09 Tacoma - The Green Machine

[Tomaslav90]

2009 sr5 extended cab tacoma with 4x4.
The truck started as a college vehicle for me. At the time the 4x4 was a must since I was living a few hours from Tahoe, and hitting the slopes every chance I got. While at school, friends and I would go to Pismo. I think that's where the camping and offroad itch really set in.


After graduating, moving back down to SoCal, and actually making some money, the real fun began. I scored on some methods and falcons from a guy going back to stock. Also ditched the tube steps for some actual sliders.

I knew for a while I wanted to long travel this truck. Friends were trying to get me to fully link it. The idea was tempting, but I really enjoyed the 6ft bed, both for sleeping in, and truck life.
Thankfully there was a solution! The wonderful and brilliant boys at RJ Fab had come up with a cantilever kit, and my heart was set. I was able to plan it with those amazing guys to get the whole rear end done while I was away for work. And they absolutely killed it.



Best part was the truck still looked stock. No way to know she's packing ~16in of travel in the rear.

 

[the bodj]

Geez that must have cost a fortune to have RJ fab do the work! Looks great though

 

[Tomaslav90]

She sat like this for a while, small changes here and there, mostly while I recouped funds for the next steps.
I managed to come across some McNeil glass on tw, so that seemed like the next logical step.

A friend with a forklift let me play around and really see just how much travel there is

Then finally paint.

 

[Tomaslav90]

Geez that must have cost a fortune to have RJ fab do the work! Looks great though

100% worth it though. I love having the numbers, and a fully functional bed

 

[Tomaslav90]

Then the stars aligned, and the fable day arrived.


With the help of some friends, we started the tear down and the hot gluing of new parts.


A few days and lots of beer later, we were done.

 

[dwphoto]

nice ride! had to be night and day with that TC kit on there. Dig the Canvas shell.

 

[Tomaslav90]

After a while I got tired of the mismatched panels on the front. Had SickNick fab up a prerunner bumper for me. (I really need to learn to weld...)
It was well timed since I had a small jtree trip planned.

 

[Tomaslav90]

nice ride! had to be night and day with that TC kit on there. Dig the Canvas shell.

And of course because I hate my wallet I stopped by chaos on my way home from jtree and threw more money at the front.

 

[Tomaslav90]

More progress. More problems.
After having consistently high coolant temps during the desert cleanup, I decided to bite the bullet and swap to a larger radiator. Thoughts that my skids and glass were making it hard to keep cool.


Turns out, that wasn't the problem...


With 136k on the clock, my next guess is a bad water pump. So now we wait for parts to arrive, and hopefully push the worries away.

 

[Tomaslav90]

As usual, more done than actually posted...
Threw in a new water pump and lower t-stat right before the holidays. Finally got the radiator buttoned up. Only took 3... (Thanks UPS for your wonderful handling policies.)




Then this morning I had the joy of a wonderful grinding noise that could be heard from a block away as I tried to pull out of my driveway.
Turns out my wheel bearing was completely shot... Spent the morning swapping that sucker out just in hopes that I could go smog the truck.



All in all its a small price to pay for running around and chasing the Bad Lines Gang.

 

[theycallmeWALLY]

Probably time to change the other bearing as well!

I bet you are stoked you caught it around the corner from your house vs in the desert.

Are we going to see you at KOH?

 

[Tomaslav90]

Gotta order another one. I guess I got lucky because the local Toyota dealer only had one in stock.

I'm willing to bet that Barstow trip really put the death rattle in it, but yea very glad I caught it at home.

No I wont be making KOH this year. Looking at jumping back on a ship at the end of the month. Gotta be able to afford beating on the rig (and paying for that Camburg rear end)

 

[Tomaslav90]

Since I've been talking so much with Camburg, I was finally able to get them to give me a hopeful fix to an ongoing problem. The shackles that were put on the truck have never been square. It's not that far off, but considering how often I have to pull stuff apart, it's definitely not helping.

The rear shackles love to eat bushings. Been averaging about 12k on a set. Spent the last two days under the truck tearing down and replacing some definitely worn out bushings.



All nice and wallowed out. The driver side was completely worn through.


Hopefully the new set of shackles makes these bushings last a little longer.