Hodakaguy's Overland Tacoma Builds - On to new adventures!
- Thread starter Hodakaguy
- Start date
Hodakaguy
Adventurer
Being a Firefighter I can't help but ask, "What's wrong with this picture"?
The build is looking great but I sure miss the Mog! BTW, do you still have the rescue body that came off of it, or did it go when you sold the truck?
I wasn't there long
I sold the rear unit separately from the Mog, it was a fun Truck for sure but I'm looking forward to using the Tacoma a LOT.
Hodakaguy
Hodakaguy
Adventurer
Our Husky X-act fit Contour floor liners arrived this weekend . The stock Toyota all weather mats leave a lot to be desired and the passenger side mat constantly creeps forward since it doesn't have a anchor. The Husky mats come with a anchor for the passenger side, has an excellent fit and a heaps more coverage than the stock mats. The quality of the Husky units is top notch! Lot's of pics since I was having a hard time finding good pics when I was looking at them.
Pics of the Husky mats next to the OEM units.
Anchor for passenger side, screws into carpet/under matting. The floor mat snaps onto this anchor.
Mats installed.
Next up start installation of a dual battery system in my truck, I'll be piecing together the setup using different brand components. For the passenger side Battery I purchased an Off Grid Engineering aluminum mount, the battery in this location will be a NorthStar Group 35 740 CCA Batt and will be the starting battery for the truck.
The mount....machined aluminum goodness
The mount/battery will be placed in the open space on the passenger side, The TRD Off Road models have this space open since the ABS controller is integral with the master cylinder and located on the drivers side.
These three studs will be part of the mount setup.
Mount Installed........Well....Kinda
Should have been a quick and easy install but the mount does not line up with the rear most stud on the fender well, the hole for the stud (Blue Arrow) is about 2" away from the rear stud (Red Arrow). Maybe this battery mount is for a different year Tacoma? I'll make some calls on Monday, for now this project is on hold.
Picked up my fathers Wheels/Tires from the tire shop, all balanced and ready to go.
Managed to install both front shocks, reservoirs and upper air bag/mounts on my fathers truck this afternoon.
Almost twins...
More to come....
Hodakaguy
. The stock Toyota all weather mats leave a lot to be desired and the passenger side mat constantly creeps forward since it doesn't have a anchor. The Husky mats come with a anchor for the passenger side, has an excellent fit and a heaps more coverage than the stock mats. The quality of the Husky units is top notch! Lot's of pics since I was having a hard time finding good pics when I was looking at them. Pics of the Husky mats next to the OEM units.
Anchor for passenger side, screws into carpet/under matting. The floor mat snaps onto this anchor.
Mats installed.
Next up start installation of a dual battery system in my truck, I'll be piecing together the setup using different brand components. For the passenger side Battery I purchased an Off Grid Engineering aluminum mount, the battery in this location will be a NorthStar Group 35 740 CCA Batt and will be the starting battery for the truck.
The mount....machined aluminum goodness
The mount/battery will be placed in the open space on the passenger side, The TRD Off Road models have this space open since the ABS controller is integral with the master cylinder and located on the drivers side.
These three studs will be part of the mount setup.
Mount Installed........Well....Kinda
Should have been a quick and easy install but the mount does not line up with the rear most stud on the fender well, the hole for the stud (Blue Arrow) is about 2" away from the rear stud (Red Arrow). Maybe this battery mount is for a different year Tacoma? I'll make some calls on Monday, for now this project is on hold.
Picked up my fathers Wheels/Tires from the tire shop, all balanced and ready to go.
Managed to install both front shocks, reservoirs and upper air bag/mounts on my fathers truck this afternoon.
Almost twins...
More to come....
Hodakaguy
Hodakaguy
Adventurer
patoz
Expedition Leader
I wasn't there long
I sold the rear unit separately from the Mog, it was a fun Truck for sure but I'm looking forward to using the Tacoma a LOT.
Hodakaguy
I was just ragging on you a little bit! :agree: After 35 years in the business, you spot everything automatically.
