AllPro Expedition Heavy Duty Leaf Spring Install

With 60,000 miles on my 2005 Tacoma's rear springs it was high time for a change. AllPro Off Road is synonymous with rock crawling Toyotas and has developed some of the best Tacoma suspension kits on the market. With their reputation as leaders in the Toyota aftermarket since forever their "APEX" line caught my attention, specifically their new Expedition leaf springs.

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Available for 1st and 2nd Generation Tacomas, the AllPro Expedition heavy duty leaf springs feature a 20% higher spring rate than their standard springs and are rated to maintain a 3 inch lift height while carrying 400-500 lbs of cargo. Since I'm a bit heavier than most I also opted to add the Timbren bump stop kit. And since it would all be apart it was a good time to install AllPro's U-bolt flip kit and their longer 24" stainless steel braided brake lines. Combined with my Icon rear reservoir shocks this should be a pretty cool setup. Here's my initial thoughts on the springs, a comparison to the Old Man Emu's they replaced and some install pics.

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Each leaf pack weighs about 60 lbs and upon inspection I was impressed by the build quality of the APEX springs. Nicely finished and accompanied by a full set of Energy Suspension polyurethane bushings these springs compare nicely to the Old Man Emu Dakars they were replacing in both heft and construction. Here they are side by side for comparison.



A comparison of the all important center section and bump stops. The AllPro "APEX" springs measure up very well with comparably sized leaves. The obvious difference is the overload leaves with the trade off being the APEX pack having 10 total leaves (including the special "torque leaf" on top designed to prevent axle wrap) and the OME having 6+2 overloads. The Timbrens are considerably taller than the OEM bumps. They feature a progressive hollow "bellows" design and softer "aeon rubber" construction so they should be quite an improvement over the harder solid rubber bumps. If the truck squats under load these are designed to act like an airbag.



Leaf size and thickness appears identical. Note the full military wrap eye and Energy Suspension polyurethane bushing on the APEX spring, and the chewed up Dakar rubber bushing after 60k miles - this was not fully apparent or even possible to see until the spring was off the truck. I think the Energy Suspension polyurethane bushing will stand up better to the the twisting of the spring eye in technical terrain.



A key difference is that fact that the AllPro springs are custom made in USA by Betts Spring Company of Fresno, CA while the OME's are made in Indonesia for Old Man Emu of Australia. This was also a key factor in my interest and subsequent selection of these springs over the other options available for the 2005+ Tacoma.

Now that we've looked at the springs, let's briefly cover the install with a few key recommendations for your safety and sanity and some pictures of the process:

1. Get a buddy to help you, these are heavy. Safety First.
2. Get good jack stands (6 ton) that go high enough and a couple good BIG floor jacks. Car size stuff will not work on a lifted truck. Do not trust any jack - always use quality jack stands on the frame!
3. Tools. Air is best, and a set of breaker bars/alignment tools for bolt holes etc.
4. PB Blaster is your friend. Use liberally on all suspension fasteners days or hours before you start work.
5. While it's up in the air, check EVERYTHING. Grease all fittings. Look for damage, cracks, and missing or loose parts.
6. Take some pics of how it is assembled BEFORE you tear it apart for reference during re-assembly.
7. Use Red Loctite on ALL suspension fasteners. Losing an eye bolt on a shock can ruin a trip and be quite expensive.
8. Use a quality grease on all fittings and lube up the bushings for an easy install and longer life. I use #2 Lucas red grease.

ORDER OF WORK:

1. Make sure you have all parts on hand before the you begin. Assemble new spring eye bushings and install in springs.
2. Spray everything with PB Blaster several days before.
3. Block front wheels. Loosen lug nuts.
4. Jack up the rear of the truck, set jack stands on FRAME. Keep floor jack under rear axle. Remove wheel.
5. Loosen all bolts/nuts from the passenger side spring. Loosen u-bolts and bottom of rear shock absorber as well. Do not remove anything yet.
6. Install longer lines before you drop axle. Bleed brakes, etc.
7. Drop rear axle (lower jack) to remove pressure from old springs.
8. Remove old u-bolts, bumpstop and bottom bolt of rear shock absorber. Keep the shock eye out of harms way.
9. Remove rear eye bolt from FRAME HANGER side of shackle. Leave shackle on leaf pack for transfer to new pack.
10. Remove front main eye bolts (I was able to do it without having to cut them)
11. Remove old spring pack. Inspect bushings/leaves on old pack and note any wear/damage.
12. Install new spring pack, install front eye bolt first, then to the rear shackle hanger and bolt both up loosely.
13. Align spring pack with axle (might need to push axle forward a bit or move up/down). Ensure center pin on leaf pack drops into hole in axle plate.
14. Install new U-bolts, re attach bottom eye of rear shock absorber using Red Loctite. Torque U-bolts to 80 ft/lbs using Red Loctite. Torque leaf spring eye bolts x3 to 89 ft/lbs using Red Loctite.

