REVIEW 3rd gen suspension on 2nd gen

Well then, I wonder if the factory coils from a 2014 regular cab base 4x4 could be swapped into OR shocks from a 2018. I also was not looking for a lift. I'm guessing they would be 600 lb. coils and the OR shocks are probably running 650 or 700 lb. coils depending on whether it was a AC or DC and 4 cyl. or 6 cyl. engine.

 

Hi Ali..

I just pulled the plug and completed the task on my 2008 Prerunner.

Overall I'm quite happy but now Im searching on what a solution is regarding a vibration at apprx 10 to 20 mph and 60 to 70 mph.

Gonna try a carrier bearing drop spacer and hope all is well. Maybe if the issues persist ill also try a shim.

FYI
I replaced my original stuff with a set off recent TRD off road vehicle with a 2inch spacer lift on the front and 2 inch blocks on the rear.

Total lift apprx 3 in front and 2 in back

 

Thanks for your response, somehow I didn't get the notification until I saw this on the main feed. Appreciate it, I think I will tackle the rear first given this advice. Gearing up for the project. Will post report once completed.

 

I wonder if you could use the 2nd gen coils on the 3rd gen shocks to avoid too much lift. I have a regular cab 4x4 base model with a 4 cylinder. I think these shocks were intended for AC or DC with 6 cylinder engines.

 

Just thought I'd add my experiences with this mod:
I have an 08 Access Cab Manual v6, 140 000km on the clock, frame and rear suspension were replaced just before I bought it in 2018 when the odometer was at 85 000km. I put a canopy on it, don't generally haul big loads, but fill it full of camping, fishing, hunting gear fairly often.

Last winter, we were planning a road trip to Baja California for a wedding in Cabo, and I lucked into a guy selling his suspension from a 2019 Off Road for 100$. Scooped it up immediately, and swapped out the front coilovers and the rear shocks following directions from this site, which went pretty well. I didn't switch out the rear leafs, because mine were only a year and a half old, and because lots of guys on this site were saying the 2nd gen TSB springs are the same as the 3rd gen. Like most guys, I got just under an inch of lift in front. The ride definitely got better and more controlled over bumps at speed, though not a huge difference, and at least some of that would just be due to replacing the worn out shocks.

Anyways, last February I loaded her full of camping and spearfishing gear and drove to Tijuana where I picked up my fiancee --she's Iranian and not yet a Canadian citizen so couldn't get a US visa. She flew to TJ and flew home from Cabo. We drove the full length of the Baja, some moderate offroading but nothing too intense, but probably 1000k + of wash-boarded Mexican dirt, carrying the canopy, 20-40L of water, 20 L of gas, spearfishing and camping gear, 75lb labrador, etc... so maybe 5-600lbs total plus people. And the rear suspension was waaaaaay overloaded, leafs inverted, way too much bounce over bumps. Obviously, I needed to do something about the back suspension. Even unloaded once I got back, the leafs were right flat just under the load of the canopy.

So 2 weeks ago I flew to Minneapolis to pick up a new Labrador pup, and on returning I had to quarantine for 14 days, which was a good opportunity to do something about the weak springs.

I took the TSB leaf packs off and pulled them apart, pulled apart the OR takeoffs I had and compared em. Despite what many here have said, the ones I had are NOT identical. I'll put a pic in another post, but the overload spring on the TSBs is longer and thicker, and the individual leafs off the OR are a hair thicker, but shorter, at least the 3rd one is. I left my calipers at the cabin or I'd have exact measurements, but i checked it with vice grips and there's a difference. Also, as another guy earlier in this thread pointed out, the 3rd gen leafs have a little metal wedge at the bottom that the TSBs do not.

Anyways, with the leafs apart, I took the bottom (NOT the overload) leaf from the TSB springs and fitted it above the bottom, non-overload leaf on the 3rd gen pack. It's about 4" longer, so the anti-squeak pads fit and it didn't require any mods. Bolted the pack back together with a longer centre pin and took some pics for comparison with the old leaf pack, then reinstalled both leafs, which went pretty well. Bit tricky by myself, but a bunch of ratchet straps and some creative use of my feet and I got em in. In the process, I discovered that the rear passenger shock was dead - when detached it slowly compressed all on its own, which might explain a bit of the bounce. I ordered a pair of bilstein 5100s to put on the rear, hopefully they'll be here next week.

