What have you done to your Tacoma today? 1st Gen Edition

I use red and tacky for pretty much everything lol

 

It's a good choice for most things minus CVs and sandwiches

 

Interesting. I've never heard this before. Where is that recommendation located, the FSM?

 

The Toyota Owner's Manual and the Factory Service Manual both recommend an NLGI-2 moly grease for the double-cardan joints, and an NLGI-2 lithium-based grease for the u-joints and slip yokes.

 

Same here. Use it for the entire truck where zerks are

 

Just the regular owners manual

 

Yes, you'll need to loosen the cams to grease them. Hopefully you can get grease to the faces that are against the frame. That's where you really need it. Working OK with my Solo arms and similar style bushings.

You will make a greasey mess by the cams though. Make sure you torque those down properly after greasing. And hopefully you're putting on cam tab gussets while you have this all apart if you don't already have them?

 

Of course I'm not . I have to get the truck back into the garage every night if I want it to be there in the morning, so it was a full enough day just replacing all the rubber on the front end. Got done:

• LCA bushings
• Steering rack bushings
• Front diff bushings
• Front bump stops

I might do the cam tab gussets in the future, but so far it hasn't been an issue for me to use the stock tabs. As in, I've never had a problem holding an alignment. If that changes in the future, then of course, it will speed the transition for me. Right now I like the design of those 8-sided alignment tab ones.

 

I remember the wear on your first set of Coopers, you've thrown your alignment before haha, you just didn't notice before it had a chance to really shag a tire and you were close enough on the others to just replace em all. I've made it a habit to honk the bolts after getting an alignment recently though since the alignment places are afraid to torque things to spec, and it has helped a lot. You don't need tabs if your shit cant move to touch em haha.

 

Yeah yeah, I'm not saying I haven't gotten out of alignment, just that it's been rare. Remember, I am out on 1-2 trips/month and that happened once.

And I know when it happened: Colorado 2019 - Redhead Down. When I nearly killed Mike and Monte, and Monte was surprised my truck didn't flip. The fact that the alignment going out was all that happened is...amazing.

 

Time to move!

My bet is you will have a problem holding an alignment with those bushings given that poly is stiffer and how they fit into the frame with those flat faces. I use to mess up my alignment every trip before the gussets.

And those Bison cams are garbage. Make your own if you want something similar. I installed a set on the 2nd gen and then took them out the next day.

 

Im just going to do the cam tab delete I think at this point. Hopefully the SPCs allow enough adjustment by themselves. If not, heimed uppers here we come!

 

Align it first and make sure you plot the spots that it aligns out to so you can put your permanent hole into the right spot. That's the only way that has a snowballs chance without heims, and if the front and rears are crossed up be ready for a hell of a time reinstalling without spherical joints.

 

The only way I think i'll be able to get away with it is because of the Solo lowers. They add enough castor and the front and rears are not crossed up when aligned that it should work.

Hopefully..

haha

 

Oh yeah, you have fabricated arms, cut the stock bullshit off and make a threaded hole for a heim to mount, not really feasible with the lame clamshell design of stock arms but on your solos that would be cake, never need another alignment.

 

Yeah maybe. Not sure I want to do that..but is an option

 

I'll be interested to hear how it shakes out with the poly bushings that don't have the friction sleeves to bite into the frame now. I had more frequent alignments after leaving stock style bushings but I started cranking the ever living shit out of the adjuster tightness.

 

Interesting. I hadn't really thought of the fact that different bushings would affect ability to hold alignment. Well, we'll see. Like I said, I'm not opposed to it, just haven't needed it so far.

Why are the Bison cams garbage? Is the best cam tab kit still the TC kit? Or Wheelers? Or...?

 

You only really have 2 options, the TC kit and the Allpro/TG/Wheelers kit. I'd get the allpro one if I could do it again. Should fit better from the get go.

And I'm sure your experience will be like what Brett said. The bushings won't give as much or like being crossed up as much. So torque will be your friend. I imagine you'll be doing the gussets later this year haha

 

TC cam tab kits worked well on both the 1st gen and 2nd gen. Wouldn't hesitate to do them again.

Bison cams are a good idea but poorly executed (IMO given what I saw on the 2nd gen). The plates were cut slightly to small and didn't fit tightly in the cam tabs, bolts slightly too short, half-ass spacers provided for small bolts. Maybe the 1st gen kits will be better if he ever gets around to them.