Best Leaf Springs for 1-1.5in of Lift?

So here's the situation... I have an 04 PreRunner that currently has the stock rear springs with Hellwig Helpers on them for when I add quite a bit of weight in the back of the bed which is around once a month. With the helpers on and no weight in the back if I go over a decent bump the back of the truck damn near comes off the ground it's so stiff. The springs are beat and need to be replaced from all the years of weighting them down so I'm ready to make some changes.

A few months ago I got a set of the TRD Pro rims for my rig and I absolutely love them but being that it's all stock height the fronts rub just a little bit only when I am making a u-turn or a really sharp turn like in a drive thru. I am planning on upgrading my Bilstein 4600's with a set of 5100's so I can set them a little higher than stock to solve that issue...

Which brings me to the rear... I'm planning on doing the 5100's in the rear as well as adding a set of Firestone air bags for when I add weight in the truck or need to tow a small trailer. I'm looking for a rear leaf that will give me maybe 1in or 1.5in of lift in the back so when I raise the front it will still have a little bit of a rake. I was looking at the General Springs or their HD versions. I'm a big hesitant getting the HD springs because when I drive around with no weight in the back which is most of the time, I don't want it to be crazy bouncy in the back like it is now with the helpers in it. Hoping some of you guys here have some real world experience with this same kind of thing so I can buy the right parts once...

 

General Springs offers OEM-equivalent leaf packs which will not give you the lift you're looking for, but instead will bring you back to factory ride height.

Going with the HD springs will add that desired height, but with no weight, will give you that stiff ride in the back as you described with your helpers.

I'll let others chime in as I think All-Pro or some other company offers flexible springs without the added payload capacity (thus, adding stiffness).

Just chiming in regarding the HD leaf pack offered by General Springs.

 

If I recall correctly, I think @jbrandt ran aftermarket shackles which gave him a bit of lift, before he finally put on a nice leaf pack.

I'd go that route (with a new leaf pack if yours is worn), over an HD pack or stupid block any day of the week.

 

That sounds like it might be the way to go... That way I can do the front's first and go with the stock General springs and if it still needs to be a little higher in the back then I can add the life shackles... And they should be fine when I add weight with the air bags in there... Thanks for the response

 

That's correct, I ran a 1" lift shackle on my stock springs and ran with 5100s. Gave me roughly an inch of lift, which because my springs were worn, probably just returned them to stock height, lol. The lift shackle doesn't affect the ride at all (vs. an add-a-leaf). I mean I guess they technically do, but nothing noticeable.

Although for a 1.5" lift, The Deaver J59s are the bees knees. I'm currently running a combo of the J59s and my lift shackle from before for ~2.5". You pay for that, though. You're looking at like 2x the cost for the Deavers. If you want a decent "back to stock" ride, the Generals and the shackle lift are going to be much more economical.

And I'd definitely go with the airbags. IMO you only go for HD springs when your truck carries that weight 100% of the time or at least the vast majority of the time.

 

Where is the rubbing? Are these rims from a 2nd/3rd gen? What size tires do you have?

Keep in mind that a lift will not necessarily prevent rubbing. It will merely change *when* it rubs.

 

I have the Deaver J59s and Bilstein 5100s combo in rear, typically with no weight, and they ride excellent and provided about 1.5" of lift after settling. My truck was about an inch higher in rear than front stock, so with the Deavers lifting the rear 1.5" and Kings up front lifting 2.5", I got a level ride. I also added Wheelers Superbumps.

The previous owner had also thrown Hellwigs on the OEM springs. That coupled with blown shocks rode absolutely terribly.

 

Here’s my experience with rear springs on my 2000 ex cab 4wd. Others may disagree. I had 3 1/2 inches between the factory bump stop and frame with original stock springs, 3 leaf with overload. Almost everyone says if the springs are negative arch they are worn out so I figured that new standard duty springs would give some kind of lift. I didn’t want to lift the truck but bring it back to stock height and possibly improve the ride. I’m here to tell ya if you have 3 1/2 or more clearance between the bump and frame your at stock height. I put general SD springs on and gained about 1/4 inch. Took them off, ordered wheelers 3 leaf aal’s and installed with my old springs and left out the overload, gained an inch and a half and ride is noticeably improved. I don’t carry much weight but if I start to I’ll add air bags. Nothing wrong with the general springs but also nothing wrong with my original springs either. wanna buy some general SD springs with about 500 miles on em?

