Tacoma Lift FAQ/Guide - READ THIS

Hrmphf, it's always the little details that get you! Well, it's back to the drawing board for me.

 

Check in the 5 lug subforum.... There may be other options I don't know about.

From my memory, fatbobs garage was a popular source for 5 lug suspension parts.

 

Alrighty, will do! Thanks.

 

I'm in the same boat. I've got a '96 5 lugger i'm starting to plan out working on and I'm having a hard time finding parts that aren't supposed to be an exact OEM replacement...Which means very little lift options. I heard of some guys using the fatbob's lift kits with satisfactory results. Like Justus said, start asking around and searching in the 5 lugger thread...In the past couple days you'll see all my questions on there about suspension options for the 5 luggers...you might find some answers in those posts.

Good luck with your search!

 

Cool. There's also lots of 4x4 activity out here, dirt racing, etc. We're even home of Toytech. I'll ask around. I've been meaning to check out some fully-caged dirt-racing Tacos in person, just out of curiosity anyway. May as well pick their brains while I'm at it. I'm sure the 5-lug problem is no problem at all to some people.

(After doing some of my own searching, the fat bob 5 lug spacer and aal would be the way to go for lifts on a budget. However, I decided to settle for simply going the black-box delete and 30X9.5r15 tire route for now, for an extra 1.57" clearance).

 

Got a question for anyone who knows something. Is it better to worry about lifting my truck after I add my bumpers/sliders? should I do this last, or does it not matter when? I currently have a 2" spacer/block lift.

 

If you have any intention of doing any serious off-roading with an armored truck, you need to do better than spacers and blocks... That shit will fail you in the woods.

All that said, order the lift to match the weight of the planned armor. If at all possible install everything at once. My OME kit was for armor (heavy kit, 866s), and it rode a bit stiff until I got the bumper and plate skid installed.

 

Thanks man. I don't plan on doing heavy off-roading until ive got everything done. The other day someone backed into my truck and dented my stock bumper. You think I will be fine by adding an all pro apex rear bumper while on the stock suspension until I get the money for the front bumper and suspension?

 

Yeah, should be ok for daily driving. It will lessen the amount of crap you can throw in the bed a little.

 

Pls allow me to beat this one to death before I go forward in buying anything. I have no intention of offroading other then the 100+ yards of dirt road I travel from my driveway to pavement. But a 3" lift would be rather ideal for me as I do travel with another gentleman to work, and since he doesn't have a 4x4 anymore, heavy snowfall storms mean I get to drive. A 6" lift is far too much for me, but a 3" lift does seem to give it (for lack of a better term) a "fresh suspension" appearance. A slightly higher tire (BFG All Terrain) would give me more ground clearence which is my ultimate purpose in wanting a lift. After tabbing through the 38 pages of this thread, it would appear that the OME 3" suspension lift (http://toyteclifts.3dcartstores.com/OME-Tacoma-Suspension-lift-kit_p_231.html) with 885's as I have a double cab, upgrade the AAL to the full OME leaf pack (http://toyteclifts.3dcartstores.com/OME-Rear-leaf-springs-2005-Tacoma-SET_p_18.html) should be more then sufficient for everyday rural road driving reliability? (I put 200-300lbs of sand bags on the back in winter)
I know, this topic has been beaten to death, I just want to be absolutely sure before I go ahead and order anything, rather then just buy on impulse or because "I read it on the internet" and be stuck with a kit that is overkill to my needs.

 

I would agree with the package you have put together, and that it'll net you 2-3" of lift, closer to 3" really.

You should shop around a little to get the best price. I bought mine on Amazon (free shipping!) using the part number from ARB's website. Some shops will pre-assemble the front struts making it even easier to do yourself, but I think that's more expensive than sending your struts to a shop to get swapped over. http://store.arbusa.com/2-Inch-05+Tacoma-Stock-Kit-OMETAC05LK-P21031.aspx

You may want to invest in Wheelers' bumps (front and rear) And you should pick up some SS braided extended brake lines. I'm running OCTaco lines http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/gr...-deal-steel-braded-brake-lines-group-buy.html

 

Hello All and thanks for all the wonderful/helpful info posted on this thread... I have a few questions regarding my '13 DCSB Sport. Sorry in advance for the long newB post..
1st off, Its my daily driver and I have yet to do any heavy off-roading. That being said, I already have most of the armor (sliders/skids) that I plan putting on it for light off-roading & daily use, although i have considered adding an All-Pro front bumper in the future just as a heads up.
Unfortunately, I've already had an incident with my truck where I was exiting between two businesses and did not see a small curb placed between the two exits and ended up going off the curb at about 20mph. Long story short, I've had some vibration ever since and the dealership has been NO help. I've taken it in 3 times complaining about the ride and all they've done is perform an alignment and inflate the tires on the driver side of the truck more than the passenger side and told me there's nothing wrong. Ugghhh.
Anyhow, I've been wanting to put a 3" lift and new wheels & Duratrac's (285/70/17) on my rig.
1) Sounds like Full OME lift + Dakar leaf pack is the preferred method of acheiving this setup??
2) Should I pay the extra $$ to have the dealership install for me or go thru another shop?? (I'm not too concerned about the warranty since the dealership has been NO help anyways.. and I will likely order the new tires from Discount Tire and have them do all future balance/rotations as well.)
3) Any chance this may fix my vibration problem??
4) Any suggestions on who to consider for future alignments/oil changes/general maintenance if the dealership refuses to service my truck??
5) Would I need extended brake lines or any additional items with this setup??
6) Any benefits/drawbacks in adding UCA's to this setup??
Thanks in advance for Any assitance..

