Looking at a Tacoma , got questions

[Weber Sarge]

Forgot all about this thread ....
The rear trans mount helped , but just slightly . Vibes are still there and I'm sure it's mostly due to spring wrap . They tell me the truck is too far out in years and since it's just on a Certified warranty they can't replace the rear springs . Overall, love the '08 and didn't want the traction control or any of that other crap . I do hate the ABS and it's high sensitivity - it kicks in way too easy on slick pavement and removes nearly all braking pressure without warning .
Sarge

 

[SNLC]

I had an 04 Taco. Bought it in 07 with 70,000 on it. Quickly proceeded to deck it out, even had a S/C and 7th injector kit. Buffed up frame and lot's of suspension work. Lift, bar work, blah blah blah. Only thing I really didn't have was a SAS.

Great truck! Drove it all the way to Panama and back from Wyoming, twice!

Sold it with about 135,000 miles on it. Didn't have many problems with the truck, even modified a lot.


My only complaints (and why I got rid of it) were;

Seating position is to low and uncomfortable. Cab is to short to raise the seat much without your head into the roof.

Crew cab (what I had) the bed is only 50ish inches long.

Frame is a bit weak, although I had buffed mine up and it was proven to take abuse.

GVW of the truck. Mine was set up for long trips down south and had a lot of aftermarket gear on it. The result was I was over GVW empty! This is not good long term for any truck but I feel worse on light duty truck.

The dash and interior is all painted. Maybe not the dash cap but the rest is. It starts to come off and leaves black under it, which to me looks like crap.

There is a lot about the new Taco's I don't like but mostly those have to do with the way the truck looks, inside and out. I know the 3.4 is a super good motor but can't comment about the 4L. The only real downfall I see to these motors is the timing belt and water pump needing to be done every 90k or so.

Cheers

 

[SNLC]

Forgot all about this thread ....
The rear trans mount helped , but just slightly . Vibes are still there and I'm sure it's mostly due to spring wrap . They tell me the truck is too far out in years and since it's just on a Certified warranty they can't replace the rear springs . Overall, love the '08 and didn't want the traction control or any of that other crap . I do hate the ABS and it's high sensitivity - it kicks in way too easy on slick pavement and removes nearly all braking pressure without warning .
Sarge

Totally had this same kind of problem with my 04. On the 1st gens they suffer from axle wrap badly. Coming to a stop or off the line you can often feel and hear a thump. It is from axle wrap and the soft rear springs causing a little bit of driveline slap. Mine went away once I had Deaver springs in the back. In the end I had a custom built pack from Deaver, so thick I don't think axle wrap was possible with it!

On my 04 I upgraded to Tundra front brakes. It was a nice mod. Don't know if you can do that on the 2nd gens. I didn't have any ABS issues, except a bad o-ring once. With the bad o-ring the ABS were super sensitive. Once fixed the problem was gone for good.

Cheers

 

[Weber Sarge]

I'll have to look into the o-ring issue , I assume it's on the sensors themselves ?
Yes, the rear springs and suspension design is a joke - I mean c'mon - it's a truck . Using a spring over without any devices to deal with axle wrap is dumb , but using overly thick and soft springs is just stupid . I put nearly 2,000lbs in the back of my '07 Dakota once by mistake - it didn't even notice it .
Sarge

 

[SNLC]

Ya on the actual sensor is where I had the issue. O-ring got pinched.

 

[ken_79-fj40]

Bypassing the ABS by putting the fuse on a switch was one of the best modifications I made on my last 05. It was downright dangerous in the snow. I thought the rear springs on both the 05's I had were really weak. I put a yard of crushed stone in the first one I had (admittedly way too much for the truck) and it hauled it home fine but it was on the bumpstops the whole way. On the second one I used to put probably 1/4 of a yard of sand in it occasionally and it would bottom out frequently when loaded like that. I've done the same thing with my 260k mile 96 a few times with no issues.

 

[Weber Sarge]

I'm actually considering a set of Firestone air bags for the rear but that still won't address the stupid spring wrap . It's either the bags a whole new set of springs on a truck with less than 15k on the clock .
Otherwise , love it .
Sarge

 

[SNLC]

I'm actually considering a set of Firestone air bags for the rear but that still won't address the stupid spring wrap . It's either the bags a whole new set of springs on a truck with less than 15k on the clock .
Otherwise , love it .
Sarge

Just call Deaver. They have an off-the-shelf 8-pack for the truck. I had this pack, it works ok for general use. And it will stop axle wrap. For me and my uses the off-the-shelf pack wouldn't work so I had Deaver custom make me a leaf pack to suit my weight and uses. It wasn't cheap but well worth it.

I had airlift bags in the rear at first. They suck ass badly. So I dumped those and got some Firestones and custom mounted them. After this rear suspension work, the truck was sweet as can be in the back. Rode killer, handled the weight and no axle wrap. I think I still got pictures of all this stuff online if you want to see?

My truck was lifted 2.5". You could always keep it stock and just put a ladder bar in there.

Cheers

 

[Weber Sarge]

I'd prefer to keep the stock height , not sure if Deaver or anyone else makes a stock replacement pack that won't bend like butter .
Yeah, I'd like to see the pics if you have time..
Sarge

 

[SNLC]

Here you go....

Tundra front brake upgrade

Airlift next to Firestone air bag. And yes that is grass stuffed into a hole in the airlift, along with some plugs.

Custom Deaver rear leaf pack with the Firestones mounted up too.

Cheers

 

[Weber Sarge]

So, are those Deaver 8 leaf packs stock height or a lift spring ?
Any issues with driveline angles ?
Sarge

 

[SNLC]

So, are those Deaver 8 leaf packs stock height or a lift spring ?
Any issues with driveline angles ?
Sarge

That is the custom pack Deaver made for me, I had the 8-pack but it was removed by this point.

Yes the truck was lifted, about 2.5". The front was all Icon.

No prop shaft problems, in fact it solved them. Stock the rear axle is SOA. So lifting it doesn't change the prop shaft much.

Cheers

 

[NGA-FJC]

That is the custom pack Deaver made for me, I had the 8-pack but it was removed by this point.

Yes the truck was lifted, about 2.5". The front was all Icon.

No prop shaft problems, in fact it solved them. Stock the rear axle is SOA. So lifting it doesn't change the prop shaft much.

Cheers

Congrats on the truck. My Dad has an 04 Dakota and still can't get anyone to address the transmission problems.

2nd gen Tacos seem to really like a 2.5 lift. I've got the Ironman lift and love it. $1100, I know but worth it. I've got the 6-spd so axle wrap was bad on the stock springs. The lift eliminated axle wrap, and the truck has a much better stance.