Yes, it's a basket case. No, I was not on drugs when I built it... (2001 Toyota Tundra 2->4WD Build)

[KarmaKannon]

Thanks! I feel like if I am worried about it someone else probably is too. Anytime I build or fix something, the first few times out I have that little voice in my head going "yeah... but are you REALLY sure you did it right?"

The MAF calibrator is actually a bit of a sore spot with me. When I bought it, URD either specifically said they had a non-vvt map for it or it was implied by their website. Its been 10+ years so I can't remember specifics. I ended up emailing them asking for confirmation after installing it only to find out that they didn't have the map, and the unit I installed was setup to do nothing (not add or subtract anything from the signal). The unit did nothing as a result. I have been meaning to setup my logging system and actually get around to tuning it because I am sure there are gains to be had but I have not had the time or energy to do so as I have gotten older and busier.

As for power, I can't recommend regearing enough if you have not done so already. Yes, it's really expensive but when I used to drag race my truck at the local track, it dropped 1.5 seconds off my 1/4 mile time.

The truck did great a few weekends ago on the 2 hour trip (each way) down to Matagorda Bay and handled the sand really well. (No pictures of the truck for some reason) I did find out that airing up 4, 34s is more than my compressor is happy with so I will probably be making a change to that at some point. I think once the fall comes around I will probably end up making the 11 hour hike out to Big Bend. For now, the truck has been put on dirt moving duty in preparation for my summer garden and the air bags have been doing their job well.

I need to put some time aside to wire up the bag fill solenoids, shifter controller, bed outlets, and mount the switchpros/bag controller. Time has gotten kind of short though, my first kiddo is due at the end of April and I am scrambling to get stuff ready around the house.

Sean

Yeah we all question ourselves. I still randomly check for cracks or loose bolts when I'm walking to my truck and think about every one of my welds keeping me from certain catastrophe. If it wasn't for viz torque and torque check paint I'd still be randomly putting wrenches on stuff to check the bolts. That stuff has saved me some stress for sure.
That's too bad about the maf calibrator. I suppose I'll put that one down as a sometime after long tube headers.
Yeah I need to regear bad, but I think rear springs need to be done before that. My rear is sagging and I have fresh shocks itching to be installed. I've done some gear setup so like most other things I'll likely do it myself. Might wait to get my backup vehicle back on the road just in case though.

Have you seen the intake through the cowl mod? I ended up doing it with the stock airbox and an aem filter. Of nothing else it sure sounds mean. I think it may have helped a little in warmer weather.

 

[smokeysevin]

I have thought about doing a snorkel or similar setup but for the most part my IATs are pretty close to ambient as long as you are moving at more than 5ish mph. Sitting at a light or in a drive thru they creep up to 20+ ambient but they drop once the fan kicks on or you start driving again. I was thinking about adding some hood vents or an aux fan but that is low on my list for now. Trans cooler should probably get done soonish with summer coming along quickly and bigger tires than last year.

As for springs/shocks vs gears, I ran a daystar single aal for a long time and swapping to the deavers was night and day for flex and comfort but my payload and ride height dropped dramatically until I added the bags in. Granted, I am running the OG prerunner g57 deavers which have always been super soft and low but any of the other springs will eventually sag out. I also picked up about a 1-1.5" drivers side sag. I could probably fix most of that by corner balancing the front passengers side coilover but for now I just throw an extra 5psi in the drivers airbag and call it good.

Swapping from the stock style "white rocket" shocks I had in the rear to a proper 2.5" shock really improved the ride with the Deavers and stiffened it up substantially (in a good way)

Overall, you can't go wrong on what your next step is other than buying the wrong length shocks for the springs you want.

Gear wise, I have been really happy with my 4.56's but if/when I go to 35"s I will swap to 4.88's. When you do the swap, pick your diff and do both at the same time. I liked the TRD kazz lsd I had before I swapped the 12 bolt in and I really like the tru track I have now. ARB or ECTED would have been nice but they are really pricey and I don't really go near rocks so it was kind of moot for me.

Sean

 

[KarmaKannon]

I have thought about doing a snorkel or similar setup but for the most part my IATs are pretty close to ambient as long as you are moving at more than 5ish mph. Sitting at a light or in a drive thru they creep up to 20+ ambient but they drop once the fan kicks on or you start driving again. I was thinking about adding some hood vents or an aux fan but that is low on my list for now. Trans cooler should probably get done soonish with summer coming along quickly and bigger tires than last year.

As for springs/shocks vs gears, I ran a daystar single aal for a long time and swapping to the deavers was night and day for flex and comfort but my payload and ride height dropped dramatically until I added the bags in. Granted, I am running the OG prerunner g57 deavers which have always been super soft and low but any of the other springs will eventually sag out. I also picked up about a 1-1.5" drivers side sag. I could probably fix most of that by corner balancing the front passengers side coilover but for now I just throw an extra 5psi in the drivers airbag and call it good.

Swapping from the stock style "white rocket" shocks I had in the rear to a proper 2.5" shock really improved the ride with the Deavers and stiffened it up substantially (in a good way)

Overall, you can't go wrong on what your next step is other than buying the wrong length shocks for the springs you want.