 

Answers in red above. Hope I answered everything.

Matt

 

MGM answered quite well. I would only add that your vibration may be from something bent somewhere, not just the wheel so there's no way we can tell you for sure that the new set-up will cure the vibration. Lifted trucks tend to pick up random vibrations anyway so I don't think lifting it is the preferred method to fix a vibration. I also could not find a local toyota dealer willing to install my lift. Was going to pay $500 to a local 4x4 shop until I just decided to do it myself.

 

I would agree with MGM and BJ. Dealership experiences will vary, so you should ask them yourself. One of the service reps and I are on very good terms, so my experiences my soon be getting better and better. Hell, they already have since those last posts.

As far as the kit goes, your bumper purchase will dictate whether you should go with 885s or 886s. IMO you are borderline as is, and if the bumper goes on you'll need 886s and possibly top plate spacers.

Also, don't forget the 5mm trim packer. It's a must to counteract Taco lean.

Extended brake lines are a must. I used to think this was up to owners discretion, but the chance of tearing a line or fitting is too great.

Extended bumps from Wheelers are a sound purchase, as well as new UCAs. I went without, and now am in need of both.

If I missed anything I apologize, and remain available for any follow-on questions.

 

Thank you for all the info, I am glad you chimed in, it's funny how no one that offers the lift kits don't include those bumps with them. Thank you for the info, greatly appreciated!!

 

Thanks for all your helpful answers Matt. Good to know I'm on the right track..

Good Info bjboucher! Guess I can hope that the install will alleviate the problem, however its good to know ahead of time that i can expect more vibrations down the road, so not a huge deal if it doesn't change much..

Excellent! Thanks for the info Yota!!

I will not give up on the dealer just yet i guess...
I will likely just have local members help me with the install next Spring once it warms up again.. I imagine it should be pretty easy if its all "remove & replace" type install?

So to recap, here's a list of all the recommended parts although I'm not sure on vendors for all of them??:

- OME on all 4 corners (ToyTech)
- 886s w/ Top Plate Spacers (ToyTech?)
- UCAs (???)
- 5mm Trim Packer (???)
- Extended Brake Lines (OCTaco?)
- Extended Bumps (Wheelers)

Thanks again guys and I look forward to starting my own build page soon and adding photos of all these mods in the future..

 

These come in the kit. Go to the ARB link I posted above.
- OME on all 4 corners (ToyTech)
- 886s w/ Top Plate Spacers (ToyTech?)

You can blow serious money on UCAs. A good affordable brand are the Light Racing UCAs, but you can shop around.
- UCAs (???)

Wheelers
- 5mm Trim Packer (Wheelers)
- Extended Bumps (Wheelers)

I linked his thread above
- Extended Brake Lines (OCTaco?)


You know what, after looking at all of this save yourself some time and effort and send Dan a PM. He will get you totally outfitted, and might even cut you a little Tacoma World deal on the whole purchase. http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/wheelers-off-road/67293-wheelers-super-bumps.html

 

Hope I answered everything again.

• You can go through Toytec, but try calling shops like Wheeler's, Downsouth Motorsports, or SDHQ Offroad (be sure to mention TW for discount) to find out their best prices.
• 886's with top plate spacers will be sitting pretty tall. Are you going to be adding any armor/skids/winch right off the bat? If you are not, I would recommend waiting to put on the TPS's until you do that since 886's will sit tall without armor just by themselves. Also, are you going to be adding a lot of weight in the rear such as in the bed or a H/C rear bumper? Consider Dakar's or just an AAL for a budget if you have one.
• OME Trim Packer (5MM)
• I would recommend Total Chaos Uniball UCA's but you could also get something like Light Racing Balljoint UCA's for cost and ease of maintenance. (you must take care of uniball UCA's more, grease, lube, especially if you live in an area with road salt, etc)
• OCTaco puts out nice brake lines, they are what I have on my truck. (front/rear)
• Wheeler's SuperBumps are also what I have on my truck, they are nice.

Matt

 

Alrighty, so after some research, I found a place in Canada that sells the OME 3" lift kit that doesn't cost an arm and a leg (OUIPACK), but the kit doesn't come with the front diff drop kit. Also, found the Light Racing UCA's w/ new bolts from Kyle George (I am assuming Cochran Toyota in Alberta?). I have been in touch with OCTaco about the brake lines. Now, I am unsure of where I can buy the front diff drop kit in Canada, and Toytech won't let me create an account online as there's no option for me to enter a Canadian address. Anyone know of a place? Second question is about the bumps, how crutial are they for me given I am only driving on rural/highway roads? I don't expect the truck to come across anything that would bottom-out my suspension, nor do I intend on loading the truck with any amount of weight that would push the suspension down any great amount (perhaps 200-300 lbs of sand in winter months).

Ninja Edit: Also, after lifting the truck, I would like to install some BFG AT's on factory 17". 285/70/17 fit without issue?