2005 Tundra novice build - "The Rez"

[Kpack]

Have you tested the arb yet? Which compressor did you go with? Pics of the mounting location and switch?

Haven't tested it yet. Compressor gets here on Monday, I went with the ARB CKMA12. I'm not sure where I'm going to mount it yet or how that's going to happen. Once I have the actual compressor I will be able to physically try out different spots in the engine bay. I'm assuming that I'll need to make some sort of a mounting bracket as well. I've never done that before so that will be interesting.

Not sure of where I'm going to put the switches yet. I don't plan on getting a SPOD anytime soon. Most likely I will put the two switches up in the overhead console where there are two blanks. That way I won't accidentally engage the locker....putting the switches down in the center console concerns me because some junk in the tray could bump the switch and activate the locker.

 

[SportsmanJake]

Haven't tested it yet. Compressor gets here on Monday, I went with the ARB CKMA12. I'm not sure where I'm going to mount it yet or how that's going to happen. Once I have the actual compressor I will be able to physically try out different spots in the engine bay. I'm assuming that I'll need to make some sort of a mounting bracket as well. I've never done that before so that will be interesting.

Not sure of where I'm going to put the switches yet. I don't plan on getting a SPOD anytime soon. Most likely I will put the two switches up in the overhead console where there are two blanks. That way I won't accidentally engage the locker....putting the switches down in the center console concerns me because some junk in the tray could bump the switch and activate the locker.

There are no good places to add switches in our truck.

I am building a bracket to mount a ckma12 in my engine bay. I have never done custom work like this before so it aught to be interesting.
I can share what I come up with, but the access cab bay layout it different than the double cab from my understanding.

 

[Kpack]

There are no good places to add switches in our truck.

I am building a bracket to mount a ckma12 in my engine bay. I have never done custom work like this before so it aught to be interesting.
I can share what I come up with, but the access cab bay layout it different than the double cab from my understanding.

You're right unfortunately. No easy place to put a switch panel. If I do end up getting an SPOD, I'll still likely mount the switches spread out around the dash. I have two blanks on the overhead, two blanks to the left of the steering wheel, and two blanks above the center console tray. I figure compressor and locker up top, aux lights on the left of the steering wheel, and missile launch buttons in the center console.

Do share your plans for the bracket you make. I'm not sure how different the AC vs the DC is, but whatever we can come up with will surely benefit the rest of the 1st gen crowd.

 

[rickashay]

Locker is in, along with all new Nitro rear diff bearings. The old ring and pinion were reused because I'm not regearing.....they said the backlash was a bit tight on it but that they set it back to what it was when it came out. Apparently someone had been inside the rear diff previously because they had shimmed something. They refilled the diff with 75w-140 Schaffer oil, which I'm glad they told me because it was 75W-90 with the limited slip. They also replaced the driveshaft carrier bearing with a new one because the old one's rubber was completely destroyed. They ran the air line up to the engine bay, so now I'll I need to do is get a compressor in there and wire it all up.

The vibration is unchanged....still very noticeable at 40-50 mph. Maybe tires? I don't know. They've been balanced 4 times, one of them road-force, and I don't see any obvious signs of abnormal wear.

I'm tired of chasing it down. I'm just going to drive it until whatever is causing the vibration fails. The bummer part is that the truck is not fun to drive with the vibration as pronounced as it is.

Not that this is necessarily your issue but I used to run Goodyear MT/R Kevlars on my 80 Series. I too chased down vibrations for over a year - had a double cardon front shaft installed, swapped out wheels, had various balances done, rebuilt rear driveshaft, etc. Ended up being the Goodyears and I had one that was apparently out of round. I was told (by a tire shop so take this for what its worth) that it is fairly common with the Goodyears. Now in the auto-industry (Parts Manager at Toyota) I now won't run another tire other than a Toyo/Nitto. Build quality far surpasses the multitudes of tires I've ran previous.

We seriously should all get together for a 1st Gen Tundra trail run. For whatever reason there are a decent number of us 1st gen guys up here. I'm in Kittitas County on the east side of the mountains, but we could potentially all meet up somewhere. Are you guys going to the Northwest Overland Rally? I'm really hoping to make it but it all depends on when my wife delivers....due any week now.

