Just Installed Lift

Hey guys, yesterday I put in my 3 inch lift (Bilstiens withy Eibach springs and Toytech AAL). It went pretty smoothly, still took me almost 8 hours from start to finish though. I did have a couple questions regarding the AAL install though:

How tight does the centering pin nut need to be? I got it fairly tight but couldn't really crank on it without it spinning.

When I re-installed the u-bolts I noticed that the ones towards the front of the truck have about 3/8" of thread protruding from the nut but the rear u-bolt barely has any thread protruding from the nut. When I took it apart they were roughly even, is this something to be concerned about?

Thanks for the help! Here's the only 2 pics I have from last night, I'll post more up today!

 

Uh... Sorry for the noob question but how can I post pictures from my phone?

 

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/site-news-announcements/39402-announcing-tw-live.html

 

I'm guessing you tightened one side of the u-bolt nuts down further than the other side, that's why it's uneven. If you loosen them up and then re-tighten them evenly it should level out.

I'm sure you could dig up a torque spec for the center pin nut but I took my Dakar leafs apart to add a collar to the pin and it wasn't very tight from the factory so as long as you got it pretty tight, you should be good.

 

Pictures!

Bro-lean when half way finished

 

Finished

 

.

 

You're missing some doors.

 

Envious of my short wheelbase eh?

 

LOL looks good.

 

Ok, here's a better before and final picture.

Before:


After:



I just got my alignment done, I figured the caster would be out as I'm on stock UCA's but does the rest look good? Thanks in advance!

 

Doesn't look like they touched the caster? I think you should get some positive caster out of an alignment just not enough to make it drive like it should...

 

Did you ask about the caster? I find it hard to believe they couldn't improve it at all. I recommend asking for the most caster they can while maintaining the number to within 0.1 from side to side.

 

I did ask about the caster and the tech said that was as good as he could get it. Maybe I should try another place? Will having negative caster cause any wear issues or is the only effect on drivability?

 

Uh, unless I'm mistaken, you need to be around 0* toe, 0* camber, and 2.5* caster.

Matt

 

Based on that my Toe is close, but my camber is a bit high? Without aftermarket UCA's is it possible to get more positive caster?

Ugh... So although my numbers are "green" they aren't ideal? Any suggestions what to tell the tech when I take it back in? Thanks!

 

I would bet the numbers in green are within factory specs but that range is actually pretty wide. I got lucky with the shop I used because they were willing to listen to my fairly specific requests and actually able to deliver. Sometimes it's hard to find both those qualities in a shop.

If you're happy with the how it handles I wouldn't be too worried about it. More caster gives better self-centering and straight line stability but if you didn't notice those characteristics were missing maybe it's okay the way it is.

 

Did you end up getting your alignment looked at again? Which setting did you use on the front 5100s?