3" Lift with 33's without the use of Wheel Spacers

Hey everybody, I'm new to the forum. I have a 2005 Toyota Tacoma TRD Sport. I installed a 3 inch spacer lift rear AAL with 33s....pretty standard cheap lift kit. 10,000 miles later, I am replacing the front left wheel bearing... I know this was due to the lift kit, especially the 1.25" front wheel spacers. So my question is what 3" or 6" lift kit can I install that will not require wheel spacers? Also, my alignment sucks...been to the shop 4 times until I did some research and figured it's most likely the UCAs that need to be replaced.

So... I am going to replace the UCAs with a set of LRs (on a budget).


**I have the stock 17" TRD Sport wheels with Goodyear Duratracs.
What 3" lift kit should I go with that will NOT require wheel spacers?

What 6" lift kit should I go with that will NOT require wheel spacers?

 

you could always go with a different backspacing (i think 4.5) and you may need to cut but you will not need wheel spacers. im pretty sure...

as for a 6 inch lift your lookign at a drop bracket lift and you should be fine with the stock rims i blieive since you can fit 35s with a bit of trimming. Again im pretty sure

 

When you say backspacing...do you mean installing different wheels?

 

Get 255/80/17 , 33 1/4" tires , no rub with stock wheels

 

yeah. but like oz said it also depends on how wide of a tire you go as well. He is running the tire size he suggested on his stock rims (looks greta oz!) with a 3 inch lift.

 

No , I'm running 275/70/17 on stock Sport wheels which is a 32 1/2" tire , but you can run 255/80/17 which is 33 1/4"

 

I've had wheel spacers on my '09 (OEM sport wheels) for 3 years with no wheel bearings issues. Was running 32" tires (265/70R17) but I had TC UCA's. Many guys run aftermarket wheels with 4.5" backspacing which has nearly (within 1/4") the same effect on wheel bearings as a 1.25" spacer on stock 5.5" backspaced wheels. Basically it's converting your 5.5" backspacing to 4.25" backspacing. I think it's more likely the age of the truck being an '05 (7 years old with probably near 100k miles) combined with the stock UCA's and lift which make your caster alignment out of spec along with larger tires. I think if you fix the wheel bearings and get the LR UCA's like you said, you will be fine.

 

Thanks Keith, thats what I was thinking. I'm going to put on the LR's and how it straightens things out a bit.

 

my bad. truck still looks great

 

So, I want a new lift kit. What's the best 3" suspension kit? I don't want to have to use the wheel spacers, and I want to run 285/70/17s.

 

The best is probably gonna be Icons or Kings. Icon sells a 3" stage 1 lift thats really nice. In my opinion the best 3" would be icons coilovers in front, TC or camburg UCAs, Rear icon shocks with resi and a Dakar Leaf pack.

 

old man emu is a pretty good lift. lots of guys have it. Tht what im looking to do. It all depends on what your looking to do of course.

 

Which lift has less to do with clearing 285's than the wheels do

 

I think he wants to ditch the speacer lift due to early wearing of componnets that he has encountered. Ithink it was a wheel bearing. not trying to correct you cuz your right. think he was asking 2 sperate questions in his posts. I think

 

well its not really early cuz he has 100k but he believes the spacer lift had to with it

 

I'm just looking for a new lift. The spacer lift is not a good lift...shouldn't have done it. I'm mainly looking for a quality 3" full suspension lift that will not have any alignment issues or additional wear in the future.

 

I like the Icon Stage I lift kit. It looks real nice. I drive a lot on the beaches here in Maryland. And I might off road once a month...nothing too hard core. But I'd really like a better ride. Also, I frequently carry 600-1000 pounds in the bed... any heavy duty leaf packs out there? Dakar, All Pro? anything else? What's the best for carrying heavy loads?

 

Any coilover (ICON, King, Fox) will be a huge improvement over the spacers especially if you combine them with aftermarket UCA designed for lifted trucks. Bilstein adjustables will be cheaper and provide nice ride but with the heavy loads you are carrying you probably will want a stiffer spring that the above coilovers will provide.

With that said, any lift and/or larger tire is still going to cause more wear on CV's, steering components, wheel bearings, etc.. You can minimize the extra wear by getting a quality lift.

Also, regarding the 600-1000 lbs frequent loads - you may want to think about Timbren bump stops and/or helper leaf spings/air bag load levelers and the like. They will greatly improve the ride and handling with loads.

 

Hey guys, sorry I'm new to this site. I'm having a hard time starting a new thread.
Anyway, I wish to get a new lift but I am on a budget. I am getting Light Racing UCA's along with either (1) front 5100 Bilstein adjustable shocks (keeping the stock coils) or (2) get 3" lift kit with Bilstein 5100 Height adjustable Coilovers. Both are on wheelersoffroad.com and Toytec lifts. Which is going to be better? I have about 110k on the truck and it runs great, but looking for a better lift rather than the spacer lift that I already have installed...

 

I would go with Toytec .