2005 Everyday American Build

I've had the pickup a few years. I'm only partially starting this as a build thread. It'll be more of a build and maintenance thread. I like to DIY and shade tree mechanic. This pickup isn’t going to be a high dollar custom build. It'll be a simple build with utility and reliability in mind. It’ll be an Everyday American build.

Here's the most recent picture I've got of the entire truck.


Spec/Build/Maintenance

• 2005 double cab tundra 4x4 4.7L V8
• RCD lift Billstein 5100 shocks
  
• Jbl stereo plus upgrades Bluetooth w/ Back up camera
• 275/65R20 Toyo at2
• K&N cold air intake
• Hewitt Tech SAIS bypassed
• TPMS bypassed
• Dedicated Samsung Galaxy running TorquePro
• Rear diff breather moved up into brake light housing
• LED , light bar, reverse lights, fogs, ground lighting
• Leer Canopy w/ carpet kit
• Line-x bedliner

Repairs/Maintenance/Upgrades:

• Hitachi MAF
  • 181341 miles - Oct 29, 2024
• Sway Bar Bushings
  • 172591 miles - Mar 17, 2023
• Timing Belt, Serp Belt, Rad Fan Clutch,Bracket, Pulleys, Tensioner, et al.
  • 172541 miles - Oct 30, 2022
• Front Pads and Rotors, Rear Shoes and Drums
  • 171051 miles - Jan 25, 2022
• Airbag Inflator Recall
  • 166748 miles - Jan 11, 2021
• Steering Shaft Seal
  • 166711 miles - Jan 4, 2021
• Stubby Antenna
  • 166711 miles - Jan 4, 2021
• Front Alignment
  • 165387 miles - Oct 17, 2020
• Upper Ball Joints and Front Wheel Bearings
  • 165283 miles - Oct 7, 2020
• Lower Ball Joints
  • 165270 miles - Sept 19, 2020
• Front Bilstein 5100 Lower Bushings
  • 163127 miles - Mar 12, 2020
• Tcase Output Shaft Seal Replaced
  • 162032 miles - Oct 12, 2019
• Hewitt Tech SAIS bypass
  • 156932 miles - Feb 24, 2019
• Leaky Cab/Cowling Plastic Clip Fix
  • 156924 miles - Jan 13, 2019
• K&N Intake Filter Wrap
  • 155293 miles - Oct 20, 2018
• Cylinder 1 Spark Plug
  • 154202 miles - Aug 5, 2018
• O2 Bank 1 Sensor 1 Replaced
  • 153649 miles - Jul 23, 2018
  • Notes: Denso OEM sensor
• O2 Bank 1 Sensor 2 Replaced
  • 153631 miles - Jul 19, 2018
  • Notes: Denso OEM part used
• Timing Belt
  • 81690 miles - Oct 22, 2011

Trip Reports:

• Mountain Roads Wandering and Camping 11/2-3
• An hour north of I-90
• Better late than never
• WA NF-4330 10/24-25
• Extended weekend overland 11/2-11/4

Future Repairs/Maintenance/Upgrades:

• Archive Garage 12" travel kit
• TruTracs and 4.88 gears
• Tru-Cool LPD4590 w/bipass
• Custom 4" lift springs and U-bolts from Pohl
• Coastal Off Road Front and Rear DIY bumpers
• 285/75R17 Open Country R/T Trail
• DIY wedge camper build
• Dual/isolated batteries
• Master Tailgaters tailgate handle

 

Resprayed the plasti-dip not long ago. Gotta post it because it looks terrible in the picture above.

 

Already a great looking truck, looking forward to it

 

Did the lower ball joints because I didn't know if or when they were last done. Maybe it's irrational, but I always had a fear they'd go on me. Replaced them without any trouble. Buttoned everything back up and it developed a cyclic wer wer wer when driving. Here's the thread trying to figure it out. It ended up being a wheel bearing. Took the spindles off and just dropped them off at a local-ish 4x4 shop. As long as they're out, I'm going to have the shop also do the upper ball joints. Hopefully I'll have them back by the weekend. The spindles with the RCD lift aren't toothpicks. Also, for anyone taking off the axle nut, 35mm = 1-3/8". I've said it once, I'll say it again; it irritates me Toyota went with a pressed in bearing, instead of a unit bearing. What could have been an hour job that could be done with hand tools is a trip to a shop and waiting for and paying them to do some press work. Bummer.

 

Good call doing the LBJs
That was one of the first things I did on my 06 even though they got replaced during the recall

 

Got the spindles back with new upper ball joints and bearings. One of the bearings was fine and the other was a complete nightmare to remove. The ears on the retaining clip broke off. When pushing the bearing out, the outer race broke in a couple of places. Wish I would have gotten a picture of it. The good part is, while the old stuff was next to impossible to get out, the new stuff went in with ease. Dude at the shop said what is usually a 90 min job turned into 4 hours. The shop quoted me $80 a side and only charged me a little more, despite me telling them to charge me for their work. They've got a return customer if anything else comes up for sure. Steering is noticeably more smooth with the new upper and lower ball joints.

 

Good looking truck

I’m curious the Reason for a 63 swap. I haven’t seen to many people do it over here. Tacomaworld has a white a few running it though

 

I'm not certain why more Tundra owners don't do it but they flex better, give a better ride, carry a load better and are WAY less expensive. I wouldn't be real motivated to do it, but my truck needs new leafs.

