CowboyTaco's 2011 DCSB TRD Sport

PSU Taco85

Well-Known Member
The great Biden Battery shortage of 2021, another fantastic job! Glad to hear you got one without getting raped on the price. I load test my batteries every year and trend them so I can tell when they start to degrade. I've noticed that typical vented lead acid batteries give me about 4-6 years even if I keep the electrolyte SG and level in spec. The large delta in temperature between summer winter here is probably what kills them. That being said, my yellow top in the yota is still going strong from 2012!
 

CowboyTaco

Well-Known Member
I am setting a reminder in my gmail to have it load tested in about 2 years and 11 months.

The OEM batteries lasted me about 4.5 years each. I replaced the first OEM one with another one from Toyota. Then I had this AGM in my truck for the last 2 years. It was previously the aux batt. in the 4Runner, which may have had some impact on the longevity of it. Also, I have not done the AGM battery mod to get higher voltage to charge it.
 

CowboyTaco

Well-Known Member
Winch installed

I've wanted a winch for a LONG time. I could just never justify the purchase. I'm still not sure I can justify the purchase, but I made it anyway. AutoZone had the Warn VR EVO 10-S for darn near dealer cost from what I understand talking to a vendor on that other forum. Prices of everything are going up and this was nearly $200 off MSRP. I've not gone on a couple of trails because solo wheeling is generally not advised. That coupled with my kids getting older and being able/interested in camping, I figured if I was going to get a winch that I needed to get one I was confident would work when I needed it.

I ruled out Harbor Freight and all the Amazon special winches. Brands like ComeUp are just too expensive. That left a handful of choices that ultimately came down to Smittybilt or Warn. The Warn was a little more expensive than the Smitty, but I found more reports of the Smitty failing than I did for the Warn. Probably a result of more people owning the Smittybilt, but regardless. I found an article a jeep forum of a guy who owned a Smittybilt x20 10k and replaced it with a Warn VR EVO 10-s. Not super common to find something like that on the exact models that you're considering. The fit/finish side by side pictures showed an obvious attention to detail on the Warn that indicated it was produced with just a bit more QA. I've always viewed Warn as the gold standard in winches. I know this is their lower level model and not a Zeon winch, but I was set on the Warn. Buy once, cry once.

Winch arrived 2 days later.
warn1.jpg


But the fairlead obviously wasn't going to work.
warn2.jpg


Thankfully, the ARB bumper came with almost everything I needed to relocate the control box. That saved me another ~$85.

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But first, I had to figure out the fairlead situation. I started by Googling the problem and found that this is fairly common on ARB bumpers. The most common suggestion is to use either an offset fairlead. The second most common suggestion was to use a roller fairlead and use poly rollers. Ok, so let's check those options out!

Offset fairleads are basically available from 3 manufacturers: Warn, Factor55 and Aries. The Aries as listed as "light duty use" and the fact that it was only $45 compared to the other two at more than twice that cost. I found the Warn on the Walmart website for $95, but no mention of how thick either of the other two are. Since the fairlead mount is fairly recessed into the bumper, winching at an extreme angle would cause the rope to rub on the bumper. Not good for the rope. So I called Warn to see how thick the offset fairlead was and was told that it was 1" thick. The standard thickness for a fairlead (at least it seems that way). I then asked if they had any kind of trade in option since the one that came with it obviously wasn't going to work with my bumper. The guy asked what bumper I had and suggested that I contact ARB since "they use Warn products all the time in their bumpers."

So I called ARB. Their customer service really is top notch. They sell an adapter that pushes the fairlead out and up. This both places the fairlead in the correct location to clear the bumper, but also pushes it further out to help clear the bumper on either side. They gave me the part number and I was off to find the part.

ARB Hawse Fairlead Spacer Kit - 3500600

Truck Brigade is fairly active on several truck forums and instagram. The best price I could find online was $117 + either tax or shipping. I reached out to them on IG and got a quote for $110 to my door.

While I waited, I decided to try to polish my bumper before mounting the control box. Before I could start that though, I had to remove the LED pods from the bumper. Top of the image is the 'before' pic. The middle is one try polishing by hand and the last is after two additional passes with the orbital buffer. Meguiars Ultimate Compound was used. The sponge I used for the had polish and the pad used for the buffer were both solid black afterward. I think a more aggressive compound followed by a good polish could have made it much better, but this was good enough for now.

warn4.jpg


I hadn't seen a reflection in that powder coat in years.

