If you want to keep up themaintenance on your 2001 through 2004 Toyota Tacoma, then you need to make surethat you replace the front disc brakes. If you take preventive measures ratherthan waiting for your brakes to fail, you’ll avoid paying a heavy cost later. Park the Toyota Tacoma on a flat surface.Put the emergency brake on and put wedges behind the wheels to prevent thevehicle from rolling. Di...

Bearing pullers are specialized mechanical tools that pull the bearingsoff of axle shafts. Although there are many different types and designs, they all work on the sameprinciple. A set of jaws will hook onto the outer sides of a bearing lining or bearingcase. Bearing pullers with jaws that hook onto the inside of a bearing lining arecalled a "blind-hole bearing puller.A central bolt or a slide ha...

If using a valve spring compressor to remove the valve springs from an already assembled cylinder head, first lay the cylinder head on its side.2.Use the valve spring compressor by placing the U-shaped portion over the valve spring retainer and the screw on the cylinder head to compress the spring.3.While the spring is compressed, remove the value keepers and retainers.4.Slowly release the compres...

Jack the vehicle up and support on jackstands. Remove the front tires and set aside.Locate and remove the bolts that hold the caliper to the caliper bracket. Torx sockets are supplied in the disc brake tool set, but the bolts may not be torx head, in which case a hex wrench willremove them.Lift or pry the caliper out of the bracket and off the rotor. Use the piston pushing tool to force the calipe...

If you've never changed your own oil, you probably aren't familiar with using an oil filter wrench. It's an integralpart of standard oil change equipment, a tool that helps you removethe oil filter quickly and easily. And as simple as it sounds, removingan oil filter is not so simple to do without an oil filterwrench. A used oil filter is coated with greasy road grime, making it difficultto get a ...

Ball joints are part of the steering and suspension of most vehicles. A ball joint allows the front suspension to moveup and down and steer back and forth simultaneously. A ball joint consists of a metal ball encased in a metal housing.The two partsmove independently of each other and require regular lubrication.A worn-out ball joint may cause erratic steering and requires separation fromthe suspe...