'03 Tacoma Build

[01tundra]

Did Fetter buy your Tundra? Everytime it seems I talk to him he has another Toy. If I would have known you were looking for a bed cover I have a nice tonneau sitting in the garage I will probably never use again that is in great condition.

In for the build. . . . . .

Nope, some kid out of the Lexington, KY area off of tundrasolutions bought it.

 

[haddix]

Hmm hopefully ill see your old rig around. I live in Richmond about 15 mins from Lexington.

 

[EXP-T100]

You have any thoughts on gearing? I just went from 285 to 265 with 4.88. With the 265 and 4.88 it’s a perfect combo. When I first got my truck it was kind of doggy compared to my wife’s ex-cab with 285's and 4.88. I figured it would get better when I went to 285 and 4.88 but that did not happen and I never was happy with the combo but now its got pep and the rpm's are about 2750 at 75mpr with the 265 and 4.88 which is only about 100 rpms difference than with the 285. So I guess what I am trying to say is the 4.88 and 265's combo rocks for the d-cab IMO.

 

[01tundra]

Well so far so good. They are super quiet and really smooth. Didn't take any unusual amount of weight to balance. No pulling to one side or the other, no crazy handling characteristics either. I honestly can't really tell a difference in power, but the BFG's I had on there weighed about 4 lbs more per tire, so maybe that about washes out the extra 1" in diameter.

The tires look a lot more aggressive than I had imagined they would, and ride a lot smoother than I figured they would......so far, so good !

 

[01tundra]

Started working on extending the rear diff breather over the weekend.
There seems to be somewhat of an ongoing debate on whether the breather should have a filter or just a vent cap......so I opted for both . Found a small inline fuel filter at Autozone that had a 1/4" hose fitting on one end and 1/8" NPT threads on the other. Since I still had a few of the Summit Racing billet breather caps laying around from the old Tundra days, I figured I would combine them to make the ultimate bling breather vent.
I made an L-bracket to mount the filter assembly in and found a factory Toyota hose clamp laying around that fit the filter body perfectly.
Planning on finding a high spot to mount it up in the rear fender well, hopefully near, or above, the fuel filler.

 

[Louisd75]

After much research, the next two items on the "list" are:

1. CBI bolt-on sliders w/ kickouts
2. BudBuilt skid plate set w/ rear crossmember


Anybody have any personal experience/input with any of the above?

*Edit - I decided to go ahead and order an Inchworm E-locker motor guard and low-profile diff drain plug.

I have the CBI bolt on sliders with the kickout and love them, though it took a little getting used to. The slider before the kickout is even with the fender flares. The kickout makes it stick out a little further, like so:

I've heard that there is a compatibility issue between the BudBuilt skids and the CBI bolt ons. It has something to do with slider mounts interfering with the skid's rear crossmember. I can't remember where I saw the thread (either here or TTORA), but Bud was able to make some changes to work around the issue.

 

[01tundra]

Thanks for the picture, I've been looking for a picture at that angle to get an idea about profile .

Yeah, I've read about the same compatibility issues with Buds skids, I emailed him and he said he's heard about it over the years, but nobody's ever been able to show him where the conflict occurs. I figured that my plasma cutter can resolve any conflicts that arise.

 

[Louisd75]

Thanks for the picture, I've been looking for a picture at that angle to get an idea about profile .

Yeah, I've read about the same compatibility issues with Buds skids, I emailed him and he said he's heard about it over the years, but nobody's ever been able to show him where the conflict occurs. I figured that my plasma cutter can resolve any conflicts that arise.

This one here probably will show you how much they stick out the best:

 

[climber-420]

Louis..........what did you put on your fender flares? They look really clean.

 

[01tundra]

Finally got my Teltek temperature gauge installed. Mounted the gauge on the console with velcro and put the sensor behind the driver's side marker light. Decided to go with the new battery powered version, mostly because I didn't feel like doing the wiring this time around.

http://www.teltek.us/ProductCart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=14&idproduct=764

 

[racemedic]

How do you like your GPS mounted there? I have a Nuvi 1450 and have been thinking about that mounting bracket.

 

[Rattler]

I think I would like the sliders with a kickout if they only came out about "2 or "3 and maybe not quite as much kickout..

 

[01tundra]

How do you like your GPS mounted there? I have a Nuvi 1450 and have been thinking about that mounting bracket.

I like it, I've used Pro-Clips in my Tundra's, our FJ, and now the Tacoma.

 

[01tundra]

I think I would like the sliders with a kickout if they only came out about "2 or "3 and maybe not quite as much kickout..

Yeah, I may end up just building my own.......

 

[rangermatt]

Sweet tacoma, thinking of going a similar route with the 5100 adj. struts and shocks and keeping my 265-75-16s, hows the ride?, does it compare to stock?