Gear wise, I have been really happy with my 4.56's but if/when I go to 35"s I will swap to 4.88's. When you do the swap, pick your diff and do both at the same time. I liked the TRD kazz lsd I had before I swapped the 12 bolt in and I really like the tru track I have now. ARB or ECTED would have been nice but they are really pricey and I don't really go near rocks so it was kind of moot for me.

Sean

Do you think the new deavers are any better? I hadn't heard they were soft but I figured they might be on the soft side like other deavers I've used. I was planning to use a mini pack for now and get a full pack later. I already have gen2 raptor rear shocks and the length should be about perfect from what I've seen. It also matches my front shocks.

Yeah I was thinking 4.88 and if budget allows a selectable locker. I'm fine with a regular locker but my wife really shouldn't drive something like that and she does use my truck from time to time like runs to her families cabin when I'm busy. Better than taking her "suv" on the rough dirt roads to get there.

 

[smokeysevin]

I really can't say about the new deavers. The mini packs always had good reviews when I was looking but my stock leaves were not in great shape and I got a reasonably good deal on the g57s so that is how I went. Mine really need to be re-arched since they are kind of flat. From what I have seen, the "Overland" packs are just g57s with an extra leaf or 2, I think they are 13 leaves rather than 11 but its been a while since I looked at them.

The other way you can tune the packs is by running longer length leaves for more of the pack. The g57 pack tapers really quick so its soft but flexes more.
Unless you are going high speed desert build, the mini pack is probably a good setup for 90% of people.

I want to see your setup with the raptor shocks, I had wondered about them for a while and it sounds pretty slick.

As for diff, the selectable carriers are $$$, I probably have less in my whole rear end than the price of an ECTED lol. That said, for my use case a locker wasn't needed so I was fine with the truetrac. Even the TRD limited slip was fine for my needs both were great on road and in sand even only with 2wd. It may make sense for your needs to buy a true selectable locker. I wouldn't run an open carrier again, doing gears more than once sucks even if you are just swapping the open carrier for a locker.

Sean

 

[smokeysevin]

6 month updates;

The Tundra has been doing Tundra things, running well, being reliable, suffering from the rear driveline clunk etc. For a while now the steering has been on the vague side and I figured it was a similar thing to how the tacomas get loose in the slip joint. I learned to coexist with it an it remained kind of constant until this week...

Today when I got home, I took the covers off the column and jacked up the front end to try and track it down. Turns out, the pinch bolts on the rag joint had backed out at some point and the joint was almost free to spin on the splines... There was easilly 5 degrees of slop before, now there is none.

Check your stuff people!

Sean

 

[smokeysevin]

"Successfully" completed a ~600 mile round trip to Houston County Lake in Crockett TX last week.

Prior to that, the ~1.5 year old "import direct" ball joints from Oreilly's decided that grease was optional and squeaking was not so new ones went on the truck and it got a "mad stance bro" performance alignment in my driveway. Maxed caster, minimal toe, slight negative camber. It drove great even on the crowned pavement of the back country roads. Going to turn the old ones in for "lifetime warranty replacement" and keep them as spares, then replace with OE like I had last time.

I also pulled apart and checked my cantilever arms before I left and cleaned up the bushing sleeves, packed the cavities with grease, and replaced the incorrectly sized 9/16" bolts with the proper 5/8" ones to match the sleeves. Those bastards have been undersized for the last 6 years... Past Sean was a 9th degree black belt moron apparently, how he survived to become current Sean is a mystery.

The only casualty of the trip/return was a fuel smell that had no readily apparent source. It got worse this morning after getting to work so I climbed back under it when I stopped at Lowes. Turns out, the middle pressure line from the tank was casually misting a nearly invisible line of the gulf coast's finest 87 octane directly at my muffler... Temporary hose-over-hose plus hose clamp stopped the leak and a new line is on order. Nothing was rubbing on the line but I came across this thread HERE suggesting that rodents may have played a role. Since we don't really get rats/mice at my house my guess is that it happened at the lake meaning I drove ~300 miles squirting fuel on my exhaust and didn't know it...

ALWAYS CARRY A FIRE EXTINGUISHER AND MAKE SURE IT IS CURRENT

Sean

 

[billiebob]

Made a cheap easy awning for camping or whatever. The tarp I think was a free coupon for harbor freight, the rest was $20ish from lowes.

1 6.5'x5.5' hazard frito tarp
5 5'x0.5" conduit
3 0.5" conduit connectors
2 m8 rivnuts
2 m8 bolts
2 3/8 unc nuts
2 3/8 unc bolts
2 corkscrew ground anchors
20ft 550 hidden fart paracord


Mounts:

Drill 2 holes into the bed rail 66.5 inches on center and install m8 rivnuts

Legs:

Cut one of the conduit pieces in half and stuff one 3/8 unc nuts into one end of each section. Put 2 tack welds on each nut and set aside.

Cross bars:

Take one 5' section of conduit and install a coupler onto the end, then add another section of conduit to the end. Mark total lenght of 67.5" and cut to lenght. Mark 1" at each end and flatten in a vise. Mark and drill 3/8" diameter hole 0.5" from end of tube on flat section on each end. Remove sharp edges.

