Finally a 100 Series Owner!

[willc]

New wheels and tires. I like the Icon wheels- no spacers, no rubbing. Discount Tire was great to work with- found better prices online but they priced matched at Discount. I'm kicking around the idea of taking off the running boards, but I don't mind them. We'll see.

Next on the list will be getting an alignment and the windshield molding corrected. Thank you for the feedback on that @Red Beard .

 

[willc]

And yes the 200 series I drove was relatively high miles, seemed tundra-ish to me on the interior. Felt kinda like a 8-9 year old SUV- dated tech, nothing that made me smile. Maybe part of it was after taxes it would've been like 40k and then you have to start making the analysis about buying a 8-9 year old vehicle vs what you could purchase 2-4 years old in the same price bracket.

100 series IMO it's past being JUST dated and now it's getting into that old school cool category. Maybe not quite yet but I mean... the first ones were released in what 1998? So the styling is almost 25 years old. I expect everything to be dated and it's part of the charm to me. Maybe I'll change my tune in a few months after the maint/repair bills, but for now I'm just grinning looking at the thing and driving it around!

 

[cghall98]

New wheels and tires. I like the Icon wheels- no spacers, no rubbing. Discount Tire was great to work with- found better prices online but they priced matched at Discount. I'm kicking around the idea of taking off the running boards, but I don't mind them. We'll see.
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Next on the list will be getting an alignment and the windshield molding corrected. Thank you for the feedback on that @Red Beard .

Go ahead and take the running boards off. You’ll thank me when you do it!

I installed the factory front mud flaps when I took off my running boards so the rockers are still protected from mud and rocks being slung. 3rd pic for comparison of on and off.

 

[willc]

Go ahead and take the running boards off. You’ll thank me when you do it!

I installed the factory front mud flaps when I took off my running boards so the rockers are still protected from mud and rocks being slung. 3rd pic for comparison of on and off.

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Can’t lie, that does look way better!

 

[willc]

Grom Vline somewhat installed. My wife gave it to me as the early Xmas present. Awesome gift- one of the top gifts I’ve received- because it keeps on giving every time I drive and pull up my maps or music.

With the encouragement @cghall98, I took a crack at self installing this thing- and he was right it wasn’t hard to do. I got the system in workable order in about two hours.

I had a couple of hang ups, but nothing major. Including:

My wooden trim piece clips pretty much disintegrated on the bottom. Thankfully it didn’t effect reinstalling the piece. And thankfully it’s not rattling around on every bump in the road.

I watched a Grom video where they had an aux cable the fit into the cigarette lighter, but in the kit they just sent a regular aux cable. I also couldn’t get that cigarette lighter out of the trim piece for the life of me. Or maybe I should say, I couldn’t gently remove it, so I’m leaving it for now.

My aux cable is staying in the glove box currently with the unit. With my iPhone wire running out to plug into. Not ideal, but I had some time constraints and plan on circling back around on cleaning everything up. I was messing with trying to get wireless CarPlay going for an hour or so and couldn’t get it functioning properly yet.

One quirk that I need to get sorted out is that if my phone isn’t plugged in before the car starts, carplay won’t load up. I think it’s because it’s getting into a loop of trying to connect wirelessly and the system gives preference to the wireless connection so it won’t acknowledge the wired connection.

No huge deal on any of this. Overall awesome upgrade. Makes the 100 (and I assume any earlier vehicle with dated nav) a lot easier to “live with.” It’s not an ideal solution, and it’s not cheap imo, but so far it’s well worth it.

 

[cghall98]

Grom Vline somewhat installed. My wife gave it to me as the early Xmas present. Awesome gift- one of the top gifts I’ve received- because it keeps on giving every time I drive and pull up my maps or music.

With the encouragement @cghall98, I took a crack at self installing this thing- and he was right it wasn’t hard to do. I got the system in workable order in about two hours.

I had a couple of hang ups, but nothing major. Including:

My wooden trim piece clips pretty much disintegrated on the bottom. Thankfully it didn’t effect reinstalling the piece. And thankfully it’s not rattling around on every bump in the road.

I watched a Grom video where they had an aux cable the fit into the cigarette lighter, but in the kit they just sent a regular aux cable. I also couldn’t get that cigarette lighter out of the trim piece for the life of me. Or maybe I should say, I couldn’t gently remove it, so I’m leaving it for now.

My aux cable is staying in the glove box currently with the unit. With my iPhone wire running out to plug into. Not ideal, but I had some time constraints and plan on circling back around on cleaning everything up. I was messing with trying to get wireless CarPlay going for an hour or so and couldn’t get it functioning properly yet.

One quirk that I need to get sorted out is that if my phone isn’t plugged in before the car starts, carplay won’t load up. I think it’s because it’s getting into a loop of trying to connect wirelessly and the system gives preference to the wireless connection so it won’t acknowledge the wired connection.

