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Share your cheap mods for quarantine life...

atomiktaco

atomiktaco

4️⃣ Gold
Tacoma3G Supporter
Things are tough for lots of people right now and working on our trucks can be a great outlet. What cheap mods have you been working on lately?

I recently painted both my tow hook and my d-ring. A $5 rattle can makes a big difference aesthetically. (Pic below)

Share your ideas!!!

thanks


2E70A9E6-4A9B-4470-933A-F89580FB96B4.webp
 
Not a mod, but this is a great time to pull the grill and fascia (or just work around it) and use good hose pressure to clear out radiator, condenser, or other coolers on the truck. A lot of crap and debris clogs up especially in wet areas from winter, and now is a great time to flush it out prior to temps starting to pick up. Can see a drastic temp difference if you are in a dusty area with higher temps. We try and do once a month starting in may, to help keep things cool.
 
WarFabArmor said:
Not a mod, but this is a great time to pull the grill and fascia (or just work around it) and use good hose pressure to clear out radiator, condenser, or other coolers on the truck. A lot of crap and debris clogs up especially in wet areas from winter, and now is a great time to flush it out prior to temps starting to pick up. Can see a drastic temp difference if you are in a dusty area with higher temps. We try and do once a month starting in may, to help keep things cool.
Click to expand...

Speaking of flushing out... I need to remove the mud/rock out of my rear bumper lol. There has to be 20lbs back there 😂
 
WarFabArmor said:
Not a mod, but this is a great time to pull the grill and fascia (or just work around it) and use good hose pressure to clear out radiator, condenser, or other coolers on the truck. A lot of crap and debris clogs up especially in wet areas from winter, and now is a great time to flush it out prior to temps starting to pick up. Can see a drastic temp difference if you are in a dusty area with higher temps. We try and do once a month starting in may, to help keep things cool.
Click to expand...
Do you just use water pressure? I’ve been wanting to do this but unsure of how to tackle the buildup. No brushing or scrubbing?
 
atomiktaco said:
Do you just use water pressure? I’ve been wanting to do this but unsure of how to tackle the buildup. No brushing or scrubbing?
Click to expand...
Nope, you dont want to damage the fins. Just hose pressure with a little finger cover to boost pressure a bit is all you need. Too much pressure and a bad angle will fold over the fins and decrease airflow/efficiency. I like to get the front nose high (on drive up ramps, or up on jacks) and flow front to back. (pushing other way would be better but requires removing fan shroud and that is a giant pain.
I just start at the top and move side to side gradually working down, staying in an area until the water clears up, then move on to the next. It is pretty impressive how much crap gets locked up in the fins. Where the condenser is in front of radiator,once the water clears up I give a little more pressure to make sure it gets all the way through. takes a little bit, but the time is well worth it. Helps the AC keep up in crazy hot days (113* wheeling in moab shows ya just how struggle bus the ac can be) as well as just helps temps in general.
 
Here is one I learned about today from the Toyota dealer. While mine was a tool slip that caused the leak, apparently they have replaced a lot of that very same AC line due to aftermarket bumpers rubbing and gradually causing a leak. They specifically mentioned the ARB and c4 or CBI, they couldn't remember which. But I think it's a great thing to do for anyone running an aftermarket bumper. Super simple and any extra protection is always nice.
Basically just wrapping the exposed section of AC line with some quarter inch fuel line and zip tying in place. You can actually slit the fuel line open so it will protect the forward side and the slit will be towards the motor where there isn't a chance of rubbing.

IMG_20200515_093344.webp
 
atomiktaco said:
Looks great!!! Small thing that adds so much character!
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WarFabArmor said:
Here is one I learned about today from the Toyota dealer. While mine was a tool slip that caused the leak, apparently they have replaced a lot of that very same AC line due to aftermarket bumpers rubbing and gradually causing a leak. They specifically mentioned the ARB and c4 or CBI, they couldn't remember which. But I think it's a great thing to do for anyone running an aftermarket bumper. Super simple and any extra protection is always nice.
Basically just wrapping the exposed section of AC line with some quarter inch fuel line and zip tying in place. You can actually slit the fuel line open so it will protect the forward side and the slit will be towards the motor where there isn't a chance of rubbing.

View attachment 22351
Click to expand...
Nice share! Some of the best mods can’t aren’t always obvious!
 
WarFabArmor said:
Here is one I learned about today from the Toyota dealer. While mine was a tool slip that caused the leak, apparently they have replaced a lot of that very same AC line due to aftermarket bumpers rubbing and gradually causing a leak. They specifically mentioned the ARB and c4 or CBI, they couldn't remember which. But I think it's a great thing to do for anyone running an aftermarket bumper. Super simple and any extra protection is always nice.
Basically just wrapping the exposed section of AC line with some quarter inch fuel line and zip tying in place. You can actually slit the fuel line open so it will protect the forward side and the slit will be towards the motor where there isn't a chance of rubbing.

View attachment 22351
Click to expand...
Nice! Really like this one! Love these simple mods that no one sees! It’s how we take extra great care of our trucks.
 
KnighT4CO said:
curious how you mounted them? I've been thinking about throwing some lights behind my grille.
Click to expand...

I mounted them to the radiator supports and then grounded them at the hood latch bolts. If I am not mistaken there should be an additional open hole there, for a total of 7 possible already threaded mounting locations. I chose the radiator supports so they would be symmetrical.

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Factory horn locations:

87333111-7223-4654-A0A4-E15FAEC6E11C.webp

Ground locations:

0DB8F0ED-9659-4564-8BEA-A468A23EDFE4.webp
 
nickyreno said:
I mounted them to the radiator supports and then grounded them at the hood latch bolts. If I am not mistaken there should be an additional open hole there, for a total of 7 possible already threaded mounting locations. I chose the radiator supports so they would be symmetrical.

View attachment 22669 View attachment 22670

Factory horn locations:

View attachment 22671

Ground locations:

View attachment 22672
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Thanks man, looks good. Did you fab up those brackets yourself or did they come with the horns?
 
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