Removing the hood scoop on a 2.5gen Tundra, a step-by-step rhinoplasty

In one of my very first posts, I commented on what I thought was the uselessness of the fake hood scoop added by Toyota to the TRD Pro - in my case, a 2021 lunar rock TRD Pro. As most of you know, the hood scoop is meant to imitate an air intake, but is not actually real since it is not cut into the hood and thus does nothing to cool the engine. It's just there for looks. I am well aware of the controversy I am inviting, but I wanted to do a write-up for anyone else out there who might want to remove this useless piece of metal from their hood

For comparison, the first photo is from a day prior, and the second from right after the truck's rhinoplasty.



Step 1: After removing the heatshield (twelve plastic rivets, not shown), there were twelve (x12) screws and four (x4) plastic clips that needed removing. Make sure to put a big piece of cardboard or, if your engine is cool, a tarp over the engine bay. I lost two plastic rivets that way! This picture was taken part way through the un-install; check out the pics for Step 3 and 4.


Step 2: I then used aluminum tape to cover the holes; you can see uncovered holes on the left of this photo.


Step 3: The fake hood scoop is a wind bucket, catching all the crap in the air and trapping it in there. Turns out that it is painted underneath!


Step 4: More aluminum tape on the hood cut to the size of dimes for twelve, one the size of a half-dollar, and the three rectangles are about two nickels side-by-side.


Step 5: Applied a matte blackout vinyl decal on the hood, covering the taped-over holes. You can see them a little, but that's nothing that a thicker vinyl decal can't cover in the future!


Step 6: Heatshield washed and reapplied. I used some aftermarket plastic rivets in place of the two lost originals mentioned in Step 1.


For me, the hood scoop was blocking part of my view while off-roading. Though the difference is fairly minor, it was enough to be worth it.

If anyone wants to buy the scoop and its hardware, feel free to shoot me a DM.

Cheers

 

I never understood the fake hood scoop.
With that, we all know the hood bulge grille is a fake air intake as well..

It's all about making your truck your own.
Thanks for posting the instructions..

 

RIGHT??

So I didn't know this until I went through this rhinoplasty. I was disappointed. I am planning to cut into the hood (eventually) to at least make that one real

 

Nice work. A heavy matt vinyl insert will be icing on the cake.

I hate fake performance stuff. Fake carbon fiber, fake hood scoops, fake exhaust tips, fake engine sounds. It all screams BS in the worst sort of way IMHO.

 

I enjoy the look of my hood scoop. I don’t care if it has no function.

 

Looks good!

 

I really want to 3D print another smaller scoop to go on top of my hood scoop that’s on top of my hood bulge.

 

You could always get one of those low profile light bars for that fake hood bulge grill. That's what I plan on doing some day at least.

 

All that trash is just a place to get rust started, that scoop and the fender flares are not much good. They trap things but do not release them once trapped.

 

Honestly there are probably plenty of people more than willing to swap hoods with someone with a scoop. Would be a lot easier.

 

Yep…

https://www.tundras.com/threads/hood-swap-thread.64443/

 

What about replacing it with one of these for the overlanding crowd, or just as a built in battery tender?

https://www.extremeterrain.com/casc...wS0rDoC6BT1H5eMhb3BoCbwYQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

Cheaper.....

https://www.lensunsolar.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=590

 

Read this and the links to the other threads... Didn't realize there was such a controversy/demand over these.

 

Unfortunately you can't swap a LR hood.

 

Why is that?

 

LR was only offered in the Pro trim so all LR hoods will have the scoop.

 

Easier? It took me all of 30 minutes, if that, to do everything I described. In addition to taking longer, swapping the entire hood would also require repainting to match. Maybe I'm wrong...?

This I like A LOT.

 

This. I should have better clarified that you can't get a non-scoop factory hood in LR since it was the last of the dodo.