What have you done to your Tacoma today? 1st Gen Edition

What are your plans for an xmember? I got a trail gear dual case one I need to sell...

 

I have one ready to go in already!

 

Before you install it clock that adapter about 30 degrees. Made me totally change my mind and I gained about 5"

 

OK. Sorry @Jarob11, I honestly didn't take many photos other than photos of rulers measuring axle to fender so i knew how much the lift changed. My camera was cold so all the photos looked foggy. but since you wrote "I'm trying to decide what I want to put under my truck." i will give you what info i observed. I kept my original post short because it was a rather trivial improvement given how many others on this site have done it. Their write ups are better.
when i got it it looked like this:
note the front is low. might be saggy might be added springs in the back. It has stock tokicos on. The previous owners had a camper on it permanently. They did something to the back, maybe just an add a leaf or maybe a helper. Install went easy. Just like putting in any strut except the strut was maybe a little longer than the original. Diff drop was easy although i haven't put the armor back under her, you need to grind a little to make it fit after a dif drop. I want to spend some time on this.
Measurements from center of wheel to the plastic cowlings
Got it from previous owner at 20.5"FL, 20.25" or 20.00"FR 22.75" both rear. The Axil/CV was horizontal. So i predict there was a little sag in the front coils.
'Preset' at what ToyTec said would give 2.5" lift we immediately saw 24.5"R 24.5"L (~4"). I should have left it because i knew it would settle a little but i monkeyed with it because the CVs were at a big angle. I dropped them to only an inch above where the threads end and i think there is ~3.5" of thread. (see 2 foggy photos of BOSS shocks). It looked to have plenty of down stroke (travel) as i weighted it. After settling for 48 hours front is 23.5"R 23.75"L.
I will take it to a level spot and level it perfectly in the morning. Bringing it in for an alignment Monday. These are the 600lbs coils. not the 650. They do not seem stiff but my workers tell me that my work truck is brutally stiff so I guess I am not one to complain. I preselected a bunch of paved turns at a suite of speeds and practiced immediately before and after the install and i felt no added play and only negligible decay in response in steering. No need for a new UCA at this height. The angle improved my ability to see stoplights.

Point being: if I wanted more height these would still give me a couple inches. It is only about 1/3 of it's lift and i could easily put bigger tires on. I am not going to now, those Coopers are almost new. But i can in a couple years without doing anything to the front. I am going to mess with different loads in the bed and pick a good rear spring set and if for some reason i want it higher the front will allow 2 more inches (although down stroke might be exhausted). That said i should have waited on the diff drop. I did it because it was up on the lift and easy. But it would have been easy on my back too. It did compromise clearance a little but significantly improved the CV angle.

I saw a new 4door rubcon at lowes and parked next to it. My diffs were higher. My frame was higher (why do the new jeeps have all those metal bits hanging out under them? WTF?). mine had better approach and break-over. Did the same to some other hick trucks and work trucks. I feel comfortable that it will get over anything i need to get to for climbing, mt biking, field sampling and hang gliding. Surprising how only a little cash can make a gen 1 formidable.

(i think the shock photos were after the difdrop and before lowering it from the preset location)




I suppose i will add : Today i went to lowes to purchase a propane heater/blower so i can keep the garage warm enough to weld sliders and a bumper this winter. Too bad the garage is so full of shit i can not pull the truck in there.

 

Still more then i would be willing to spend. I was thinking something like this would be in the $400-500 range.

 

I don't really have a choice but to run it straight up, my shifter setup prevents it from being clocked really.

 

Shoulda got the true triple setup. Look at @Lumpskie build. I had the setup book marked but it's on my computer.

Edit: found it. Cleanest setup you can get. http://radesignsproducts.com/Triple_Sticks.html

 

I did get that, that's why it can't be clocked so the shifter line up

 

Really? I thought you could. Bummer. Should be able to extend the linkage

 

I'm sure it can be clocked a little bit, the rods in the triple stick setup have heim ends so there will be some play. But definitely not 30* shift rails will be // and binding. Here's a pic stolen from @Lumpskie build you can see the angle on his linkage at 15* I'll see what works for my application but for now the plan is to run it at 0*

 

Thanks allot for the write up. It really does help to get good honest reviews. I'm looking at this exact setup that's why I asked for specific feedback. Looks freaking awesome bro! Gets me jazzed to get mine done.. I think my biggest concern is the rubber bushing in the lower mount.. My truck looks just the same as your before photo.. Really looks awesome! Great write up too.. I'm with ya, I'll take my yota and 1000 bucks in good suspension than some overpriced recall ridden jeep!

 

15° is better then 0°

 

Painted and installed my skids today. 11 guage (.120") plate with a new crossmember (1.5x1.5x.125) for the rear of the t-case skid. 3/16" angle welded to front and back of factory crossmember. All smooth-headed carriage bolts. This is a watered-down version of the Box Rocket method. I know most people use much heavier plate for their skids, but I want to keep the weight down on my truck. (To me these trucks are agile, almost athletic and to weigh them down is like an obese man trying to run uphill over rough terrain.) Likewise I am considering single tube sliders for the same reasons. These and the sliders are like insurance, since this is my DD I hope to never use them. I am not into crawling, mostly roads and trails to find camping, hiking and fishing spots away from the masses, not easy in So California. Thanks to Ze from Tacomapros for the welding and assistance-could not have done it without you bro!

 

Looks good!

 

those shifters are going to be pretty cool.

 

I have 1.25" spacers. My tir3s sit about flush with my fender flares.. they may stick out a bit on your 99

 

Yea they changed the leaf length in 97, but the shackles are just oem replacements

 

Got a better picture of the truck today and in the sun! Love this color so damn much!

 

@TacoVio make a build for it since its brand new to you now

 

That truck does look damn good; near perfect from what I can see. And that color is fantastic. I rarely see colored ones (as in not white/black/silver) and green seems rarest.