Inv4drZm's Build Thread

[Ed_C]

Time for a vote.

Long-term Tundra plans, aka me rambling.

1. Long tubes, fabricate dual exhaust, supercharger, short bed, and keep 2WD or maybe swap in my 4Runner's t-case and convert to AWD.

2. Long tubes, fabricate dual exhaust, short bed, solid front axle/ Atlas t-case, exo cage, 40s.

Either way I want a short bed and new exhaust, been looking at what it takes to do my own painting as well. Would be a fun project to do a full respray, maybe Sandstorm?

I'm a "street car" kinda guy so #1 in AWD appeals to me more. With your welding/fab skills I'd do a front-mount turbo or two behind the fog light openings.

Either way I can't wait to see how the exhaust turns out :biggrin1:

PS if you ever plan on throwing away the fog light delete panels I'd be interested in paying shipping

 

[Inv4drZm]

I'm a "street car" kinda guy so #1 in AWD appeals to me more. With your welding/fab skills I'd do a front-mount turbo or two behind the fog light openings.

Either way I can't wait to see how the exhaust turns out :biggrin1:

PS if you ever plan on throwing away the fog light delete panels I'd be interested in paying to have them sent over

The exhaust should be pretty cool. JBA makes a nice set of long tubes that require custom exhaust work (no problem for me obviously) and with 2wd and no t-case I have plenty of room to work with, and might even be able to place the X merge dead center and then route the muffler section to the passenger side.

I might do a longer set of mufflers this go around to see how quiet I can make it. Magnaflow makes a 6x27" long version of my 6x18" I have currently in my 4Runner.

 

[Inv4drZm]

Drove to KC to try and snag a Tundra bed from a pick n pull that arrived a week ago. We borrowed my grandpa's trailer which is fricken heavy unloaded, but the 4Runner didn't do too bad. When we arrived it was in about the same condition as my current bed (bad) so we came home with an empty trailer.

I did make progress on detailing the Tundra. Lots of soap, iron remover, and clay bar, with a quick buff and sealant over top. Toyota 056 always shines up well. Tore apart the interior and cleaned it all as good as possible.

I got new spark plugs in on Monday so changed those out while I had the day off. Also received transmission fluid and a timing belt kit, but still waiting on an alternator to begin that project. Trans shifting can be slow and jarring, and shifting to reverse sometimes takes a few seconds. Hoping a few drain and fills can solve that.

Other than that, driving it is pretty fun. Accelerating through a turn squeals a rear tire surprisingly easy, especially compared to the heavy AWD 4Runner.

 

[4RunnerAquasport]

Kinda Jealous. Have wanted to build a Tundra ever since I watched Psychotic's truck on their You Tube clips years ago.

Older Toyota Trucks still draw big money here in Florida, so I could never swing the coin. Now that my focus has been on the 4th gen, they are starting to come down into my budget lol. Every 1st gen access cab I see just begs for some LT and a cage imho.

 

[Inv4drZm]

Kinda Jealous. Have wanted to build a Tundra ever since I watched Psychotic's truck on their You Tube clips years ago.

Older Toyota Trucks still draw big money here in Florida, so I could never swing the coin. Now that my focus has been on the 4th gen, they are starting to come down into my budget lol. Every 1st gen access cab I see just begs for some LT and a cage imho.

Anything with a truck bed seems to be valued at a couple thousand more than their SUV counterparts. I picked this one up for $3k, which I think is a pretty good deal, and even though its a little rough its fun to fix up. Should be the perfect wheelbase and weight for wheeling once I shorten the bed and throw some Toyota axles underneath. Basically a modern version of an old school Toyota crawler.

 

[4RunnerAquasport]

Gonna be cool to watch the transformation. You don't really see a lot of them made into crawlers. Of course I don't see a lot of crawlers here in flat land. Mostly jeeps with 1st - 2nd gen 4Runners and some early SR5 pickups.

Now mud buggies in Florida? Very cliche

 

[Inv4drZm]

Gonna be cool to watch the transformation. You don't really see a lot of them made into crawlers. Of course I don't see a lot of crawlers here in flat land. Mostly jeeps with 1st - 2nd gen 4Runners and some early SR5 pickups.

Now mud buggies in Florida? Very cliche

Exactly. To me its the perfect platform but we'll see how it performs.

I debated going with a single cab V6 Tacoma but they were more expensive and harder to find with the V6/auto; most were the 4cyl/manual.

I like how simple it is. Roll-up windows, no cruise control, vinyl floors, bench seat. Suspension feels solid. I can hopefully post some pics of it all soon. Not sure if I want to start a new build thread or keep it all in this thread. Leaning towards this thread.

 

[4RunnerAquasport]

Once you get to working on it and have some pics accumulated you should document it on a Tundra thread. The stability of this forum can be in question some times.

I put the 4th and the 5th gens on the other 4Runner page just for that reason and realized how user friendly it is. Resizing pics on this one is a pain and the photo bucket thing has put a damper on some of my research. The wealth of knowledge over here is undeniable, I just wish it was maintained a little better.

 

[xtremewlr]

Once you get to working on it and have some pics accumulated you should document it on a Tundra thread. The stability of this forum can be in question some times.

