xodeuce's build

xodeuce

mmmmmmbourbon.
Truck
2010 Tacoma DC SB TRD Off Road - Magnetic Gray Metallic

Armor
Stubbs Welding: Weld On HD-SKO Sliders - 1.75" .120 wall DOM
BudBuilt Skids: IFS, Mid, T-Case

Front Suspension
Light Racing ball joint UCA's
OME 885x Coils
OME NitroCharger Sport 90000 Shocks
OME Trim Packer - Driver Side

Rear Suspension
OME Dakar Leaf Packs CS-047R
OME NitroCharger N182 Shocks
OME Carrier bearing drop spacers

Wheels and Tires
Toyota TRD SE FJ Wheels
BFG AT 285/75/16, Load D

Comms
Kenwood TM-V71A 2m/70cm VHF/UHF
Roof mounted NMO Stud
Larsen 5/8 wave 2M whip, or Larsen 1/4 wave 2m/70cm dual band for around town

Uniden Pro 520XL CB
Larsen NMO27B CB / 10M Antenna (Base loaded 1/4 wave)
Still working on a mount for the CB antenna, stay tuned...

Misc
Flashlight
Receiver Shackle
Llumar 20% on front windows

So far, the only piece actually installed is the Kenwood ham rig and NMO stud in the roof. The rest of the pieces are in hand, waiting on some nice weather and a free weekend to start wrenching. Either way, the truck will be done by the time I begin the cross country trek to Rising Sun 4x4 Club's Cruise Moab 2011.

Thanks to the guys here who stressed the importance of armor. I feel like I'll be in pretty good shape for most of the slickrock stuff out in UT. If I get some bumper bacon, then I'll worry about replacing them later. I talked to Bud at BudBuilt at length about the gas tank skid, and he said that a combo of the type of terrain I'd be wheeling on and smart driving should keep me from needing it. If I decide to add it later, he said they'd give me the discounted 5pc set price, so that was cool.

Gotta give some props:
Richard Stubbs was really nice to deal with, welded up a set of sliders quickly, shipped quickly, reasonably priced, a GREAT transaction. Once I get the things welded up and tested I'll post back, but everything I've read on his work has been nothing but complimentary.

Bud of BudBuilt, also a really friendly guy. We probably talked for 20-30 minutes when I called in. His products seem to speak for themselves on many of the Toyota forums. I expect that I will be no exception.

Metal Tech 4x4 was great to deal with. They were friendly on the phone, and very knowledgeable about all things Toyota. I would definitely do business with them again.

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As it sits right now... not for long :)

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Stubbs HD-SKO's.

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Stubbs HD-SKO's again.

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LR-UCA.

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New Suspension.

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Wheelmeat.

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Wheels.

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Ham radio.
 
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Silverback

Lima Gulf Bravo Foxtrot Juliet Bravo
I'm diggin those Stubbs SKO sliders.. I've never seen them from that angle (or never paid attention I suppose).. but I like the slight kick out (SKO).

Also, those wheels are gonna looks really nice with that MGM paint.
 

xodeuce

mmmmmmbourbon.
I'm diggin those Stubbs SKO sliders.. I've never seen them from that angle (or never paid attention I suppose).. but I like the slight kick out (SKO).

Also, those wheels are gonna looks really nice with that MGM paint.

I liked that they're totally concave. The designs that have more of a bump seem like they could get hung a little bit and kinda "pop" up onto the kick out rather than just sliding over. On an already fairly wide truck I thought that made a lot of sense.

Thanks for the compliment on the wheels. I contemplated dumping them for a profit and buying something else, but the ones I really would want to replace them with are on backorder. It's not really worth a little bit of profit to get a different set of wheels I'm kinda lukewarm about. I really like that they're factory looking and have the correct offset / backspacing.
 

AlienXtx

Nignog
Nice looking truck man. That's the color I almost went with but didn't want to drive 100 round trip to get it...lol
 

xodeuce

mmmmmmbourbon.
I spent the day today working on the suspension with some help from my brother in law. The front is totally done, and we're going to tackle the back tomorrow. The springs and shocks were just like any other IFS vehicle I've ever worked on, very straightforward. The UCA's were definitely the trickiest part. After some minor sheet metal bending to clear the 11" bolt we got them swapped out no problem. I decided not to chance a crappy spring compressor rental, so I took them down the street to a local shop, and they charged me $40 to assemble the new shocks and coils with the old end cap / bushing / bolt / etc.

