Go fast IFS upgrades for road, what is worth the money?

OEM lower ball joints are 100% worth the added cost.
OEM upper ball joints maybe not, but they're pretty cheap at ~$45 piece, so I'd go OEM on those too. When your previous ball joint failure happened, did the next shop ensure your frame didn't get bent? Just curious as that could obviously play a role in the the whole eating up tires problem

 

Just wanted to drop coil / shock input.

Going with Dobinsons IMS. Love them on my 4runner.

 

22" tires outta do it

 

Dobinsons progressive coils I had on the Land Cruiser made it handle so freaking well; don't think they offer anything for 1st Gens though as it's an aged platform

 

Oh but they do!

Front I'm going IMS with C59-134 Coils: https://exitoffroad.com/product/dobinsons-2-2-5-pre-assembled-ims-tacoma-coilovers-for-1998-2004/ 2.25" stock weight, 2" with winch / lightweight bar

Rear shocks: https://exitoffroad.com/product/dobinsons-ims59-50649-monotube-ifp-rear-shocks/

UCA's, not sure who I'm going with yet.

I was shocked no one was running Dobinsons after exhaustive searching, I'll take one for the team and see how they work

 

It's a shame they're so late in the game

 

Dropping some thoughts on suspension mods after a long time off this forum (finally BACK in a first gen taco after a year of bs, maybe an eventual thread on the story)

Ive spent a deal of time modifying volvo 240s. Currently still building my hot rod wagon. Poly bushings, sway bars, and lowering the center of gravity are the way to fun for a vehicle not designed with spirited driving in mind, in my mildly experienced opinion.

Seems like youve got your parts lined up. Ill be upgrading my new-to-me 1st gen (03 v6 5 speed carpentry rig) once i work thru stage 0 stuff. Upsizing front sway, adding rear sway, and building custom leaf packs from JY chev leafs (load capacity and height control) are my the bigger ticket items on my list for getting this 300k gem toward being the daily work truck i want.

Stoked to hear how your choices work out!

 

If didn't go through several spring rates with the 4runner and friends with their GX's / 200's I'd of never known about Dobinsons. They are very known on the 2nd/3rd gen side but was shocked to see so little with 1st gens.

I'll post up a different thread once ordered and I get a chance to toss them on.

Sorry for the derail.

 

Post Count + 1... good value add.

Aside from known shock bushings that destroyed themselves in under a year, zero is showing looseness.

 

Mine (03 TRD extra cab) also wouldn't align, it also had a slight right-drift when you let go of the wheel, and was also eating tires. I recently did a front suspension refresh: LCA's, lower ball joints, rack, rack bushings, OTRE's, coilovers, shocks on all four. My goal was no mods, restore to stock. See summary below, it drives like it could trace the head of a pin now.

Given the quoted excerpts above:

First I see 5100's recommended throughout, the "stock" replacements for Bilstein are 4600's. I'm guessing 5100's will work but if you're not lifting they aren't needed (read: save a few bucks there.)

UCA's: also if not lifting, be sure you even need UCA's. They don't take as much abuse and if they pass basic tests (bushings tight, ball joints tight) save them for last.

LCA's: totally get the added time with pressing in new bushings, same reason I went with OEM lower control arms. Later steering rack, rack bushings, OTRE's, coilovers and shocks.

Time: Doing this yourself? I too had lofty dreams of getting it done in a reasonable time frame, it took WAY longer than expected getting it all apart (same link two posts down.) Going back in was not so bad. Make sure you have a BAH and a 1/2" drive impact on hand, and mark your LCA cam bolts before breaking them loose (white sharpies from Lowe's are absolutely awesome.)

Summary: I thought it drove fine before with the exception of the right drift, but after all this it now drives like new, let go of the wheel and it just goes where you point it. Most people would call the steering aggressive, I call it tight, very little roll on sharp corners at speed, minimized slip due to road surface (that's the shocks at work,) and it aligned almost perfectly after that. If I had to attribute it to anything, it would be a combination of the new rack, ES bushings, shocks, and new LCA's (new LCA bushings.) And of course, now it aligns properly.

The ES bushings are lower cost "mod" you can do that will tighten up steering (but won't address your other issues.) Stock rack bushings are rubber, which give the steering a more "squishy" or "soft" feel.First thing I did with the new rack was remove the stock bushings in the rack and put the ES kit in.

Energy Suspension offers two replacements, the red's are a little softer than the black's. Before starting anything I observed the amount of steering rack movement with the 20 year old rubber bushings (0:32 in the video.) It wasn't a lot, but observable. With the ES red kit it's almost zero. Be sure to get some ES bushing grease, it doesn't come with it. Polys have a reputation for being squeaky, this prevents it. Do not use petroleum based grease.

Ball joints won't help your problem, but if you're in there put in new ones, but only OEM.

If it were me, I'd start bottom up: LCA's first, rack and TRE's next, then shocks and coilovers. You won't find a better price on a package than these guys, Moog 81104 springs and Bilsteins all around. If you're hesitant follow through the second link I posted above, their shipping and support is stellar.

https://www.suspensionlifts.com/sho...with-rear-shocks-for-1995-2004-toyota-tacoma/

 

I'm actually working bottom up as I can. I've got 'used' Toyota LCAs, OEM lower ball joints, and Energy Suspension control arm bushings on the way.

It currently tracks straight and the steering while not perfect is relatively 'tight'.

Rack bushings are new rubber and not poly. The rack doesn't move through range of motion. The tie rods didn't appear to have any slop but they are on my list.

 

I have a potential line of a set of used Icon shocks. Are they worth going with? The two bads is no springs and I will send them in for a rebuild.

Is there a recommended front spring for a more onroad performance feel(lbs?)? I have nothing going on over the front so no added weight... so any added stiffness is only to compensate for road feel NOT the front sagging.