Suspension woes

Hello all. Well, I went to RMS offroad to see about a suspension lift. The owner quoted a price of $4800 which could quickly jump to $6000 once he opened the "can of worms" my truck could be. He said my 03' had power steering behind the axle and that the control arms and ball joints would all probably need to be replaced due to the age of the vehicle. Does any of this sound right to anyone? I have almost 80k on my truck with the original suspension. It really rides like crap over the smallest bumps. If I was going to replace shocks and struts I thought I might as well get a mild lift, but not at that price. Any info would be great! Thanks in advance

 

What are you planning to do with the truck? If you are just doing it for cosmetics I don't see how you could need new control arms at 80k... let alone in general

 

That price seems unreasonable without knowing everything he wants to do to your rig.

You can buy an Icon Stage 4 kit for $3,200 (MSRP) from their website ( http://iconvehicledynamics.com/shop...96-2004-tacoma-suspension-system-stage-3.html - yes, the URL has stage 3 in it but it's actually the 4).

For a more mild suspension fix, get Bilsteins and OEM Toyota UCAs. Grab some LR or TC UCAs if you want to upgrade (if your UCAs are actually destroyed).

Fix other suspension parts as needed. If he hasn't actually torn apart your rig and checked, he really doesn't know what's wrong with it - he is just guessing.

 

Did he give you a parts list or any indication of what type of lift he was quoting you?

 

Yes the rack is behind the wheels and they do need the bushings replace and 80,000 mile is about right if you have been going off road. Hwy only I doubt it. A simple lift is with the Bilstein 5100 shocks up front for a 2.5-3 inch lift. Over 3 inches you'll need UCRs as stated above. In the rear most just add a leaf. You may need new shocks in the rear too again Bilstein 5100, total cost for parts under $500 excluding the UCRs. Unless he is quoting a 4-6 inch lift and you only need that for a lot bigger tire, I would look somewhere else. I would get a second opinion anyway.

 

Thanks to all that replied. I got no parts list. The owner seemed like he couldn't get me out of his shop fast enough. I don't do a lot of wheeling. Just hit the beach once in a while. Obviously I'm a bit new to the Tacoma life. I haven't even had the vehicle 2 years. It rides like crap and figured since I was going to replace some suspension components, why not put in a mild lift? I like what TMW had to say with the Bilsteins. 2.5- 3 inches might even be too much. I'm just looking for a little lift that wont effect drivability and reliability of the vehicle. Maybe 2 inches at most. So I'm guessing Bilstein or OME? Thanks again

 

The front Bilstein 5100 is adjustable in 3 stages from 0 to 1.5 to 2.5 or something similar. If you want a stiffer front end you can replace the spring. I did an OME 881 spring with the shock at mid range. Between the spring and shock I got somewhere around 2.5 inches of lift. I did a combination leaf spring pack in the rear because I was breaking leafs going off road so I did a 7 leaf pack made up of Wheeler and the stock springs with no over load spring. I also went with a set of 5125 rear shocks.

 

To test your steering rack start the engine and have someone turn the steering wheel back and forth while you look at the rack for sloppy movement. There should be some slight movement but worn bushing will give a lot more.

 

Unless he's planning on LT the front , thats waaaay too much & that comment about needing replacement is Bullshit, ball joints/tierod ends ok, thats maintenance , but unless the LCA's are bent/broken/bushings shot beyond repair, no reason to R&R, I'd look around talk to another shop...

 

So with the OME 881 and the Bilstein set at stage 0, would i still get some lift? As for the rear, there is not much in the way of wheeling on Long Island. Should I replace the leafs or keep them stock and just go with the 5125's? Did you have to do a differential drop or modify anything else on the driveline because of the lift? How are your front drive shaft angles? I just want basic with no headaches and what you told me sounds pretty good. Thanks again for the info.

 

I spoke to RMS once about putting Bilstein 5100s in and he pretty much said I would be opening pandora'a box. And he said in addition to all the mechanic issues I would have is that the truck would ride like shit at .85 which I didn't really believe. Personally I don't think they like working on Toyotas even though they have a pictures on their website. And I also got the feeling they weren't interested in my business but they were professional and somewhat knowledgable about lifted Tacoma issues.

 

Aside from charging too much & bullshitting customers into buying parts they don't need, stand up shop...not...

like i said, try to shop around, even if you have to drive a little...

 

Yep, pretty much how I felt. Did you end up going somewhere else or even get a lift?

 

I haven't done anything because I can't find any place that will install the front 5100's for less than 700... Way to much for 190 dollar shocks. There aren't any good 4x4 shops that have toyota knowledge within a 100 miles of NYC that doesn't charge a lot.

 

Is it that hard to install shocks? I swaped out suspension on my honda couple times and it doesnt seem hard to do it yourself, i havent looked how my tacoma shocks are set up

 

Yeah but it's a fucking honda, I could compress the coil with my hands haha....

 

u couldn't get milk out of a cows tits old man

 

And that one drunken night u milked a bull doesn't count.

 

I got 4 quarts outta YOU bitch !!!...