No huge deal on any of this. Overall awesome upgrade. Makes the 100 (and I assume any earlier vehicle with dated nav) a lot easier to “live with.” It’s not an ideal solution, and it’s not cheap imo, but so far it’s well worth it.

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Good stuff!

I ran into the issues with the Aux cable and cigarette lighter too. Let me know and I can help you out with that!

Also, the phone mount solution if you are interested.

 

[willc]

Not much to report. Been out of town and came back to a wet hatch. Ran the hose over it and found it is coming from the third brake light. I replaced the seal with butyl tape and clear silicone to seal around the outside. From looking at it, I think the light is a little bowed so I'm expecting the silicone to do more to prevent water intrusion than the butyl tape. I'm going to let it set up over night before running the hose over it again.

Also had the cats replaced.

I'm hoping in a month or two to get a new windshield and get it sealed properly. Maybe replace some of the speakers if I can do it done without spending an arm and a leg. I feel like decent speakers from 2023 will probably sound a lot better than 17-18 year old stock speakers.

Overall I'm having fun with the truck- not excited to do the little maint and repairs, but I am excited to drive it and to have something a little more unique than a lot of what's out on the road.

 

[cghall98]

Not much to report. Been out of town and came back to a wet hatch. Ran the hose over it and found it is coming from the third brake light. I replaced the seal with butyl tape and clear silicone to seal around the outside. From looking at it, I think the light is a little bowed so I'm expecting the silicone to do more to prevent water intrusion than the butyl tape. I'm going to let it set up over night before running the hose over it again.

Also had the cats replaced.

I'm hoping in a month or two to get a new windshield and get it sealed properly. Maybe replace some of the speakers if I can do it done without spending an arm and a leg. I feel like decent speakers from 2023 will probably sound a lot better than 17-18 year old stock speakers.

Overall I'm having fun with the truck- not excited to do the little maint and repairs, but I am excited to drive it and to have something a little more unique than a lot of what's out on the road.

Great updates! Had to add silicone to the third brake light myself. That’ll fix it though.

As far as speakers, I left the front door tweeters since they were fine. I replaced the front door woofers and the rear door speakers for a couple hundred bucks. Not a hard job and used the factory mounts and factory wiring. Sounds way way better. PM me if you want more details of the speakers I got

 

[willc]

Great updates! Had to add silicone to the third brake light myself. That’ll fix it though.

As far as speakers, I left the front door tweeters since they were fine. I replaced the front door woofers and the rear door speakers for a couple hundred bucks. Not a hard job and used the factory mounts and factory wiring. Sounds way way better. PM me if you want more details of the speakers I got

Thank you and will do!

 

[willc]

I was kicking around the idea of selling my 100 and putting some extra cash down to get a 200 series, but I'm just not quite ready to give up on the "retro" styling and cool factor (to me) of the 100 series.

I can't lie though, kinda wish I would've sold a few months ago before I was cursed with the knowledge of deferred repairs. I had a mechanic inspect and they wanted to replace cv boots, upper control arm bushings, power steering hoses. Nothing was pressing at the time, so I've just been letting it ride a bit longer.

The power steering leak got worse. I knew I was going to have to take it in. I wanted OEM parts, and I didn't want to just slap a bandaid on anything, so I took it to a Toyota dealership. They recommended new cv axles (which I was on board with after reading on mud), New upper control arms, new power steering reservoir and power steering rack.

Not cheap fixes, but I thought, the old OEM parts got the truck 220k down the road... why not do it right the first time and cough up the cash? My wife was on board because she knows how much I enjoy the 100. I think she's also aware that although it's a good amount of coin to be dropping, it's still cheaper than me wanting a German car or something where depreciation would be a huge expense.

I'm saying my prayers tonight that these will be the repairs the 100 needs for this year and hopefully, I'll be able to avoid anything major for the rest of 2024.

I get a lot of satisfaction from things improving under my care. I could see spending a few grand on maintenance and repairs each year to keep this thing nice and continue to enjoy it for a long time. I could also see having kids and wanting to trade up to something with less than 100k on the clock, blindspot monitoring, etc. We'll see what happens, but for now, I'm happy to be getting it repaired and am enjoying the ownership experience.

For my DIY projects, I'm mainly wanting to recone my speakers and add some sound-deading material to the door panels while I'm in there. Replace some weather stripping, and replace the old tailgate carpet with a nice hardwood or an aftermarket solution.

 

[willc]

Getting the truck back from the Toyota dealership...

Upper control arms, new cv axles, new power steering rack... this thing is riding like a dream! Ride quality is better than a lot of new cars. I'm impressed with what a little refresh will do at 221k. It almost rides well enough for me to forget about the $$$ dropped at the dealership.

My only potential concern is that the steering wheel is tight to turn and squeaks a bit while turning. It feels like I'm in a BMW from a steering standpoint. Is that normal? The wheel being almost a little bit tough to turn? Maybe the new rack needs to break in a bit?

