Why not drop front diff with lift?

Why have I seen so many people recommended not dropping the front diff with lift? What about shimming the rear axle, same consensus?

My thought was that these would both keep you truck closer to factory geometry and lessen the stress and wear of off angle drive train components when lifted.

After much research, I was certain that the Bilstien lifts full fox kit was the best lift for myself, despite only have an AAL versus a full leaf pack (like all pro has). But if the rear axle shims and front diff drop aren't good I would much rather get the all pro kit and the leaf pack.

I don't really know what to look for on this subject, as this is my first truck and first time lifting something. My main concern is causing unnecessary wear and stress. Please help!

 

Most say don't because you can do the lift then judge of it's needed. Most haven't needed it.

I don't get what you're looking for as you said bilstein and Fox. Two different companies.

All depends what you want to do. Aal rides like shit and sags after a while.

 

Remember geometry and triangle math from high school?

The diff drop angles down the front ONLY of the mounting bracket. That means your CV axles drop by half that amount, assuming it’s mounted at or near the middle of the bracket. So if you had a 1” puck in your diff drop kit, the CV only drops by 1/2”. That distance over such a long shaft does nearly NOTHING to your CV angles. If the shaft was 20” long, that’s less than a 1.5 degree improvement for a 1” loss of ground clearance.

And to make it worse, your diff and brackets are now closer to the ground. You lose precious ground clearance when you use a diff drop (which is presumably why you lifted in the first place). So when you drop off an obstacle or something, you’ll cause some nice carnage if you hit it.

General thought is skip the diff drop and do an ECGS bushing if you have vibrations. As long as you aren’t pushing 3+”, you’ll not have any shortened lifespan of components.

 

This too!

 

Sorry for the confusion, Bilstienlifts.com was what I was referring to.

 

Because I haven't bought anything yet, and want to know why people suggest not doing it. I am not a mechanic, I am not an engineer. I do not like to make hasty decisions, that is why I asked.

 

If I had to do it again I'd either go all out with a 3-link and Dana 60, or go 2.5" lift with 6112's, TC UCA's, and a 3 pack add-a-leaf in the rear.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...l-drop-on-your-05-tacoma.118545/#post-2283779

 

Kind of a late, late response but
From factory, everything is parallel: upper control arm, lower control arm, tie rod, and CV. If you drop the diff and lower the angle (even by a little bit, that means your CV is no longer parallel with everything else. That would cause binding when the suspension cycles through right? Or does it have a slip-yoke type thing?

That's why I searched for this thread in the first place lol

 

The consensus is if you are going over 3” , then some extra compensation is needed.

If you are doing something like a 2+1 lift, then thats not needed. Toyota installs their TRD lift kit which is also 2” front, 1” rear with no extra modifications needed. No bushing, no diff drop etc.
Im following Toyotas model when I did my Bilstein 5100 2+1 and have had zero issues.

 

I 2nd the 2/1" 5100 Lift, without the drop or shims.....