Matt does make some nice battery mounting solutions, and I'm sure he'll get you fixed up.
Hodakaguy
Adventurer
Time to get some work done on this project.
Since I installed the lift on my truck I've had a vibration/shudder each time I pass through 20 MPH. I ordered some Degree Shims (3 Degree) to rotate the pinion upward and place the drive line back into proper orientation.
Dropped the axle, clamped the springs with two C-Clamps and removed the pins holding the spring pack together.
Shims Installed.
Trimming the excess stud to clear the lower Air Bag mounts...and being careful not to touch the shock
And back together again. I took it for a test drive after installing the shims and the Vibration is gone, the shims did the trick!. Now to make progress on other items.....
Next up install the passenger side battery in my truck. I contacted Off Grid Engineering about the bottom rear stud (Red Arrow) not lining up with the hole in the mount (Blue Arrow), they said on the 3rd Gen's the rear mount isn't utilized and the mount is strong enough without it. Seemed like this mount was made for the 2nd Gen trucks and they just called it good for the 3rd Gen's instead of re-designing it to fit properly....bummer since it's not a cheap piece. Once installed I could pull up on the rear of the mount and get a little flex, I decided that it would be best to go ahead and anchor the rear of the mount down to prevent any fatigue over time from flexing when hitting bumps etc.
Mount removed. You can see the three studs in this picture. I will be installing a Rivet Nut into the hole just ahead of the rear most stud and will use a bolt to anchor the mount down.
Rivet Nut tool. This tool is very handy for installing threads into sheet metal.
Hole drilled out to proper size and Rivet Nut being installed.
And Rivet Nut Installed.
Mount re-installed, rock solid and no flexing.
NorthStar Group 35 Battery. This battery will be the starting/Truck battery.
Everything Secured.
Time to install the Drivers side NorthStar Group 31M Battery. This battery will run the Winch, fridge etc and will be tied to the Four Wheel Camper as well.
For the drivers side I will be using a PerfreyBuilt Stainless Steel tray.
Factory battery Removed.
The edge of the tray is against the wiring bundle, I installed a piece of rubber fuel line to keep the sharp edge of the tray from wearing into the wiring.
And installed. I will be modifying the stock wiring to extend over to the passenger side battery soon as well as installing the ACR etc.
Next up installing a retractable step on the rear of my truck. It tucks up pretty high but time will tell if it will get in the way while off road, it will be very handy for every day use though.
Step installed and retracted
With a flick of your foot the step is extended.
Continued Below.....
Since I installed the lift on my truck I've had a vibration/shudder each time I pass through 20 MPH. I ordered some Degree Shims (3 Degree) to rotate the pinion upward and place the drive line back into proper orientation.
Dropped the axle, clamped the springs with two C-Clamps and removed the pins holding the spring pack together.
Shims Installed.
Trimming the excess stud to clear the lower Air Bag mounts...and being careful not to touch the shock
And back together again. I took it for a test drive after installing the shims and the Vibration is gone, the shims did the trick!
. Now to make progress on other items.....
Next up install the passenger side battery in my truck. I contacted Off Grid Engineering about the bottom rear stud (Red Arrow) not lining up with the hole in the mount (Blue Arrow), they said on the 3rd Gen's the rear mount isn't utilized and the mount is strong enough without it. Seemed like this mount was made for the 2nd Gen trucks and they just called it good for the 3rd Gen's instead of re-designing it to fit properly....bummer since it's not a cheap piece. Once installed I could pull up on the rear of the mount and get a little flex, I decided that it would be best to go ahead and anchor the rear of the mount down to prevent any fatigue over time from flexing when hitting bumps etc.
Mount removed. You can see the three studs in this picture. I will be installing a Rivet Nut into the hole just ahead of the rear most stud and will use a bolt to anchor the mount down.
Rivet Nut tool. This tool is very handy for installing threads into sheet metal.
Hole drilled out to proper size and Rivet Nut being installed.
And Rivet Nut Installed.
