CV joints after 2-3 inch lift......

I just got my 2007 Tacoma and was wondering if anyone that has installed a 2-3 inch suspension lift in their Tacoma has had any problems with their cv JOINTS yet?

I had a 2002 Tacoma and they started to tear at 85k miles.......

Also...has anyone been able to really compare the block lift to the add a leaf lift. What are the negatives about both types? Thanks

 

If you are worried about cv angles, you can get the diff drop kit, which is a 1" disk that mounts between the frame and the front diff supports.

AAL all the way....I would not recommend blocks at all. For starters they will magnify axle wrap, which you do not want, especially when you are going to notice more vibrations with the lift

 

Do I need to really worry about axle wrap...Its going to be a beach truck, not so much for back woods offlroading....

You guys have an idea about the size tire that will fit on these..I am hoping for 32s

Plans:
32x15 Kumho mud tires: these are awesome tires for the price and basically make the trucks glid over sand without airing down.

either stock rack or Saris roof rack for surf boards

Paint the factory seams under the doors...I hate seeing the lower weld areas under the side doors of the truck...looks a lot cleaner if that weld strip is painted black and blends in with the chassis.

Front push bar once I find one that is under $600- I don't understand why they are so much more..last summer I got one for my old 2002 for $250. How different can they be for the newer year?

Procomp lamps for the brush guard

Back up warning system that I will need to drill through the bumper- This was awesome for tight parking.

Rear seat from a jeep wrangler bolted into the bed....allows the truck to become a seven passenger vehical for the warmer months...my friends love sitting back there.

Bed extender - just need to contact the maker of my old one to see if they can send some newer mounting hardware instead of buying a whole new cage--

Want it to look like my old 2002----hopefully the picture will take

 

Sounds like you have soom good plans for your truck. Bolting anything to the bed may be a problem though. no part of the bed is made out of metal. the whole bed is composite. if you're going to bolt anything in securely, then you will have to go through the bed and into the frame. have fun with your truck. post some pics of your upgrades as you go.

 

Axle wrap is bad on-road, it's just much worse off-road. I'd say still go with the aal.

The stock tires on the TRD trucks are alreadt nearly 31's so realistically with just the Suspension TSB in the rear, and bilstein 5100's up front set at .85 above stock you could go up to a 32" tire.

There is a problem with the 15 part of your 32x15 plan though. The 6 lug Tacomas can not go smaller than a 16" rim because of the brake size.

Ditto what ND said about the seat in the bed thing, it can be done it just may require a custom fabbed bracket so that the seat hits the frame.

 

MAV-------


Thanks.... Thats new news to me about the rims...my older Tacoma had 15 rims...

Also noted about the bed---the 2007 is a different beast than my older toyotas

As far as the front end goes, I measured the stock tires and there is just about 30 inches.....

You think that If I just replace the shocks up front with the Bilstien 5100 and set the front at .85 above stock that this will work.

Do I need to get longer shocks in the back with the TSB?

Also, How do you adjust the front end to .85 above stock?

I guess I would NOT need a spacer kit then for the front end?

My 2002 had a coil over fabtec with the Mud terrain 32's and I still had some fender rub on tight turns.....Are the wheel wells larger on the 2007?

Thanks for the help

 

Have you already had the TSB done? either way you will not need longer shocks in the back for the TSB. it will raise you back end about 1 to 1.25 inches. After the TSB you will have LOTS of room in your rear wheel well for bigger tires.

As for the front end, the 5100's are aftermarket adjustable shocks. they have 4 options. you can leave them the same length as your stock shocks, or you can adjust them to .85, 1.75, or 2.5 inches in height. they are adjustable by a "C clip" on the shock that slides into pre-cut grooves in the shock. you can adjust them when you install them, but if you want to adjust them again you have to take them off again to do so. FYI, if you set them on 2.5 inches you will probably need to do something to further raise the back end, such as a block.

 

Wouldn't it be easier to just put a spacer kit in the front then? I wouldn't have to get involved with compressing the springs to adjust the shock..

 

Spacer kits have the tendancy to break down over time. I believe that the bilstein 5100 are the best way to lift the front end. As for the TSB, you'll easilly clear 32s in the back with that done, but if you want to go bigger, I'd go with a new custom lifted spring pack instead, like a Dakkar or an OME as an AAL on a tsb 4 leaf spring would likely lead to a really rough ride, and I still really do not advocate blocks.

The chances that you'll need to adjust the 5100's more than once or twice is extremely unlikely, so the whole worrying about a spring compresser is kind of a moot point.

About the read shocks with the TSB, the stock shocks are long enough to handle the little bit of lift from the TSB, though a full set of 5100's is really not that much more than just the fronts, so atleast for my money after I get around to having the TSB done I'll go with all 4 5100's.

ND already covered the adjustment of the 5100's.

