2000 Limited TRD refresh/repair story

Oh yeah, that thing is toast!

But if it helps, it's normally to have a little pressure inside. My pristine '06 rear axle also let off a PPPSSSSSHHHH when I popped the breather off. But that's because it's a one-way valve. It allows excess pressure OUT, but doesn't allow anything to be sucked IN. Go out, drive around, hot gasses build inside, one way vent lets pressurized gas out. Park the truck, things cool down, and that creates a natural vacuum inside the housing.

If mist sputters outwards, yes, that breather is failed. To see if it's working, just try to suck air in like it's a straw, with reasonable force. It should be impossible. Then try to blow air through it. Yes, gear oil tastes like shit, but whatever. Don't use pressurized air for this test, you'll destroy the diaphragm inside that makes 1-way operation possible.

 

My tetanus shot is up to date, but there ain't no way I'm putting my mouth on that thing! I couldn't tell if the hiss was from pressure or vacuum in the diff, but no vapor came out. A new one will be arriving soon anyway.

I'll also do the relocation mod when time allows, but for right now I'm just going to throw the new one on.

 

That's all I'm doing too. I know you can buy the relocation kit, but it's overkill unless you're out throwing the axle completely underwater up to the bottom of the bed every other weekend. If the internal one-way valve is working correctly, it should be theoretically impossible - which in reality is just "very difficult" - to get water inside.

 

I used compressed air, penetrating oil, and a small hammer to clean up the stock vent on the titan (after i found the leaky axle seal). The little bit of crud that makes its way in is nothing. Might help seal the leaky seal.

 

I’m done prepping the wheels for paint. Spent at least two hours on each. They still aren’t as clean as I’d like, but I’m done.


The paint had to be ordered online but it will be here soon.

I also finally pulled the mirror caps off so I could properly paint them, and they came out great. It’s astonishing to me how good you can get rattle can paint to look.






Removing the mirror glass required a lot more force than I was expecting, really felt like I would break something, but it was fine. Cleaned up underneath really well.

 

The wheel paint arrived today and I couldn’t resist painting one of them before work. It came out great!







I intentionally painted the wheel that was in the worst condition, so I could gauge my expectation for the rest of the wheels. It came out almost exactly how I wanted, but I made the mistake of opening the garage door and letting the wind kick up dust directly into the wet paint. Still came out good!

Also, the sway bar link must’ve snapped in the last few days, I had the wheel off on Wednesday and didn’t notice.



It really fought me when I tried to remove it… the nut backed off a few turns and then sorta stripped. The hole for an allen key also stripped out, so I resorted to spinning the nut/threads with a drill while holding a hacksaw against it, as there was no room for a grinder or sawzall. Worked great! New link is ordered.

 

Paint the centercap, too?

 

Yup, painted it with the same stuff.

I think I should’ve been a bit more aggressive with the scotch brite when prepping, the paint seemed to sag a bit but it looked fine once dried.

 

What paint did you use?

 

I used DupliColor Acrylic Lacquer Silver and Acrylic Lacquer Clear. I couldn’t find them in any stores nearby so I had to order them online.

 

Are those the stock 2000 center caps? My spare has that, but my stock '02 caps are different.

 

Yup, stock center cap. These wheels might’ve only been available on the 00s and 01s, but I’m not sure. I don’t see them nearly as often as others.

My spare is just a plain steel wheel, was an identical wheel optional?

 

Speaking of wheels, I finished up the other three today. They look great! Huge improvement that really makes the truck look new.







Also, my 200k official Toyota High Mileage club sticker finally came in!

 

Very nice. I like the 100k and 200k stickers. Very cool indeed

 

Well, happy to see we have at least one more member with good taste in music.

Truck is looking awesome too.

 

Are you talking about my Sub Pop sticker? If so, good eye!

I just got the sticker a few days ago when I purchased a Postal Service record…

 

Yup. I actually just referenced them over here this week.

I pay attn to what stickers people have on their truck.

 

It’s cool to see another person here that’s heavily involved in good music, also really cool that you used to DJ!

And it’s funny, I always wonder how much people pay attention to the stickers I have.

 

I think if they're recognizable, people pay attention.

On the truck I had prior to this one, I had a bunch of brewery stickers on the back glass. I met more beer fanatics with that truck in a year than I think I've met in the last 10 years combined. I've been particular about the Tundra so haven't gone this far yet, only one sticker on it. Nothing like this.

