escape the ordinary
Truck maintenance that's in some way notable.
TL;DR - I've needed to rebuild my front coilovers for a few months now but have procrastinated the job since it's rather time consuming. However, when I heard my front lower spherical bearings starting to make noise, I knew I couldn't put it off any longer.
TL;DR - I replaced my greaseable SPC upper ball joints with the "lifetime" variant that SPC now offers. I'm not sure I believe that it's a lifetime part, but time will tell.
TL;DR - It's finally time to replace my front brake pads on the left (driver) side, and I've been so happy with the Toyota OEM pads I've been running that I'm not even looking for other alternatives.
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 due to the smashing success of the patch I installed - following Ryan's @Reh5108 lead - which has been trouble-free ever since. Of course, the only reason I installed the patch was because it was going to take a long time - six weeks was the estimate - to get…
7 CommentsMay 22, 2023 With the Tacoma living in Las Vegas now, it's harder to perform various maintenance tasks as they pop up and between trips. As such, with a few general maintenance issues - oil changes, tire rotations, etc. - and a few items in recent Rig Reviews needing attention, I drove the truck home from the Three Days of R&R trip for a little TLC (Tacoma Loving Care). On my list for a warm spring day were the following tasks: Routine maintenance - Change the oil, Rotate the tires Grease drive train. Check the new SPC UCAs for play in…
10 CommentsSeptember 1, 2022. Note: There is an important update below. It was more than three years and 120K miles ago that I installed SPC UCAs on the Tacoma. Shortly after installation, SPC came out with an improved design that was a single forged piece of material, with an entirely new type of joint. That joint - which they call the "X-Axis" joint - was essentially a sealed spherical bearing that replaces the polyurethane bushings where the UCA is mounted to the frame. And so, when I took the truck in for an alignment and the alignment tech (a good one,…
18 CommentsI 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 pack broke - was something I could have easily avoided with preventative maintenance. And so, I think it's time to stop putting off a bit more preventative maintenance work that I've been procrastinating: changing my timing belt (and the other associated components) and replacing my clutch. I've done the timing…
2 CommentsOctober 16, 2021. It's been nearly three years since I installed my ADS suspension on all four corners of the Tacoma. I did the rears first - twice, actually - relocating them for more travel. The fronts were installed not long after, and of course I've been battling the spherical bearings ever since. In that time, I've put 88,000 miles on the truck and I've known for a while that it was time to service the shocks. For anyone who just wants a step-by-step guide on rebuilding shocks - as opposed to reading the story of my experience - I've…
2 CommentsIt 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 this was not some maintenance item that I could just put off until there were no trips on the horizon. Nope, this is something that I needed to deal with right away. After several fruitful discussions with my buddies on TacomaWorld, I immediately set about lining up the long-term fix…
6 CommentsI've discussed the trade-offs between disposable and rebuildable shocks in the past as I've replaced spherical bearings in my ADS coilovers, but I've never walked through the process of actually rebuilding the internals of a smooth body shock before. But, now that my shocks have absorbed some ~50K miles, it's time to rebuild and revalve them - so they can provide the same great service in the years to come, as they carry me and my stuff over thousands of miles of dirt roads. Related Guides Every shock manufacturer makes their shocks a little differently. I originally learned how to…
2 CommentsSeptember 26, 2021. For the last few months, my steering rack has had a slow leak. I first noticed it when we were exploring New Mexico on the New Mexico Backcountry Discovery Route (NMBDR), but it hasn't taken much to keep it topped off so I mostly ignored it, except for buying a new steering rack and letting it sit in the box. This is the story of my replacement. I'll gloss over a lot of details, and share the nuances of my install. Think of it as entertainment, really. If you're looking for how to do it, I've written…