I am normally pretty slow to install parts after they arrive. But I've been talking to a group about running Musterground Road on Saturday at 11am. It's about a 2 hour and 15 minute drive from home, so I'd need to leave by 9:00AM to be there on time. So after dinner on Friday night, I set out to install the winch. Oh, and did I mention that there was a 99% chance of rain on the trail...which has a decent amount of red clay?

warn5.jpg


Dang thing is heavy! Thankfully, I didn't have to remove the bumper. After spooling out the rope some, I was able to squeeze it in through the lower bumper skid plate piece. Thing was heavy though. I had to get my wife to help lift it up and hold it in place to get the mounting bolts installed.

On a side note, installation is pretty straight forward and instructions really aren't needed. That said, I was surprised at how lacking the directions were. Nothing on how to clock the feet to fit certain applications (i.e. the ARB), or anything else for that matter. It was basically a picture of how to mount the fairlead and winch to the bumper and showed how to arrange the washers and lock washers. That's it! Didn't even have any words...

Here's the ARB spacer kit before putting on the cover, which is just a black piece of steel that helps to spread the load.
warn6.jpg


I got everything wired up - at least I thought - and the winch wouldn't spool in either direction. Ok, something isn't hooked up right, so I doube checked every connection and found a ground wire that I hadn't hooked up. The problem was that it wasn't long enough to hook it up where it "should" go. I also couldn't mount the control box because the mounting hole distance was different between the bracket that came with the bumper and the control box. It was 11:30 and the garage is under my son's room. So this is where I had to stop for the day.

warn7.jpg


Not a big deal. All I had to do was make a new ground wire and drill out the bracket. As long as I got started by 8AM, I should have no problem getting out the door by 9. The connectors I had on hand were either for a larger gauge wire than I had or were too small to fit the post on the winch. So I ran the ground that came on the control box to a bolt on the inside of the bumper (which hadn't worked the night before) and made a longer ground cable that would reach the post on the winch.

The good news was that the winch worked! The bad news was that I'd be at least 30 minutes late to the trailhead and still had to put the lower part of the bumper back on.

warn8.jpg


The control for the winch is wireless, so I left it connected to charge. I also just ran the winch rope to the factory tie down point until I figure out a better way. I also lost one of the specialty nuts that came with the bumper while trying to fit it back inside the hole. At this point, I was definitely too late to make it and was frustrated at the whole situation. So I left the house for a bit. I found the nut when I got home and got everything buttoned up.

I still need to do the initial unspool and re-spool of the winch, but I'm happy with how it turned out. Just disappointed that I didn't get the truck dirty.
 

CowboyTaco

Well-Known Member
Leaf Pack Maintenance and Upgrades

A few days after installing the Warn, I hadn't moved the truck out of the garage. Not hearing any complaints from my wife and being off work for the next 1.5 weeks, I decided that it was time to finally install the D29XL AAL into my Dakar pack. I'd also had the EZ-Slide graphite paint that I purchased at least a year ago (@Silverback 's recommendation) and a Wheeler's 3 degree axle shim and new center pins.

So I started by removing the driver side leaf pack and disassembling. Then I hand sanded the leafs that had rust on them. It was later in the evening and the kids were in bed, so no power tools in the garage. I stopped as soon as I remembered that I had a palm sander. These could wait until the morning.

20211222_192336.jpg


The following morning, I got the other side out, and both sides sanded and painted. It took quite a bit of mixing/shaking the paint can to get all the graphite to redistribute inside the paint. It had settled into a thick goop at the bottom of the can. The bushings looked to be in good condition, so I didn't bother replacing those.

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The paint can said that it would be ready in an hour, but to let cure overnight before putting the paint to use. I gave them a little over 24 hours before reassembling. I also added some of the Energy Suspension grease on the contact points of the leafs. I forget who it was, but I remember someone saying that they made the mistake of using that stuff without gloves and it took a LOT to get it off. Despite my being careful to keep everything in its original orientation, I managed to mix up one of the bottom leafs and the parking brake clip was on the wrong side, so I had to disassemble that pack again and flip that bottom leaf around. The center pin wasn't happy, but it didn't seem to lose any integrity (that I could tell), so I reused it.

