Hello from Seattle!

rustytaco · 2025-06-18T23:26:39+00:00

So I did this to fit larger tires, but you may have other reasons to remove these after an accident or during some sort of repair. A quick shot of the area I'm talking about below. In previous gen Toyotas, you had to do a lot to even clear 33" tires completely (on and off-road). Toyota made it a little easier this time around. I wonder if this design is intentional, or just happened to work out nicely. But the point is, you can quickly remove the felt liner that's in the area, and a crash bar bracket (not sure exactly what to call it) that's an extension of the body mount. In older gens, not only did you have to cut/trim fenders, flares, etc., relatively early, but you had to cut and weld your front cab/body mount to clear tires (among other things like smashing pinch welds). I added some 33x12.5R17 Arroyo RTs (37s planned very soon), so this was a natural move to start getting stuff out of the way to make sure the 33s didn't rub on the trip we just did to Montana, and start getting closer to full clearance on 37s. Not having to do a body mount chop, or a full relocation, saves you about $500-1500 on parts and labor. Anyway... here's a quick guide on how easy it is to remove these parts. 1. Remove your mudflaps (you can't run them with bigger tires anyway, at some point). 2. Remove the small fender liner piece inside the back of the front wheel wells. There are three push clips. You will need to use a small flathead screwdriver to pry up the inner portion, and then it will pull right out. They are reusable, but you won't need them anymore. Keep them as spares as they are used all over the truck. All seen below. Removed clips and liner below. Exposed body mount "bracket/crash bar" below. 3. The metal bracket is held on by 3, 17mm bolts. You can kind of see them above. One is hidden and the bottom ones may require an extension. Remove all of them and the bracket will drop right out. Bracket removed below. Bracket components below. Shot of the finished area below. Look how much more clearance there is! This only takes about 10 minutes for both sides. I would recommend reinstalling the 17mm bolts in their spots if you want to plug the holes so stuff doesn't go into the frame. Not sure to what extent it does, but it was brought to my attention. When I go to 37s, we'll have to do trimming around the bottom of the fender and the flare. But more on that later!

Lets_Taco_Bout_It

New member

Dec 4, 2024

#1

Hello from Seattle!

Picked up my first Tacoma about a month ago and am very excited to join the Taco life! Everyone has been super welcoming and helpful while I get used to my new truck. I've done quite a few minor modifications as I'm still learning about all the possibilities and capabilities that come with a truck like this.

If you're from the Seattle or Western WA area, feel free to reach out. I'd love to get a PNW Taco group together at some point.
Cheers!