Not a 1st Gen Tundra guy (anymore) but might be at the NWOverland rally.

 

[Kpack]

Took some time today and got the ARB compressor installed. It was a bit of an experiment, but I think everything went together fairly well.

Project
ARB CKMA12 Compressor install

Purpose
Provide an air supply for the rear locker
Provide an air supply for airing up tires

Cost
$275

Time
~4 hours

Procedure
First step is to find a spot to mount the compressor. The location I selected was on the passenger side, right behind the airbox, above the wheel well. On my truck, this little contraption was in the way:

I have no idea what this heat sink is for, so I left it there. I decided to make a bracket that attaches to the vertical part of the bracket pictured, then to side of the engine bay. I figured the easiest way was to use a post bracket and bend it to my needs. I used one similar to this.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/USP-Steel-G185-Post-Base-Common-6-in-Actual-5-5-in/3691740

I bent one of the legs down, then drilled a hole matching up with the vertical post pictured above. I inserted a 1/4 20 bolt and a nut to hold it tight.

Then I marked where the bracket met the side of the engine bay, drilled two holes, and set two 1/4 20 nutserts:

I painted my ghetto bracket black to hide the ugliness, then bolted the ARB compressor to it. Once that was installed I then bolted the bracket to my mounting points, using rubber washers between the bracket and the truck to reduce vibrations. I changed the position of the manifold to something I think might work.

I then followed ARB's excellent instructions and got everything hooked up to the compressor. The wiring harness that came with it was great. Just the right length on all components and was easy to understand. The bracket I made is stable, though not as solid as something like aluminum or steel. Good enough for now I guess.

Zip ties were used to tie the wiring harness and locker hose to the firewall. I had grand plans to use braided sleeve on the wires to keep it neat but nowhere around me has it. So I might order some and go back and tidy it up a bit. We'll see. The shop that installed the locker in the rear routed the air line up the driver's side. Luckily there was just enough to get it over to the compressor and put it in the solenoid.

There aren't plans to get an SPOD or equivalent anytime soon, so I had to find a decent mounting position for the switches. Originally I was thinking of putting them in the overhead console, but I'm pretty sure there isn't room behind the mounts to allow for the depth of the switches and wiring. The easiest was to put them in the lower part of the center console. Not ideal because I don't want them to get accidentally activated....I'll have to find a way to protect them. I punched a hole in the passenger side rubber grommet and ran the wires through. I tapped the 12V power and dash illumination wires into some that were labeled behind my stereo headunit (the Crutchfield harness had all the wires already labeled....convenient). I had to grind a good amount out of the factory mounting holes to make space for the larger ARB switches.

I hooked it all up to the battery and tested it. The compressor works fine, though I think I may have a leak somewhere....I'll have to find it later. I put the rear axle up on jack stands, blocked the tires, took off the parking brake and put it in neutral to test the locker. Confirmed that the tires spin in different directions first, activated the locker and confirmed that both tires now turn in the same direction (there is a definite clunk as it locks in place....normal?), then turned off the locker to confirm that they returned to spinning in opposite directions.

Happy to have that done! Can't wait to try it out!

 

[SportsmanJake]

Looks great!

That heat sink is a resistor box for the low impedance fuel injectors.

 

[Kpack]

Looks great!

That heat sink is a resistor box for the low impedance fuel injectors.

Good to know! I figured I probably shouldn't mess with it. Plus, if you remove the bracket that it is mounted, the wheel well is not flat there....lots of bumps and such, making mounting a compressor a real challenge. Easier just to make a bracket.

 

[Kpack]

Well, the plot thickens. Never content to just run quietly and smoothly, my truck is still struggling with vibrations and such. However, now there is a new noise....a constant "squeaking" or "chirping" coming from the rear of the truck. I can hear once the truck hits 25 mph and it continues from there. Driving by a building it bounces back and is easily heard. Initially I suspected a U-joint, thinking that this would be the end of my never-ending quest to stop the vibrations. Had a shop look at it, they test drove it a bunch, took off the rear driveshaft completely, checked all the u-joints and found no play/noise/sticking/rust/etc. It all checks out.

