Suspension Upgrades - No lift wanted

Truck looks great. Next time you have a load in the back, post some pictures to show how much it sags. Although you will probably have the air-bags in by that time.

 

In extended driving today, I noticed that raising those Boss COs yesterday up to 38" to match the rear end makes the front end quite a bit harsher riding to the point I am likely going to drop the front back down from 38" to 37" and just drive it slightly higher in the rear until those Deavers settle down. Again, it's likely just having the 600 lb. coils on my COs instead of the 550s I should have that is causing it but it stands to reason that when raising the CO, you are compressing the spring resulting in the harsher ride.

And I should be going in to get about 20 bags of mulch tomorrow so I should be able to take some pics with those Deavers loaded.

I don't intend to get back to installing the air bags until Sunday. Too many honey dos to get to tomorrow . . .

 

Haven't gotten the 20 bags of mulch yet but did go get 26 of those dripping wet 8' treated landscape timbers that have to weigh about 10 lbs. each along with misc other stuff. Handled that load fine but it did squat a couple of inches.

Getting the backyard the way we want it finally, almost ready for sod . . . and after all the rain our pond is certainly full

BTW, got the alignment done yesterday and it was not off much at all but my Cooper AT3s are humming more post-alignment . . . and NOT just because of this load today. It did it coming home yesterday [empty] and going to town today [empty] to get this stuff. Anyone ever had that happen? Drives great, tires have been wearing fine since day one but only have about 3K miles on them so hard to notice any abnormal wear yet. It is a noticeably louder tire whine now though. These AT3s have been amazingly quiet tires since I put them on for an AT tire. Quieter than those BFGs that came on it and even quieter than those slightly undersized Terra Grapplers I was running on my Cayenne that I sold that I had on this truck for like a month before a friend bought them. I swear it seems like I own "Tires-R-Us" sometimes as often as I seem to change them . . .

 

If anyone still cares?

Still don't have the air bags on and here is the truck loaded with [6] 50lb bags of concrete and misc other stuff today. Probably pushing 400 lbs total payload.

I think these Deavers handle weight a little better than Wheeler's advised they would at least when they are new anyway.

Squatting just a couple inches again.

 

BTW, as I suspected, I love the addition of the Deavers. And, perhaps in conjunction with the 5125 Bilsteins, the rear end just works SO much better!

Well, that and I didn't die doing it all myself . . .

 

Nice work. Do you still intend to do the exhaust system? Try to listen to the system in person before buying. I bought a magnaflow SS cat back system. It's ok around town, but not good pulling a load on the open road. Way too loud.

 

Yes, it is amazing how rusty my exhaust is for less than 60K miles considering how great of shape the rest of the truck is in.

I will put at least a 22" muffler on it when the time comes. Think I posted elsewhere that I put a 22" Magnaflow on that "F150 Ecobusted the entire short time I owned it" and it sounded quite good for a V6. But since it was like $300 cheaper than the Magnaflow catback, I used a MBRP stainless catback system that had a little 14x7" round stainless muffler [now that would have been LOUD by itself] that I used as a resonator prior to the Magnaflow. The two combined worked quite well. Will likely try the exact same setup if MBRP makes a similar system for the Taco and I can piece it all together??

I'll try to document that elsewhere to not overcloud this thread?

 

Holy Moly Peeps!

Had 600 lbs. of Limestone on her today with a full 5 gallon gas can and misc other stuff. Still just squatted a couple inches and drove just fine. I may not put the airbags on until I need to now . . .

Having a suspension that works . . . is a good thing



And the new boulder additions for the backyard . . .

 

So, this Tacoma Lean problem is a PITA!

Post suspension mod, I had a 1/2" DS front lean so I adjusted that CO to even the front end out and that causes a 1/2" lean on the PS rear. Now that I have the Deavers on the rear, I was initially level all around but with the DS front coil adjusted up slightly to keep the front even, the PS rear over time has settled so it is down 1/2" again.

Anyway, these Deavers handle weight better than advertised so I wasn't going to put the airbags on but I think I will now just so I can add a couple PSI to the PS rear and get rid of that stupid lean. Sounds like a good project for the weekend.

FWIW, though I ended up with a bit more lift than I wanted, adding the Deavers perhaps in conjunction with the new 5125 Bilsteins has completely changed the ride/handling of the truck. I HIGHLY recommend them! I think I could say the same for the Boss COs if I actually had the 550 lb. coils I ordered instead of the 600s Toytec sent. As is, the front is a tad stiff but not bad enough to warrant the hassle and expense of swapping them out.

 

i have my driver side C/O cranked 2 threads more or so.. I dont even notice a lean.
My rear deaver J59 pack has settled 1/2 tops over 3 years and rides great with 10 inch fox with resi in a 1/1 ratio setting.
Also takes a fully loaded bed and 2 full spares nicely with minimal sag, thats in part to a good valve job on the fox shocks too.

 

Unfortunately, I have a bubble brain. I can see front porches at highway speeds that are not level or walls that are not plumb. A 1/2" of lean isn't much but my eyes just go right to it every time I am walking up behind the truck. Then, there is the whole perfectionist problem which is likely why I did all of this to begin with

But, as problems go, those are probably pretty minor . . . and I am loving a suspension that actually works!

 

Special thanks to canonmutant for sharing his journey here.

I have some random thoughts (and these are basically summary notes for myself) from an owner in the same recognized situation as the OP and others in this thread ... any corrections or clarifications to my understanding here are appreciated.

I'd characterize my stock suspension as, "Rides fine until the road isn't perfectly flat." And then it's basically horrible, in the ways already described above. Ass-end dangerously squirrelly on the highway when hitting washboard. Front end hits road seams hard, like when a road is halfway getting finished with new blacktop and you hit the old pavement section that's a hard "ledge" about 2" higher. Just getting into and out of my driveway at very low speed bounces the front end jiggly.

