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Time to modify my 21st vehicle!

Discussion in '2nd Gen Builds (2007-2013)' started by Teriks, May 3, 2017.

  1. May 3, 2017 at 10:15 AM
    #1
    Teriks

    Teriks [OP] New Member

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    Tom
    Front Range, CO
    Vehicle:
    2008 Toyota Tundra Limited DC 4x4 5.7
    I picked up a 2008 Toyota Tundra Limited 4x4 5.7 in early March 2017. I traded a 2016 Toyota Tacoma TRD Sport 6spd that I had on lease because I wanted the power and space increase of the Tundra, as well as being able to modify my vehicle beyond simple paint stuff. I am the 4th owner of the Tundra; it started life as a corporate work truck. It already had exhaust, wheels/tires, and tint, but overall it was used HARD and a lot of my "mods" are repairs or replacements to crappy, broken parts.

    This Tundra marks my 21st vehicle. It's my 3rd truck, but otherwise I've mostly driven sporty Japanese cars - Turbo-Charged 4-Cylinder cars. The Tundra is actually the first V8 I've ever owned, and is by far the largest vehicle.

    My goal for this truck is to make a very street-able, easy-to-medium off-road ready, comfortable and unique Tundra. I've always hated having another model pull up next to you and there being no discernible difference between the two. I'm a pretty quiet person normally but I've always liked my ride to stick out a little bit.

    What it looked like when I first got it:
    [​IMG]

    As it stands right now:
    [​IMG]

    Current Mods:
    * No-name dual exhaust; only cats and resonators
    * Fuel Octane wheels with 275/70/R18 Hercules Terra Trac ATII tires
    * Rancho RS9000XL adjustable front & rear suspension
    * ProComp 2.5" front leveling kit
    * RTZ 1" rear shackle lift
    * TRD rear sway bar
    * Front window tint matched to rears
    * Body-color matched side-mirror caps, door handles, front & rear bumpers, and grill surround
    * Black plasti-dipped grill
    * Debadged
    * VHT Nightshade tinted rear taillights and 3rd brake light
    * Full LED bulb replacements for interior and exterior
    * Lund Genesis tonneau cover
    * Front & rear Weather-Tech floor liners
    * EleDobleU black-housing HID fog lights
    * EleDobleU black-housing HID retrofit headlights
    * Kenwood DDX9703S touchscreen radio
    * Shorty antenna
    * All synthetic oil in engine, differentials, and t-case

    Future Plans:
    * Remove the crappy, old tint and reapply new ceramic tint all around
    * Install a 2018 TRD Sport front sway bar when they come out
    * Complete the audio redo. Basically, replace the sub, speakers and amp to match the ability/quality of the Kenwood radio
    * Aftermarket steel bumpers
    * Get bigger tires once my 31"s wear out
    * Would love to get a supercharger but that's waaaay down the line, if at all
     
    Last edited: Sep 21, 2017
  2. May 3, 2017 at 10:16 AM
    #2
    BlueFalconActual

    BlueFalconActual Field Day Inspector Extraordinaire

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    Kevin
    29 Palms, CA
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    Tundra-less
    Welcome. How'd you like that Tacoma? I had one on order before I saw my Tundra and changed my mind.
     
  3. May 3, 2017 at 10:20 AM
    #3
    Teriks

    Teriks [OP] New Member

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    Tom
    Front Range, CO
    Vehicle:
    2008 Toyota Tundra Limited DC 4x4 5.7
    Overall, I liked it, but it was too expensive for what it was. It was also a bit under-sized (I'm 6'3" and have a 100+ lbs dog) for me, and definitely under-powered. With it being the 6sp, I stand firmly by the opinion that it had the world's stupidest place for reverse. Any emergency situation where you need to slam the gear to the left (to get to 1st or 2nd, for example) and you'd pound it into reverse instead. Something as simple as a depress or little under-the-knob lift, like on ALL other manuals I've driven, would have done a world of difference.
     
  4. May 3, 2017 at 10:27 AM
    #4
    Teriks

    Teriks [OP] New Member

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    Tom
    Front Range, CO
    Vehicle:
    2008 Toyota Tundra Limited DC 4x4 5.7
    Here's a close-up of the change to the front, which shows the mirror caps, grill, & grill surround:
    [​IMG]
     
  5. May 3, 2017 at 5:52 PM
    #5
    blue16

    blue16 New Member

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    steve
    Mesa AZ
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    Welcome. nice looking truck
     
    Thegr8punkin and Teriks[OP] like this.
  6. May 10, 2017 at 4:33 PM
    #6
    Teriks

    Teriks [OP] New Member

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    Tom
    Front Range, CO
    Vehicle:
    2008 Toyota Tundra Limited DC 4x4 5.7
    Finally got the Rancho RS9000XL shocks and struts in. The front gained about 1/4" of lift, unless the struts just need to be "worn in". They are at the setting they came with (5) and the ride is definitely nicer than the stock suspension. I'll have to play around with the settings to see how it feels; there's a 400% difference between the lowest setting and the highest. During the install, I managed to screw up the threads on the passenger upper ball joint, so i had to overnight one to myself then replace the stock one. Overall, the project to get the suspension replaced kind of sucked, but it sure as hell beats paying someone else to do it.

