Harsh rear suspension - replace leaf pack or remove leafs?

Hey TW,

I'm trying to lower the back end and improve ride quality of my truck. I've owned it for 4 months now and I searched through the previous owner's build thread (Ostrichsak) to try to find out exactly what he added to the rear suspension, but couldn't find what I was looking for. I know the rear shocks are Bilsteins and there's a Dakar leaf pack, not sure if it's the HD Dakars and whether or not there's an AAL on top of that



I have about 400 pounds in the bed at all times, and it is still too stiff and too high. The pack looks rough to me, but I'm still pretty new to this so I'm not sure what's acceptable. If I want to lower the truck ~2" and soften the ride, could I just remove a leaf or two? And if so, which ones would I remove? Thanks in advance

 

I too have Dakar’s and 5100’s that I installed years ago. I feel the same that there is and uncomfortable amount of stiffness with this combo.

I removed the 3rd leaf and bottom overload because I also didn’t want the rear to be too high. This setup, combined with about 200lbs I drive around with in the bed, works well and has smoothed out a bit.

 

remove the 3rd leaf from the top and go from there. its not going to lower it back to stock height. but it should help some.

 

Do you know how much this lowered the back end?

 

I don't have the tools or space to do the work myself right now. I called an offroading shop here in Denver to ask what it would cost to remove a leaf. They said $650, which sounds ridiculous to me. Can anyone recommend a shop in Colorado that does suspension work?

 

Put a cap and a RTT back there and you'll be money (or some other weight). Once I did that the ride was a million times better. Also I think there should be a code printed on the top of the leaf pack that will identify if it's the HD pack or not.

 

With both the 3rd leaf and overload removed, the hub to fender measurements were no more than 2” over stock height.

If it helps at all, when I did mine I had only the basics of tools. A Walmart floor jack, Walmart jack stands, couple of wrenches, and some ratchet straps. Having absolutely no experience with leaf springs I was able to remove the leafs within a couple hours. 5+ years later the Dakar’s are still doing great!

 

Thanks, didn't know about the code. Already have a cap, a platform, drawers, a mattress, and gear back there all times, still not enough weight.

 

Awesome, 2" above stock is what I lowered my front end to.

I do have a jack, jack stands, ratchet straps, etc. What I don't have is a place to work or much unscheduled free time. I currently live in the city and only have the option of street parking, so no garage or place to work. So I'd rather spend a few hundred at a shop right now.

Once my lease is up, don't think I'll live anywhere without a garage again. I've done enough work on my truck on the side of the road to know I shouldn't be

 

If you wanted to save some cash you could always hit up a local thread and find some TW members to help you, I’m sure someone would be willing to offer a driveway/garage space for a pizza!

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/colorado-b-s-thread.131441/page-8629#post-22566719