Tacoed Tundra project

I have absolutely no idea on the condition of my rear springs. The seem fine to me. I don’t feel as though they need to be replaced? Maybe a pair of Firestone airbags to keep the bumpstops off the frame though.

 

I really don’t want to beat the crap out of the bed on my nice tundra. I’m thinking about adding some preventative mods to the bed. Maybe a sheet of 1/4” thick aluminum that gets attached to the bed’s bulkhead? Also maybe add a sheet of 3/16” aluminum to the tailgate too. Both of those areas are soft spots on any truck. For the rest of the bed, i might search out a plastic bed liner? it would definitely distribute the impact from 20” long rounds of wet wood.

 

If they're good, then a simple add a leaf in the back should get about 1.5 lift.

 

Legend

 

I needed to grab some 20’ sticks of 1.5” schedule 40 pipe from my friend’s house last night. I currently don’t have the lumber rack on my work/moto van, so i had to improvise a little bit with the Tundra...

 

In case there was any question... you're going to fit in really well around here.

 

@whodatschrome wild stuff you got here. Neat to see that thing still moving. Would love to see some interior pics of it crunched up like that. Sucks to see that bent ass frame looks pretty rust free. Way she goes I guess. Best of luck with the in depth mechanicals. Gotta get everything to play nice together.

 

There’s absolutely zero rust on the frame, so yeah, it’s a bummer.

A few pics of the interior. It’s much worse than what the pictures show.

 

I figured i’d install new bushings in the steering rack, so i order up the Energy Suspension kit online. Upon closer inspection someone had already installed poly bushings....doh! I’ll go ahead and remove the existing bushings and inspect them. Perhaps they’re Energy Suspension as well? We shall see...

 

I just installed the Energy Suspension steering rack bushings this morning. Since the engine is currently out of the truck i had plenty of room to work. It took me about 30 minutes total for the install. The previous poly bushings that were installed were definitely NOT Energy Suspension, the left side nut wasn’t that tight, and the center mount bushings also had a bit of a sloppy fit. So i’m definitely glad i bought new bushings!

For the install, i torqued the left side (driver side) bolt to 96ft/lbs and the other two mounts get torqued to 123ft/lbs. For the driver’s side mount, make sure to install the large gold colored zinc plated washer between the brushing and the crossmember (step #3 in the instructions)! I’ve seen MANY pictures on the internet (including here) where the washer isn’t in the correct position!

 

Check the grommet where the steering shaft goes through the firewall.

 

@whodatschrome

Hat's off to you. The pics with dem trees loaded in the truck, with a caved in passenger side, is possibly the most manly thing I've seen in a while.

Nice welds on that hitch, too!

 

It looks good from this angle. No cracks or rips. Or is there some sort of grommet that’s lurking behind the seal?

The rag joint looks to be in decent shape as well.

 

I dont think so, mine doesnt need it yet, but it's come up a few times lately.

 

The lower boots on the swaybar links were split on both sides. i could still see clean grease in them though. The swaybar bushings were cracked and looked like they might have some slop to them. I was thinking about replacing all the bushings and new end links, but i made a compromise instead...i simply removed (deleted) the swaybar completely. With all of my other rigs i have removed the swaybars, so this too will go. After google searching “tundra swaybar delete”, i’m sure both the truck and myself will continue to live. With the bar removed, i’m VERY tempted to cut off the swaybar mounting brackets off of the frame. Why?...well just less shtuff on the frame is just less stuff. Less weight (negligible), but more importantly more elbow and head room when wrenching on the truck.

 

While i was unbolting the swaybar the morning i bonked the temple of my head on the swaybar bracket. As a result of that, this is what happened this evening. I’ll clean up the mess with a flapper disc and spritz some primer and paint on it tomorrow.

 

I finished my firewood this afternoon! So i’m done for the season. I’m guessing i now have about 11~12 cords. That should keep me warm for the next two years.