    I also installed a backup camera that's built into a license plate frame. The camera itself is all wired up, but I need to wire the pop-up screen I got with it. I can't wait to get that thing 100%; backing up kind of sucks right now =(
     
    NewImprovedRon likes this.
  7. May 14, 2017 at 12:03 PM
    #7
    Teriks

    Teriks [OP] New Member

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    Tom
    Front Range, CO
    Vehicle:
    2008 Toyota Tundra Limited DC 4x4 5.7
    Finally got the front bumper chrome changed to white. I used plastidip with a glossifier instead of paint for now as I'm not sure if I'll keep it like this. It's also dirty, but still shows the change.

    IMG_20170513_131255122_HDR.jpg
     
    GNTundra and CTX84 like this.
  8. May 14, 2017 at 12:26 PM
    #8
    831Tun

    831Tun heartless Bastrd

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    Warren
    Santa Cruz
    Vehicle:
    '16 CM limited
    TC long travel. Deaver 420 SU leaf packs.
    I'm liking the de-chromed look.
     
    Teriks[OP] likes this.
  9. May 14, 2017 at 12:28 PM
    #9
    TheBeast

    TheBeast The Beach

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    SoCal
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    looking good !
     
    Teriks[OP] likes this.
  10. May 17, 2017 at 10:05 AM
    #10
    Teriks

    Teriks [OP] New Member

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    Tom
    Front Range, CO
    Vehicle:
    2008 Toyota Tundra Limited DC 4x4 5.7
    EDIT: Decided to pull the trigger on new ones from Roman.

    Anyone have any idea where to get some fog light housings beyond direct from the dealer? The cold springs price is $45/each, and I need both, so $90 just to get my fog lights properly mounted on the truck seems kind of steep to me. Rockauto.com doesn't seem to carry them for the steel bumper either. Anyone have spares laying around?

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: May 22, 2017
  11. May 17, 2017 at 6:31 PM
    #11
    Teriks

    Teriks [OP] New Member

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    Tom
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    Vehicle:
    2008 Toyota Tundra Limited DC 4x4 5.7
    Backup camera and screen officially installed! Can't wait to put it to work.

    $45 for everything ain't too shabby either.

    IMG_20170517_191304781.jpg
     
  12. Jun 14, 2017 at 11:57 AM
    #12
    Teriks

    Teriks [OP] New Member

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    Tom
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    Color-matched my rear bumper finally. In my opinion, it looks WAY better than the chrome back there. I've since cleaned the hitch up from over-spray.

    qcmB79c.jpg
     
    SlickRick2013Tundra likes this.
  13. Jun 15, 2017 at 9:49 PM
    #13
    Teriks

    Teriks [OP] New Member

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    Tom
    Front Range, CO
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    2008 Toyota Tundra Limited DC 4x4 5.7
    (Mostly) installed the Kenwood DDX9703S today while I brewed a batch of beer. I say mostly because I need to wire a few more things that require running lines around the truck, and in and out of the dash; Backup camera, Bluetooth mic, Rapid-charge USB cable for Android, and the GPS. Overall, this thing BLOWS the stock radio out of the water -- it isn't even a comparison! Screw Toyota for skipping out that much on their sound system, especially in the "premium" JBL trash in the Limited trim.

    [​IMG]
     
  14. Jun 22, 2017 at 3:43 PM
    #14
    Teriks

    Teriks [OP] New Member

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    Picked up a new ProComp 2.5" front lift on the cheap via craigslist last weekend. I'll probably toss them on this coming weekend -- should help even out the crazy stock rake.
     
  15. Jun 22, 2017 at 4:02 PM
    #15
    SlickRick2013Tundra

    SlickRick2013Tundra #10

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    Rick
    Mandeville, LA
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    13 TRD CM MGM 4x4
    Toytech Boss 3in Lift kit Iron Cross side step TRD Sway Bar TRD Cold Air Intake Blacked out Badges Blacked out front and rear bumpers
    Welcome from MO and for the numbers did you just taped up the sensors?
     
  16. Jun 22, 2017 at 4:10 PM
    #16
    Teriks

    Teriks [OP] New Member

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    The "parking" sensors in the bumper? I took them completely out; they come off the bumper pretty easily.
     