​

 

So many great bands on that label. Wife and I sold our record collections years ago as kids started to pile up, definitely miss them — some records we’d had since WE were kids — but don’t truly regret it. Hate being forced to listen to albums “remastered” by ChatGPT’s dumber brother on Spotify but it’s a trade-off that works for me. Books and guitars are my thing so I have to be judicious about too much crap stacking up around the house, so the records were a fair trade. /dear diary/

@FiatRunner your mirror caps and wheels turned out amazing, I cannot wait to do my wheels now. My center caps shouldn’t give me too much grief since the paint has about all peeled off already!

 

How many cans of each did you buy?

 

Thank you! I agree. Be careful with the center caps, I had a hard time getting the paint to stick to them right away. Sand them down well and get rid anything flaky, unless you want to see it once you’re done.

I got two cans of each. I used both cans of base, and only a can and a half of the clear, as I only clearcoated the outside faces.

I found that this specific paint doesn’t like to be sprayed on too heavy, it seemed to run really really easily. Also, wait at least 20-30 minutes before clearcoating, or the base will run and ruin the entire finish.

 

I love having a ton of stickers on the Tundra, but but I really appreciate a tastefully-picked and well-placed sticker.

It’s what I’m trying to go for with my old Fiat, I’ve got five small stickers, and they all relate to the car or match the “aesthetic” well. The period-correct Ansa exhaust and Olio Fiat stickers are my favorite.






Yes, I know it’s dirty. Got caught in the rain last time I drove it.

 

Well, I was trying to adjust one of the headlight bulbs last night, and I snapped the little plastic tab that holds the bulb in. The one that the wire piece clips into. I've been thinking of doing a mini projector beam swap for a while, but I guess that might be happening soon.

Here are the ones I've been thinking about: https://www.amazon.com/Upgraded-Hea...4&sprefix=co+li,aps,73&sr=8-20&language=en_US

I think they work really well for the price, and installation doesn't seem difficult. I'd rather have the projector beams than normal LED bulbs, because my headlight housings are cheap aftermarket ones, and the cheap reflectors throw the beams all over the place. Removing the reflectors would allow the projectors to be adjusted properly. I'd rather spend $70 on projector beams than $60 on a single housing, and use the old halogens. I don't have the DRL's, so the new projectors should work just fine.

I saw them in this youtube video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDi-fIp0jkw I watch almost all of this guy's videos, they're really good and quite helpful. In the video, he actually breaks off the same tab that I just broke. He repairs it with a piece of plastic that he crudely cut, and I think that I could create a pretty elegant solution with my CAD skills and the 3D printer I have.

Thoughts?

 

I'd like to see a comparison between projectors and the 100W halogen upgrade (output, cutoff, aiming, etc). I spent about $60 on the 100W Osram bulbs, harness upgrade and a plug-in resistor and the difference is considerable while the effort to install everything is minimal.

 

100w osram, harness, agm battery, voltage booster, new OEM housings, new OEM boots. This is the path I chose and the one I think which has the most upside in terms of looks, ability to melt snow, taking advantage of the large reflector space.
To each their own, and note that I run OEM LED on my 3rd gen Tacoma but there are tons of great reasons why performance halogens, properly aimed, offer fantastic performance. I have a special disdain for retrofits for some reason, and no such disdain for replacing OEM radios, so I have a somewhat inconsistent view of things. I just think the OEM optics are superior to anything else from what I've seen with my eyes and the data I've reviewed. Whereas OEM radios truly suck compared to aftermarket.

Anyway, lots of people seem to like stuffing LED projectors into halogen reflectors. Just not me.

 

I'm in process myself. My bulbs should arrive today; still waiting on RA to ship the housings. Correction: Housings shipped 3hrs ago with ETA 3/28. But via Fedex, so they'll probably arrive 5 days late and broken.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/wha...-gen-tundra-today.2558/page-1573#post-3128727

Note in my post, looks like the bulb product is identical from tip to toe, but a few percent cheaper.

 

This I agree with. I’d much rather have some really nice halogens, especially because I don’t want a very white light, but I don’t think I’d be able to get a solid result with my cheap housings.

I’ve tried over and over to get my current headlights (with decent bulbs) aimed correctly, but I haven’t been able to get a good result no matter how hard I try.

I like the mini projectors because they’ll keep a stock look, but they don’t involve the cheap reflectors and housings.

 

Let me know what you think of those other bulbs. You’re right, they look pretty identical. I’m assuming they come with resistors?

Let me know what you think of the whole process, too.

 

Doesn't look like they come with resistor, at least not in the single pack - and maybe that's the discrepancy I overlooked between the two. If I actually end up spending more because single bulbs don't come with a resistor, that'd be just my luck!