Now unfortunately, I forgot to measure the height of the truck with the old leafs, and I deleted my notes from when I swapped out the front springs so I can't say exactly how much lift I got. The rear end now is sitting at 23" from hub to fender, and up front, I'm at 21" on the driver side and 21 1/2" on the passenger. It was sitting pretty much level after the front switch, so I'd guess the new leaf got me about an inch and a half, and restored the factory rake, which is what I wanted. I never liked the level look, especially with a truck which is periodically loaded.

As I'm still under quarantine for another day, I can't report on the driveability - and anyways with a blown shock it's not gonna be great until I get the new shocks on. I'll update once I get em and take her out for a spin. I can say it looks real good, and you can't beat the price for the moderate lift. I'll put some pics in a new post, they're on my phone.

Anyways, thanks to everyone on this site, it's great to have such an amazing resource available, and I never would have been able to do this mod for so little money without all the people here who have gone before me and shared their knowledge for free. So I thought I'd pay it forward a bit with my experiences.

 

Pics as promised:
Right one is my built up leaf pack, left is the takeoff TSB pack
Truck with new leafs

Mandatory Mexico pics

 

Mexico is awesome once you get a 150 miles away from the border. Used to do a lot of surfing on both coasts back in the 70's up to the early 80's.

If possible, could you post the numbers from the recall leafs packs? I'd like to compare them to what was put on my 07.

Thanks!

 

Thanks! The numbers are not quite the same. Attached are pictures taken when I was putting my Roadmaster Active Suspension system back on. I was able to score some practicaly new rear shocks and the front coilovers off a 2019 Tacoma 4x4 this past January. I could have (should have) gone for the leaf packs also if I had known the recall packs are no better that the original ones. I haven't intalled the new shocks or coilovers yet, going to wait until this Texas summer ends. That should be around Thanksgiving.

Good job on beefing the suspension on your truck!

 

I could not compress the 3rd gen springs to fit the 2 gen shocks. I may have miss spoken before.

The shocks and coils are specifically matched for each other for based on the spring rate of the coil and the compression of the shock.

 

When I first started reading your updates I assumed you were getting lift just by swapping in the 3rd gen leaf packs but now I see you did your own custom AAL type setup. If you got about 1" of lift then it looks like you got ~1/2" of lift from a thicker leaf pack and about 1/2" of lift from the change in spring rate. Seems like a nice overall budget setup. I'm tempted to try the same but I already have a 1" lift block in the rear so I fear I'd be getting to the point where some extended length shocks would be useful.

 

So....does anyone know if the 2nd gen coils will fit the 3rd gen shocks???

 

IDK but those shocks are valved for those coils. This is why bilstein has different 5100's for each gen....

 

Who cares...a 2nd gen sport spring, on a 3rd gen OR tube, might just be a very nice combo IF IT FIT!

 

Let us know if you find out!

 

Cute wife I hope you guys have a happy life together

 

Honestly after driving the truck with the new springs, I'd say pull the block and just add the leaf, if you have access to a set. The ride is great - some credit has to go to the new 5100s though - and its nice to be able to handle loads and hit the bumps without riding the bumpstops. I'm pretty happy with the change, but now I sorta want to sub in a pair of 5100s up front too.

 

Still just a fiancee. Wedding delayed due to covid.

 

I'll give a two month review. I picked up a full set, front coil overs, UCA's, leaf springs, rear shocks, off a 2018 off road. I got too excited and didn't measure anything before I started my install so I can't give any constructive comment on how much, if any, lift I received. Although I do believe it looks slightly higher. I can say for a fact that the ride was significantly better after the swap. So far I haven't seen any sag or settling on the new set up, when I got it I was told it had about 9k on it and I've put about another 1,500 - 2k on it. So far I love it and think it's a great upgrade to scratch the itch of wanting to do some sort of mod while you still try and figure out what you want/need in regards to actually putting on a "full lift." What ever that may be.
I know they're not great photos for comparing ride height but the first one (at sunset) is just before install and the second one is just after install.

 

Are there any differences between 3rd gen TRD Off Road shocks and springs between a 4x and 2x model? I wondering if that is some of the differences we are seeing in ride height or ride quality since the 2x versions might be lighter sprung or valved?