The new Taco

[RX-7 Chris]

maturity I guess, haha.

[Huzer]

A spouse that isn't terribly keen on yearly car swaps cuts down on that too. Don't think for a second I haven't wanted to at some point. I had a plan to sell the truck and buy an 95-97 Land Cruiser. Getting into something older though guarantees working on it, which then guarantees I'll get tired of working on it and wanting to dump it in a couple of years. I don't mind that for my project, but not for my DD...if you can even call the Taco a DD. It is close to surpassing the wife's vehicle on the ODO, despite having had the Jeep a year and a half longer. Quite a difference from only putting 4k on the Focus before trading that in.

[Shadowden]

In the future, when you are ready to get rid of the Taco, please keep me in mind.

[Huzer]

In the long list of cars, the Tacoma has now reached a new level...it's second only behind my '96 Yukon in terms of length of ownership. I have some time to catch up to that one, though. I had it 4 years! Ha.

[Huzer]

20k on the Taco now. It's practically a high mileage vehicle now. To celebrate the achievement, I bought a center console organizer thingy. The truck almost has the same amount of miles on it as my wife's Jeep, which is strange as her's is the more comfy cruiser. I guess I should just start driving that around. We've had the Jeep about a year and a half longer than the Taco.

[Huzer]

I'm bored, and waiting for a meeting to start, so I figured I'd review the "mods" for the Tacoma.

Fumoto Drain Valve Installed, but no oil change with it installed. No leaks, so that's good.
WeatherTech Digitial Fit liners (with TRD Sport gel decals) Love WeatherTechs and will always get them for my vehicles.
OEM Side Steps - Functional for my wife and son, and for me when I wash it. Mostly, they get in my way getting in/out. I'd get them again, mainly because 2/3 of my family use them.
Fold a Cover locking bed cover - Favorite mod so far. Can lock gear in the bed, keep stuff dry, and fold it all up when I need the full bed. For finding it used, I'm thrilled.
Bed mat Works, found it used on CL. Keeps stuff from sliding around.
Vehicle OCD center console organizer
Tint - Front Windows Me like. Little dark at night, but the price I pay for lookin' good.
TRD Pro Grill Looks good. Probably wouldn't do it again. I'll consider this my non-functional splurge.

I can see getting wheels in the future when I need to get tires. To keep it reliable and long lasting, I don't really plan on any major mods. Of course, I reserve the right to change my mind. Goal #1 is pay if off. Just another ho-hum Toyota wandering the roads.

[Huzer]

Well, I’ve started down the rabbit hole a little bit. The Bilstein TRD Pro suspension normally $1800 had a sale price close out of $600/shipped. Beefy shocks, springs, remote reservoir, wee. Should be good for a 2” lift or so. I’ll install it when I upgrade wheels and tires, probably sometime next year. Price was too good to miss out on.

[RX-7 Chris]

Now you need the black TRD wheels and the decals.

[Huzer]

I'd like the wheels, there's a set on CL right now, he wants $950 for them. They've been on there a while. I'd have to get tires as well, as the Pro wheels are 16" and my current wheels are 17". They also didn't have decals (like the T/X Baja) did. Main difference are the badges are black instead of chrome, and there is one lonely TRD badge. To finish it, I'd have to get the headlights too, as the Pro headlights have a bit of a tint to them and the housing is gray/black instead of chrome.

Mechanically, if I add the E-locker from an Off Road or Pro, I'll basically have converted it. No plans to do that, though. If I ever built it to the point that I felt I needed lockers, I'd probably go a different route instead.

I've been test driving older Land Cruisers (some FZJ80s and 100s) for a while now, and just didn't find one that made me want to part with the Tacoma.

[Huzer]

Guess it’s time for new tires. Tires (and truck) are 3 years old, manufactured 4th week of 2015. They’re dry rotted, splitting quite badly. All 4 tires on the shoulder, and close to the wheel around the sidewalk. I don’t use tire dressing, keep them inflated properly, etc.

Edit: had some 265/70/17 BFG K02s installed today. A lot beefier than the other tires and it’ll look good when I get the pro lift installed. Down the road, I’d still like to swap out the wheels, but since I’m not sure what I want yet, I let it be.

[RX-7 Chris]

That shouldn't be happening that quick. Tires are supposed to last 7 years.

[Huzer]

That shouldn't be happening that quick. Tires are supposed to last 7 years.

I would've contacted Dunlop for warranty claims, but I didn't want the same tires back on there.

[Huzer]

Well, new tires, combined with just renewing the registration, means I'll be keeping this thing. By the time another registration rolls around, the truck will be paid for. I've never paid off a vehicle with a loan, so this will be something new for me. I've owned plenty of vehicles free and clear, but never something that will still have this amount of value.

[Huzer]

Changed the oil this week (exciting, I know) and had my son help me. It's my first time using the Fumoto valve since I installed it. Impressions? It works, I used the tube that came with it, but won't use it next time, as it negates the "clean" factor of using a valve if you have to deal with the gnarly oil filled tube when completed. Drain time is slow.

All in all, it works as designed, doesn't leak, blah, blah, but the 30-40 seconds saved instead of using a 14mm wrench, as well as spilling a little bit of oil on your hand, I can't say it's worth it, especially on a truck where I don't require a lift or ramps to get under it anyway.

[speedjunkie]

I got a Fumoto valve to use on the transmission but if I remember right the thread pitch wasn't quite right, or the body of the tranny wouldn't allow it to fit or something. I was sad about that because I love the idea of having a no-mess and simple draining experience lol, and I wanted to reclaim the oil to use again since I had just put it in and still had the leak. I've been thinking about other uses for one of their valves.

For the hose, you could always just remove and store it when it's finished draining, but then you'd have to keep track of it, and who wants to do that? lol