It's been a minute since I happened to glance under my truck on the way home from a trip and noticed that the rear axle housing was cracked and leaking at the passenger side leaf perch. Luckily though, the sinking feeling I had at the time has faded, no doubt…
5 CommentsMods and Maintenance: Drivetrain
I guess you can say that I'm a little gun-shy after having two trips to Death Valley cut short due to mechanical issues. The first one - when my transfer case started making noise - was a surprise, but the second trip - when the main leaf of my leaf…
2 CommentsTL;DR - the new transfer case seems to be working great so far. After the input shaft bearing in my transfer case gave out on a trip to Death Valley, I quickly picked up a new (to me) transfer case from a local junkyard and swapped it into the Tacoma.…
Leave a CommentBy and large, the Tacoma has performed spectacularly over the 21 years since I drove it off the lot. With regular maintenance, I've really only had two or three failures - none of those failures requiring anything more than an early drive home - over the 200,000 miles it has…
7 CommentsTL;DR - I need a new transfer case. Like most of the rest of the Tacoma, I "only" have 200K miles on the transfer case. While these are generally viewed as rock solid components that can last upwards of half a million miles, mine actually started to show signs that…
Leave a CommentTL;DR - I've put 10K miles on my reinforced axle housing and it's working great. I'm really in no rush for my new one to arrive. Back at the end of September, as I was driving home from the Aftermath trip, I noticed that my rear axle housing had cracked…
Leave a CommentIt seems like it's been a lot longer, but it was only a couple of weeks ago that I noticed my rear axle housing was leaking at the passenger side leaf spring perch. On my way home from surveying the Aftermath of the Creek and Dixie Fires, I knew that…
6 CommentsTL;DR - My rear axle housing cracked at the passenger spring perch. I've ordered a new axle housing. I've been quite lucky when it comes to cracking - or not cracking, rather - parts fo the Tacoma. I'm sure this is partly due to the fact that I've only been…
Leave a CommentTL;DR - All the new bushings I installed recently seem to be doing great. It was a bunch of work, but replacing the LCA bushings, front diff bushings, steering rack bushings, and front bump stops (see Replacing All the Bushings) was definitely worth it. My alignment with the new LCA…
Leave a CommentTL;DR - seems to have resolved itself. The fluid was power steering fluid, I believe. I still had bit of spray at the beginning of the trip. A quick inspection of the engine bay by everyone came to the conclusion that it was power steering fluid from when I removed…
Leave a CommentTL;DR - I don't really know what this is, but I'm going to keep monitoring it. Hopefully it's nothing. A couple times during the last (Roaming Around Rainier) trip, when I opened the hood to connect the air compressor and air up the tires, I noticed that there was some…
Leave a CommentAnyone who owns a 4WD Toyota and has dealt with the drain and fill plugs on the IFS front diff knows that they generally suck. They use either a 10mm or 12mm hex key, and that can be a problem for many reasons: The recess that the key fits into…
20 CommentsWell, the Tacoma got a new fuel filter today. It's a part I've had sitting around for maybe 18 months now or so, just taking up room in the garage. Because, who needs to install a new filter when the one that's on there seems to be working just fine.…
8 CommentsWhen it rains, it pours! It was only a few weeks ago that I replaced the rear axle seals on the 3rd gen 4Runner. No good deed goes unpunished however, and it was only a couple days after doing the job that the same failure happened on the Tacoma -…
1 CommentTL;DR - I have oil leaking from the transfer case where the front drive shaft attaches. The truck is subjected to a lot of muddy water crossings and over time that muddy water gets in the various seals and things start to leak. That has happened on one of the…
Leave a CommentTL;DR - The rear axle seal replacement seems to worked beautifully and there is no more leaking at all. My trip to Canada and the Whipsaw Trail was cut short when I discovered a leaky rear axle seal on the driver side. Upon my return, I replaced the seals using…
Leave a CommentWell, as I mentioned previously, our last family camping trip was both a success and a failure. I mean, the camping part was all success, but noticing that my rear axle seals were leaking when we got home - that part was definitely a failure. The telltale oil streak of…
25 CommentsI have a confession to make: I procrastinated this job and it may have cost me. So let's back up for a moment. See, this was a mod that I knew I needed to do to the 4Runner as soon as I got it. Toyota has conveniently placed the rear…
10 CommentsTL;DR - Couldn't be happier. I was considering getting some CVJs to replace my CVs, but I don't think I will anymore. Having busted both of my inner CV boots after installing my ADS coilovers, I rebooted both CVs earlier in the year. They've held up great since then, and…
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