Some questions about replacing suspension/lifting

Hey guys, I have a 1998 Tacoma Extracab and the shocks are shot.

Well, it has 197k miles and still has the stock TRD Bilsteins, and hitting any sort of rough terrain/potholes/etc makes the truck start wandering around and a pain to control.

Anyways, I did a bunch of reading here and was originally gonna go with the Bilstein 5100 upgrade and level the front while I'm at it. Then I found out it doesn't work on stock rears, so I'd have to get a 5100/5125 combo... but then I took a closer look at my springs and it looks like those are shot, too. The front upper control arm is pointing at an upward angle (which I read here means it's sagging too much), and the rear leafs are getting pretty flat.

So then I decided I was going to do the Toytec 3 in lift that includes the coils for $650 but I was doing some more reading saying that if your leaf springs are already sagging, an AAL may not be a good idea. So I'd be looking at +$260 for new 'stock replacement' Dorman leafs, to which I'd add the leaf to and be right around $910 + shipping.

If I could find a set of 'stock' Dorman leafs meant for another vehicle (maybe a 4runner or something) that gave me and inch or two above stock, I could buy the Bilstein 5100 set and the eibach coils separately and be around $800.

Conversely, I could just go on rockauto and get 'oem quality' Monroe struts (with springs already installed), rear shocks, and dorman leafs for $460, but keep stock ride height. Are the 5100's just so amazing that I should just throw out the cheaper options altogether?

Anyways, I'm just trying to get some feedback or opinions on this, maybe some thoughts on which route I should go. Some background on my driving - I live in southern Colorado and I do mostly city driving with some highway and light off-roading on the weekends, mostly just to get to campsites and trailheads and such. I like snowboarding/mtb/hiking/camping and usually just use my truck to get to those activities/carry my gear easily. I also have a camper shell that I put on occasionally.

 

Tons of info on the suspension forum or you can use the Search bar. Google has a lot of info too that leads back to TW sometimes. @DustStorm4x4

 

Thanks for the reply, I have actually been doing a lot of that. I think I'm just suffering from that information overload that leads to indecisiveness, just hoping to get some more experienced Tacoma people to steer me.

I actually drove a Ranger until I hit some black ice and rolled it recently. So I'm kinda new to Tacoma.

 

I am only at 130k-ish miles, and my springs are shot, but the 5100's I put on 5 or 6 years ago are still going strong. I will be replacing them all with new springs, and very likely new icon or king coilovers.

But... if you want a tad bit o' lift with completely worn out springs while on a budget, consider the following:

Get a set of Old Man Emu (OME) coils and leafs for like $360+$170: Shocks: Front 5100's, rear 5125's for about $330 All that for $860...

And yes, the 5100's are cheap enough that it doesn't make sense (to me, anyway) to save just a few bucks and go for Autozone shocks. They do offer quite a performance gain over stock (even stock trd shocks with 200k on them), too

 

What's the rationale for going with 5100's / 5125's instead of 5100's all around?

 

So, I see that those leafs give 2.25" of lift. Any reason for the 5125's over the 5100's at this point? The price is the same, I thought the 5125's was just because the 5100's will bottom out with stocks leafs.
Also, I added them all to the cart to see what shipping would be like, and it said 'Shipping to be added manually'. Are they pretty reasonable with shipping? I've never bought from them before.

Edit: "Other parts that are recommended with these are our longer u-bolt set, FK 21 muffler hanger, extended rear brake line and rear shocks." These parts are another $78. So this would put right at Toytec+Dormans, though I'm sure the OME leafs are probably better, and I would be slightly less time to install.

 

The guy I tagged should be able to have some threads for you to look at. I started out w/ 620lb 3" Eibach coils wrapped around adjustable 5100's on the bottom setting and Camburg UCA's. Then in the back I had ext. 5100's w/ a 2" ToyTec AAL. Now I have ext. travel Icons & Icon VS 2.0 rear shocks. And I kept the Camburg UCA's. There's infinite set ups for these trucks. It just depends on what you plan to do, your driving style, and if you're gonna be hauling weight constantly plus a whole lot more. Hope this helps! These trucks are very capable stock also!

 

The 5125's were just a suggestion, I think you could go with either, the 5125's are like $4 cheaper, lol. The 5100's will not bottom out with stock leafs (they are meant to go on stock suspension). The 5125's do offer slightly more extended length, so that might be better to go with when you're running close to that 3" max lift... (both shocks say they are capable of 0-3" lifts)

I just hacked off my exhaust so it wouldn't hit the leafs... = $free

A break line would be a good idea, too, but it doesn't look like Toytec comes with one either (if it's the one I think it is). You might just be able to re-mount where the brake line mounts to the frame, too. That might give you another inch(?) of slack. Then go find a rock, or a ramp or something and start checking the brake line slack at full droop/articulation.

At 2-2.25" of lift, I don't think you really *need* a diff drop kit, but it wouldn't hurt to help lengthen the service life of your CV's. They are pretty cheap, and easy to install, so that's something you could get a little later, too, if you felt it necessary.

For me personally, I'm looking at perhaps the All-Pro leaf pack, or maybe the Deavers. Much nicer all around springs, but of course, more spendy (but not *that* much more). I'm looking to wheel this thing a lot more than I have, since it's not my daily driver anymore, so I'm looking at much more off-road oriented springs.

 

I guess depends on where you live. They quoted me somewhere around $150 for a complete OME kit, where as many if not most other companies are offering free shipping. I ordered a set of wheel spacers from them a couple yrs ago and was given a "discount" being a tw member. Didn't think shipping would be that much since they could fit in a priority box. But instead they shipped ups/fedex and charged nearly $30. So much for the discount.

