On a cold winters day....A New Life is Born!

[J_wings24]

J_wings24's 99 Tacoma build

Well, it has officially started. The converting of my 1999 Tacoma into an expo vehicle. I have been reading & researching for months on end & started buying bits and pieces about 6 months ago. 2 weekends ago I finally had everything together and I spent the afternoon putting her together.

It was a snowy cold day, but non the less I had to get the new gear on! :wings:

Here is the list:
SAW 2.5's w/ 700# coils
OME Dakar Leaf springs
Bilstien 5100's
Wheelers Tacoma anti sway kit (basically new Swaybar bushings & bump stops)
Steering Rack bushing set
Extended brake line
ARB bullbar

Laying everything out before the build

The old stock struts and leaf packs were totally shot. The truck is just shy of 170K & the suspension has never been touched.
Here is a shot of the front/rear b/f the lift.

Sorry for the blue tint...dang White Balance setting

Pulling off the old Struts

More soon...

 

[Streakerfreak]

Sweet:26_7_2: You did some great research and picked some great products. I love my Camburg 2.5's.

 

[J_wings24]

Taking off the old struts was a piece of cake. Getting the new ones on was easy once i figured out which holes to use on the top of the SAWs!! :jumping:
New C/O's installed:

Old Vs. New The excitement begins!! :bike_rider:

Finished up the front pretty quick. I knew that rear was going to take longer to complete, So I took a quick break for dinner & then enlisted the help of my dad.
Pulled the old leafs & shocks off. I didn't realize until I got them off, but the old shocks were totally shot! Just about all the oil was collecting dust on the casing! DOH, good thing I have new Billy's to replace them.
Dad, doing the dirty work & torquing the main eye bolt:

Drivers side finished off:

Hmmm....Should I hack the Tail pipe?

I didn't get a ton of pictures throughout the build. I was kinda a dweeb about my Canon 30D & didn't want to get my greasy hands on it
The build went really smooth. Everything went on without any major hiccups.
It took about 6 or 7 hours (including a nice dinner break) & the most difficult part was moving the axle forward an inch or so to line up with the new springs.
Here are some very poor 'after' shots. i need to get her out on the trail & try out the flex of the Dakars.

rear:

I didn't have time to install the extended brake line (Can't take her on the dirt till i get that done!) or the new steering rack bushing. It was getting late quick & I had to work the next morning. Hoping to get both those done this upcoming weekend.

Coming soon...ARB install!

 

[slooowr6]

:26_7_2: Nice pick of components!

 

[Overland Hadley]

Looking good!

 

[joetaco]

Sorry for the blue tint...dang ISO setting

It's not your ISO settings. You gotta change your White Balance. Most likely in those conditions to Overcast. :26_7_2:

 

[J_wings24]

Last Monday the good FedEx man came rolling up in his big truck and was kind enough to drop this in my garage,

My ARB sniffing pooch, Oscar checked out this new object in the garage and signaled he found the "loot".
Upon opening this behemoth box I found this:

ARB does a GREAT job of packing their stuff for shipment.
It took me a good 10 min. to break down the box & get the Bullbar & hardware out.
here is what was in the box:

I didn't have time to work on the truck on monday b/c I had a date night with the wife :wings: !! Tuesday on the other hand I got home from work around 3pm & had at it!
Before I started on the bumper I decided to go through the new lift and re-torque everything. It was a good thing I did! the U-bolt nuts had come loose a little bit! Yikes!

Again, not a lot of pics during the actual install b/c of my clean camera Dweebness. But, thats OK.
The old bumper came of quick & easy. pulled the tow hooks & factory crush cans. I ran into trouble when I started assembling the new bullbar.
All of the online installs I have read through have been on Post 02 model trucks. Mine being a 99 was a little different in that you just connect the new crush blocks to the frame rails. You DO NOT have to install the provided frame extensions & cross member that you need for the post 02' trucks.

After some reading and studying of ARB's install guide I got it all figured out & bolted up. I had to use an angle grinder to....aheem.....adjust...the frame.
The new crush blocks/bumper mounts needed a little caressing to get on.
Got the wife outside to help lift on the new bumper & here is what we had:

I am very happy w/ the ARB and its quality. I especially like that I can keep the airbag compatibility. This is my DD & I like having the safety equip.

More to come in the upcoming months! This will become my official build thread!

 

[J_wings24]

It's not your ISO settings. You gotta change your White Balance. Most likely in those conditions to Overcast. :26_7_2:

Good catch on my typo! double
I had my white balance set on a florescent light setting. i was using the camera to shoot some staff Pics at work.
:hehe:

 

[Funrover]

Lookin Good!

 

[p1michaud]

End Cap Mod

Welcome to ExPo! Very nice build up so far and well researched options.

With the ARB don't forget to do the End Cap Mod when you install a winch. This is critical for the sake of safety!

Good luck,
P

 

[mtnbike28]

looks great

Very Nice!

Jay in NY

 

[colotaco]

Taking off the old struts was a piece of cake. Getting the new ones on was easy once i figured out which holes to use on the top of the SAWs!! :jumping:
New C/O's installed:

Old Vs. New The excitement begins!! :bike_rider:

Finished up the front pretty quick. I knew that rear was going to take longer to complete, So I took a quick break for dinner & then enlisted the help of my dad.
Pulled the old leafs & shocks off. I didn't realize until I got them off, but the old shocks were totally shot! Just about all the oil was collecting dust on the casing! DOH, good thing I have new Billy's to replace them.
Dad, doing the dirty work & torquing the main eye bolt:

Drivers side finished off:

Hmmm....Should I hack the Tail pipe?

I didn't get a ton of pictures throughout the build. I was kinda a dweeb about my Canon 30D & didn't want to get my greasy hands on it
The build went really smooth. Everything went on without any major hiccups.
It took about 6 or 7 hours (including a nice dinner break) & the most difficult part was moving the axle forward an inch or so to line up with the new springs.
Here are some very poor 'after' shots. i need to get her out on the trail & try out the flex of the Dakars.

rear:

I didn't have time to install the extended brake line (Can't take her on the dirt till i get that done!) or the new steering rack bushing. It was getting late quick & I had to work the next morning. Hoping to get both those done this upcoming weekend.

Coming soon...ARB install!

Nice build!! I have a 99' also and was wondering what size tire and brand :26_ you have on your truck?

 

[J_wings24]

Welcome to ExPo! Very nice build up so far and well researched options.

With the ARB don't forget to do the End Cap Mod when you install a winch. This is critical for the sake of safety!

Good luck,
P

I've already read through the end cap mod! I need to dust off the rusty welding skills. :Mechanic:
Thanks

 

[J_wings24]

Nice build!! I have a 99' also and was wondering what size tire and brand :26_ you have on your truck?

I have 31x10.5 BFG All Terrains on right now. Hopefully In the next few months I'll get the 285x55R16's on. I picked the 285x55's to attain a little bit more ground clearance.
I feel a pinch weld mod comming. :sunflower

Good luck

 

[Cackalak Han]

Nice. Do you need a diff drop with that lift? I'm also planning to go about 2.5" and was planning on a diff drop as a precautionary measure.