What have you done to your 2nd gen Tundra today?

A trd Camry would be really nice but too expensive. I’m considering a used Avalon and moving on from the Tundra. Thoughts?

 

Avalons are awesome. If I could find one around here for a commuter I’d be all over it. And they have hybrid ones too, not sure what year that started.

 

I believe 2012 is the first year of the hybrid Avalon

 

What other parts are you waiting on?

 

Waiting on my TC shock hoops, RCV axles, front coilovers, secondaries and rear shocks. This wait is killing me.

 

hahahahahaha . It will be all worth it I was with King last week tuning our suspension. One of their R&D guy told me that the shocks production is at full speed and that the springs is what causing their ridiculous lead time

 

Wow, thanks! I'll Google that.

I turned the rotors on the Sienna when we bought it at around 30k miles and put the top shelf Autozone pads on (cmax golds?). I have nearly 70k on it now and the rotors look glazed and grooved. I'll do the tsb and powerstop pads/rotors - should be set.

Back to the Tundra, I towed the travel trailer home today in much cooler conditions and had nice smooth braking. I also went over the same mountain pass with cold brakes where three days ago they were hot from arond town driving beforehand. No shudder. Seems to be heat related.

I have 20" wheels with tires that are only an inch or so over stock. I'm not sure how to get the tundra any additional brake cooling. Wasn't there something about early backing plates being updated to allow more cooling? How do I make sure I have the newer ones? I have a late-year 2012.

Edit: Just did the TSB removal of the excess air dam on thr sienna. Now, do I return the powestops and go with the revised Toyota brake pad? I guess it may come down to my rotors...they have already been turned once and have 70k, I'm guessing thickness is an issue.

 

That's good to know. I'll just be over here counting days for the mean time. Hahah. How'd your tuning session go? And roughly what did it cost?

 

lol . It was brutally hot lol . I thought my sweat was gonna cause some flash flooding hahaha. It went well, guys from King Shocks are awesome… day and night difference on whoops and on dirt. Truck rides awesome on road too.. feels like I’m still aired down lol. They don’t charge, just a way of King to show their appeciation to their customers but, we ended up tipping them a couple hundies..

 

Awesome man. Is the SC on already?

 

It’s going down on the 30th lol

 

Just putting this out there.

The updated front brake backing plates look like this, the old versions do not have the three groups of venting holes.




Confirmed that my '12 has the newer plates.

 

Finally pulled my driver side rear caliper today to rebuild. Having a time getting the piston out. It's 95% of the way there. Inside for a food break/regroup.

I can definitely see why it was staying partially applied. Pure nastiness on the bottom side of the piston not allowing it to retract.

 

Let’s see a few pics if you have time. I believe I am having the same issue with the rear passenger side caliper

 

UPDATE - I installed it. Two 10mm nuts and one wire harness (always the toughest part to determine which attachment methodology was used while standing on your head spinning nickels). Noticeable improvement in shifting in my opinion. It is obvious that this is not a simple mechanical part but has imbedded software.

 

I'm installing my Boost Auto tow mirrors. They arrived on Friday. I bought the paint grade caps. Had them prepped and primed Friday night. Base and clear coated by 11:00p on Saturday night. Baked in the sun all day today while I installed the mirrors and wiring for the DRLs and the power folding. Waiting for some POR15 to dry on my driver side door stay right now. Don't know why but the pivoting anchor dealie developed some surface rust over the years so I dealt with it today too. Will get pics when I can close my door in a couple of hours.

This is how the paint grade mirror caps come. These have been washed and scrubbed with scotch-brite. Ready to prime.


Primed three coats catalyzed primer.


Painted 3 coats base Pyrite Mica and 4 coats catalyzed clear. Didn't even have to cut and buff this time.



Color matches perfectly.


And now for some flagrant boasting photos...


Pardon the glare. I had goo on my camera lens. It's probably transmission fluid residue....

 

Found some OEM tow mirrors for cheap.


For those who ask, they add an extra 3" on each side (not extended).

 

Chased down three sources of rattles.

First I adjusted the stoppers for the inside of the grill. Just a bit of pressure while closed now. Next I fixed the loose upper isolation mounts for the A/C condenser by adding two grommets to take out some of the slop. Last I replaced missing fasteners for the plastic wheel well liners. Much quieter now. Then I washed her and got started on swapping the rear leafs.

 

I went ahead and pulled the dust cover/seal off because I thought that's what was maybe not allowing the piston to come out. Hard to tell in the photo but it's cocked slightly. It won't come out for love or money. New caliper on the way.

 

Thanks for the update! I was thinking the same thing why battle when a new caliper is pretty inexpensive. Did you order a pair to get both done in the rear?

 

It may be cocked a little, but it’s damn near out. It does look like it’s got a little build up on it. It’s always best to replace them in pairs. Usually if one is toast, the other isn’t far behind

 

Negatory, only replacing the one. If the other begins to seize/fail I'll gladly replace it but if it ain't broke....

 

Wow, a lot of heavy duty upgrades going on.
Headlight housings have been reconditioned beyond my standard. Time for new ones.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDtiO29v1Ac&t=104s

 

Tundra got new shoes this morning. Falken wildpeak at3, 295 70 18. Couldn't stand the bfg ko2s any longer, the falkens are so smooth and quiet.

 

No better feeling than new tires. Look sharp!

 

Fogs anytime mod. Not sure why I didn’t do it sooner. I butchered the clips on the connectors to remove them though. Have to get them replaced (I think)

 

I did the same thing with the understanding that they only add an each per side. They are much bigger.

Luckily I also found a good local deal.

 

Today was new SCS Ray 10 wheels (18x9) and BFG KO2 tires (305/65R18).

 

Washed the beast this weekend, forgot how shiny the paint is cleaned

 

Changed the PCV valve. New one "rattles" this one not so much. All gummed up. It would be nice if this upped my MPG, but I won't hold my breath.