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Getting there...

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New UCA.

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Bro lean. Turrible... that should be fixed tomorrow :)
 

SecretSquirrel

Whale Oil Beef Hooked
Staff member
Good start man... Looking forward to the finished product...
 

AlienXtx

Nignog

xodeuce

mmmmmmbourbon.
Good start man... Looking forward to the finished product...

X2...looking good.

Thanks guys. Got the rear suspension all buttoned up this afternoon. There were a couple of disassemble - assemble - realize mistake - disassemble - assemble, but if the next go round I'll be good to go. This was the first leaf sprung vehicle I've ever worked on, so there were a couple of little quirks I figured out.

Here's an "after" pic. There's a couple hundred lbs of jack / old suspension / jack stands / air tools in the back, so it's sitting a little lower than it does unloaded. I'm going to have it aligned tomorrow, and hopefully have wheels and tires mounted by the end of the week.

I drove it without the carrier bearing drop installed, and with a loaded bed there was no vibration. I decided that I should go ahead and install it b/c it probably couldn't hurt and would probably help as far as U-joint longevity to get it back closer to factory angles. Anyway, I installed it, and went for a drive with an unloaded bed, and I get a little bit of vibe on takeoff just like I did totally stock. It disappears by 10-12 mph though.

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AlienXtx

Nignog
That vibe never really goes away, I have shims and drop and still have vibe on take off. Truck will look kickass with those rims mounted up.
 
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xodeuce

mmmmmmbourbon.
That vibe never really goes away, I have shims and drop and still have vibe on take off. Truck will look kickass with those rims mounted up.

Yeah <shrug>. I was kinda excited when I didn't have it with a loaded bed and no drop. Then I realized, oh wait, there's crap in the back. Doh!
 

Silverback

Lima Gulf Bravo Foxtrot Juliet Bravo
it will go away... with a one piece DS. :)
 

xodeuce

mmmmmmbourbon.
it will go away... with a one piece DS. :)

I've been thinking more and more about that... Any increase in wear on the u-joints from all the weight of the shaft hanging on two, or are they sufficiently sized that it's not a problem as long as you grease them as recommended?

As an aside, there was a guy on TW who had a thread to the effect of "Dropped my Tom Woods shaft in the middle of the interstate!!" Had pics of some kaboomerated u-joints, and they were dry as a bone. Not a bit of grease in sight. Heeeeeeere's your sign.
 

xodeuce

mmmmmmbourbon.
<off topic>
AlienXtx, the kid's haircut in your avatar is kickass. lol

Now back to the regularly scheduled program...
</off topic>
 

Silverback

Lima Gulf Bravo Foxtrot Juliet Bravo
I've been thinking more and more about that... Any increase in wear on the u-joints from all the weight of the shaft hanging on two, or are they sufficiently sized that it's not a problem as long as you grease them as recommended?

As an aside, there was a guy on TW who had a thread to the effect of "Dropped my Tom Woods shaft in the middle of the interstate!!" Had pics of some kaboomerated u-joints, and they were dry as a bone. Not a bit of grease in sight. Heeeeeeere's your sign.

Well Tom Woods isn't your only option. If I was to build another one piece DS I'd just have it done locally. Might be a little more $$ but I don't care for the double cardan quality in the TW unit. I've had two go bad, both around the 6-7 month point. Not cool on a $500 DS. But that being said, a one piece is still the way to go to remove all vibes. I've not had any U-joint issues whatsoever.
 

xodeuce

mmmmmmbourbon.
Well Tom Woods isn't your only option. If I was to build another one piece DS I'd just have it done locally. Might be a little more $$ but I don't care for the double cardan quality in the TW unit. I've had two go bad, both around the 6-7 month point. Not cool on a $500 DS. But that being said, a one piece is still the way to go to remove all vibes. I've not had any U-joint issues whatsoever.


Right on. Yeah, I was gonna go to a local shop and see what they would run before blindly ordering a TW unit. I figure if there's some guys skilled at building the things, I'd rather have an expert locally than order something over the internet.

Good to know about the issues you had.
 

Silverback

Lima Gulf Bravo Foxtrot Juliet Bravo
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Silverback

Lima Gulf Bravo Foxtrot Juliet Bravo
I wasn't doubting it, just wondering if you had anything solid. His U-Joints are great though, very good units. But like I said, I'd just build it locally if I was to do it again.
 
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