Oh and to answer your original question. At .85" on the 5100's I wouldn't worry about the CV angles. but if you chose to go higher than that I would opt for a 1 inch diff drop.

 

Few more comments:
If you plan on doing a lot of wheeling in the sand, you DEFINITELY do not want blocks in the rear. The axle wrap you will see on dry pavement will be magnified greatly in the sand, and makes for a very unpleasant wheeling experience.

Regarding the 32" tires (285's) you will need to trim the front fender wells....as you will rub at full lock.

 

thats not trim the metal......just the plastic part of the well i hope?

Has any one out there done this yet that might have photos of how much the well has to be cut?

 

Ok, now keep in mind that all makes of tires are technically different sizes as the tire sizing is a ratio of tread width to sidewall height and all that jazz.

A kumho Road Venture AT KL78 is the tire I picked off tirerack.com to make my point.

in stock size 245 75R 16 that tire is 30.5" tall

In stock TRD off-road package size 265 70R 16 that tire is 30.6" tall

up one size to 265 75R 16 that tire is 31.6" tall 4 tenths of an inch shy of the 32's you were looking for.

up two sizes to 285 75R 16 that tire is now 32.8" tall. 2 tenths of an inch shy of a 33" tire.

I stand by my original assertion that you can go up one tire size to a 32" tire with just the billy 5100's and not have any rub.

To go to 285's that is a two tire size jump, and nearly a 33" tire and that will rub.

The point is that the tire's measurements change in all directions every time you change one of the measurements, because it is a ratio. So by changing both the tread and the sidewall size it is a two tire size jump.

All brands of tires will differ slightly so a 285 75R 16 Cooper or BFG will not necessarily be exactly 32.8", but it will be reasonably close.

I hope I have cleared that up.

 

I plan on getting off set rims that will push the tire out. This should help clear the wheel well I hope. Thanks for the explanation...In 18 years of customizing trucks, I always stuck with the 32's 0r 33's because they were more straight forward. Thanks for the help....

Another thought that is in my head is the 60K drive train warranty. If something major goes with the engine/tranny/etc... I want to be able to remove the lift so Toyota won't turn it down for coverage. If I was to go with the 5100's, I would need to worry about getting the coils off the front shocks to return the truck to the original height. But, if I did a spacer and add a leafs in the rear, I could remove the lift fairly easily without worrying about getting the springs compressed. The spacer kit also goes for about $200 as opposed to the $400 for the set of four 5100's. Let me know what you think. I tend to think things out a bit much ...Thanks for the help with these...

 

Check out Randy Ellis Designs for his light bar for the '07's. Nice looking and inexpensive. I like the spacer lift up front. I put in a metal block above the strut asssembly, no compressor needed, and it will not break down after awhile. But, to each his own.

 

Oh yeah. My FJ has a 3" lift and according to all the people "in the know" over on that forum, no need for a diff drop with that size lift. I did not put a diff drop on the Taco either. Maybe just a fluke or other circumstances caused them to go on your other truck so soon.

 

On the 2002, I had one cv go, a steering pump, and the steering rack....all between 70-80K miles. Mechanic said it was most likely from the Mud 32's and the 3 inch lift putting weight and angle strain on the front end.

Things do go bad with age though so it is hard to tell.

It's late....I will be back on Thurs.. Thanks for the input guys!

 

That's what I was hoping. Everybody with 16" stock TRD wheels and stock suspension has no problems running 265/75-16 tires (32" - almost). I bought new wheels (16x8.5, -6 offset) which make the tires stick out a little. I've had rubbing with the stock suspension and 265/75-16 tires, and the rubbing did not completely go away even with a 1.75" front lift (Bilstein 5100's). Had to do a little bit of triming to get rid of the rubbing when in reverse while turning sharply (I just could not stand that noise, and it was embarassing on top).
Bottom line: the new wheels with less backspacing make it a little worse, but it's not much trimming that's needed.
BTW, you can buy a set of 4 Bilstein 5100's for around $260. I paid $155 shipped for my two 5100's (front only) about 6 weeks ago. If money matters the fronts only will do the job.

 

For that front end area... instead of cutting it, do you think the plastic for the mud flap could just be heated and reformed (making it thinner) instead of cutting it out...

 

Pushing the tires out further will cause you even more problems (this is regarding the front only). Remember it's not really a rubbing issue when the wheels are pointed straight forward, it's when you are turning the wheels lock to lock that you will experience rubbing. If you go with a greater than normal offset, you run the risk of rubbing the body mount (the only metal that would need trimming).
Your best bet is to stick with a back spacing of 4.0 - 5.0"

Won't work....an option I tried was ditching the front mud flaps and replacing with a pair from my 88 Toy. They are flat and do not interfer as much. The Taco mud flaps are just too thick and too many contours to get in the way.
In the end, I just chose not to run mud flaps on the front.