The Mistress of the Dark Street Truck Build

You're either gonna want some rake or get very special suspension to have no rake, but still allow the rear to load when you hit the accelerator to allow for maximum grip.

Not sure how racetruck suspensions go, whether they have super cool leafs to allow for this or they all go to shock/springs in the rear cause that's not my thing lol but when I drove fast in carss

overly stiff suspension was for the ricers. Yea a slammed and hella negative offset wheels look cool, but goddamn it drives like shit, to have that stance you usually gotta go to ridiculous spring rates.....all in all it's just style with zero function.

sorry, I'm rambling now

 

I met a new friend today. Dude swapped an FJ transfer case into his Sequoia (J shift)

He was interested in buying my TRD Pro grill but it won't work on his tree. So we got to talking about power mods and I ended up taking em for a spin in the T3. I know a.road outside of town that I like to get squirely on. I did a u-turn and fishtaled it pretty good, before speeding off. I didn't see the cop up the road coming toward me...
Apparently he didn't see me getting sideways and going 20mph over passed him either

Maybe he just thought I was cool.

 

I’d love to do the FJ swap

 

He said he sourced the transfer case on eBay and it took em a day to do the swap. I think he said it was $800. But I don't remember for sure.

 

He’s full of shit, you know how things go, nothing takes a day…..

 

I just met the dude. I couldn't say one way or the other. I'm just impressed to see a 25y/o kid doing cool shit

 

Ok so the T3 as y'all know is lowered and the SoS kit said to reuse the front oem length sway bar end links. But it had an option for rear links if you had the TRD sway bar (which I do).
So every 6 months or so I get a clunk on hard turns and my sway bar comes loose. I don't recall if it's the bushing or the link on the passenger side. I need to play with it when the sun comes out today. But I been thinking about buying some first gen Tacoma 5 lugger end links, because they are shorter (to better accommodate the 2in drop in front) and maybe I won't keep having this issue. What do y'all think?

Vs


Fuck it, I ordered em. Got a whopping 89¢ discount.

 

Worth a shot

 

I'd give it a go. Sounds logical, my concern is actually what happens when you jack up the truck and the link becomes the limiting factor; are you going to destroy the upper bushing? Observe both bushings with the truck on the ground and force extertion on the swaybar, how do the bushings look?

 

You think the worn stock coils (355k) and new-ish 4600's with the drop spring perch will have enough force to bind the sway bar, with the tires off the ground?
Maybe, but I'm more concerned about how it behaves 99% of the time vs that 1%.
Next weekend I'll have to play with it.

 

We did some surgery on the DC TRD Pro grill. Trimmed 2cm off the bottom of each leg with a band saw.

 

Just a few glamour shots at work tonight, post-op.

I just need to order the FNW center caps for the FNW Konig BFDs and do the mod to fit em to my TRD center caps. Then she will be looking fresh.
I tried to put the Elvira decals on the mud flaps but they wouldn't stick. So one went on Penelope's cap instead.

 

So the new S-Runner end links should arrive Thursday and I'm already thinking about "what if... I buy some new UCAs for Penelope and swap the SPC's (because they're adjustable) to Elvira?" Not that I'd do it anytime soon, for a few reasons.
1. Elvira already has poly upper and lower control arms bushings in the stock LCAs and UCAs. If anything I should just replace the OEM UBJs.
2. I'm not aware of any big sales going on right now and I try to only buy big ticket truck items on sale.
3. I really just need to get Penelope's new front end parts, that I already have in my parts pile, installed before T2S. I don't need any distractions from that goal right now.

The next things for Elvira will be clocking the LED headlights, making those TRD center caps fit, bypassing the throttle body coolant, and possibly swapping an 05-06 intake manifold.
I tried to order the FNW center caps today, but never got a reply. I'll try again Tuesday.

 

Hell yeah FNW came thru clutch. They're sending me these free, plus a discounted set of scratch n dent caps, shipped for $43. The works already been done with these, so I probably wont need the other caps, but I wanted em as back up, and I didn't want to have them send me free stuff, without actually buying something.


He even demonstrated how their new caps (same as the TRD caps) fit inside the old style caps (that are already cut).
Winning!

 

So that converts a push through into a pop in type. Slick

 

I'll still have to epoxy the caps together, but the cutting is already done.

 

So much down travel.

 

These TRD center caps actually snapped in pretty tight to the pre-cut ones FNW sent me. I actually had to pry the test fit one off with a screw driver. But I didn't want them to be able to free spin, so I JB Welded em in place.

There was a fair amount a metal shavings on the lug studs and wheels. The driver rear I had to fight really hard to get off. I almost died... I had hitting it so much that the floor jack had shifted and was berely holding the truck up. I popped my head under the truck so I could hit the back of the tire with a mallet and said "NOPE!" Put the lug nuts back on, and fixed the jack. That was a close call. I might've been decapitated or had my chest caved in!
Anyways I'm hoping the metal shavings were from Discount Tire negligence. They sold me some lugs when they installed the tires to the wheels and I brought it back, because something clunked at the first stop light and then I noticed the spare tires weights were already falling off!
So when I got back the guy said I had the wrong lugs. I told em they just sold em to me and to get the right ones.

Here's what they had at first




Vs what they put on the second time and is currently on the truck.

I confirmed over the phone with FNW that these were what I wanted, but I'm going to email them today and send pics, for a more certain confirmation. I'm still trying to track down a clunk. If I can rule out the wheels, I've already done the end links, the LBJs were done by Toyota 26k miles ago, I think that leaves the UBJs.
If doesn't help that the wheel center bore without the center caps is 110mm and the hub is 106mm. I think it's 106mm with the caps though. I never had an issue before with my 108mm KMCs on my 06 4x4 though.

 

Finished this project and installed the shorter end links. Still clunking on the passenger side on right turns. I'm starting to think it might be the UBJ. I'm at a loss here.

 

Where did you get those center caps from?

 

Which ones? I have three types lol

 

The look alike rock warrior ones? The TRD ones that look like brushed aluminum?

 

They're from Toyota. I bought em like 5+ years ago.


The date says May 2018, but I didn't buy a Tundra til August 2018

 

Update: spoke to FNW and I do have the right lug nuts. I think the shavings were a combination of DT incompetence... from driving like 5 miles on the wrong lug nuts, to over torquing, and sonc eo didn't have the push thru center caps at first and it's a 110mm bore without em going on a 106mm hub, I bet they didn't properly center the wheels before torquing the lugs. Hopefully no more shavings moving forward and hopefully that driver rear tire doesn't take like 5 mins of beating it with a mallet to get off again in the future.

I removed the passenger end link and the clunk is gone. So I guess I'll throw the old ones back on.with the bushings from the new shorter end links and just.ttorque the shit out of em with the onpact.. If it still clunks (I expect it will) then I'll order some new, OEM end links. Those older ones I have now are maybe 3 years old o think, but I don't recall if they were cheapos.