What was unfortunate is that my U-bolts weren't long enough. I'd checked them previously and found that they had ample threads for me to add the AAL, but I neglected to take account for the added thickness of the shim. I was able to get about half the nut threaded on....enough to hold it, but not enough for my comfort. So I grabbed one of the U-bolts from the other side and went up to Advance Auto Parts. Thankfully, they had some in stock that would work. I think they were for those douchy 12" lift blocks, as they were excessively long; however, that just meant that I'd get to put the angle grinder to work. $35 later and I was heading home to finish the other side and redo the first side.

Oh, and since I'd developed "taco lean" over the years, I swapped leaf pack sides. The passenger side is now on the driver side.

I've only driven the truck a few times since completion, and most of those have been around the neighborhood. I did get up to 60 yesterday and haven't noticed the vibrations, so I'm hopeful the shim did its job. I also wasn't specifically looking for the vibration, so it very well could be there as I've gotten pretty used to it over the years. I was more annoyed that my steering wheel was cocked, so another alignment is in my future. So far, I am squeak free!

I need to get a profile shot of the truck. I didn't measure before/after with the winch install up front. Nor did I measure before/after with the leafs, but I definitely have some rake now. Before, it was dead level and/or possibly even a little nose high.
 
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CowboyTaco

Well-Known Member
Just a note on the axle shims. I went with the ones from Wheeler's Off Road. Part number WOR-3DSA-KIT.

Wheeler axle shims.PNG


I don't have a lot of drive time since doing the leaf spring work, but the 5 mph shake seems to be gone. I noticed the last time I was driving that the steering wheel is off center, so I'll be scheduling another alignment soon.

I know many have said that the aluminum is too soft for a shim application and that steel is better. I went with the Wheeler's primarily due to cost. They were a decent amount less than the competition and I figure the billet aluminum should at least last the life of the leaf pack. I'm currently on year 7 of the OME Dakar CS047R pack and I've read that they are not a leaf pack that will last the life of the truck. So I'll keep an eye on them and see how they hold up.
 

Anathollo

Armorall is my choice of lube
Staff member
Just a note on the axle shims. I went with the ones from Wheeler's Off Road. Part number WOR-3DSA-KIT.

View attachment 41045

I don't have a lot of drive time since doing the leaf spring work, but the 5 mph shake seems to be gone. I noticed the last time I was driving that the steering wheel is off center, so I'll be scheduling another alignment soon.

I know many have said that the aluminum is too soft for a shim application and that steel is better. I went with the Wheeler's primarily due to cost. They were a decent amount less than the competition and I figure the billet aluminum should at least last the life of the leaf pack. I'm currently on year 7 of the OME Dakar CS047R pack and I've read that they are not a leaf pack that will last the life of the truck. So I'll keep an eye on them and see how they hold up.
This is my first Dakar leaf pack after years of heavy towing, 150k+ miles, and several wheeling trips. The way they ride on road, hold up to towing and flex off-road, I was fine with buying another set of Dakars.
20190210_133231.jpg
 

CowboyTaco

Well-Known Member
This is my first Dakar leaf pack after years of heavy towing, 150k+ miles, and several wheeling trips. The way they ride on road, hold up to towing and flex off-road, I was fine with buying another set of Dakars.
View attachment 41046

I would guess that I'm at about 110k on mine currently. Hopefully with the recent repainting and added leaf I get a while longer. I will be fine to replace with another set if/when that time comes.

On a related note, I don't know if it is the EZ Slide paint, the Energy Suspension grease or dumb luck, but still no squeaks. Granted, I didn't really have any sqeaks before I took them apart, but they squeaked for years whenever the season would change. I sounded like a mid-90s Suburban going over speed bumps very spring and fall in TX.
 

CowboyTaco

Well-Known Member
I removed the Center Support Bearing spacer yesterday. When I first did the leaf springs and axle shim, it seemed smooth as butter. Then, I'm not sure what happened to my alignment, but my steering wheel went crooked and the vibration around 5mph got insane. Pulled the CSB spacer and the vibration is lessened. Need to get in to get the alignment fixed.

My best guess is that Firestone's finest didn't torque something down.
 

CowboyTaco

Well-Known Member
Also, I finally got around to adding a dash cam.


It gets great reviews and was highly recommended by some on the "other forum" so I decided to pick it up. Higher than 1080p resolution and can record at 60fps. I also like that you can have the date/time as well as GPS coordinates stamped on the video. I'm not much of a speeder, but I do like that you can choose to have coordinates along with speed or choose one or the other. It's not an all or nothing option in the menu. It is small enough that it fits between the rearview mirror and ultragauge mount and is fully hidden behind the rearview mirror. I'll snap a pic later. I need to get the hardwire kit so that I don't have a cord hanging down and taking up a usb outlet.
 

