I Drove Sushi Roll to Solid Axle Summit #8, and had a blast and some unexpected adventures. My wife and son followed along in the Tacoma and I'm so glad they did. After this week, I'll never say anything negative about the 3rd gen Tacoma again. Not only did it wheel with the best of them, and showed up some built Jeeps, but it also towed Sushi Roll up steep summits and maintained highway speeds when level.
The problem began in New Mexico, Sushi Roll started to sound like an old Diesel engine. At first, I thought it was just the elevation messing with the sniper, making it run a little rough, and then I thought it could be the valves that needed some adjustments. Once in Colorado, it became obvious it was coming from the front cover where the timing chain was. So we assumed the tensioner wasn't doing its job and the chain was slapping around. Despite all this, I still went wheeling in it, and it did great. It kept up with the Tacoma and went over every obstacle with little issue, but then it died with 0 compression about 100 yards from my campsite. Once we got it towed, Jim from Trail Legends and a few other mechanically inclined folks came over to help ( I love this community). after much debate and inspection, Jim figured out the cam pin had sheered. All I can say is thank you Toyota for making non-interference engines, I plan on upgrading the powerplant at some point, but I'm not ready yet. The rest of the trip was spent wheeling with the Tacoma and on the last day, when I went to get a tow trailer, I rented a Rubicon for my wife. She fell in love with the Jeep and we are discussing counseling or possibly divorce.
The trip home was slow but did it with full AC. Ron ( the Tacoma) pulled Sushi Roll up and down mountain passes, ranging between 6 and 8 mpg. It managed 70mph on highways. I got her home and ordered a new high-torque cam from LCE Performance. I can't wait to drive it again.