Mount re-installed, rock solid and no flexing.
NorthStar Group 35 Battery. This battery will be the starting/Truck battery.
Everything Secured.
Time to install the Drivers side NorthStar Group 31M Battery. This battery will run the Winch, fridge etc and will be tied to the Four Wheel Camper as well.
For the drivers side I will be using a PerfreyBuilt Stainless Steel tray.
Factory battery Removed.
The edge of the tray is against the wiring bundle, I installed a piece of rubber fuel line to keep the sharp edge of the tray from wearing into the wiring.
And installed. I will be modifying the stock wiring to extend over to the passenger side battery soon as well as installing the ACR etc.
Next up installing a retractable step on the rear of my truck. It tucks up pretty high but time will tell if it will get in the way while off road, it will be very handy for every day use though.
Step installed and retracted
With a flick of your foot the step is extended.
Continued Below.....
Hodakaguy
Adventurer
Continued from above....
Preparing to install the Dakar springs on my fathers truck, here I'm installing the shims straight away this time while the springs are off the truck.
Drivers side Spring out of the truck. OEM rear spring next to the Dakar springs.
Dakar spring on the left, stock unit on the right.
Time to install the Shocks.
And both rear shock assemblies installed.
Starting fabrication on the lower air bag mounts to adjust them to correct height following the Dakar Spring install.
Both Diffs back from the shop today with the REM Polished Nitro 4:88 Gears Installed! Hope to get these babies back in the truck this weekend.
More to come......
Hodakaguy
Preparing to install the Dakar springs on my fathers truck, here I'm installing the shims straight away this time while the springs are off the truck.
Drivers side Spring out of the truck. OEM rear spring next to the Dakar springs.
Dakar spring on the left, stock unit on the right.
Time to install the Shocks.
And both rear shock assemblies installed.
Starting fabrication on the lower air bag mounts to adjust them to correct height following the Dakar Spring install.
Both Diffs back from the shop today with the REM Polished Nitro 4:88 Gears Installed! Hope to get these babies back in the truck this weekend.
More to come......
Hodakaguy
NM-Frontier
Explorer
That shure looks scary with that band saw near those BP-51s:Wow1:
Hodakaguy
Adventurer
Hodakaguy
Adventurer
Up early and started fabricating parts to extend the lower air bag mounts for my fathers truck. The thicker Dakar springs puts the outer support leg on the bottom mount about 3/4" off the axle, time to extend them for proper fit.
Marking and cutting the new support legs
Welding it all up
Lower mounts primed and painted. Installed the Daystar Cradles, these will allow the air bags to separate from the lower mount during suspension droop, this will allow full droop on the suspension and eliminate the stress on the air bag from the axle assembly hanging off the bag.
Installing the extended Stainless Braided rear brake lines.
Installed the air lines for the air bags. I ran the fill fittings out the rear the same way I did on my truck, so they perform double duty as license plate mounting bolts.
Installed the carrier bearing drop spacers.
Lower air bag mounts installed, the cradles and bags come back into alignment as the suspension is compressed.
Re-installed the rear diff with REM polished 4:88 Nitro Gears. The 4:88 gearing is my favorite mod so far, makes the truck WAY more fun to drive! These 3rd gen trucks should have came from the factory with these gears installed!
Rear end complete, just have to finish torque on the spring eye bolts after the truck is sitting back on the wheels.
Next up re-install the front Diff. Installed painters tape over the axle seals to keep any nasties out during install. No pics of installing the support arms back onto the front diff.
Running the air tubing for the ARB front locker.
Locker air tubing fitted up to the Diff, tubing not yet fully routed and secured in this pic.
Front Diff back in the truck.
Should be able to test drive this baby tomorrow, my father is excited to get his truck back
More tomorrow.....
Hodakaguy
Marking and cutting the new support legs
Welding it all up
Lower mounts primed and painted. Installed the Daystar Cradles, these will allow the air bags to separate from the lower mount during suspension droop, this will allow full droop on the suspension and eliminate the stress on the air bag from the axle assembly hanging off the bag.