 

Might look into downsouthmotorsports, too. They have a set of 5100's for all 4 corners (where I got mine from) for $339. I got a TW discount (which I *think* was $299), too, not sure if they still offer it, but worth a shot. Shipping on most orders (like the 5100's) over $100 are free to the 48.

 

That sucks, you'd think when you're buying almost a grand of parts, they'd give you free/discounted shipping.

Well, I don't really *need* a huge lift, I just thought it'd be nice to add while I was there, plus it would end up costing about the same after it's all said and done. I like my truck to sit higher in the back, actually...
So, I could do the full Toytec lift http://toyteclifts.3dcartstores.com...with-5100-shocks-for-95-04-Tacoma_p_1137.html,
but remove the diff drop kit ($30 off), and just set the front shocks at 1.25, and put the add-a-leaf in the back for now. They quote $34 shipping to my zip code. and since my truck is already sagging, that 1.25 lift should really net me closer to 2 or 2.5 from what I have now, plus fix the handling issue I have now. I can address issues with exhaust tip/brake lines/UCA's as they appear. Would I need longer U-bolts or are the stocks ok?

 

Well, none of us "need" a lift, lol...

But I would honestly consider doing your rear springs now, too, if they are than worn out. But I can certainly understand being limited to a specific budget (I'm married with 2 kids, lol)...

The problem with those Eibach coils is that they are 3" lift coils, and the description tells you to ONLY put the 5100 clips on the bottom (i.e. "stock height") setting. So there's no point to having the adjustable shocks. And at a full 3" I would say keep the diff drop kit. 2" lift and you could probably get away with not having one. You can get stock height OME coils, and then use the clips on the 5100s to adjust your ride height to your liking, and never have to worry about over extending your CVs.

But if on a real budget, another option is just get the 5100's (~$300) by themselves and put them on your stock springs (that's exactly what I did). Just the fact that your shocks don't have 200k miles on them will probably solve most of your handling issues. An AAL or longer shackles in the back, but AAL's won't work all that well when the rest of your pack is shaped like a "W" (like mine are).

At this point, I'm wondering if I'm even helping you or just throwing mud in your water, lol.

 

No, you're definitely helping. I'm the one overthinking it.

Just the 5100's was my first plan, then I saw that they wouldn't work without the lift, so then I started looking at the 5100/5125 combo, but then I read too much and peeked under it again (when I bought it all I checked for was rust and leaks lol we are good there) and I saw the springs and leafs were sagging.

 

Some pics. I guess the coils aren't that bad. But the leafs definitely are, both of them point downwards on the front part, the rear part they are more upward. Maybe not a w but a ' ~ ' shape.
Would AAL help this at all?

 

No, do not put aal's on those. I had sagging leafs just like that and put a toytec add a leaf on them to get a little more life and to replace a block lift that the P.O put on it. Went out in the woods one day and ended up snapping one of the aal's and it jetted out cramming in to my tire almost popping it. The problem is that since the springs are sagging you are putting almost the full weight of the truck on only the aal. They are not designed to rejuvenate sagging springs, they are designed to work in conjunction with fresh stock springs to add a little bit of lift. Trust me, I found out the hard way.

 

Okay just to be clear, you just want to Level the front? Not lift the rear too?

Bilstein 5100s will level the front and you can put those in the rear as well. I don't know much about Dorman springs so I can't tell you if they'll lift the truck or just be a good OE replacement.

Look into some of @HeadStrong Off-Road kits. They have good prices and free shipping. I think they only have Dakar leaf packs though, and they'll usually give you about a 2"-2.5" lift, of which the 5100s work just fine with them.

 

Mackbeezy- Well, that's too bad that they are toast lol thanks for the warning, I will not be putting an add a leaf.

DustStorm4x4- I'm primarily wanting to fix my janky handling /wandering while going over bumpy terrain. I figure if its not too much more money/work, I might as well add a small lift while I'm down there. Leveling would be ok if it's cheaper, but lifting it equally around would be ok too, since I don't mind the raked look. Just kinda wanted to bounce ideas off a few more knowledgeable people

 

I'm having the same issues with my truck, with 165k on the clock. I have a camper shell and tool box in the back that add a lot of weight, and the already aging leaf springs can't handle the extra weight. I feel the truck shifting around over bumps and uneven pavement.

I wanted to upgrade the suspension, without too much of a lift, as I mainly drive on the street, but want to be able to hit the trails for camping, etc., and to handle the extra weight of all my crap in the back.

I went with Old Man Emu leafs in the back, to handle the extra weight, and 5125s (the softer valved ones).

I went with Moog 4x4 Off Road Package equivalent springs in the front (Rock Auto), and 5100s. The springs are about 50lbs stiffer than stock.

This should give me a 1.5-2.0 inch lift all around, and the shocks should handle the extra stiffness in the suspension.

 

Thank you so much @DustStorm4x4

 

Do NOT get the Dorman leafs! When I originally started replacing all the suspension in my '99, that's what I ordered (free shipping from Amazon, i couldn't believe it). But I go them installed (with 5100's up front and 5125's in the rear), and the rear sagged just as bad as with the 18 year old original leafs. I pulled them and returned them to Amazon (and they paid the shipping back, for a double score!).

I'm trying to remember which ones I ended up getting.. they were a heavy-duty version that ended up lifting the back end what was supposed to be 1.75-2", but ended up being more like 3", which I didn't want. So the next step is to take them to a local spring shop and have them re-rolled to take some of the lift out - I'd be fine with about an inch. But damn are they stiff, I can put an entire load of wood in the back and it hardly squats, it's awesome. The ride is a little rougher, but meh.