming out of and just left them sitting in front of the air box.

Either way..make a decision and then just push the tabs in and let the bottle out. Much more roomy!

IMG_8005.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

Put the 35 back on(get used to taking it on and off..on and off..on and off ) and turn it so its cutting into the fire wall..im sure you have noticed by now im using photos from both sides..i was NOT doing both sides at the same time..nor would I recommend doing that. Remember to jack the tire all the way up on the bump stops.

Draw your line where you think you'll have to cut. Every truck is a bit different..but a line like this is a good place to start.

IMG_8016.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

Take the tire off and now prep the cab for cutting.

Sadly..i did not take any photos of this part my interior is already not 100% there so wouldn't have done much good.. But I can talk you through it.

You'll need to remove the kick panels and the carpet. To do that. Remove the inner plastic part along the kick panel. It'll be held in with 4 philips screws I believe. The kick panel should just pop out after that. Now pull up the carpet. On the rocker panels there are white clips holding it down. Get a screw driver to help you or even needle nose pliers and pull about 3 of them. The carpet should just pull away form the upper corners of the cab. Pull it as far as possible!

Now you 'll notice all the wires and such running along the outer wall. I will get photos of them when I get home as my interior is NOT put back together yet..ha but they are the wire harnesses for the doors mainly and other in cab features. You will have to pop off the retainer clips and pull those wire out of the way the whole time your doing this. This is where a 2nd set of hands is handy. Plus they are good for fire watch.

I used my old rear mud flap to help block the sparks that shot into the cab from cutting. Worked great really! You can also use a damp rag or welding blanket or something.

Now you should be ready to start cutting. But where to start??

Here is the best place to start. Up high. There is only one/two layers of sheet metal here and its fairly easy to cut.

IMG_8017.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

we did little notches like that so we could start to see inside as well.

Now continue down.

IMG_8020.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

I wish I could say it was easy but if you look you'll see there are lots of lays going on there..its not easy. And it'll take a long time to get to that point. My dad found the sawzall worked great for that part..but he ended up cutting a long line through my floor board we had to re weld so watch your cutting!! blade length on the sawzall is big. Id keep it under 6''. 4'' was best I though.

Now you can start cutting out further and further towards the frame. This again will vary by truck due to tire size/rim backspacing/make/even alignment.

IMG_7961.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

it'll take a LOT of trial and error of removing the tire over and over and checking if it clears. You'll most likely have to cut out wider and further into the cab then your originally though. Even the body mounts a bit may be necessary as it was on one side for me.

Eventually tough you will triumph and get it so it all clears all good. The first hole takes MUCH longer then the second one as you'll kinda know where to cut the first time on the second hole.

But now its time to fill it!

There are several ways to do this..some guys use several different small pieces of metal. And a few use one big piece. I like the used the single piece myself. Looks cleaner! But much harder to make work with a hole my size and shape I ended up with.

so. I got some cardboard and made a trace on it. MAKE SURE TO NOT LEAVE IT FLAT! Remember..your tires are round..it need to be in an arc. Your new sheet metal needs to arc. Not be straight. So you need to push in the cardboard and make it arc to make your trace. Otherwise it'll be too small.

After I traced it. I kinda just eye balled it and put an 1'' or so extra on each side.

IMG_7964.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

traced that out on the sheet metal and used a plasma cutter to cut it. As you can see..that would not exactly be the easiest shape to cut out with a grinder and cut off wheel..impossible? no. But not very quick. So it make be easier to do it in different sections for you.

IMG_7965.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

Once again, I don't have a ton of pic of this next part. It does take a long time and my dad and I just ground through it as I had to get it done.

Make sure you use your flap disk or sander or whatever to get all the undercoating off the body and get good metal exposed to weld on. I mean it. Clean as a whistle. The cleaner it is the beter you life is gonna be when you weld. I want you to want to eat off it!...okay maybe not..but clean of all paint and undercoating. Don't afraid to grind off more then you'll need. You'll be re painting it..it'll be okay! Haha

this was the basic process for welding it though. HIGHLY recommend a second person for this part. Hand bend it so its kinda close and there is enough over lap all around. Work from the inside out and make sure there is lots extra on the outside cause remember..you will be shaping it into an arc so the metal will get “pulled” in more so to speak.

Started by finding a spot the metal sat flush without to much hammering and taced it in.