I put the 4th and the 5th gens on the other 4Runner page just for that reason and realized how user friendly it is. Resizing pics on this one is a pain and the photo bucket thing has put a damper on some of my research. The wealth of knowledge over here is undeniable, I just wish it was maintained a little better.

Agreed. That's why my build thread for the 4runner is over on tacomaworld. Tundra's have a great forum tho from what I understand, I just don't know which on it is.

 

[Inv4drZm]

 

[xtremewlr]

Check out this guys build thread on tacomaworld. - Rollover rescue 05 tundra | Tacoma World

 

[Inv4drZm]

Check out this guys build thread on tacomaworld. - Rollover rescue 05 tundra | Tacoma World

Yeah that's pretty cool, I just skimmed it. I'm eyeing those wheels now.

 

[Inv4drZm]

So according to the VIN on Toyota's website my Tundra had a factory-installed rear LSD.

However we noticed sealant around the 3rd member, not the factory gasket, so somebody probably cracked it open at some point to service something.

There is one service entry in 2006 where it says "DIAGNOSIS ~|~REAR U JOINT? SQUEEKING"

The question is how do I test to see if I have a LSD? The couple tire peels I've done seem to only involve 1 tire... I need to find a dirt road.

 

[That_Titanium_4RNR]

So according to the VIN on Toyota's website my Tundra had a factory-installed rear LSD.

However we noticed sealant around the 3rd member, not the factory gasket, so somebody probably cracked it open at some point to service something.

There is one service entry in 2006 where it says "DIAGNOSIS ~|~REAR U JOINT? SQUEEKING"

The question is how do I test to see if I have a LSD? The couple tire peels I've done seem to only involve 1 tire... I need to find a dirt road.

Full brake stand send burnout should tell you what you want to know lol

 

[Inv4drZm]

Changing timing belt/ WP/ alternator on the Tundra this weekend at 206k miles. Halfway done bolting it back together. Used Aisin TKT-021.

What's this crap and should I have changed out the radiator, will there be more in there?



As far as I can tell it's not an OEM belt. No markings on it at all. Looks pretty old:



Water pump a little leaky:



All in all not too bad of a job.

 

[doofenshmirtz]

Changing timing belt/ WP/ alternator on the
What's this crap and should I have changed out the radiator, will there be more in there?

Looks like dried up coolant. May have sat and not run for long enough that some coolant dried in the lines or some coolant dried around some contaminates in the lines.

I believe theres some places that make all aluminum, tig welded radiators for the tundras.

 

[Inv4drZm]

Yesterday's timing belt change was successful on the Tundra.

It rained all night and I noticed water on the passenger floor, running down from the A pillar. Some of it I guess ran across the headliner, and during turns/bumps from my commute, would leak from the rearview mirror area and down the inside of the windshield.

Next fix: replace roof seals LOL.

 

[Inv4drZm]

Investigated the water drip in the Tundra, ended up pulling the headliner yesterday and pouring water over the roof. There is a surprising amount of condensation collecting above the headliner. I think it rained the night before.






Sound deadening material is hanging down:



These must have been unpainted brackets. The condensation and humidity above the headliner got to them.



Before:



I discovered water leaked in the top windshield seam. I taped the paint just under the trim, and laid a bead of sealant in the gap under the trim. Its a cheap aftermarket windshield so somebody must have screwed up the install and didn't use enough sealant around the top of the windshield. We'll see if my fix works and if not, getting the windshield reinstalled is probably the next step. The plastic trim isn't a seal itself it gets glued in with the windshield, I'm just adding more glue basically.

 

[Inv4drZm]

Took a couple hours to fix my exhaust on the Tundra. Dead silent now, probably quieter than stock, and quieter than what I remember my stock 4Runner as.

I found my stock 4Runner muffler and welded her in. Tundra on left 4Runner on right.



Old muffler was hanging on for dear life.















And I now can confirm the LSD works, but I won't reveal my methods LOL. Lets just say there is no form of traction control and a clean 0-60 run is impossible.

[

I had a wild idea about why the Tundra driver's door doesn't slam close very easily and requires my hand to apply force all the way until its shut or really slam it to keep it from popping open 1/4". Previously I worked the latch back and forth with a screwdriver, sprayed WD40 all over it, checked to make sure the hinges weren't sagging, etc. No improvement.

My theory was that air wasn't escaping out of the cabin vents and had to squeeze past the door as it shut. I closed the door and kept my hand near the seam when it closed and felt a whoosh of air... I cranked down the window and lightly slammed the door. It latched perfectly. Diagnosis complete.

Now to inspect the cabin vents in the B pillar, I can't get to them through tearing apart the interior, I already tried. I'll need to take off the bed I guess. The regular cabs have a different location for the vents than the access cabs and are harder to reach.

 

[baldrik78]

I know its been a hot minute, but how have those EK blocks held up? It's been a few years since I built a water-cooled system, but the last time I did, EK was having massive issues with their platings - particularly the nickel. I ended up using Heatkiller instead.

Also, I just found this thread and read all 51 pages - it was pretty cool to see your skills progress over time.