I've been putting off rear brake shoe replacement on the 4Runner for quite a while. In fact, it's been almost six months to the day since I replaced the rear axle seals, and I've needed to do the job since then - the gear oil that leaked out through the…
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Wheels and tires.
When 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 -…
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Well, 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. My first order of business…
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I recently discovered a dreaded gear oil leak on my 4Runner, and knew it meant only one thing - it was time to change the rear axle seals (and bearings and brake shoes since they were now saturated with oil). In addition to the story of the repair, I figured a…
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June 12, 2019. (and really, the preceding two weeks) It's no secret that over the last few years, I've been through quite a few sets of wheels. I started with my stock 15" aluminum alloys, which "had to go" as part of the most expensive brake upgrade ever and resulted in…
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April 1, 2019. You know that feeling when you've got a project to do that you're a little apprehensive of because you're not sure if it'll go well, or if you've got all the right stuff to make it happen? Well, for once, I wasn't feeling that way! It was…
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March 31, 2019. Ever since we picked up the 3rd Gen 4Runner back in September 2018, we knew that it needed some work to really be a viable family adventure vehicle. Some of that work is cosmetic, and some is mechanical - but all of it took a back burner…
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Rig Review is a new type of post that I'm going to try to write up after most trips, where I'll note any things that worked really well, or could have been better. The idea has always been to optimize the Tacoma build and setup over time, so there's nothing…
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I love the look of the SCS Stealth6 wheels that I've been running for the last 14 months. The dark bronze and six spokes are fantastic. Even the lug nuts are significantly better than OEM. And, as much as I hate to admit it, I really do like stance added…
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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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Rig Review is a new type of post that I'm going to try to write up after most trips, where I'll note any things that worked really well, or could have been better. The idea has always been to optimize the Tacoma build and setup over time, so there's nothing…
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This question is asked often enough that I figured it was finally time to put together an answer that gives lots of information, but that doesn't have to be re-typed again and again. Because that will save everyone a bunch of time, hopefully! So, let's start with the basic question…
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March 14-15, 2018. There is perhaps nothing that changes the look of a truck more than adding a swing-out rear bumper. Sure, you can argue for bigger tires or lift or a front bumper, but in my mind, none of those things compare to the entirely new footprint that a rear-swing-out…
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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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January 6, 2018 For every vehicle I've owned, I've kept a gas/mileage log. Every bit of gas I've put into those vehicles has been recorded - originally into an actual log book, and now directly from the phone into an Excel spreadsheet. There are lots of good reasons to do…
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Before leaving JT's Parts & Accessories, I'd gotten the rundown from Jared and Chris on how to best break in the gears they'd just installed. Essentially, it boiled down to what gear manufacturers recommended as well... Break in Procedure New gear sets MUST be broken in correctly to prevent damage.…
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No More Lugging - Re-Gear to 4.88's and Front ARB Locker December 6, 2017. Over the last 17 years, the truck has been amazing. Truly a joy every time I get in it, work on it, or even just get all googly-eyed looking at it. But, as we've started bigger…
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December 4, 2017. Having recently installed bigger-than-stock tires, it was of course clear that I needed to do something to get them to fit up front, even before I get my new wheels installed... I mean, they didn't rub when driving on perfectly level ground which was nice, but pair…
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October 28, 2017 New brakes nearly installed, I waited anxiously to see how the replacement brake line that Steve @Wheeler's Off Road sent was mailed - was it fast, or would it be slow? It was great - he sent it 1-day and I had it Saturday morning. Not only…
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