May 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,…
7 CommentsTag: mechanical
Modifications to the truck's mechanical systems - drive train, brakes, etc.
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…
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Squeaky 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…
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Over 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…
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Over 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,…
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Over 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…
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Anyone 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…
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Well, 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.…
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This is an easy project, and one that I'd put off for way too long before doing for the first time recently. Personally, I'd recommend changing your fuel filter at the same time you do your timing belt - every 90K miles or so - just as preventative maintenance, and…
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I 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…
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If you're here looking for how to install Tundra 13WL or 13WE brakes on a 3rd gen 4Runner, you can read how I did it on this particular day, but the more useful page for you will probably be this guide: Step by Step Tundra Brake Upgrade on a Tacoma…
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If you own a Toyota Tacoma - and especially if you drive it off-road or with any kind of lift - you're likely to have a CV axle boot crack or split at some point, flinging grease everywhere and making a royal mess. I was lucky enough to have it…
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I recently installed SPC Performance upper control arms (25460) on my 2000 Tacoma, and it went great. In addition to the story of the install, I figured a detailed set of instructions for anyone wanting to tackle this themselves would be nice to put together, since it's hard to find that…
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January 15, 2019. What can I say? It's the end of an era, sort of. Really, it's the end of a transition period for the Tacoma - a time when it was transitioning from daily driver and home renovation hauler to a more dedicated exploration vehicle. It was nearly three…
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I recently changed the timing belt and water pump on my 2000 Tacoma, and it went great. In addition to the story of shop day, I figured a detailed set of instructions for anyone wanting to tackle this themselves would be nice to put together, since it's hard to find…
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Well, the good news is that we were successful. It may have taken 14 hours, but the Dan's (@drr and I) were triumphant in our first attempt at a timing belt self-service to each of our 5VZFE's. But oh, how we're getting ahead of ourselves. Let's back up say... six…
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I was ready for adventure - running solo, I was returning to Death Valley, having only just wet my appetite on our first trip back in January. With 2500 miles to go, I knew I had a lot of driving ahead - but I was ready - or so I…
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February 21, 2018. Not all that long ago, the truck got a gear change - from the 4.10 factory gears to 4.88's - meaning that it's now easier on the engine to turn the bigger tires as it climbs up hills, over rocks, and generally towards adventure. Within a couple…
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January 12, 2018. The day has arrived, finally. For three months, I've had a set of SCS Stealth6 wheels stacked, in the boxes they arrived in, in the living room. @mrs.turbodb has not been happy. In that time, I've been trying to decide what tires I want to run on…
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December 24, 2017. Having travelled the requisite 500 miles to break in my new 4.88 gears (you may want to read "New Gears - 4.88's and an ARB front locker" and "the first 500 mile break-in" if you haven't already), it was high time to change the oil in the…
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