Assembly:

Connect 5' section and 2.5' section with conduit coupler to form leg, tighten to notgonnafallout ft-lbs. Repeat for other leg.

Take crossbar assembly and connect tarp with 3/8" bolts on either corner. Screw legs onto crossbar. Leave approximately 0.5" of unthreaded lenght.

Connect the other end of the tarp to the mounting points of the truck bed.

Slip paracord over exposed bolts on the legs and pull tight. Place and tie to ground anchors.

Enjoy shade.


Sean

my favourite idea, hardware store bits to build an awning....

 

[smokeysevin]

my favourite idea, hardware store bits to build an awning....

Leaves more room in the budget for gas, bait, and beer!

Sean

 

[smokeysevin]

Finally finished the inverter install, ended up with a 3/4" aluminum spacer for the rear of the stock seat rails to get enough room for it.

Circuit Breaker on the 12v feed with all marine grade tinned copper wire and lugs, sized for 2000w inrush loads on the system. Just need to finish my console so I can mount the remote switch for it. I am considering adding a solar charger and/or second battery but that is a ways down the road. For now, this is good to keep my power tool batteries charged while I drive or top off my laptop.

Sean

 

[dstefan]

Man, I wish I had your wrenching and build skills. Great conversion/restoration/build!

Where did you source those big, flat battery terminal blocks? Really like those … or did you fab them? Auminum?

 

[trailscape]

Nice! I have an inverter in a box somewhere that I keep thinking about installing. I don't find a need to use one too often, but I probably would if it was there.

Do the Pure Sine inverters work better for power tool batteries? I recall reading a ways back about inverters damaging them, though I don't know how accurate it was.

Second battery is worth it if you have a place for one.. It's great insurance knowing you aren't draining your starter battery.

 

[smokeysevin]

Man, I wish I had your wrenching and build skills. Great conversion/restoration/build!

Where did you source those big, flat battery terminal blocks? Really like those … or did you fab them? Auminum?

Thanks, just lots of practice by doing it wrong the first time and "getting" the chance to fix it again later lol

The terminals are from Jims Machineworx, they kind of slip a little (aluminum to lead does that apparently) so I put a couple of small notches into the inside the terminal holes to hold them in place a little better.

Nice! I have an inverter in a box somewhere that I keep thinking about installing. I don't find a need to use one too often, but I probably would if it was there.

Do the Pure Sine inverters work better for power tool batteries? I recall reading a ways back about inverters damaging them, though I don't know how accurate it was.

Second battery is worth it if you have a place for one.. It's great insurance knowing you aren't draining your starter battery.

Supposedly Pure Sine inverters (even though they are still technically a modified wave) are close enough to proper domestic AC that you can run just about anything on them. Double check that though, the marketing verbiage is REALLY hard to find a proper answer out of.

Second battery, battery isolator, bigger alternator, and solar panel are all on the list, no funds for them right now though.

Sean

 

[NavyGator]

@smokeysevin Looking at those battery terminals on the Jims Machineworx website, I don't see a current rating. Do they have a total current rating and/or a per lug rating? How are they working so far (I see you have a 150 amp breaker on one output)? Any concerns with anything grounding or shorting out because there is so much exposed metal there?

 

[smokeysevin]

@smokeysevin Looking at those battery terminals on the Jims Machineworx website, I don't see a current rating. Do they have a total current rating and/or a per lug rating? How are they working so far (I see you have a 150 amp breaker on one output)? Any concerns with anything grounding or shorting out because there is so much exposed metal there?

Nothing was specified when I ordered and I don't have a ballpark guess. They are doing their job with no issues as of now. My biggest complaint is that they are really smooth where they attach to the battery lug and can slip around a little bit. I didn't like that so I added a couple of small grooves with a ball cutter on a rotary tool when clamped down now, they kind of bite into the lead and it keeps them from moving around much. When I redo the power system, I will end up running a battery selector switch and using a big bussbar setup but there was not room for that currently.

As for shorting, prior to installing any lugs I checked clearances and potential grounding points to make sure I wasn't going to immediately short on the hood and there was plenty of room for the current setup. The biggest concern I had was the positive terminal touching the battery hold down plate but once the terminal was modified and tightened I was good with how it fit.

Realistically, I should make a cover for them because I have rested a sweaty arm on the positive terminal and the radiator before while working on something unrelated and zapped myself.

The winch and power inverter are the highest loads on the system right now as far as I know and are both intermittent loads. The breaker for the inverter (150A) is sized for surge load and cable capacity but is significantly higher than the running/operating load of the inverter (almost 100%).

Sean

 

[smokeysevin]

Had a super fun experience when I went to replace my drivers side CV boot last weekend. Found a stuck front caliper on the drivers side and went to broreillys to grab a replacment. Got it on and went to bleed it only to have no fluid come out. Took the whole thing back apart and found that the caliper had no bleed port... then when I went to replace it, got another one like that from a different broreilly before finally going to autozone and getting a good one...

Sean