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

I just did a trip with a guy who has a very well done 3-link front that showed me that you can keep a relatively good width, good frame height, stronger axles and still go pretty fast off-road. I’m very torn between 3 link and LT now, but I don’t have money for either so I guess I don’t have to worry too much.

Regular IFS:



Vs 3-link in nearly the same spot...



Wish we had a LT truck there to compare too.

 

Wow the 3 link one looks awesome!! How much would it cost to do some thing like that to our trucks?

 

About 99% sure. Lets do it brotha

 

That's what I keep telling my girlfriend.

A lot. Unless you can fab everything yourself, which most can not.

 

I think my favorite sas that I’ve seen so far is Alec Overtons, if you have Instagram you should go look him up. The thing looks great. Might be on Facebook too i don’t know for sure.

 

Did you ever get any info on this?

 

The body mounts? I never found any write up no.

 

Last week or so I've devrloped this dull 'thunk' coming from my front end, sounds like passenger side but maybe center. Mostly noticeable at slow speeds and almost always when I accelerate from a stop, or start reversing. Checked my LBJs and calipers (recently did my brakes) and they're good.

One thing I noticed when I had my wheel off though was that my rotor knocks against the wheel stud when turned (the slot where the stud goes through the rotor knocks against the stud)...is that normal or maybe that's the noise I'm hearing when I accelerate from a standstill?

 

I'm thinking of doing a AAL but it be no use since I'll be replacing my leaf springs anyway with a custom made set.

also depends on the offroading you be doing. I don't plan on rock crawling much so I'm doing a LT just for the more bolt on appeal. I know there's still some modification to be done but not much compared to SAS. Not saying SAS isn't good just not for me.

Also today the truck is dropped off by the shop. I miss it already

 

I'm using Valvoline SynPower w/ moly for my drive line.

 

Dangerous is a 95 Geo Tracker that only runs on 2 cylinders. I once kept it on the floor for 8 minutes straight on a flat straight road... made it to 62. That little thing would go anywhere though!

 

Installed my Wheelers 1.5" AAL and rear Bilstein 5100's this past weekend. Didn't take any pics of the install, but was pretty straightforward. Rides a million times better than just my worn out leafs and cheap Gabriel shocks. I don't know exactly how much lift I got out of the back because I didn't measure before hand, but I'm gonna guess around 1.5".

Here's my final measurements, center of hub to bottom of fender flare in case anyone's interested:
(I have 5100's with 880's on the bottom setting up front btw)

Driver front: 22"
Driver rear: 23"
Passenger front: 22.5"
Passenger rear: 23.5"



Also a couple of questions:
Why does the longer rear Bilstein 5100 go on the passenger side? I would think it would go on the driver side to combat taco lean?
Should I be worried about my ebrake cable being so close to the top of my leaf springs? The cable is pretty close but not quite touching.
Do I need to get a BPV relocation bracket?

 

What paint / clearcoat did you use?

 

Looks good!

The longer 5100 goes on the passenger side because the mounts are slightly further apart. Putting it on the driver wouldn't help with lean anyway - it's the leaf springs that hold the back up, the shocks just dampen compression/rebound over bumps.

Don't worry about your ebrake cable if it's not touching.

A BPV is a good idea with any sort of lift, otherwise you aren't getting full braking power anymore. And while you're back there, make sure you don't need an extended brake line (if you didn't replace it already).

 

Get a leaf spacer, i have one its about 1” and helps with the lean.

 

Thanks!

Braking does seem slightly less effective than before the lift. I guess a BPV would be a cheap way to ensure I'm getting full braking. Still have the factory rear brake line, but it doesn't seem to be under any stress, parked on a level surface anyways. It'll probably be stretched to it's maximum at full droop though, so maybe a extended brake line would be smart.

 

I thought about doing that but I feel like that is just a bandaid, I feel like the right way to do it is by increasing the spring rate of the driver side leaf. I just got deaver leafs qmkfor my gfs truck and they gave me side specific leafs so it will be level.

Did you need longer u bolts for the spacer?

 

I have the extended ubolts from wheelers

 

This little book is always nice to have. Machinery Handbook 30th edition pricey though. So here's then 29th edition in pdf form free. Machinery Handbook 29th edition

Stuff in that book makes my head hurt though.

 

Driving the ridgeline the first time. Thing turns quick and rides nice on pavement but dirt is a meh but my tacoma ain't stock