Just bought a 2004 , thinking of 4" lift

I am thinking of putting a lift kit on my "new to me" 2004 Taco.
Is this a do it yourself job or a major job that requires a shop lift etc

 

You can do it in your driveway in a couple hours with basic tools.

But, you can also take a few weekends and hate life if bolts are rusty or seized, alignment cams are rusty or seized, etc.

If everything looks good, go for it.

 

You won't get 4" in front without a drop bracket or straight axle. I suppose you could do 4" if you wanted an inch of down travel and like replacing your CV boots all the time.

3" is really the max and even that comes with a price.

 

Might want to get a flame proof vest. Spacer lifts are not very popular with this crowd

 

3" is the max you can go without venturing into... drop bracket territory.

I'll never run a drop bracket lift on my truck.

 

Word on the street is you'll never run a normal lift either.

 

Oh god, not you too.

 

90041?

 

If you want more than 3" lift with any kind of decent offroading capabilities, Tacomas are not the right trucks for that. Well unless you go SAS.

Aside from a drop bracket, you can also go with a body lift & have ass crack like this.

 

Just giving you the business. I have faith your lift will get installed.

 

I will never be off road.
I have never been into that and dont have the time

 

somebody forgot to flip/swap the brackets.

 

Truth!

 

Is this a 4x4?

If so, I would avoid any of the 4" lifts out there. That's entirely too much for your CVs to handle. Even going with a 2.5-3" lift you should be getting a diff drop kit which lowers your front diff to make the CV angles better.

Even without 4x4, 4" is still too much, and you'd at least need aftermarket upper control arms otherwise you likely won't be able to get it aligned. Stick with 3" or less. That's all you need to fit 33's anyway.

So, you need to let us know what kind of driving you intend to be doing. If you are going to be doing any sort of offroading, most will tell you to avoid bracket style lifts (the 6" variety) like the plague. Despite what Procomp and Rough Country tell you, they do NOT offer "superior off-road performance."

You will obtain FAR superior suspension performance by sticking to 3" or less lift and good adjustable coileover suspension than you will from ANY 6" lift. You'll spend less, too:

Procomp 4" lift ($1800). Uses crappy spacers on your stock coilovers and uses lift brackets (like a typical 6" lift) and 4" blocks for the rear with new shocks.

OME 3" complete kit ($1200). ALL NEW coils shocks leafs, etc.... All you need extra is a $30 diff drop if you have 4x4....

*everyone*

I'm currently lobbying the mods to ban you from offering suspension advice until you lift the front end...

 

just lift an inch with slightly over-sized tires

any higher than 3" your truck might tip over!

lmao the bumper isn't even on straight

 

Get a prius then, much less a lifted truck

 

So, you want to look like you go off road without actually going off road?

 

Side note, is the diff drop easy to do? I bought my taco with a spacer lift and then switched it out for bilstein 5100s with the C-clip put at the highest setting, but I haven't checked to see if the previous owner put in the diff drop kit.

 

Yeah, it's easy. It's just 2 spacers with longer bolts that go between the frame support and the diff mounts. Took me like 20 minutes.

The only catch is that the diff will hit the skid plate if you don't do anything with it. Several diff drop kits come with spacers for the skid plate, though.

See pics here:

https://www.1stgenoffroad.com/store/p40/Total_Chaos_-_1"_DIFF._DROP_SPACER.html#/

BTW don't buy from here, that's just for illustration purposes. I just googled and got those pics... I've seen that kit for much cheaper. I have the TC kit and I think I paid $30 from downsouthmotorsports.

 

While you might need a truck for other functions, I have no clue why you'd need any lift for your stated use.

Unless you're just interested in the looks.

Just understand you'll run the risk of introduce future maintenance issues. The higher you go, the greater the risk.

And for a street vehicle, you will also be reducing handling and stopping capability. Could be important if you live in a dodge 'em area.