REVIEW 3rd gen suspension on 2nd gen

I bet I have some sag but am only planning on the lift of the 4th spring height (maybe 1/4”) as long as I’m not nose high I’m happy

 

Yeah I kinda figured as such. I put a 3rd gen OR suspension on my 2nd gen base model, and it rode night and day better, and the "lift" up front was perfect for what I wanted.

Then I hit on elk on I-70. Lol

 

Its going to be close to level sitting still but I think when you accelerate you will lose your rake. You could also run a 1 inch block instead of an AAL. I think you can use the factory u bolts.

 

265-70-17 wildpeak at3w.

I am switching to the wildpeak ht02 here shortly. I am more of a on road guy and they are 4lbs lighter per tire.

 

Hey guys I'm planning to put on my 3rd gen OEM 4 leaf pack this weekend. I just wanted to run it by everyone and figure out how to do it without a lift.

Here was my plan... put two jackstands towards the back of the frame to support the rear of the vehicle and remove the rear tires. Then put a floor jack under the axle to support it. Remove all the bolt and lower the jack a bit to create space to remove and replace the leaf spring. Am I missing something important?

My concern was that I may need to get the entire car on jackstands to balance it better.

 

i just did mine a couple weeks ago without a vehicle lift. i think it would have been pert' near impossible without two floor jacks and two jack stands. but i probably did it wonky.

 

What was the second jack for?

 

I used a jack under the pumpkin to lift the truck (jack doesn't go high enough to get the wheels to come off the ground using the frame to get the tires off the ground) to get jackstands on the frame.

-Place the jack under the side you're going to start with, jack it up just a smidge to take weight off the shock bolt and make that easier. Only do 1 side at a time!
-Leave the shock off at this point
-Remove the U-bolts from the axle and lower the axle until you feel there is enough room to work. May take a couple tappy tap taps from a hammer to get the leaf to release easy from the axle. Don't lower the axle too far, keep an eye on the rear brake line to make sure your no stretching it.
-Remove parking brake line bolt, forward bolt and then the aft bolt. This is easier with a second person to support the opposite side of the spring, but if your somewhat strong you'll be fine.

For install you pretty much just go the reverse order and use the jack to bring the axle up to the springs to install the U-Bolts. Make sure the small locator pin is seated before torqueing the U-Bolts. You may have to move the axle around to get that to happen, this is normal. Do NOT tighten the forward and aft leaf spring bolts at this time, leave them with some free play. The forward and aft bolts get tightened once the truck is on the ground. If you tighten them in the air will bind in the eyelet and the bushing will wear faster and squeak.

U-bolt torque is pretty hard to find an accurate/across the board answer. I went with 86 ftlb. Torque the U-Bolts small amounts in a criss cross pattern. You don't want one end to have substantially more thread protrusion than the other. After driving a few days retorque the U-Bolts, no need to jack the vehicle up.

This is when I did OME leaf springs and B110 5100's to give you a visual placement.

 

Thank you sir. Will post results

 

Did anyone try running 275/70/17 with just the third GEN swap? No spacers AAL etc.

 

I’m running 275/70/17 BFG K02s. I had them with stock suspension andd w 3rd gen suspension. See post #391. With stock Sport 17” wheels, you will get a slight rub on the UCAs in reverse. I can make a u-turn without rubbing- stock or with 3rd gen suspension.

 

Thanks! We’re you able to get it resolved or is the rub still there

 

Most of the reading I have done in the past says it's hit and miss on rubbing. What I do know is when you get an alignment request to have as much positive caster as possible (pushing the wheel forward, essentially thats what aftermarket upper control arms do is push the wheel forward in the wheel well) and you have to remove mud flaps and the flap in front of the wheel if you have them. You may have to get wheel spacers IF you get rubbing on the upper control arm as well. Your only gaining 3/4"ish overall diameter running the 275/70/17 (32.2x10.8) vs 265/70/17 (31.6x10.4). The issue on our trucks is due to tire width, not so much height. Plus 275/70/17 tire options are fairly limited.

People have done 255/80/17 (33.1x10) or Kenda Klever RT 33x10.50 (which I have on mine since lifted) and haven't had rubbing on stock suspension on and off road if the alignment is done like I noted above. 255/75/17 (32.1x10) will almost always fit with no issues stock or lifted due to being skinnier than 275 or 285.

Here is a thread on the 33x10.50 on stock suspension. Granted it is a 3rd gen, but you will end up with a lift compared to a 3rd gen so you'll have more clearance than the OP on the thread below had.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/33’s-on-stock-suspension-it-can-be-done.703704/

 

thanks! right after posting I was going to ask about 255/85/16 since that’s my stock off-road wheel size. I may look into that too. Thanks for reading my mind. We just finished up and am heading to alignment now. Definitely happy about the 4 leaf pack and glad I didn’t do an AAL since I left the front with just the 3G coils and struts. I still have 1” rake with the topper - with that AAL I would have been crazy tail high

 

I’m not too good with suspension stuff so I want to make sure I got this right.

I bought some front coil overs (assembled) and rear shocks off a 2021 TRD OR on eBay for $300 after shipping and taxes.

I was planning to put a Headstrong 1/4” spacer to fix the lean. But now I read another comment that says the new shocks fix that. Do I need the spacer to fix the lean? Also, is there anything I need to do for the rear?

What about the leaf springs? I want to keep the stock rake. And I’m not going for lift, just a better ride. It sounds like I’ll need an AAL to keep the rake? What AAL is recommended? And I’ll need to remove the overload spring?

Lastly, I’m timing this with replacing my tires. I assume 265/75r16 tires will fit with no concerns about even minor rubbing? Definitely don’t want to have to worry about rubbing.

 

I have that combo, still need the 1/4” spacer on the driver side. I have that size as my tires, nothing rubs. Ill upload some pics tomorrow.

 

Cool, thanks!

I take it you can still see a lean without the spacer?

What AAL do you have?

 

Nothing crazy noticeable when it comes to leaning. I have a new pack on the back (oem), right now the truck looks leveled.

 

i didn’t need a spacer either to fix the lean. They should be stamped red and green for driver side, also what rear leaf springs do you have now? Look under the truck and count how many pieces of metal (3 or 4) and do you have a topper or loaded bed all the time?

i had sagged out 3 leaf springs but replaced with the 4 leaf from a 3rd Gen and I had rake WITHOUT an AAL and if I did it I would have had way too much rake, and I have a topper too…


265/75/16 have been reported all over without rubbing even without the 1” lift you’ll gain

 

@dTed Yep. What they said. Although, I had rubbing issues on the front forward aerodynamic flapper plastic thingie on full lock, but I have very aggressive tires which may contribute to it. I also did not do anything to the back springs and my truck sits dead level. Same size tires also.