Now. Let me talk about welding this stuff. Its super thin! So you can't just sit there and burn it in like you would 1/8'' or thicker stuff. You have to do continuous spot welding. So you just pull the trigger for a second or so to let it get hot enough to fuse the new sheet with the body and let it off! BUT before it stops glowing red, move your gun so the wire is just touching the bottom of the puddle that is cooling off and hit it again. Just do that over and over again as fast as you can. You'll get better as you go and eventually should beable to get the stacked dimes look but doing that.

Anyways.

So once the new metal is tacked in a bit. We used a hand anvil and held it on the inside of the cab against the body metal. Then smack the living shit out of it with a flat head body hammer so then new metal would form up like the old metal. Once the edge was close. My dad would use the hammers handle and push then new metal into the body metal and I would tac it on.

We did this over and and over little by little. If there was too much overlap. We just cut it off with shears.

For the big arcs. We cut them into tabs to help shape it a bit more.

Before you do the whoel outer edge make sure you beat on the new metal in the center a bunch while your tacking stuff together. Again, you don't want it straight but arced.

Eventually it should all look like this :

IMG_7974.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

IMG_8021.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

my passenger side welds were WAY better then the driver side. But it all worked out and should hold fine. Figure with the amount of hammering they took..they aren't going anywhere haha

mount the 35s for one last check for clearances and you should be good to burn in all the edges. Have your buddy watch the cab for fire. Mine did catch fire once or twice. Nothing bad though.

Now get your seam sealer and go to town on the edges inside the cab and outside.

IMG_8022.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

IMG_8024.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

Let it sit for a bit. The stuff I used said it could be painted after 30mins. Think it sat for an hour while we ate dinner.

Then paint it up with the undercoating spray. Both inside and out

IMG_7991.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

IMG_7992.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

Mount your coil overs again and put the new tires on and your interior together..and your done!

now for some before and after shots!

33s

IMG_7869.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

IMG_7875.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

IMG_7877.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

35s

IMG_8028.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

IMG_8029.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

IMG_8027.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

IMG_8026.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

and some clearances!

Front edge of my front skid with my 33s

IMG_7888.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

IMG_7892.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

with 35s

IMG_8030.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

IMG_8031.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

rear diff with 33s

IMG_7890.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

IMG_7891.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

and with 35s

IMG_8032.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

IMG_8033.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

so there ya go guys!

Sorry it wasn't as detailed and nice as the rear. But wasn't a lot of ways to shoot it. Plus it really is one of those things that you just kinda..do.. its not THAT bad..but it is NOT something I recommend for everyone. Was much more difficult then I though it would be. But I think it'll pay off

guys. Won't have much to post for a while as im back in louie ville for school..
Click to expand...

I'm going to be using this awesome write-up as a guideline on Saturday! I know you said it takes quite a bit of time, but do you have a rough estimate of how long it took from start to finish on the front?

Blackdawg · Apr 21, 2016

alee891 said: ↑

I'm going to be using this awesome write-up as a guideline on Saturday! I know you said it takes quite a bit of time, but do you have a rough estimate of how long it took from start to finish on the front?
Click to expand...

2-3 days easily. Haha so hopefully you don't need it on Monday.Good luck though!

alee891 · Apr 21, 2016

Blackdawg[OP] said: ↑

2-3 days easily. Haha so hopefully you don't need it on Monday.Good luck though!
Click to expand...

Fawk.... Looks like I'll need to adjust plans. I was hoping to knock that bitch out in a day

Blackdawg · Apr 21, 2016

alee891 said: ↑

Fawk.... Looks like I'll need to adjust plans. I was hoping to knock that bitch out in a day
Click to expand...

Oh haha yea I kinda doubt that. If you have a few people like3-4 and one or two whove done it maybe in a day.

alee891 · Apr 21, 2016

Blackdawg[OP] said: ↑

Oh haha yea I kinda doubt that. If you have a few people like3-4 and one or two whove done it maybe in a day.
Click to expand...

It'll be two of us tackling it. One cutting, the other welding. Going to pull the interior tonight so it's good to go bright and early Saturday morning. I'll see how far we can get, thanks man!

Blackdawg · Apr 21, 2016

alee891 said: ↑

It'll be two of us tackling it. One cutting, the other welding. Going to pull the interior tonight so it's good to go bright and early Saturday morning. I'll see how far we can get, thanks man!
Click to expand...