 

Do the J59s ride better than stock? Although I pretty much don’t remember what stock even feels like cause I’ve had these Hellwig Helpers in my rig since 2013, lol I’d take them off and run it for awhile but I know the springs are shot and it would be low riding in the back and wouldn’t be a true gauge on how it would ride...

The price doesn’t necessarily scare me away from them but it’s definitely more than I had planned on spending but if they ride that much better then I would consider it. One thing that make me a little leery about getting them is I’ve seen a lot of people say they don’t handle much weight in the back. As I said I am planning on getting bags anyways but I’d hate to spend that much on the springs and then have them wear out because there was weight on them but I suppose with the bags I wouldn’t have to worry about that?

 

Yes they the 17” TRD Pros with 265/70-17 General Grabbers...

It’s rubbing on the plastic on the inner fender but only runs when I turn the wheel a lot or if I try going into a driveway too fast with the wheel turned...

Pass side


Driver side


This was a few days after getting the rims and tires on the way home to Cali from Maine...

 

Pinch weld mod

 

Yeah, the Deavers aren't meant for carrying heavy loads. They're an off road performance spring. But yeah, they absolutely ride better than my old worn out stock springs.

With the airbags though, the springs won't see any extra weight (that's the point of the airbags) so they shouldn't wear out due to extra weight. That said, be prepared to do a little modification to the airbags since they might not fit as well with a lift (they're typically designed for stock height).

 

@jbrandt I decided to go with the J59's, Do you happen to know what length u bolts I need for them?

 

When I bought mine from Wheeler’s aka Trailgear
It came with the Ubolts, etc as a whole kit.

 

Yeah that's where I am ordering from but for some reason its $695.70 if you buy it as the "kit" but if you add "just the springs" and then the Energy bushings and u bolts into the cart separately it only comes to $648.76, so you save $50 by adding the parts into the cart yourself... I just need to know what the u bolt length is, I have everything else in the cart ready to order...

 

I got mine from Wheeler's too, and they came with poly bushings and the U-bolts. You should be good.

 

just fyi a lift up front won't solve your rubbing issues, I mean it might while you're driving around town, but any time the suspension cycles up/down it will still rub. If you do any offroading you'll notice fast.

Is the tire rubbing the pinch weld on the cab or is it rubbing the frame when turning?

Those TRD wheels are known to cause rubbing issues on 1st gens because the spacing on them isn't ideal for our trucks

Usually to avoid rub you have to flatten or cut the pinch weld back. More caster via the lower arms helps too but there's only so much of that you can achieve with stock suspension

 

I have a Leer cap on my v6 dc 4x4. I installed the Wheeler's 3(?) added leaf spring kit. However, I kept the overload spring. About 1-1/2" lift. Maybe a touch more. I've been very happy with ride loaded or unloaded. At some point it's still a bouncy pickup. As far as rubbing, I have the 4Runner 5-star rims and have 235/85/16 BFG KO2's. They don't rub at all. They are a bit squishy on freeway onramps. Load range E so they handle the weight. I use OME 881's on Bilstein 5100 at the lowest setting. 5100's out back as well. If I found myself carrying more weight regularly, I'd try the airbag route first.

 

I'm not going to buy the "kit" because it's $50 more buying it that way than just buying the parts individually for some reason. Not sure why that is you'd think it would be the same but if you put the items in your cart by themselves it comes out to be $50 cheaper and that's half of one of my shocks, LOL

 

It's a prerunner and I don't off road at all. As long as it doesn't rub going in and out of my driveway I'll be good... it doesn't rub at all when normally driving unless I do a u turn or backing out of the driveway and turning the wheel a lot...

It does rub the frame but that's only lock to lock. Most the the rubbing is on the plastic behind the wheel, I posted pics above...