NOTE: For safety, do not re-use old U-bolts.

*Repeat steps on passenger side.

Pics to illustrate the process:

Dakars with 60k on them and OEM bumpstop





Getting it ready for the transplant



U-bolts and bump stop removed. Be careful with the E-brake cables. The guide that is hanging on the E-brake cable in the picture was removed.



OEM bump and Timbren side by side.



Ready for the new spring.



Looking through the rear spring hanger to the forward spring eye mounting point on the frame.



Use of floor jack and jack stands to move the axle up and down for alignment of leaf pack and hardware. Patience is key here. I did this alone, but two guys would be easier.



Military wrap eye into forward mount first.



Pack in place, ready for tightening up. This is also a good time to inspect the frame etc and spiff things up



Detail of AllPro U-bolt flip kit and Timbren bump stop. This is an outstanding kit!



Passenger side installed.



Moving on to the other side now.



Driver side going together.



A view from inside. Note the longer stainless steel braided brake lines from AllPro. Down travel is pretty good with my setup so these were needed



Close up of Timbren bump stop. As you can see up travel on the Tacoma rear suspension is pretty limited from the factory - the Timbrens will contact sooner than the factory bumps but they are softer and progressive due to their hollow "bellows" construction. This is better than the hard solid rubber OEM bumps "striking" the frame plate and allowing the flattening or inverting of the springs. The Timbrens should help improve spring life and ride quality.





Mission complete! I'll let you know how they work on the trail!

 

Looks good. I just ordered mine and will be doing it in a week.

 

Nice writeup!

I really like my expos

 

Perfect timing, I just got my complete rear suspension in the mail yesterday. Front LT kit should be showing up around monday, I'm hoping to tackle this on wed/thur. This write up will definitely help me, thanks!

 

From what I can deduce, you and I are on the same path in terms of truck build (including running heavier than most). I currently have OME all around, plus an extra Deaver leaf and airbags in the rear. I'm curious as to your thoughts in comparing your old OME to your new AP Expo? I've often considered going the same route when the time comes...

 

nice write up.. sub for review of them after driving.

 

Thanks for the write-up, Mine are coming in this week.

 

Ran the truck up to Saline Valley this weekend. Came in through the north pass and exited via the south pass so we ran some good distance at speed on one of the more notorious washboard roads in North America. Headed out from south pass to Lee Flats and on to Darwin and China Gardens - pretty good shake down cruise over 4 days.

Thoughts? These springs rock. Solid feel (but plush) and soaked up the washboard much better than the Dakars did when I ran this same stretch in January of 2013.

Very happy that I went this route!





This pic gives you an idea of the kinds of speed I was able to attain - this suspension was fully cycled on all 4 corners time and again

 

Very nice write up. I added the AP Expo's a few months ago and love them.

A couple of tips I learned.
1. Only tighten the AP ubolt a until they are tight. They come with lock nuts (like stovers) and will not loosen. Over tightening will limit the spring from maximum flex, you don't want to compress the leafs.
2. Purchase some nylon lock nuts and replace the 4 OEM nuts on the factory shackle. This will allow you to tighten just enough without over tightening that will make the shackle bind. You would be amazed at all the tacos I look at that have their shackle bolts tight to the point of binding.

See you out there some day.

 

Subbed! Great write up. Look forward to hearing more.

 

Thanks. We're really liking them so far.

 

Hey man, what size jack stands did you use for this? Doing mine next weekend. Renting a 3 ton floor jack and going to buy 4 jack stands, but want to make sure I buy jack stands that go high enough... any idea what the travel is like on yours or what make/model they are?

I have seen some guys have to put boards under their jack stands and I dont feel comfortable doing that

 

Are these leafs different then these?

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/all-pro-off-road/132440-allpro-expedition-leaf-spring-install.html

 

Same set.

 

I used 4 ton jack stands.

 

Just change one spring at a time and you will be fine. Jack stands under the frame and jack under the axle to help position it. You can even change the leaf packs without removing your tires if you wanted to.

 

Sub'd. Great write up! Im lookin to get the expos very soon!

 

In your last pic of the install you can see you really cleaned up your rear axle and undercarriage? What's your trick to get it looking so clean?

 

I wipe it down with acetone and go to town with Rust-Oleum semi gloss black

 

nice! I too am running the expos on my 1st gen and love it! Just wanna know if your still running 8" shocks vs 10" shocks. With that said its bc when the shock is fully extended with an 8" it is going to bottom out bc of all that travel you still have with the leaf spring and that can damage the shock over time. Dont ask me how I know