Installing the extended Stainless Braided rear brake lines.
Installed the air lines for the air bags. I ran the fill fittings out the rear the same way I did on my truck, so they perform double duty as license plate mounting bolts.
Installed the carrier bearing drop spacers.
Lower air bag mounts installed, the cradles and bags come back into alignment as the suspension is compressed.
Re-installed the rear diff with REM polished 4:88 Nitro Gears
. The 4:88 gearing is my favorite mod so far, makes the truck WAY more fun to drive! These 3rd gen trucks should have came from the factory with these gears installed!
Rear end complete, just have to finish torque on the spring eye bolts after the truck is sitting back on the wheels.
Next up re-install the front Diff. Installed painters tape over the axle seals to keep any nasties out during install. No pics of installing the support arms back onto the front diff.
Running the air tubing for the ARB front locker.
Locker air tubing fitted up to the Diff, tubing not yet fully routed and secured in this pic.
Front Diff back in the truck.
Should be able to test drive this baby tomorrow, my father is excited to get his truck back
More tomorrow.....
Hodakaguy
Hodakaguy
Adventurer
4:30 am on Sunday...time to get back to work.
Routed the ARB air tubing down to the front diff following the breather lines. Will be installing the compressor soon.
Getting ready to re-install the front axles. I pulled my fathers axles while they are still assembled to the spindles, this turned out to be a huge time saver and made re-installation a breeze. Not sure why I didn't do it this way on my Truck, oh well the second time always goes easier and faster
Seal greased and the inside carrier/splines lubed with fresh gear oil
Front drive line re-installed and torqued to spec.
Fresh gear oil applied to the axle shaft. The red arrow is pointing at the clip that locks the axle in place, during installation you want this clip facing upwards to it doesn't hang down and stop the axle from sliding into the carrier. (Clip is upside down in this pic).
Lower two bolts loosely fit on the spindle and holding the axle in place.
Getting ready to seat the axle/internal clip into place. The red arrow is pointing to the machined lips where I'll rest the brass drift to drive the axle in.
Using a brass drift to seat the axles, a couple hits and the axle pops into place.
Drivers side completely assembled and torqued (Minus the UCA Bolt) with new SS Brake line installed, no pics but the passenger side was assembled right after this pic.
Installing SDHQ ABS sensor guards, should do a decent job at protecting the vulnerable wiring connectors. Red arrow pointing to the passenger side front ABS Connector.
SDHQ Guards, very well built and finished.
And installed on the truck.
Managed to get a cut on my thumb in the middle of all this on a sharp thread, couldn't be bothered to walk to the house so had to improvise
New Tires/Wheels installed and brakes bled.
Off the jacks and back on the wheels.
After bouncing on the suspension several times it's time to torque the upper control arms and rear spring perch bolts. Greased the UCA's before final torque then re-installed the rear splash aprons.
My father setting the tire pressure to 30 psi, we will do a chalk test to find the proper inflation pressure for these tires but I'm betting this will be close.
Adding gear oil to both diffs.
Out for a quick test drive to test all systems and get the first heat cycle on the gears. 20 minutes of driving total to allow the diff to heat up then will let it completely cool down again at home. All systems performed perfectly, no vibration issues, no codes, 4WH, 4WL and Rear Locker all working perfectly. Now to get the truck aligned and start getting some easy break in miles on the gears. Stopped here for a quick photo shoot as we hit a gravel road to try out the 4WD system.
My fathers truck next to mine...twins! You can see my suspension has settled about an inch in the 500 miles that I've put on my truck since installing the kit, my fathers will settle out the same. Once the additional weight of the sliders, front bumper/winch get installed it should be about perfect. The initial harshness has also calmed down and my truck is riding better all the time, I'm really like this suspension setup so far.
Posing with the trucks.
Continued Below....
Hodakaguy
Routed the ARB air tubing down to the front diff following the breather lines. Will be installing the compressor soon.