So again, the assumptions here are for someone wanting to maintain stock PreRunner/4x4 height, not raise it in any meaningful way.

* I don't know what the stock front spring rates are but it sounds like 550lbs is a good comfort target for aftermarket springs if there's no extra front end weight such as a winch. That said, I don't understand why the stock front end hits road seams and cuts so damn hard but if quality coil overs/shocks set down to stock height get rid of that I'll consider getting them.

* 5125 vs. 5100 ... "same?" shock but with increased ability to travel, so the 5125 is better for "any" rear spring that increases lift. Still not 100% sure how critical that is for non off-road, 1" or so rear lift scenarios. The others mentioned by King or Fox or Icon I know zero about.

* Wow, that picture of the screwdriver and crowbar wedged in between frame and spring mount gave me a flashback to years ago when I put a Rancho setup on my '74 Camaro. I re-did the suspension on that car (I vaguely recall needing to have a friend CUT an old shock off with a torch ... straight through the piston shaft ...) and have re-done a couple Accords since, so much of these procedures is already familiar to me.)

* The multi-leaf design of Deavers (or even, 4-leaf Wheelers?) conceptually make sense to me. With only a couple or a few leafs, the stock springs have little ability to flex and still maintain payload capacity. And so, advertised payload capacity must be maintained. A multi-leaf design can be progressive and that appears to be the fix here.

* If I had to do this in stages I'd likely address the rear end first, as the truck does see some highway runs and I don't want me or the wife packing the truck into a guardrail someday.

* Most of the time the truck will haul/tow nothing of significance, so I don't want a stiff spring in back and the "secondary" airspring makes sense. But I don't know anything about maintenance, setup or reliability of them. Mostly just wanna get in and go.

 

Well, first of all, I would HIGHLY recommend the Deavers out back. They have resulted in the MOST improvement of anything I've done. And, today, I finally reached their weight limit hauling 20 [~15lb.] bags of cypress mulch and 10 [~50lb.] bags of compost ~ 800 lbs. total. Now, it hauled it fine only sagging a couple inches but one major bump bottomed out the rear so these Deavers will handle weight better than advertised [Wheeler's suggested no more than 500 lbs.] but they do have their limits. I think I will go ahead now and put on my Firestone airbags though for good measure. Plus with the airbags I can adjust my 1/2" lean problem I've had forever.

The 5125s by themselves without the Deavers did virtually nothing to improve ride or handling. I think that the 5125s not only allow for the extra lift but also for the extra travel that the Deavers have. But, though I am not a serious off roader, they work fine together so I am pleased.

Now to the front end . . . The truck "handles" a lot better with the Boss COs up front, of that I am sure. Much less dive in sudden maneuvers with better [much less] return recoil from said maneuvers as well. It feels like there is an actual working suspension up there now though it is somewhat in conjunction with those Deavers out back too. In other words, without the Deavers out back, I would probably NOT be satisfied with the Boss COs by themselves. It seems to take divots better than it did before but I do still feel those ba-bonk, ba-bonk, ba-bonk road seams and really wish I had the 550 lb. coils [I ORDERED] so I would know if the softer coils would soften those seams. They "should" but I just don't know. All in all, it is enough of an improvement that it is not worth it to me to swap out the coils at my expense since Toytec from day one wouldn't pay for their screw up and I am not going to.

All this said, there is the old cliché, "you can't polish a turd" so it is not like I have changed a turd into a sports car with these changes. It is a light weight, relatively short wheel base, pickup with a raised off road suspension. So, there is only so much you can do.

With me, I almost piled this thing up the very first day I got it when my ass end suddenly decided to pass me pulling up to a stop sign, and I almost piled it up again having to suddenly dodge road debri at highway speed not too long after that. Then I hit a fairly large pothole going around a curve shortly after that and nearly lost control again so that was the proverbial straw. I at least have a truck that is no longer "dangerous to drive", it serves its purpose for me as a SAFE "not a whole lot of miles" daily driver and for those trips to the box store.

Hope this helps . . .

 

Thanks. I also read keaker's similar journey and he sounds happy with his Monroe/Gabriel General Spring HD setup. If nothing else, it seems clear that a quality, decently matched setup is better than OEM. Much to consider, as usual.

 

I am thinking about pulling the trigger on some firestone air bags, how do you like them? Did you have any trouble with the install or pretty straight forward? I have a 2004 stock V6 TRD and I have ruined my stock leafs picking up loads of topsoil. About to upgrade my whole suspension as well.

 

Sorry, have been consumed with other nonsense and haven't got them on yet. As I said above, though, these Deavers are good up to 800 lbs. which surprised me. I am anxious to see how well the bags work too . . . plus they just look lonely sitting there in the box

Will update post when I get 'em on.

 

No worries. I have been searching around and there is just not much feedback on the Firestone bags for the 1st gen. but plenty for 2nd gen. though and everyone seems to love them. I'll be on the lookout, thanks!

 

I put Bilstein 5100's on my tacoma in August since my rear leaf springs broke (passenger side). I was pleased with the lift in the front from the adjustable shocks. However in the rear, I replaced with oem leaf springs and new 5100 shocks in the rear and the bed droops lower than the front. I'm kinda disappointed... What would you or anyone else recommend to get the bed equally high/raised with the front. I wonder when I'm gonna bottom out the rear end!?

 

^^ Seems you'd either add an AAL (add-a-leaf) to what you have or replace the rear spring altogether.

Depends on how high the front is now; which of the 3 spring perch positions you used.

 

I replaced both springs R/L and the ride is fine, but truck bed droops low.