CowboyTaco

Well-Known Member
Not particularly noteworthy, but changed oil and rotated tires for the first time in 11 months. I can't believe it took me 11 months to drive 5k miles.

This was my first time changing the oil since the fumoto valve was installed. I'm a fan.

Also, my low speed vibrations have gotten worse. I noticed with the truck on level ground that the ass end looks really high compared to the front. I guess I never really noticed since my truck parks on a sloped driveway. Doesn't seem like that AAL should have given me THAT much lift. Hopefully it settles.

I'm sort of wondering if the winch on the front has caused the front to settle a little. Might be time to crank them up a bit to get some more front height. Get that full 3" now that I also have UCAs. The vibrations weren't that bad before the winch....
 

Anathollo

Armorall is my choice of lube
Staff member
Not particularly noteworthy, but changed oil and rotated tires for the first time in 11 months. I can't believe it took me 11 months to drive 5k miles.

This was my first time changing the oil since the fumoto valve was installed. I'm a fan.

Also, my low speed vibrations have gotten worse. I noticed with the truck on level ground that the ass end looks really high compared to the front. I guess I never really noticed since my truck parks on a sloped driveway. Doesn't seem like that AAL should have given me THAT much lift. Hopefully it settles.

I'm sort of wondering if the winch on the front has caused the front to settle a little. Might be time to crank them up a bit to get some more front height. Get that full 3" now that I also have UCAs. The vibrations weren't that bad before the winch....
Yes, the added weight of the winch will make your front end sag a bit overtime. I had to adjust my coilover's height awhile after installing my winch as well.
 

CowboyTaco

Well-Known Member
Did Charlie's Creek a few weekends back. It was more fun than I anticipated, as it had been graded within the last year and people have said you could take a Crown Vic through it. One slightly off-camber section toward the river. There are signs posted "No Offroading. Violators will be prosecuted" at both ends. I read on a Facebook group that as long as you are on the "road" and not going down any side shoots you are fine. I believe that to be accurate because I passed a Sheriff deputy on the trail. Both our windows were down and I waved at him as I passed. He waved back and didn't stop me, so in my mind that sort of confirms the "stay on the trail."

Popcorn Creek, or what I think was popcorn, was a LOT more than I expected. I had to stop several times to check line and hope that I wasn't going to slide sideways due to some fairly deep ruts. I only stopped once to take a picture before one of them...which ended up being the easiest one. My back tire came slightly off the ground on that one. I posted some of those pictures on Instagram @OverlandOutdoor.

Had to go around this tree:
1.jpg


That first dip that I had to get out and check. This was after going down (rear tire in air):
2.jpg


I couldn't decide if I should straddle or go to the left and pray that I didn't slide in:
3.jpg


I went to the left and the Yokohama G003 All Terrains held nicely. Pictures never do it justice. This one was a little scary at the time because the road was slick. I don't think I would have rolled, but a solo recovery would have been...umm....fun.

Most of the muddy spots were just dirty water:
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A couple low hanging branches like this:
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Another rutted out section:
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One section of actual mud, but it was short:
7.jpg



Lots of dirty water pools that looked like mud and some pretty tight sections. I'm kind of surprised, but I haven't noticed any new pinstriping.
 

CowboyTaco

Well-Known Member
Ok, so I've had the front camera hooked up to my head unit since I installed the amp about a year and half ago. Its just been wrapped up in my glovebox since I haven't really had anywhere to mount it. I think I want to try mounting it under the control box for the winch. There's enough room to attach the bracket that holds the camera.

I was thinking that I could use either a 2-part epoxy or silicone to glue on the mounting bracket. Any thoughts on which one would be better to hold up to high wind / rain / vibration / etc.?

1659474415620.png
 

Silverback

Lima Gulf Bravo Foxtrot Juliet Bravo
What about the area below that, above the fairlead? I just used some 1" x 1/8" strap, drilled appropriate sized hole and then bent in the shape I needed. I welded mine in place but you could bolt it as well.
 

