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

Yeah all the instructions they sent were for a taco, but a recent revised date for instructions, these say to pull the handle out and sand which the mount between the handle and A pillar. But when you look up the tundra mount instructions, it’s like you said, a spacer/standoff and a bolt. This one isn’t even close to that
That’s why I was confused when I first got it, it didn’t look anything like yours.
And the sandwich method doesn’t allow for a clean finish at the A pillar. I feel like all of the males should just use a spacer/stand-off to mount it.

 

Ahh.

 

Simple mistake I’m sure, but now I don’t feel so crazy

 

I'll go take photos of mine, can't remember what it looked like.

 

Today I cranked up the Tundra and drove it out of the garage after 3 weeks of maintenance items. The timing belt replacement was the biggest job, but fixing the rust behind the front bumper took the longest amount of time. All done though now.

 

Feels good, dunnit?! Congrats!!

 

Being bored and having a couple beers this sunday night makes me want to buy something for the truck to improve offroad capability. But nothing major like rear locker, bigger tires, new leaf pack, new gearing, and new suspension which I plan to do in a year or so.

So tonight I ran across the Archive Garage hammer hangers DIY replacement. Has anyone bought these and installed them? If so, how did you cut the rear hangers off? With a dremel cut off?

Also, was it worth it? It looks like you can get more droop travel which is always good and they look beefy and should help with less rear sway and better ride quality.

So any thoughts? Thanks guys!

 

i keep considering them. but more and more i realize this truck will not be for heavy offroading.. because i have a double cab tacoma thats perfect for that.

 

This truck is my camping/offroading fun vehicle, my $500 Mitsubishi Lancer bought from a coworker is my daily. I dont mind buying things for the truck that will make it perform better offroad as long as its worth it and not crazy expensive. And im not trying to make some crazy rock crawler either. But just curious if these would be a worthwhile investment for a offroading camping truck.

Sooo @empty_lord, would you buy these for you double cab Tacoma then?

 

my Tacoma doesnt use the inverted shackles. but on the tundra i would see it and the added cross member being beneficial. but i would make the cross member part of the rear bumper as to not lose stock spare tire placement

 

Oooh I like your idea about tying in the rear bumper to the cross member. I would hate to lose my stock tire placement but also see the added benefit of having the cross member. Well maybe ill be ordering this tomorrow at work and welding up my own cross member to the tube bumper I have now.

 

New shocks are the dream. As doge would say, much cloud, many squish.
Not bad for making like Neil and banging out a rush job. I forgot to reinstall my abs wiring so my speedo doesn't work and I gained about 1/2" that I didn't necessarily want, but otherwise I think it turned out alright.

Cycles somewhere from 12-14".

 

Shiny!

 

As they should be. Sitting in my basement for two years hasn't done much to them haha.

 

Dude I’ve got super nice retro fits for the 4runner just sitting in their boxes, today I found some “alpharex” complete units that I might do instead just to save my sanity and get another check mark done on this list.

 

Come do mine. K thanks

 

You basically told me 1.5 years ago abouts that good lighting and retrofits we're addictive. You weren't wrong.

If your axle isn't rusty and if you run at least 1.5" wheel spacers, it isn't terrible. If the bed was removed it would have been pretty easy. In hindsight I would have changed the upper mount to look more like a factory f150 mount (easy tabs coming off a square tube), but everything is tight like a tiger on this install. The shocks have really gone up in price too. The first pair I got for under $300 and then this pair I got separate because I couldn't find anymore and they were around $400-450. Hell, the fronts use to be $100 a pair. If they hadn't gone to the live valve it would be easy to find them still.

It rides so much better than mostly blown Bilsteins. The first railroad tracks let me know that yes it could ride more like a cloud.

 

Spiker is sending me the proper scan gauge mount, very prompt and professional!

 

Anyone know what the proper drive shaft angle should be for a '05 double cab? My research is coming up with either 2.2 or 2.5 degrees. Can anyone confirm?

I'm getting reading to call a couple mechanics regarding axle shims and want to be able to give them the proper numbers for the shims. I'll be removing my carrier bearing drop set up before bring the truck in for shims.

 

I strongly recommend reading this. It is the best there is and if you follow it I promise you won't go wrong.

https://4xshaft.com/blogs/general-tech-info-articles/slopes-vs-angles

 

That's a huge help, thanks!

 

So spent a week, we had great weather, pulled the OEM stereo & speakers ..

Who installs speakers with Drywall Screws.....

Made use of the Metra wiring harness adapters, I love these things...

The 6.5's went in easy, the tweeters for the front took a little thinking, but I achieved that stealth look I was going for..

Used the factory mounts, they dropped in perfectly.

then the Sony HU went in, also quite easy!

Last, while I was at it, I put LED's in the Heat/AC section.

Next is the replacing the OEM bulbs with LED's in the dash!

 

Love aftermarket tweeters that support center-mount and can re-use the factory bracket! My JBL components were the same.

One piece of advice I'd give, in the event you didn't do so. In cans you aren't the one pulling off your door card sometime down the road, knowing you have custom audio install and there's some care to be shown, if you didn't wrap some electrical tape around your tweeter wire and re-use the provision the provide (with a little slack), I highly recommend it. Last thing you want is a mishap where something pulls that wire right out of the back of your tweeter. Wrapping the wire w/electrical tape will protect it from metal-on-wire-sheath contact.

 

@KK6PD while digging in old pics trying to guide the new kid with the front door woofer issue, I found a pic of mine. This is basically what I'm saying. If anyone happens to yank the door card hard, the spades should separate before the wire gets yanked from the back of the tweet. (Note: I pulled those plastic ears off after taking this and put a dot of hot glue to shield the terminals)

 

That is not only an excellent idea, but actually what I did. The Jbl speaker pkg that I put in has a crossover unit included, and that installed perfectly next to the speaker, the wiring then ran down the inside of the door panel to the crossover unit. I do like your style, and thought process. I think the kid bit off a tad more that he could chew, but hopefully figures out his error and enjoy the new system. My only problem with my install ... I misplaced one of the knobs for the heater/AC controls.... it's probably hanging with the single sock club! I'll find it at some point, but the Sony sounds great in the truck!!

 

If you want, Inbox me with your address, I'll send one of my old OEM ones out to you, cheapo snail mail. I swapped mine out with new OEM after one of my old OEM knobs cracked last year. OEM ones seem to cost 2x-3x as much, but they don't have the light bleed-out issues others do.

I already sent the metal pin from the cracked one to @abcinv to help him get one of his knobs back up and working and I can spare one of the remaining two knobs if it helps.

Sounds like you may've installed your x-over in same spot as mine. Someone had asked about mine before, this is where I stuck 'em.

 

YEP, that's exactly where they went..... Great minds think together!!!

 

I've used it to set up 2 Jeeps flawlessly. You can probably pick up a cheap magnetic angle finder at Harbor Freight or Home Depot, etc. if you need one. My advice from past experience is unless the shop is reputable do not take a mechanics word for what degree shim it may need. Find out for yourself.

 

Electrical tape? I only use that stuff for holding bandages in my bloody hands since I found tesa tape. I actually use tesa tape for durable gauze tape that can still breathe. Really though... Tesa tape is the bees pajamas.

$7 Tesa 51608 Black Fuzzy Fleece Interior Wire Loom Harness Tape for VW, Audi, Mercedes, BMW 19 mm X 15 meters

https://www.amazon.com/Tesa-Fleece-Interior-Harness-Mercedes/dp/B00NN6B9R6/

 

i wraped my whole dash harness in the tundra with tessa tape. zero rattles now.. wonderful stuff