It'll take two to help weld. At least to get it good. Shit is so thin and such a pita. Really helped having someone press the new metal down onto the body with a hammer handle or something.

Good luck!

Blackdawg · Apr 25, 2016

Well...did ya finish? @alee891

alee891 · Apr 25, 2016

Blackdawg[OP] said: ↑

Well...did ya finish? @alee891
Click to expand...

No. Not even close

About to weld in the drivers side right now, then hopefully start passenger at the end of the week.

I was really livin on a prayer with that one day estimate...

Blackdawg · Apr 25, 2016

alee891 said: ↑

No. Not even close

About to weld in the drivers side right now, then hopefully start passenger at the end of the week.

I was really livin on a prayer with that one day estimate...
Click to expand...

hahahaha

yea you where..haha

well, now you know

alee891 · Apr 25, 2016

Blackdawg[OP] said: ↑

hahahaha

yea you where..haha

well, now you know
Click to expand...

It's still a good time. Just a hell of a lot more work than I anticipated. I'll post up in my thread once it's all said and done

Blackdawg · Apr 25, 2016

alee891 said: ↑

It's still a good time. Just a hell of a lot more work than I anticipated. I'll post up in my thread once it's all said and done
Click to expand...

Its more work then most realize.

"Oh just cut and weld a hole? Easy! Should take too long!"

3 days later..

"what a fucking bitch..."

Lol

Why Im not a huge advocator for 35s for people that don't use it as a trail rig only. That and you HAVE to regear. So its insanely expensive for a modest gain. Is enjoyable on the trail though.

Adventurous · Apr 26, 2016

Blackdawg[OP] said: ↑

Its more work then most realize.

"Oh just cut and weld a hole? Easy! Should take too long!"

3 days later..

"what a fucking bitch..."

Lol

Why Im not a huge advocator for 35s for people that don't use it as a trail rig only. That and you HAVE to regear. So its insanely expensive for a modest gain. Is enjoyable on the trail though.
Click to expand...

I'm curious about that last point. What makes them more enjoyable? Other than of course the visual of having healthy sized meats on there. Is there a tangible difference in driving behavior that offsets the up front cost?

Blackdawg · Apr 26, 2016

Adventurous said: ↑

I'm curious about that last point. What makes them more enjoyable? Other than of course the visual of having healthy sized meats on there. Is there a tangible difference in driving behavior that offsets the up front cost?
Click to expand...

Well...the cost vs performance increase is dependent on you. I mean if you can setup your own diffs and buy new tires you're looking at spending close to $4000-5000 bucks for a 1"ish gain in clearance.

Now that said, I have notice an improvement offroad. I mean bigger tires make small holes smoother, I don't drag on certain spots other do with 33s, the usual. But is it worth the cost? I'm not so certain. I mean in my situation, I did it for about as cheap as you can and it still ran me about 2 grand or so. I don't regret it at all on Frankenstein though. But. If I was still in the DD weekend warrior category of wheeling. No way. I would never do it. 33s are the perfect tire for our trucks. A great balance of offroad capability and on road manners. Regear is recommended but it isn't absolutely nessiscary. Add some skids and full armor and you've got one hell of a capable truck.

It's different for everyone though. But generally most people on here claiming they want 35s don't even utilize the 32s/33s they are on now. And they don't know how much of a major PITA it is to do or really the cost.

Adventurous · Apr 26, 2016

Gotcha. I'm sitting on 255/85s right now and am mulling over what to do for my next set of tires. Granted it's a few years out so I'll have to re-evaluate then, but I was curious to hear your thoughts.

Thank you for a rational response as opposed to spouting off that larger is always better. Perhaps it is, but at that point maybe the Tacoma is the wrong tool for the job...

Blackdawg · Apr 26, 2016

Adventurous said: ↑

Gotcha. I'm sitting on 255/85s right now and am mulling over what to do for my next set of tires. Granted it's a few years out so I'll have to re-evaluate then, but I was curious to hear your thoughts.

Thank you for a rational response as opposed to spouting off that larger is always better. Perhaps it is, but at that point maybe the Tacoma is the wrong tool for the job...
Click to expand...

Exactly!

The front diff alone can only handle so much. I'm just waiting for it to explode one trip with the way I drive.

255/85 is what I want for my double cab. Super tall but narrow for good on road mileage.

295/75 is a good choice too or just good ole 33x10.5 or 33x12.5.

Sacrifice · Apr 26, 2016

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