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

Did a fluid exchange on the power steering system.
I found it was much easier to deal with the return hose fitting that is under the drivers side of the front of the truck.


That's where I drained the old fluid from.
I cycled thru the system by turning the steering wheel w/o the engine running.

 

I tried searching first but i think the search feature here hates me lol, the hood release lever inside my truck isnt making the hood pop, any ideas as to what the issue could be?

 

No pics right now...I'm not sure I took any.

Spent TWELVE hours last Friday doing part deux of the suspension/brake upgrade (the fronts)...which resulted in the following:

• 3 broken weld nuts on the driver's side sway bar (two in the front frame and the end link)
• 1 stripped lower shock bolt (driver's side)
• lots and lots and lots of swearing, being unable to actually get any of the job done
• lots and lots and lots MORE swearing trying to get the lower ball joint back together (finally got it in the end)
• several thousand f-bombs being dropped because the F'IGN 2" spacer at the top of the shock the previous owner had installed makes this job next to impossible without the truck being on a lift, dropping the lower control arm
• being unable to re-align the lower shock bolt enough to get it back in and trying to put it back together
• calls to 3 shops in the area seeing if they'll do the work with my parts (3rd shop's a charm!)
• getting a tow to said shop in order to have them complete the work we started
• 3.5 days without the truck since they had to special-order some parts
• a $1,500 bill, all said and done

Honestly, the price was about what I expected, and included installing the front coilover setups, the new rotors and pads, new caliper hardware, replacing the brake fluid (I supplied the Bosch), a new lower shock bolt, new sway bar end links, fixing the broken weld nuts, an alignment, plus fixing a slow leak in one of the tires...

So all in all, more or less a complete fail on our end. On the plus side, I now hate with a burning passion those stupid spacer/leveling blocks (I've wanted to take the dang things off since I got the truck), but everything is done and she rides a bit nicer, steering is a bit tighter and less floaty, and I'm hoping to pick up that 0.2mpg that you lose when you level the truck and make it less aerodynamic. Literally everything was off by about 1.5-2" when taking it apart or putting it back together due to those stupid spacer blocks.

Also, lesson learned...might be time to start doing less DIY type stuff...getting too old for this crap!!

 

Please share the part number on the ground cable if it's correct. I need to order one. Thank you for reminding me! haha

 

Maybe apply some heat shrink to the new ground strap before installing it. That might protect it from corrosion and last longer.

 

….or just move to Southern California. I’m guessing mine will outlive me

 

Dang that seems steep. I had a local shop install my coilover kit w diff drop and rear spacers and shocks for 760.00. Wish I had them do my current truck too but a buddy insisted we do it so we spent a good 10 hours doing so,in part due to a seized shackle bushing. PITA! Next time I’m letting the shop do it.

 

Best set of UCA ever. The uniball function is amazing

 

Hey do you wanna sell me your tire change kit? Mine is missing pieces I just found out, and I need it to put my spare back where it goes and take it out obviously.

 

If I'm not mistaken its a 3/8th (maybe 1/2) square if its the cable type. I used a extension and impact cause I was lazy.

 

The previous owner had a couple bars from some other vehicle that definitely didn’t fit. I got the spare out with an extension as well

 

Previous owner had some very negative offset wheels paired with aftermarket fender flares. When I switched the tires to Rock Warrior rims they had too much of a tucked look because they lost the offset, but the flares were still there. Today I installed my spidertrax spacers to help correct the problem. A few pictures below. Note: I cant remove the flares because they have damaged the paint underneath them. Eventually I will find another flare set that doesn't stick out so far that will still cover the damage.

Old tires (nice stance, but ugly rims):







Rock Warriors pre spidertrax (nice rims but bad poke):










Rock warriors with 1.25" spidertrax installed:

 

Looks great! The stance is about perfect.

 

I'm not a fan of the flares either, just stuck with them for the time being. Those are Florida curbs lol!

 

I went to get an oil change the other day at the closest Toyota service shop in kokomo.
The thing is I kept asking about getting the zerks serviced and for some reason "they" The service manager and technician were convinced that the truck only had non serviceable U-joints, I got some time today to look under the truck and found 5 Zerks! smdh so I took the time to clean them all off and hopefully they will service them after I point them out?

 

I’d keep the chrome, black just looks cheap.

 

I’d color match

 

There's that saying, "you want something done right, do it yourself"

 

Changed oil today and installed Valvo-Max drain plug. I will time the next drain for those wondering how long it takes to empty.

https://www.valvomax.com/products/m12-1-25-quick-twist-valve-with-stainless-drain-tube-knob

 

That's very slick. Will have to get one.

 

do you still use the washer with the new drain plug ?

 

226,126 miles is probably somewhat overdue for a spark plug change!!!
Passenger side of the block was nice and clean, drivers side must have had some condensation get in a couple of the ports and so a couple of plugs had rust on their threads.

Overall I’d say I dodged a bullet. A little spark corrosion on some of the ground electrodes, center electrodes not too bad, general condition not too grim for plugs that have been in a work truck for ten years.
They were a trifle worrying to get out though, tighter than a nun’s doodah…

 

The new plug came with a new washer.

 

I bet it runs smoooth again

 

if they make it in 316 stainless I may consider it.

 

The only reason I changed them is because I was recently jesting with someone about how cleanly it runs and then I googled plug change intervals and nearly shat myself when I saw some of the pics and read stories of long overdue plug changes.
If it runs noticeably better tomorrow I'll let you know but I didn't notice anything when I started her up just to make sure that she was going to start a 6am tomorrow...

 

You should definitely color match with us

 

I'd find another shop if you can. I like it when people know vehicles instead of thinking they know vehicles.

Have any of you watched Davin with Hagerty's Redline rebuild series? I wish that guy could do all my vehicle work. He is very thorough, careful and works clean. He also has an engineering background and knows how to think through possible failure points.

 

Farm truck stuff as usual

 

Thank you!!!! I will order one today! Much appreciated good sir!