Tacocat is a palindrome

I'm not really sure where this is going at this point. But I have this truck:





And it needs a little work:





So I figured I'd document it here, in case anyone cares to watch. At this point I know it needs the holes in the bed fixed, obviously. And it needs bumpers and a gas tank skid (I dunno what it is with me and gas tank skids, but they're always rotted?). It would like new suspension soon...ish. It's a little squishy, but manageable for now. This is kind of a sticking point right now, I'm not really sure if I want to do an add-a-leaf thing, or shackles or what. Or maybe just simply replace the shocks because that's all it really needs. Same up front. Coilovers or lift springs or just replace the shocks? I'm still undecided.

But since no one makes a panel to match the bed-floor ribs, you have to do this shit by hand:



I got this tacked into place, need welding gas though. Hoping to finish it up tonight or tomorrow.

probably the name for a build thread ive seen

I've been dying to get my hands on a taco like this. Did you just get it?

Yeah I picked it up a few weeks ago. I was looking for a while, they still hold their value really well. But I ended up with what I was looking for; V6, 5-speed, extended cab, TRD. Overall it's in really good shape, aside from the issues I mentioned above.

Bet the motor runs like new though.

yeah the mileage was actually pretty low compared to a lot of what's out there (<150k) timing belts fresh it runs like a top. i got all the dealer service records. i'm pretty confident that this is a solid base for something good. we'll see what happens. i'm kinda planning to build it like my jeep in that i have no REAL plan and I'm making it up as i go.

Can't wait to see what you come up with.

Nothing crazy yet and progress has been slow as I've been spread a little thing of late. But I have managed to do some basic maintenance. Oil change (which SUCKS to do, btw), air filter, fixed the cluster lights that were burnt out, and maybe a couple other things? I forget.

Did the grey wire mod so I can use the E-locker in all transfer case gears (read: rear locker in 2-HI)
Extended the antenna for the remote receiver. It's supposed to increase remote range, but I'm not totally convinced.

Bumpers are on order. Still working the patches in the bed little by little.

Just got rear window latch parts. The plastic ones are prone to failure, and mine are broken, so aluminum replacements are available. Gonna try and get those in on break.

These guys:

New rear bumper is installed.

So the factory e-locker hasn't worked since I got this truck. I did a little research, and it seems a common issue among trucks that don't get used. If you don't use it, you lose it, apparently. So there's an electric actuator that's essentially just a small worm-drive gearbox powered by an electric motor and that engages a small gear rack in the diff to lock and unlock it (the actuator slides the gear rack left or right to lock or unlock). The grease in the gearbox solidifies over a long period of disuse. So you just open it up and clean it, slap it back together with new grease and it works again.

This one was so disgusting



But I took it down as far as possible, short of unwinding the motor



I put it back together and it worked! Until I put it in the truck again.  I think there's just too much drag in the system for the motor to handle. The housing was so crusty that where there used to be alignment pins and corresponding holes, now they're just gone. There's no way to line up the casing halves perfectly and I think that's really what it needs. Oh well.

I also painted a front bumper a while back because the one that was on there had a fist-sized rot hole through it. I finally got around to putting it on. Took the better part of the day because all the freaking hardware was so crusty.



I'm pretty pleased with the color match though. Especially for a rattle can.

Rob Cote wrote:If you don't use it, you lose it, apparently.

That's what the doctor told me

Taco looks good, can't believe that cruddy mess, would you be able to just hit everything with some parts cleaner and try to reassemble?

That's what I did. Unfortunately, since the case was so corroded, what were alignment pins just disintegrated. So getting the case back together in perfect alignment (which drives the worm-drive gear mesh) is nigh on impossible. It works sporadically, but as soon as there's any kind of load on the motor, it just gives out.

Next up is pulling the rear bumper to paint it. I think I want to get one more can of paint first though. It'd be wicked shitty to run out, and the front bumper took a whole can. The rear could probably drink 2. Might get to it this week who knows.

Dude. WIN.

This is awesome. Can I overland with it next summer? F*ck my Jeep, this Tacocat has sleeping space!

Also I'm thinking it needs CB/HAM set-ups.

It's been a bit of back and forth between Mandy and I as to which vehicle we'll take. I would love to take the truck because there's so much storage, but I think it just won't be ready by then.

I think my eventual plan is ~3" lift and 33s. It seems to be a really capable formula with the Jeep so...

Rob Cote wrote:It's been a bit of back and forth between Mandy and I as to which vehicle we'll take. I would love to take the truck because there's so much storage, but I think it just won't be ready by then.

I think my eventual plan is ~3" lift and 33s. It seems to be a really capable formula with the Jeep so...

The taco would be such a great overland rig, at Rausch (sorry...) there must have been a toyota gathering. About a dozen taco's/4runners that were set up more for overland than crawling. They were all drool worthy..

3", 33's, and skids seems to work great for this area

Yea I agree. To get 35s on this (and the Jeep, too!) takes significantly more effort and cost. You generally need more lift, and going beyond 3" lift, you have to do more stuff, or do it differently. 3" seems like some common upper limit to the Tier 1 lift kit. But that's fine. Fortunately for me, this truck comes with skid plates from the factory. Unfortunately for me, they're rotted. Gas tank skid is the worst offender. Seems to be a common theme for me...

Making some progress in the bed. I have the two largest holes patched. Just got a handful of much smaller ones left. This one was right by the tailgate, approx 8"x3", here it's half-done:





I finished it up last night, but it was way too dark to take pictures. The rest are each around the size of a quarter, maybe a little bigger or smaller.

It's been a little bit since an update apparently. I finished patching all the holes in the bed. I kind of want to redo the first one, because I got much better towards the end of the process. Maybe in the spring. I also finally tracked down a reasonably priced locker actuator that's allegedly in good condition. It's en route at the moment. I think once I receive it, I'll gut it, clean it, reassemble and paint it before I install it. Just to be safe. It would be really nice to have all things functioning, and I'm really close at this point.

Hi Rob, It's great to hear that you have got better at welding, Keep up the good work,,

The actuator I received is nearly as crusty as what's in the truck now. Apparently this will just be a band-aid. I'm trying to figure out how I can replicate the case out of something less prone to corrosion. I don't know if I have the precision needed, but I'm going to make an attempt.

This is what $200 gets you:





I was hoping for something a little better. Oh well, at least it supposedly works. We'll see.

WOW, is that nasty looking or what, hopefully it works for you.

Of course it wouldn't! I had to gut it, clean it, re-grease and reassemble it first. But it works. I have an e-locker. For now. Let's see how long it works.

Well that was a short moment of "completed". I just slid out and smacked a stone wall coming back from lunch. Need another new front bumper now I guess.