3” spacer lift problems

Hey guys

Awhile back i did some damage to the factory rear shocks on Mojave Road. Yota wouldn’t warranty, so i opted to install a 3” lift.

Unfortunately, turns out the lift shop i used wasn’t very familiar with 3rd gens / was incompetent in general / blatantly lied

so anyway, i now have a 3” block lift using the factory struts up front and 5160s in the rear

The 5160s are only designed for 0-1.5” lift, and i suspect this is why it now rides harshly over large bumps in the rear

In the front i’m also getting UCA- spring contact & CV boot - strut contact at max articulation, as well as a squeak from the left front spring coils rubbing on one another

Before i get burned at the stake, note i specifically asked this shop - and was promised - to have a /spring/ lift with /no/ contact at max articulation

I’m wondering if anyone knows of some cheap UCAs or another method of preventing that contact up front, because i’m too poor right now to fix it properly/expensively

And if i’m gonna be OK letting the 5160s ride in the back or if it’ll kill ‘em (similarly, no income to replace atm) — Bilstein themselves said it may cause premature wear

It mostly rides fine on road, but makes a lot of noise up front when i hit aggressive trails

Perhaps i should just go back to stock height?




Edit:
I’ve been living on a rough driveway the last month and really started to notice how awful the ride quality had become — seemed as if their was no upward travel in the suspension, so the truck bounced and rocked over everything. Returned the front to stock height yesterday, and the improvement is /incredible/ (couldn’t remove the rear blocks atm due to requiring different u-bolts. The severe rake is kinda funny)

 

One, I'd get my eggs in a row and take it back to the shop that did it and at the very least get your money back. Do you have the invoice and how much did they charge?

Two, is that your shock?!!??

Three, don't mod if you don't have money to fix shit. Modding something makes some stuff better, but something else worse. It's a hard lesson to learn, but it's a good one for the rest of your life. I learned the hard way, too.

 

Spacers suck. I'd go with 5100s up front on stock coils. Then AAL or new leaf springs in back.

3" is too much for the 5160.
3" is too much for stock uca (usually).

I'm at 2.5" lift on stock uca. Zero issues.

 

Parts and Labor was roughly $1,000
Shop is in Arizona, i live in Alaska

haha it /was/

that is a good lesson. Had money at the time, but no longer (7 months vacation’ll do that)

 

A good inexpensive fix.
Put some 5100's on up front set on 2nd or 3rd clip. Like $220 for front 5100's using your factory coils.
Remove the rear block's.

Truck sits great at those settings.
You can do all this in your driveway or find local TW members and meetup and fix it.
Many problems rolling your way if left as is.

GL

 

What’s AAL? Add a leaf?

 

Dang, that's rough. Yeah, follow these guys' lead. It's not too bad of an install/redo in the driveway. Best of luck and hope the vacation ends soon for you!

 

Yes

 

Wait, are you in ak or ca?

 

Haha sadly it has, just haven’t built up funds yet!

 

Yes. They have this kind below, or a 3 leaf aal which is slightly better. Both beat the snot out of spacers. Cheap too.

 

I roadtripped all across the US this summer, but i’m back in Anchorage Alaska now

 

Go to green tree fab, they will take care of you