4 CommentsI've discussed the trade-offs between disposable and rebuildable shocks in the past as I've replaced spherical bearings in my ADS coilovers, but I've never walked through the process of actually rebuilding the internals of a smooth body shock before. But, now that my shocks have absorbed some ~80K miles, it's time to rebuild and revalve them - so they can provide the same great service in the years to come, as they carry me and my stuff over thousands of miles of dirt roads. Related Guides Every shock manufacturer makes their shocks a little differently. I originally learned how to…
Leave a CommentSqueaky bushings annoy a lot of people. I am not one of those people. And so, as my bushings have squeaked over the years, I've just let them do their thing - usually until I next wash the truck at which point the squeaking stops. And so, my bushings have "lasted" for 20 years. In fact, with the exception of the bushings in the rear leaf springs - which were refreshed when I got a new leaf pack from Alcan - I think all of them are still original. Oh, and the upper control arms (UCAs) bushings have been replaced,…
10 CommentsOver time, rubber bushings wear out and need to be replaced. This happened for me recently when I Replaced All the Bushings on my Tacoma, and I figured that others could benefit from a quick little guide that shows the entire process and lists all the necessary parts for the front diff bushings. Parts Durobump Front Diff Bushings are the only parts you need for this job. Tools Misc sockets (I recommend this set from Williams, a Snap-On brand) 12mm, 14mm socket - to remove the skid plate. 19mm socket to remove front diff brackets. 21mm socket - to remove lug…
8 CommentsOver time, rubber bushings wear out and need to be replaced. This happened for me recently when I Replaced All the Bushings on my Tacoma, and I figured that others could benefit from a quick little guide that shows the entire process and lists all the necessary parts. Before getting started, I should note that when replacing the Lower Control Arm (LCA) bushings, one must remove the steering rack from its mounts. As such, this is also a good time to refresh the bushings that secure it as well, which is not a difficult process: Step-by-Step Steering Rack Bushing Replacement on a…
69 CommentsOver time, rubber bushings wear out and need to be replaced. This happened for me recently when I Replaced All the Bushings on my Tacoma, and I figured that others could benefit from a quick little guide that shows the entire process and lists all the necessary parts for replacing the bushings in the steering rack. Parts One thing to be aware of when replacing the steering rack bushings is that 1st gen Tacomas have two different bushing configurations depending on the model year - with the change happening around the 2000 model. Earlier trucks - it seems - use a…
19 CommentsI've procrastinated replacing the windshield for two years now, a problem I appear to have first noted in a rig review after our Mojave Redemption trip in 2019! My reasoning - or worry - was twofold, really: I've always heard bad things about windshield replacement and the resulting leaks once the new glass is installed. I'm sure this is - as usual - due to inexperienced workmanship or lack of attention to detail, but I always feel like that's sort of what you get when someone else works on your vehicle. I know that's probably a broad over-generalization, but it's…
Leave a CommentOne of the easiest - and often overlooked - maintenance jobs on a Tacoma or 4Runner is replacing the PCV valve. This is a one-way check valve that allows blow-by crank case combustion gases back into the engine to be combusted, rather than vented to the atmosphere (where they would cause pollution). As a check valve, the part is quite simple, but over time the spring in the check valve can wear out, and the grommet that holds the PCV Valve onto the engine can harden due to constant heat/cool cycles. When that happens, replacing it becomes difficult, as bits…
9 CommentsLet's see, how did this start last time. Ahh, right... For two years now, my A/C hasn't really worked. At some point - 17 years after it was originally installed - it developed a slow leak. As spring turned to summer in 2018, I noticed that - as Nelly might say - "it's getting hot in herre," even as I cranked up the cold.from It's Too Damn Hot In Here - Fixing the A/C Evap Core Well, I replaced the A/C evap core and things worked well for all of one week. While that sounds bad - and I guess…
7 CommentsFor two years now, my A/C hasn't really worked. At some point - 17 years after it was originally installed - it developed a slow leak. As spring turned to summer in 2018, I noticed that - as Nelly might say - "it's getting hot in herre," even as I cranked up the cold. For a while, I ignored it. There was no way I was ready to tackle the A/C system from a skills perspective - or so I thought at the time - and I knew that taking it to a shop was going to be rather expensive.…
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