The tundra was a true champ as a firewood hauler this season!!! I only suffered one (unrepairable) sidewall puncture in my tire. If i had to travel longer distances to get the wood, then it wouldn’t have been that efficient with it having just over a 6’ long bed. But since the trees were located just 400 meters away from my house it was many, many loads loads back and forth. Which was actually pretty nice since i’d have me more opportunities to take a short break.

12’ x 7’ x 6’ stack



These stacks are 7’ high and 40’ long (20” long rounds).

 

That is a ton of firewood. What part of the country are you in?

 

I miss having whirlybird roof vents.

 

I want to replace my sway bar bushings and brackets (I have new parts), but I've been procrastinating because I cant figure out how to get wrenches up in there. I was wondering how you were able to get such easy access to the top mounted fasteners (stupid design!), then I finally realized...you have the engine out.

 

NW Oregon. We go though anywhere from 4-6 cords of wood a winter

 

Are you concerned about the paint on the truck? Reason why I'm asking is because I did a boat load of work to my truck but the cab rot I'm stuck with and after all the work I did it became a love affair and sometimes I think maybe I should have started with something cleaner

 

Yes. Yes i am...but at the same time, no i’m not. I used to work in a body shop. I’ve painted many vehicles. The bad thing about having a nice vehicle is that scratches unhappily seem to always appear on them. I bought this 2004 2wd tundra for $1k (knowing that it had a crappy paint job). I’d be willing to spend $1500 on one with nice paint, but tundras with decent bodies and a blown engine are few and far between. I’ve been searching for well over a year for a frame and a cab. I have made peace with myself that i’m satisfied with the current paint job. It will be a farm/work/hauler/wheeler/ truck, so at the same time i don’t want something too nice. What i have should fit the bill.

 

If you remove the engine first, it only takes 4 minutes to remove those top mounted fasteners.

Pro tip: use a Gear-Wrench (or other ratcheting style wrench) to remove the fasteners.

 

I think today might have been the last hurrah for this 4wd Tundra before i tear it down to remove the whole drivetrain. I took my (82 year old) Dad and went to explore our property out near Tillamook, Oregon. We have 186 acres of timber. I trailered the tundra to the trailhead, which was where we unloaded it. I had my dad drive the 1 mile to the top of our property...where i had built a cabin back in the late 90s. The skid road was created by a bulldozer back in 1978. We had to crash through LOTS of down trees to get to the cabin. If we couldn’t crash through a tree, i would jump out of the truck and cut it with the chainsaw.

I did get a couple of good short videos of some of the stuff we drove through, but i don’t know how to post up videos.


This i would consider a clear and easy portion of the trail.



This is the cabin. It’s tucked in deep enough in the forest that you won’t be able to see it until you’re about 90’ away from it. You also can’t see it from google satellite either. Zoom in close at the chimney...



There’s a marmot poking his body out of the top of the chimney. He was watching us for about 30 minutes, wondering what the heck are you guys doing with MY cabin!

 

So what's the cabin for? Playing banjos?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFutge4xn3w​

 

I like the cabin. Tillamook is a beautiful place! I drove thru there two years ago and have a hat to prove it. The ice cream factory was also cool to see with a big long line of folks waiting to buy.

 

If there was more time in the day, i would have loved to swing into the cheese factory and get an ice cream with my dad. I've stood in that ice cream line before...it's no joke just how long it gets with people. I don't think my dad would have been up for standing in line for that long. He was pretty winded from walking around in the woods. The property is actually south of Tillamook, which is the Sandlake area.

One of my friends was always bugging me that i should build a cabin at my folk's property. We both worked construction together, so he was all about it. Even though i like contruction, i had no desire to do it outside of my job. Well, one day my buddy was bugging me again about it, and our boss overheard. He said that he had plenty of free lumber to donate to the cause, so i had no other choice but to conceed. It was actually a blast to frame and build it with a bunch of different friends (none of them were married yet) of mine on the weekends. That summer, every weekend i would drive (77 miles) to the property and work on it. By the end of summertime it was completed and a handful of my friends showed up and we drank Hanks Rootbeer to celebrate!