What have you done to your 1st gen Tundra today?

Really like those wheels. And I miss my white letter tires.

 

I went with AMSOIL full synthetic severe gear for the front/rear and transfer case. No mechanical LSD, Next time I won’t change the T-case but I will put a little magnet to the outside of the drain plug to see what it catches. I had the shop replace my front fluid so idk what it looked like while they were doing an alignment today. The 10mm Allen I bought was too long to use with my ratchet and I replaced both with Lexus plugs.

 

Me too. But it looks better now.

 

If it's the same thread as the diff or trans plugs, just get another of those to throw in.

 

Wish I had thought of that before but Amsoil isn’t cheap and that fluid was crystal clear. Throw a magnet on now and replace next time, I’ll probably forget in 50k miles when I want to change it again.

 

Went back to black. First exhaust tip baked all the black paint off first time I towed the camper.

 

Im gonna have to seriously consider those tires next. I checked the specs and love how light they are in 285. Only 54 pounds, e-rated, and sever snow. Sounds nice.

 

I should be able to report on snow performance soon. I almost went 255/80R17, but I want zero rub at full stuff with the wheels turned, so I stayed away from the 33s. Maybe they would have fit, I just don't know right now and erred conservative

 

Makes sense. I’ve already cleared for 33s but my tires are not the best in snow and finding a snow rated A/T tire under 60 pounds doesn’t leave many options.

 

Ah so you DID have to do work to clear 285s with the suspension articulated? How much?

Ya I don't have any interest in punishing my trucks with such heavy tires anymore.

 

Honestly, smart move. Gotta say my foray into 33" vs. 32.5" was less than stellar. I'm glad I opted for the 32.5 (275/70r17) first, then tested some 8/32 tread used 285s to realize it wasn't for me. I made a small profit reselling the wheels and tires, so IDGAF necessarily, but the things I now need to fix due to rubbing kinda sucks.

Obligatory ACDC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vWNauaZAgg​

 

I hammered the pinch weld and did a little trimming on the inside of the bumper flare where you can’t see it. Then used a heat gun to push in the wheel well liners. And have aftermarket 8” wheels which it looks like you have similar wheels as well. I also have SPC UCAs which help quite a bit also.
I’d say other than wheels and UCAs, which may not be necessary depending what type of tire you’re running there are some small things that help clear the tire easily.

 

My shop did as I asked with numbers for my first alignment with SPC uppers and 255/85r16 (same size as your 255/80r17) but they still rubbed frame at full lock. Now they’re totally rub free after a second try, I’m happy with the tall skinny tires but my winter set is 265/75r16 because there wasn’t an equal option from Nokian LT3s. Going a little smaller makes the stock gearing happier also and that’s a larger expense now that I’m looking into re-gearing just to keep the 33s

 

I think I forgot to respond to this, I think it’s all rear diff oil, my buddies f150 had some sparkle and residual oil in the drain pan but it was black black and didn’t mix with the greenish sparkle oil from the rear diff. I might do a shortened interval on it to see what’s going on.

 

Probably a good call.

When the wheel bearing went out on my Tacoma, the local mechanic tried to convince me my differential was full of metal contaminants and I needed to be looking for a used axle, since my differential would be toast. He was full of it, of course (he told me this before even inspecting my truck), but it got me paranoid.

I drained the fluid and sprayed as much brake cleaner in the fill and drain holes as I could, trying to soak the gears. Let it dry overnight, refilled, back on the road. No problems. Probably wasn't even necessary to do that much.

 

I just completely fucked my T-case. Found the torque spec (27 ft/lbs) but with the crush washer and the low spec I didn’t hear it click over, I was probably already over 27 before putting the torque wrench on it just kept going until it cracked. Damn. Where can I get a new one of these plates??

Update: complete T-cases from the junkyard are under $200. Probably going to get the whole thing and gain experience taking the plate off before I have to do it on mine, going to drain and save my oil and order that magnetic bottom plug after all.

 

Ohhh shit no! I hate when I do shit like that.


ANy buddies that can TIG?

 

Picked up some practically brand new meats on the low. Picking up two more from the other side of Houston tomorrow...

For shits n gigs...

 

Nope, and now I’m going down the rabbit hole into the manual FJ T-case realm. Might as well throw a marlin crawler on while I’m down there right?

 

Passenger side got new bearing, hub, seals, spindle, spindle gussets, and Perry parts bump stops. I’ll do the driver side in 6 months haha

 

Damnit that sucks!!! Could always JB Weld it in the meantime.

 

Yup. I always warn people about this. I nearly made the same mistake myself.

Here’s the most recent warning: https://www.tundras.com/threads/bought-an-03-tundra-and-need-advice.151152/#post-3770167

And heres another: https://www.tundras.com/threads/recommended-transfer-case-oil.150957/#post-3763663

And another with big font and red text : https://www.tundras.com/threads/new...-tackle-some-maintenance.148285/#post-3713309

If you search my replies with “overtighten” it’s probably the one thing I warn people the most about overtightening, the transfer case, and valve cover bolts. Trans pan bolts are another one.

EDIT: This isn’t me trying to say “told you so”. If I wasn’t taking the wife out on a date while the kids were at a school event I’d have warned you when you asked for torque specs!

 

Kenda Klever? My other truck has a set on it and I love them.

 

I too broke a t-case in a bout of bad wrenching.

Swapping the T-case isn't bad at all. It's a good time to give everything a good clean and replace the vent hose.

 

Yessir.

 

Step 1- drain ALL the oil out.
Step 2- remove T-case from truck.
Step 3- remove steel drain plug.
Step 4- clean, clean, clean the aluminum
Step 5- find a 1/4" thick piece of aluminum and cut it about the same size and shape as a quarter (coin).
Step 6- weld that thick aluminum washer directly over the top of the drain plug hole...as in COMPLETELY weld the whole dang hole shut.
Step 7- reinstall T case and fill is back up with oil and don't worry about it again for the next 150,000 miles.

OPTIONAL: drill and tap the aluminum washer for a 1/4" NPT plug. You can then drain the oil at a later date. It will be slow going with the smaller diameter hole, but it would still be a drain. If you lived close, i'd blob on some aluminum beads with my spool gun for ya.

 

Welcome to the mangler club. We are an elite group of individuals. These moments make us stronger in the end.

A torque wrench has gotten me in trouble multiple times now. Transmission pan drain plug and two LBJ bolts. I quit using them for certain jobs and just go by feel now.

 

Yeah man, well put. PAIN=LEARNING
If I told you guys how long it takes me to do some shit you'd laugh... but im trying not to fuck shit up!
One thing we salt belt dudes learn is how to sweet talk those rusted fasteners out

 

There's no shame in being smart or in recognizing one's limitations. That's wisdom.

 

It's one thing to mangle, everyone mangles something here or there, even the pros.

It's another thing entirely to show people your mangling, in an effort to avoid them repeating your mistake.

I have an immense amount more respect for those who mangle and are willing to share their mistakes, no matter how stupid. It says a lot about your character.

I have even more respect for people who are willing to at least try, even though they may fuck something up, and even if they DO fuck something up. The fact you're willing to try speaks volumes about you as a person.

I try to encourage my kids to (1) try their best and (2) be OK if you don't get it right, (3) don't hesitate to ask for help before you start, or during the process, it's not a sign of weakness, if anything it's a sign of intelligence.