 

Had a license plate light go out on me. Ordered

LEADTOPS 194 921 T10 LED Bulbs CANBUS 3000K 12-30V DC Amber/Warm White for Car Interior Door Dome Map Backup Reverse License Plate Courtesy Side Marker Parking Trunk Glove Box Light (2 Piece)

these off the Zon and couldn't be happier I did.

 

im lookin at leaf spring options for mine but I’ll be staying spring over. I’ve got archive Garage’s hammer hangers, shackles, and shock relocation kit. I don’t carry much weight in mine at all. I’m after the flex.

I remember seeing Tacoma’s gain a ton of flex when I looked into it when I had my 2nd gen. It didn’t seem like to bad a swap neither

 

Trip report from a bit ago. Thought I'd add it here as part of the story.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/extended-weekend-overland-11-2-11-4.34155/

 

A coworker gave me a Samsung Galaxy S5 they had laying around so, I'm playing with that. I downloaded Torque Pro and bought a Bluetooth ODBII reader. Working on mounting the Galaxy low on the A pillar. We'll see how it turns out.

 

Got the Galaxy mounted. Getting Torque Pro dialed in with the proper and functioning outputs took some research and fiddling. I’ve got what I want, for now. It may need a bit more refining.

Here’s what it took to get the trans pan and torque converter temps. I’ve only driven for a few minutes, but the trans temps seam reasonable.

Here’s the setup:

 

Ran up above Cle Elum to camp for the weekend with a buddy I haven't seen in 25 years. Had a great time. I'm not sure how it could have been better.

Trip Reprt

 

I figured out wiring the ground lighting so they'd function how I wanted them to. With the short days, being in the dark when I go to and from work, they're nice to have. They mimic the cargo/bed lighting. When I unlock it, the ground lighting comes on. When I close the door or lock it, they go off.

Wiring


Lights




Lights on


Function

 

The ground lights are working great. The only thing I'm not a real huge fan of is the color of the light. I wish it were warmer, more the shade of the interior lighting. It's a small thing though. Waterproof rock lights in the 3000K spectrum aren't real abundant.

 

With the shorter days and more driving in the dark, I'm always interested in ways to light things up and increase viability. I ordered

$14 AUXITO 912 921 LED Bulb for Backup Light Reverse Lights High Power 2835 15-SMD Chipsets Error Free T15 906 922 W16W Bulbs, 6000K White Daytime Running Lights (Upgraded, Pack of 2)

these and installed them last night. The difference is real.

Difference in lamps.


Difference in output.

 

While I had the housing removed, for posterity, I got a picture of the rear diff breather mod.

 

Looking good

 

Nice truck. Sharing one of my experiences with gen 1. I asked a very smart builder about chevy 63 swap. He said no reason, that was a big toyota thing when the springs were only 50 or so inches. He said the gen 1 tundra spring was already similar to 63.

a shackle flip is a good way to get some lift and remove the blocks? Gotta ask though about the spring flattening or inverting at full bump

 

Here's the tale of the tape.

Tundra spring


63" spring


With the plans for a Coastal Off Road rear bumper and DIY wedge camper, I'm interested in the greater pack thickness, greater width and extra leaf. The greater arch will also work in my favor. Will they make an incredible difference? Maybe, maybe not. Will they be better? I'm pretty sure they will be.

 

Replaced the stock antenna with a stubby. I, effectively, never listen to the radio, so I'm not sure I'll ever notice any change in reception, if there were any. One thing that has really struck me is how much I notice the antenna not being there. It seems like such a small thing, but it being gone, feels like it really opened up the view while driving. That wasn't something I was expecting.

Before:


After:

 

I also replaced the steering shaft seal last night. I was inspired by and followed the instructions here.

How it looked:


The connecting rod on my '05 DC did not look like that in the DIY post. Mine was much longer and the upper bolt was further up in the engine bay.
Theirs:


Mine (picture from the top after liberal amount of PB Blaster applied):


Getting the connecting rod off the steering rack shaft was easier than I thought it would be. Putting it back on, it didn't go as smoothly. It slipped right off when taking it apart, but the round housing was contacting the frame when I was trying to get it back together. With a long dowel and a BFH, things went back together.


Tapping out the old seal was easier than expected. Really didn't take much to get it moving.


The new seal went in very easily. The DIY thread mentions putting the seal in the freezer and letting it cool to help installation. I didn't freeze it and had no problem at all getting it in place.

Out with the old, in with the new.


I drove it a bit last night and to work this morning. The cab is a bit quieter. The greatest change I've noticed is how much quicker the heater warms up the cab and difference in humidity in the cab.

 

Just got done with the airbag inflator recall. When I called to schedule the work I was told it would be an hour. Got to the dealership and was told it would be two hours. That didn’t make me real happy. At an hour, I asked for an update and was told all that needed to be done was finishing up the paperwork. I was driving down the road ten minutes after that. A small win for the day.

 

Hey there! Nice truck. Do you have any details on the racks for your camper and how they are mounted? Any pics/insight helps. Looking for a solution for my Leer.

 

Give me a bit and I'll post some pictures of how my setup looks. I will tell you that I wasn't the one that did the work. The rack on the shell are work of the prior owner. I've had my canoe on top and it works well. I wouldn't sleep in a RTT up there. It's pretty stable, just not a couple hundred of pounds stable. It may work, though, it seems like it would be real close to the limit. I don't want to see how close to the limit it would be.

 

Here's the rack mounting. Nothing real special. Never leaked.

 

Thank you! Looks like the previous owner drilled the "mount" into the camper and then installed the rack portion afterward. Sweet, thanks

 

Yah. Everything has worked well. No leaking ever and everything has held strong. I've been pleased with it.

 

Where did you buy the stubby?