They run it on the lift and localized the noise to the pinion bearing area.....which is awesome because I just had all the rear diff bearings replaced 2 weeks ago at an off-road shop (in conjunction with the locker install). It FOR SURE was NOT making this noise before the new bearings. Shop looked at the new rear diff oil they put in (Schaeffer 75w-140) and said it looked silvery and such. I'm going to drain it and take a look at the color.

What's the deal? The gears aren't new. They reused the old gears and set them to the same backlash that they were at before. I'm really going to be annoyed if I have to tear into the rear diff again.

Though I love my truck I'm quickly reaching the end of my patience here. There's only so much money I care to spend, and I have yet to find a resolution to the vibration. It's getting worse and the truck isn't even fun to drive now, nor can I trust it long-distance at this point. If it's not one thing, it's another....

 

[Series1Rangie]

I have nothing constructive to add, but this sucks. You have my sympathy.

Chasing a vibration or noise and replacing parts gets frustrating and expensive. On top of that you want the shop to make it right, but if they did it wrong in the first place what’s to expect them to get it right a second time.

Ugh.

Good luck.


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[High Country]

Sorry to hear that Kevin. Sure hope you get it figured out soon!

 

[smokeysevin]

I doubt it makes you feel better but I blew up 3 sets of yota gears and 1 set of 12 bolt gears before my current set. Currently I get gear noise on coast and my pinion seal leaks.

Sean

 

[toyick]

did u check ur axles?


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[Kpack]

did u check ur axles?

I did, didn't see anything abnormal....both rear wheels seem to be true. It's possible that the driver's axle is bent because the truck was in a sideswipe incident at some point with a previous owner. Minor dings and scrapes were on the driver's bedside. But my un-trained eye didn't see anything out of the ordinary when running on jack stands.

At this point I'm leaning towards the tires being the main culprit. There isn't much else it can be. Here are all the parts that have been replaced and/or checked over the past year that could potentially have been sources of vibration:

-Front wheel bearings: replaced
-CV axles: replaced with rebuilt OEM
-ECGS bushing in front diff
-Rear driveshaft carrier bearing: replaced
-U-joints: all checked (with driveshaft removed from vehicle)....no play, no catching, no rust, always greased
-All fluids replaced
-New SCS wheels
-Rear bearings: no noise, no play

My Duratrac's are about 2 years old, and seem to be wearing okay....I can't detect any cupping, but they are somewhat aggressive so maybe it's hard to see. The tires have been balanced 4 or 5 times, one of them road force, and it hasn't helped. Maybe they're out of round? Leaning towards BFG KO2's.

Any chance it could be a problem with the torque converter? Transmission seems to be doing fine, but I plan on doing a drain and fill here soon (not flush yet). Tranny was flushed by Toyota 2 years ago (15k miles). Doesn't feel quite as snappy on the shifting as it did right after the flush...the drain and fill should solve that by ensuring fluid levels are where they need to be.

 

[Loubaru]

Have the outer rear axle bearings been replaced....or at least checked? If the sound is coming from the rear I wouldn't think it would be the torque converter... Does it do it both when you are accelerating and decelerating? Tires would also make sense to me, if you haven't tied swapping them out that would be the first thing I would do since its free. My Duratracs balanced fine but it was a different size and vehicle. I would assume the shop would check the rear axles, shouldn't be that hard to but a dial indicator on them but who knows. Seems like you would also have rear axle seal issues if it was bent.

I don't have much experience with truck vibrations but a lot in industrial rotating equipment, take what I say with a grain of salt but it does sound like you have some type of alignment or balance issue. Sorry, my Tundra is way more smooth than my G3 runner (all tough it was built a little better) and rides better than my co-workers brand new Silverado.

 

[bkg]

Start with the simple things... rebalance and rotate the tires. Throw a small dial indicator on the axle flange face/back and see if there is anything major.