Anathollo

Armorall is my choice of lube
Staff member

CowboyTaco

Well-Known Member
What about the area below that, above the fairlead? I just used some 1" x 1/8" strap, drilled appropriate sized hole and then bent in the shape I needed. I welded mine in place but you could bolt it as well.

I have no experience welding. I'd like to learn it, but don't have the time to devote to getting the right equipment and learning right now. Bolting could be an option.

Yeah, think I would go with a solid bolt/ weld method vs epoxy for this situation.

I agree that a solid connection would be better, but thought this could be an easy way to install without modifying the bumper in any way.


I already have the camera and mount and it is already wired up to the back of the head unit.

I plan to run the 12v back to the cab to that I can run a switch to turn it on as needed.
 

Silverback

Lima Gulf Bravo Foxtrot Juliet Bravo
I'd just bolt it in place with some Loctite on it. Single hole and done.
 

CowboyTaco

Well-Known Member
Component speakers installed.

I should have just listened to @italynstylion when he recommended just getting components. I think his exact recommendation was to stick with the 6x9 with no sub because they would produce more bass, or get components and a sub.

Well, I stuck with the 6x9 for about a year and half and cut out the factory tweeter so that I wouldn't have competing sound. The aftermarket powered by an amp and the OE tweeter by factory wiring. The 6x9s sounded great when cranked up, but I felt like I had to turn it up quite a bit just to be able to hear. I attributed this to the sound coming from essentially the floorboards and nothing up higher.

I just couldn't let that thought go, so I bought the equivalent JBL component speakers (GX608C) open box last black Friday. So like any good project, procrastination took 11 months before I would actually install them. The end result is absolutely worth it. The bass is about the same as the 6x9, but the highs coming from "up high" is the real difference maker. I can listen to music at a "normal" volume.

I did have to make my own tweeter mount, but that turned out to be a lot easier than anticipated. I bought a $2 cutting board from Walmart that was fairly thin, but still hard. I originally went to a Dollar General and they only had a flimsy one for $5. No bueno. I used the OE tweeter as a template. Just traced it with a fine point sharpie and used the router to cut it out. Much easier than trying to use a jigsaw.

Current price: $199 (https://www.bestbuy.com/site/jbl-gx...lene-cones-pair-black/6283670.p?skuId=6283670). I think I scored them for under $80.


6x9s w/ OE tweeter in place, but disconnected:
20221003_172326.jpg


Making the tweeter bracket from a cheap walmart cutting board:
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routing out the hole a little bigger and cutting the rough shape:
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Tweeter mounted:
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All done:
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The crossover is located inside the cab. The wire that I ran to the 6x9 was not long enough to reach where I wanted to mount the crossover on the door. I ended up pulling the wire back inside the cab and running two new wires (tweeter and woofer) into the door. The crossover is mounted using velcro and attached to the carpet behind the kick panel. There is enough pressure on it that the velco is really just keeping it from sliding around, but it isn't moving on its own.

Driver side completed 9/23/2022 and passenger door completed 10/3/2022.

If anyone is interested, I currently have the 6x9s listed for sale on TW ($80) and Facebook Marketplace ($100). Will include mounting adapters and wire adapters if needed. I don't have the box to ship them though.
 
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CowboyTaco

Well-Known Member
Driver door window tint:

I did a poll on IG a few months back about the DIY possibility of both removing and applying tint. The results were pretty unanimous that you could remove it yourself and pretty split for applying it yourself.

I watched the guy who installed tint on my first vehicle. I had friends in HS and College who did their own. I figured "how hard can it be?"

I had enough to do all 4 windows, but pulled the first piece off due to creases. So I have enough to do 3 windows. Oh well, I'll end up buying more so that they can all be the same. The one that needed to be done, however, is done.

I used the Black Magic 20% Nano-Ceramic stuff they sell at Walmart for $20 a roll: Robot or human?

The old factory tint:
IMG_20220521_163016_928.jpg


It had faded to a nice brown color and was peeling up on the part of the window closest to the mirror. When I pulled it off, I could see the distinct line of grey where it was protected from the sun.

No tint:
20221011_112125.jpg


Tint being applied:
20221011_121637.jpg


All finished:
20221011_164419.jpg


20221011_164423.jpg



There are a few bubbles and creases, so I will likely end up re-doing it. Overall, I'm happy with how well the front tint matches the smoked glass in the rear. I'll probably do the back windows and passenger window as well so that I get the full benefit of having ceramic tint. So it isn't perfect, but I'm counting it as a win!
 
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