  17. Jun 22, 2017 at 4:24 PM
    #17
    SlickRick2013Tundra

    SlickRick2013Tundra #10

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    Toytech Boss 3in Lift kit Iron Cross side step TRD Sway Bar TRD Cold Air Intake Blacked out Badges Blacked out front and rear bumpers
    Oh nice
     
  18. Jul 17, 2017 at 1:04 PM
    #18
    Teriks

    Teriks [OP] New Member

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    Tom
    Front Range, CO
    Vehicle:
    2008 Toyota Tundra Limited DC 4x4 5.7
    Added a shorty antenna, installed EleDobleU's retrofitted headlights with black housing and white shrouds, and debadged. The only emblems that came off cleanly were the "limited" on the rear doors, though -- the rest left pretty bad residue, glue, or shredded paint underneath. Pretty upset with the condition underneath, but I'm sure I'll get it off eventually. I might actually put the "TUNDRA" back on the doors to break up the white a bit, but we'll see.

    [​IMG]
     
  19. Jul 18, 2017 at 9:04 PM
    #19
    nuclearlemon

    nuclearlemon New Member

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    what camera setup did you use?
     
  20. Jul 19, 2017 at 11:19 AM
    #20
    Teriks

    Teriks [OP] New Member

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    Tom
    Front Range, CO
    Vehicle:
    2008 Toyota Tundra Limited DC 4x4 5.7
    The camera was a "Esky 170° Viewing Angle Universal Car License Plate Frame Mount" and the screen was "Esky Foldable 4.3 Inch Anti-Glare Color LCD TFT High Definition Screen". I bought both on Amazon for a total of $45. I can't recommend the screen, though, as it stopped flipping up when I press the button a few weeks after I installed it. I have to press & hold the release button and pull the screen up myself. I think being on top of a black dash in the Colorado sun might have wrecked that part, but I can't be certain. I got an in-dash touchscreen radio now, though, so I'll be using that as my screen going forward.
     
    Black Wolf likes this.
  21. Jul 19, 2017 at 8:51 PM
    #21
    nuclearlemon

    nuclearlemon New Member

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    thanks for the reply. i'm thinking i'll do a stereo monitor too.
     
    Teriks[OP] likes this.
  22. Aug 23, 2017 at 9:40 AM
    #22
    Teriks

    Teriks [OP] New Member

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    Tom
    Front Range, CO
    Vehicle:
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    Added a procomp front leveling kit, but it still needs to settle; the passenger side is about 1" higher than driver side.

    Also painted my exhaust tips black, fixed my non-working license plate light, and put grip tape on the door sills as protectors.

    IMG_20170823_102822175_HDR.jpg
    IMG_20170823_102805920_HDR.jpg
     
  23. Sep 1, 2017 at 7:27 PM
    #23
    Teriks

    Teriks [OP] New Member

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    Finally did my differentials and transfer case oil drain and replace. Used Mobil 1 75w-90 GL-5, with new washers on all bolts, and did it for less than $90. There was a good bit of gunk on the front diff's magnetic plug, and a little in the rear, so I'm glad I got it done.

    I also mounted my fog-lights correctly, so I can actually use them instead of blinding people!

    TWMa5rx.jpg
     
  24. Sep 11, 2017 at 2:12 PM
    #24
    Teriks

    Teriks [OP] New Member

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    Installed a TRD rear sway bar. Makes a tiny bit of noise but the handling is noticeably better. Might look into a thicker front sway bar, too, as those on top of my adjustable shocks at highest/stiffest setting would probably let this bad boy move pretty good.

    [​IMG]
     
    Black Wolf likes this.
  25. Sep 21, 2017 at 6:44 PM
    #25
    Teriks

    Teriks [OP] New Member

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    Did a few things recently:
    * Installed the rest of my leveling kit via an RTZ 1" shackle in the rear.
    * Removed the plastic bed liner to assess damage to bed (from previous owners) and saw it's pretty thrashed. Cleaned it up best I could. I might end up sanding down all the rust and other damage and either repaint it or rhino-line/line-x it.
    * Installed homemade bed rails, then found out my tonneau cover won't work with them. I'll need to either get a different cover (which I don't want to do) or modify the rails to handle the mounting of the cover.

    Here's the full leveling kit. Makes my 31s look small :*(
    [​IMG]

    New bed rails and bed damage:
    [​IMG]
     
  26. Sep 22, 2017 at 4:58 PM
    #26
    nuclearlemon

    nuclearlemon New Member

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    \
    they are tiny. go 33s ;)
     
  27. Sep 23, 2017 at 9:16 AM
    #27
    Teriks

    Teriks [OP] New Member

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    Tom
    Front Range, CO
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    33s or 35s with trimming will be in order if my current rubber ever gets bad enough to replace. They looked pretty new when I bought the truck, and I barely drive as it is. Maybe I'll have to do a bunch of burnouts, rotate, then repeat :burnrubber:
     

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