Are my leafs F*&ked??!

I have over 60000 miles on my 1 1/2 blocks in the rear and have not had a problem or sag in my springs. Rides just as good as it did without the blocks. I dont offroad and drive 100 miles a day to work every day.

 

There's no magical do-it-all leaf spring. A leaf pack designed to carry heavy load will ride high and stiff when unloaded (e.g. AP Expo). A leaf pack designed to flex off road will ride soft but have lower weight capacity (e.g. Deaver). There are leaf packs between the two extremes (AP standard, OME Dakars, Wheelers...). Pretty much all the reputable aftermarket leaf packs are better than OEM Toyota, though, due to the use of more, thinner leafs in the pack.

One way around this to run a soft leaf pack, then install Firestone airbags and inflate them for occasions when you carry a lot of load.

 

good info... although in *some* instances, airbags offroad can limit flex in the rear and can even be damaged from "stretching"

 

so standard AP or dakars would work essentially.. I may just go that route

 

Dakars would be better suited to hauling than the AP standards , but they will ride stiffer

 

dakars are right in the middle between standards and expos as far as hauling needs/height/ride

all are great leafs

 

would they ride as stiff as Stock leafs with a block in them?

 

They will be stiffer than the stock 3-leaf pack, but they are more progressive.

Blocks don't change ride quality... well at least before the leafs are damaged due to axle wrap.

 

if you can find another stock leaf pack you could look into this
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/suspension/194386-tacoma-spring-refurbishing.html

Cheap and very effective

 

They'll be stiffer
any lift pack will ride stiffer than stock, that's an inherent quality of lift parts

but with leaf packs, if you throw a little weight in the bed, they ride smooth

 

maybe I'll look at some dakars

 

that's what I'd go with

 

Thanks for the plug Chris..... 2nd. gen replacements for the OME lift


my springs

 

Op do you have any knocking or clunking sounds when you brake hard, especially over rough roads?

I do and I have had a 1' block on the rears since the truck was new and the truck and lift have 50,000 miles on them now and I have been thinking my leafs died thousands of miles ago.

What I think is going on in my case is I'm getting axle wrap when I brake and the u-joint gets at an angle that causes the noise. As I keep going bigger on tires and rack up more mileage it has gotten slowely worse over the last couple years. I'm pretty sure the stock leafs are junk even without a lift but the block has just plain worn mine out.

 

+1

I have the AP Expo's. Very subtle vibe around 5-10mph. You don't notice it unless you're cruising at 5-10mph on a super smooth road and you are actually thinking about the vibe.

 

Honestly today heading to my campus I heard that noise and was wondering what it was because recently my clutch started to squeek so I was really concentrating on hearing.

 

My truck did this since day 1 driving off the dealer's lot. I think it might be just the slip yoke. No way to know for sure unless you stick a GoPro under the truck and see.

 

I don't really need to mount a camera to see mine.

I can have the truck parked, engine off on flat ground,.. put it in gear and rock the truck back and forth while looking under the bed and see how much the driveline moves up and down and the leafs twist.

When the driveline moves in the downward motion (which would simluate braking forces) the U joint gets in a funky angle, more funky/extreme then when I simulate acceleration (driveline moving upward).

When I first had the lift installed, I compared the leaf and driveline movements to a bone stock new Tacoma and the new stock tacoma did the same thing but to a 'much' lesser extent.

Someday I will just get a new aftermarket 1-1.5" lift leafpack.

I was trying to get traction bars for my regular cab to stop the stock leafs from getting worse in the begining but the bars have to be custom made since there is only the Bud Built bars that work on a reg cab but i don't like the design of them. I had a hard time getting in contact with a guy that could have fitted Hardbody bars to my Tacoma.

If I can ever get the leaf issue fixed, I want gears and 35's

 

Yeah your leaves are definently worn out a bit.. I have the AllPro 3" leaf pack and I really am glad to have them.

 

dakars ftw