i've started a thread
HERE to show this off but i've decided to add to my PATYWGN thread with an in depth show and tell on what all i've done.
Supplies:
2nd gen inclinometer
Bondo
gutter guard or some kind of mesh
PVC pipe that fits your gauges of choice
various LEDs that fit your vehicle, i chose 194s and 74s in GREEN
sand paper: 60, 120, 240, and 320 grit
a Dremmel tool with various grinding bits
Gauges of your choice, i chose Autometer Sport Comp
18 gauge wire of various lengths and colors
Interlocking quick disconnects for your wiring from Radio Shack
wire splices, i chose 3M T-Taps from
discountcarstereo.com
various wire connectors, male, female and cirlcular
a drill of some sort
flat head and phillips head screw drivers
Bull Dog adhesion promoter
Krylon Fusion "textured shimmer" spray paint
Satin Polyurethane in a spray can
3/8" transmission hose
Dakota Digital Sender Block (optional)
3/8" male hose connects
6-10 small hose clamps
Teflon tape
Transmission cooler (optional), i chose a B&M
Zip ties
Electrical tape
Split loom tubing
a volt meter
lots of time and patience
First i started by installing the transmission cooler. i chose a B&M because "they have a low pressure-drop design, there is less oiling-system restriction" just to be on the safe side. it also came with brackets, nuts, bolts, zip ties, and various fittings for an easy install even though i decided to do a custom install. bending and cutting the brackets to the desired length and shape took some time, and figuring out where to mount it was a little challenging too. i decided to put it on the passenger side as low as i could in front of the radiator to give it as much air as possible, keep as much air going to the radiator as possible, and it was close to the trans lines for connecting. the top brackets were mounted in some unused holes for the radiator supports, the bottom brackets were mounted in holes i drilled and tapped in the same spot the stock front skit plate is mounted. i cut the soft transmission hose that sends the hot fluid to the internal transmission cooler in the radiator. this line was then secured on the male barbed fitting i put on my transmission sender block mounted to the frame on the passenger side. on the exit side of the sender block was another male barbed fitting that i attached some 3/8" transmission hose to and routed between the frame and the tow hook to the mounted B&M transmission cooler. it was a tight fit and to keep it from rubbing a hole in the hose, i put a 1/2" piece of hose around the 3/8" hose that would be in contact with the frame and tow hook and anywhere else i saw a possibility of contact that might rub a hole in the hose. i zip tied the soft hose in place where i could find. i ran another length of 3/8" trans hose back around the front of the vehicle, zip tied it to my tacoma skid plate bracket, between the frame and stock front skid plate, and into the internal transmission cooler inside the radiator. filled fluid back to the correct levels and checked for leaks. transmission cooler install was done. i'll get to the wiring of the sender next.
here are some pictures to help you see what all that text translates into. i have them "tagged" in photobucket but i'm not sure if that will show up here, you just put your cursor on the image and it should bring up some text about what everything is.
The wiring was probably a bit more work that usual because even though it would be covered up, i am a perfectionist and i didn't want to see wires run all over my engine bay. i crimped on ends to fit the sender and ground and ran them back along the frame and then over to the crossmember in the engine bay. then crimped on the proper end to fit on the oil sender (installed in one of the empty plugs next to the stock oil pressure sender for the idiot light) and ran that wire with the other two up along the same wiring for the alternator and battery wiring. once there i ran it behind the fuse panel in the engine bay and attached the ground to an existing batch of ground wires on the fender. then i ran the remaining two sender wires back to the firewall. i drilled a small hole and put in a grommet big enough for the two wires to pass through. once i had the wires at their proper length and where they needed to go, i enclosed them in black split loom tubing and wrapped it all in electrical tape to seal them in from the elements and give it that OEM look. you can't even tell that anything is different, looks like it was there from the factory. ok, now with the lower dash panel off on the inside driver's area, i pulled the wires in further to work with them some more. i crimped on 3 more of the ring terminals to some black 18 gauge wire for the grounds that go to the gauges. with my volt meter, i traced some wires back from the ignition switch and bugged them until i found a 12v switched source to power my guages. tapped into it with my 3M T-Taps and grouped all the wires together and fed them behind the radio bezel where the gauges were going to be. again, i encased them in the black split loom tubing and electrical tap to keep them apart from everything else and keep things clean looking. i went to Radio Shack and bought some
male and
female 12 position interlocking connectors
stripped the wire ends and attached the terminals and put them in order on 3 of the levels on the male connector: 12v power, sender, ground. wired the female connector in the same way. now i had a quick disconnect for the gauges if i wanted an easy way of disconnecting them later. on the other ends i put some female fully insulated quick disconnect terminals on the ends to attach to the gauges themselves. the wiring for the lights was done in almost the same way. since i wanted to have these dim with the switch with all the other dash lighting, i tapped into the wire for the ash tray light for my power source since i was eliminating the ash tray and had no need for it. used my 3M T-Taps, ran the wires to another set of male and female interlocking connectors, ran the gauge light wires to the interlocking connector and it was done. it's always a good idea to attach your lights and your gauges to your wiring and give it a test before you put everything back together.
that's all for now, i'll detail the inclinometer modification and building the gauge pods into the radio bezel next week and add pics as i go so you get a crystal clear idea of what i did.
2007-12-01