In stock trim the Toyota Tacoma is a good looking truck that performs well on the pavement and off. The trouble is it looks the same as every other Tacoma and there is vast room for improvement in the off pavement performance.
MARINETOY
A Tacoma Transformationfor a Veteran
This display shows the Tacoma kit with the optional coil-over shocks for the front.
Josh Reynolds is a true American, he grew up in the town of Yakima, Washington, has a love of the outdoors, family and his country. When Josh decided to enlist in the Marines, he had the full support of his mother and younger bother as well as his future wife. Josh was a corporal in Echo Battery, 2nd Battalion, 11th Marines, 1st Marine Division and is one of the many veterans who served our country. After two combat tours in Iraq he returned home in the spring of ’06 and married his fiancée whom had patiently awaited his return.
Stationed at Camp Pendleton, he has all of Southern California to play in with his 2004 Toyota Tacoma. He happened to meet Greg Adler, 4 Wheel Parts President & CEO, at a Brooks and Dunn concert and after a conversation about Iraq, life and four wheeling, he decided to come down to his local 4 Wheel Parts location and have some upgrades done to his Tacoma. These included a ProComp 4-inch lift, ProComp 6001 series wheels, and 33x12.5 ProComp Mud Terrain tires. After the upgrades, Josh tells us the following: “To all Toyota Tacoma drivers the lift and tires on my truck are awesome.” He states, “My truck is like a hundred times better now, it rides pretty smooth, looks great, and works great off-road.”
Follow along as we show you some of the highlights of the transformation of a 2004 IFS Toyota 4x4.
Left: Lifting any IFS truck generally requires the removal of the front differential. On the Tacoma, the
entire assembly is dropped out. In addition removing the front differential, the rack and pinion must be
removed on the Tacoma. Also, the front crossmember must be cut in order to allow the differential and
steering to be lowered down.
Right:A new front crossmember is provided in the kit to lower the front differential and steering rack.
Notice that the alignment cams are retained.
The main part of the Tacoma lift is in place. These crossmembers are strong and hold up to the punishment of off-road use.
Far Left: The stock steering shaft needs to be lengthened. A longer steering coupler shaft is attached to the
steering gear before it is reinstalled in the truck.
Middle Left: The stock struts were removed from the truck and the stock strut springs were installed on the new
ProComp struts. Then an extension is added to the top of the assembly and the new struts are installed
in the truck. Note that an extension is also added to the upper ball joint on the steering knuckle.
Middle Right: The new ProComp strut (L) is the same length
as the stock strut. This allows the use of this
unit on stock height trucks or with an extension,
on lifted trucks.
Far Right: At the rear of the Tacoma, the lift is simple a
taller block and new shocks.
The smaller stock tires and wheels looked pretty good on the stock truck, but the ProComp M/Ts on the ProComp 6001 series wheels better fit the new stance at 32.8 inches tall and 11.2 inches wide.