Either way, sweet ride. I think it's about an inch taller too with the new upper control arms. Might just be in my head though.

 

[cghall98]

Glad to hear it’s riding well!

As far as ride height, you can always measure from the fender to the hub and see if it is in spec. I wouldn’t say my steering is tough, but I think it depends on the year, and you may have a break in period too.

I reconed the speakers in mine, and it worked well, but I ended up just buying some aftermarket drivers and replaced them. I definitely recommend that route. Sounds a lot better even with the stock amp. Can let you know what I used if you’re interested.

 

[willc]

Glad to hear it’s riding well!

As far as ride height, you can always measure from the fender to the hub and see if it is in spec. I wouldn’t say my steering is tough, but I think it depends on the year, and you may have a break in period too.

I reconed the speakers in mine, and it worked well, but I ended up just buying some aftermarket drivers and replaced them. I definitely recommend that route. Sounds a lot better even with the stock amp. Can let you know what I used if you’re interested.

Thank you for that feedback and I’m definitely interested in learning which speakers I can run with the stock amp! Crutchfield was recommending replacing the amp due to the ohm rating of the stock amp (I believe). TIA

 

[cghall98]

Thank you for that feedback and I’m definitely interested in learning which speakers I can run with the stock amp! Crutchfield was recommending replacing the amp due to the ohm rating of the stock amp (I believe). TIA

I think the stock speakers are 4 ohm impedance, which you can definitely match up to new drivers.

Yours may be different if you have the Mark Levinson audio system, but the component tweeters in my front door do a decent job, so I decided to leave those. I went with the Kicker CompRT 6.75” Shallow Mount subwoofer to replace the low driver in the front doors. You can get them with dual 2 ohm voice coils so that you can wire them up to 4 ohm. Those are $100 each.

I went cheaper in the rear with a Kicker CS series 6.75” component speaker in the rear doors which sound just fine for what I need back there.

Overall, not super expensive to replace those and it sounds a lot better. Haven’t done anything with the sub yet, but the sub drivers in the front doors have definitely bought some time as far as that goes.

I also pulled the old drivers out and was able to mod the mounts so that they bolted back in in the same place with the new drivers. Definitely recommend this method. You can do a little soldering and end up using the same wiring connector as the stock speakers. Definitely recommend this too.

 

[cghall98]

I’m thinking about designing some sort of subwoofer mount made out of aluminum that would bolt up to same location as the stock subwoofer, but be designed to mount an aftermarket sub and amp. If anyone would be interested in that as well, I could move that up the priority list and see if anyone would be interested enough to purchase one after I design it, fabricate it, and test it on my rig.

 

[willc]

I’m thinking about designing some sort of subwoofer mount made out of aluminum that would bolt up to same location as the stock subwoofer, but be designed to mount an aftermarket sub and amp. If anyone would be interested in that as well, I could move that up the priority list and see if anyone would be interested enough to purchase one after I design it, fabricate it, and test it on my rig.

Sounds great- keep me posted and thank you for the info on the kicker setup. Think it would work still work with the Mark Levenson amp?

 

[cghall98]

Sounds great- keep me posted and thank you for the info on the kicker setup. Think it would work still work with the Mark Levenson amp?

The only reason why it wouldn’t is if there was something different going on with crossovers. I would pull one of the 6.75” woofers from a front and rear door and measure impedance with a multimeter to verify.

 

[willc]

I’m excited to say- and I may have written about this before on the post, I’m on my phone so my apologies if so- I have a baby on the way!

So I went on a quest for around 4 months to replace my beloved 100 series. I was thinking something with less odds of breaking down, more modern safety features, etc. the top end budget was 45k all in.

Drove a lot of different stuff- mainly trucks and 200 series, nothing really put that smile on my face like my LX470. So, talking with my wife we decided, the LX is new enough, safe enough. And instead of spending a bunch on something I’m not excited about, my wife signed off on just gradually improving the LX.

Yesterday I did ceramic tint all the way around including the windshield. WOW. Should’ve done this the day I bought it. It’s in the mid/high nineties in the Austin area and the ceramic tint is a game changer.

I’m starting to look at katzkin for replacement leather for at least my front seats. I want to replace shocks- a previous owner deleted the AHC and put some bs aftermarket shocks on it so I’m excited to see how it’ll ride with OEM shocks.

Just replaced some weather stripping on the drivers side door and it’s a big improvement on the wind noise.

I never really pour money into my cars. Get a couple years down the road, save up some cash, sell the car and trade up. I currently don’t have anything better to buy, so I’m enjoying spending the money on the LX.

 

[Nori470]

Tint looks nice! What percentages did you go with

 

[willc]

Tint looks nice! What percentages did you go with

Thank you. 30% all the way around (the Texas limit for the fronts I was told) and 70% on the windshield.