Getting ready to re-install the front axles. I pulled my fathers axles while they are still assembled to the spindles, this turned out to be a huge time saver and made re-installation a breeze. Not sure why I didn't do it this way on my Truck, oh well the second time always goes easier and faster
Seal greased and the inside carrier/splines lubed with fresh gear oil
Front drive line re-installed and torqued to spec.
Fresh gear oil applied to the axle shaft. The red arrow is pointing at the clip that locks the axle in place, during installation you want this clip facing upwards to it doesn't hang down and stop the axle from sliding into the carrier. (Clip is upside down in this pic).
Lower two bolts loosely fit on the spindle and holding the axle in place.
Getting ready to seat the axle/internal clip into place. The red arrow is pointing to the machined lips where I'll rest the brass drift to drive the axle in.
Using a brass drift to seat the axles, a couple hits and the axle pops into place.
Drivers side completely assembled and torqued (Minus the UCA Bolt) with new SS Brake line installed, no pics but the passenger side was assembled right after this pic.
Installing SDHQ ABS sensor guards, should do a decent job at protecting the vulnerable wiring connectors. Red arrow pointing to the passenger side front ABS Connector.
SDHQ Guards, very well built and finished.
And installed on the truck.
Managed to get a cut on my thumb in the middle of all this on a sharp thread, couldn't be bothered to walk to the house so had to improvise
New Tires/Wheels installed and brakes bled.
Off the jacks and back on the wheels.
After bouncing on the suspension several times it's time to torque the upper control arms and rear spring perch bolts. Greased the UCA's before final torque then re-installed the rear splash aprons.
My father setting the tire pressure to 30 psi, we will do a chalk test to find the proper inflation pressure for these tires but I'm betting this will be close.
Adding gear oil to both diffs.
Out for a quick test drive to test all systems and get the first heat cycle on the gears. 20 minutes of driving total to allow the diff to heat up then will let it completely cool down again at home. All systems performed perfectly, no vibration issues, no codes, 4WH, 4WL and Rear Locker all working perfectly. Now to get the truck aligned and start getting some easy break in miles on the gears. Stopped here for a quick photo shoot as we hit a gravel road to try out the 4WD system.
My fathers truck next to mine...twins! You can see my suspension has settled about an inch in the 500 miles that I've put on my truck since installing the kit, my fathers will settle out the same. Once the additional weight of the sliders, front bumper/winch get installed it should be about perfect. The initial harshness has also calmed down and my truck is riding better all the time, I'm really like this suspension setup so far.
Posing with the trucks.
Continued Below....
Hodakaguy
Hodakaguy
Adventurer
Continued from above....
Now that my fathers truck is out of the shop I warmed up my Diffs and dropped the initial break in oil. The rear looked really clean, the front had a little bit of grayish tint to it. Both magnets on the drain plugs had just a light gray film on them. We re-filled both diffs with fresh oil and I will drive another 1000 miles and drop the oil again, if all is clean at that point I will install the Redline Syn oil.
Next up install the bed mounting bars for the Four Wheel Camper. These bars will anchor the camper to the bed with turn buckles hidden beneath the camper. There is a multi piece rubber mat that goes on either side of the bars to make the floor one height.
The bed bars are held in place with the factory bed mount bolts.
Quite a bit of progress this weekend, now to just keep up that pace
More to come....
Hodakaguy
Now that my fathers truck is out of the shop I warmed up my Diffs and dropped the initial break in oil. The rear looked really clean, the front had a little bit of grayish tint to it. Both magnets on the drain plugs had just a light gray film on them. We re-filled both diffs with fresh oil and I will drive another 1000 miles and drop the oil again, if all is clean at that point I will install the Redline Syn oil.
Next up install the bed mounting bars for the Four Wheel Camper. These bars will anchor the camper to the bed with turn buckles hidden beneath the camper. There is a multi piece rubber mat that goes on either side of the bars to make the floor one height.
The bed bars are held in place with the factory bed mount bolts.
Quite a bit of progress this weekend, now to just keep up that pace
More to come....
Hodakaguy