Bilstein 6112

So your lean is on the front drivers side and both are set at 4 out of 5....correct? Do you have a top plate spacer on the driverside? They reason why I asked about the rear is because I thought you had the lean in the rear not the front. Do you have a dual battery set up at all?

 

The lean is both front and back, lower on driver’s side in both cases, more significant in the front. No top plate spacers, no dual battery, no asymmetrical weight of any kind. Just makes no sense. And when I took the measurements the gas tank was less than a quarter full.

 

This is what I used in the front to help (since it is widely accepted to use a top.hat spacer on a second gen). I still have mine in and never had any issues.

https://www.headstrongoffroad.com/store/p31/HS_1/4"_Top_Plate_Spacer_-_TT05514-TPS.html

1/4" spacer will give you 1/2" of lift on that side and 1/2" will almost give you 7/8" on that side.

I used this on my Dakar leaf packs and it work great to even out my lean in the rear. I am actually surprised not a lot of people use it on the divers side rear leaf pack. It is not interfering with the brake lines at all but I have +4 extended brake lines. My truck rides even in the rear. The 1/2" block only gives 1/2" of lift on the driverside rear.

 

How does a 1/4” magically become 7/8”?

Anyway I have no desire to further increase the lift and have any additional issues with UCAs or alignment or driveline vibes or whatever. And you couldn’t pay me enough to do any more work on the suspension (nor would I pay a shop). I’m just trying to understand what happened and make sure there’s not a functional issue. It doesn’t bother me as long as there’s no problem. I wish I’d measured beforehand to see how much lean was already there.

A whole inch of lean just seems very strange to me.

 

I would ignore that and set them to the correct height using preload like every coilover on the market is designed to do.

 

1/4" spacer will not give 7/8" of lift on the side......it will give 1/2" more loft to correct the lean. The 1/2" top hat spacer will give about 7/8" correction the the lean. The driverside lean is very common among all tacos especially the second gens with the gas tank, the battery, and the driver all on that side. That is wear the "inch" of lean comes from. You will not get anymore driveline vibes from this spacer. The spacer just goes in between the top hat of the driverside 6112 and the upper mounting point. The 1/4" gives a 1/2" correction because of the angle and geometry of the suspension. Usually, the front correction of the lean helps the rear in most cases. It didn't in my case which is why I added the 1/2" spacer in the rear on the driverside. In all honesty, you can talk to most people and they will say that every taco is different. Some need shims, some don't. Some need a carrier bearing drop, some don't. Some people have a more pronounced lean and others don't. I am letting you know what worked for me and my 2nd gen.

 

The tank was almost empty and I was not in the vehicle when I measured and found the one inch difference. I placed a car battery on the floor of the passenger side and no significant difference in measurement. Anyway probably gonna leave things as they are then if there’s no issue and this is “normal”.

 

I’d either have to go to the fifth setting on one, which I’ve read is harsh and also puts me into need aftermarket UCAs territory, or third setting, which leaves me raked too far. Also I would never go through the coilover assembly process again it was a bitch. I’m just gonna keep on keepin on.

 

We’ll if you want to change it up it’s actually super easy to pull the strut and move the snap ring. No spring compressor needed. Just an hour of your time and tools.

 

i was on the max height setting on my 2nd gen with a 1/4 spacer on the drivers side. On stock UCA. and i was still 1/2" lower on the drivers side. Not sure what is going on with our 2nd gen tacomas.

my rear was 1/4" lower in the rear on the drivers side though. dont know if that helps.

 

Unfortunately All Tacoma's have the problem with a lean. I am not sure if it is because they are based on the hilux and that is right hand drive so the weight of the person equals out the weight over time. With the battery, the person, and the gas tank being all on the left hand side....a lean is bound to happen I guess.

 

What is the exact measurement (hub center to fender) for each of the 4 locations on the truck?

Who installed the suspension?

Have you put weight in the box, say 350 lbs or a couple of guys standing over the rear axle, and does the bed compress the suspension at all?

 

I’ll go take some measurements in the morning.

I installed the suspension. I had the shop that did the alignment check it over and there were no issues.

I towed my boat yesterday, about 400 lbs tongue weight, and the rear suspension compressed appropriately.

Truck rides great.

 

So I measured this morning, and all the corners are within .5” left to right. Matter of fact it’s the rear that’s slightly uneven, front is dead on. I wonder if trailering the boat yesterday (2 hour round trip) caused the suspension to settle.

However I noticed that the gasket between the coil and top hat on the driver’s side is suddenly coming out quite significantly from under the top hat. The other side doesn’t look anything like this at all. Any thoughts on whether I may need to address this?

 

I've read through this thread and it's been very helpful! I've decided to go with 6112/5160 on my 2020 SR5 4wd DCSB. I went with 4/3 setting and no lift in back (as of now, may add 1" block or AAL in the future).

So let's say I install the 6112's, find no vibrations and get an alignment done, then later decide to install the ECGS bushing upgrade. Will I need to perform another alignment after installing the new bushing, or would I be good to go since I'm not adjusting height again?

I have the bushing, seal and tools in my cart on the ECGS website, but since I'm only going up 1", I'm on the fence about tackling that project if it's not necessary. Thanks, this community is so helpful!

 

I recommend you replace the bearing regardless of your lift height. When mine was pulled ECGS looked at it and already saw premature wear. You’re already in there with the suspension apart, install the bushing.

As far as the alignment question I’d be interested in folks’s responses. I did not get a second alignment. But, if you’re doing the work yourself aren’t you going to install the 6112’s and the bushing all in the same go?

 

Youll be fine without an alignment, as you are not changing any geometry. I've done the bearing on stock trucks and have found the needle bearing worn out or in pieces, so its definitely worth it.

 

Yes, I'm thinking doing it all at once would be the smart thing to do and give me peace of mind.

 

Thanks , I'm going to just bite the bullet and do it all at the same time.

 

I am planning on doing the same exact setup. Trying to find a shop that has does needle bearing before as i live in an apartment and all my tool are back home. Please post picture of the finished setup. I have only found a handful of people on here running this setup.

Where did you buy your shocks from?