Toytec 3* Shim Install with AllPro Standard Leafs and more

***WARNING Pic Heavy***

-note, some of the things that I did were because this was my first time actually doing work on my truck without the help of someone else so I kinda improvised and im pretty sure there is an easier/safer way of doing it

anyways figured id put this together since I was unable to find anything on toytec shim installation when I went to install my shims on my Taco. I also installed my All Pro U-bolt flip kit and installed some DayStar 4.5" Bumpstops, hope this helps anyone that needs it

EDIT 1:
- forgot to add some important stuff
- changed the picture sizes so they are freaking huge


Lets get started

Tools:
- 22mm deep well socket
- 15mm socket
- 2x 4" C-Clamps
- Vice Grips
- Jacks/Jackstands


Chalk the front of the vehicle and loosen the lug nuts to start off with





then raise the back end up and support the frame with jackstands and remove the wheel





remove the u-bolts so we can get the leaf spring of its perch


things like this make me wish I spent the money on an impact drill


you can never be too safe



now here's where I was trying to figure out how to remove the center pin and not have to take the leaf spring off, so this came up, 4 stone slabs and the factory bottle jack raising the leafspring up out of the perch leaving enough room to remove the center pin and install the shim and the new centerpin from Toytec



clamped the leafs up


and unscrew the nut on top of the center pin, I used vice grips to unscrew the pass side pin but the driver side I was able to unscrew by hand



comparison between the AllPro centerpin and the new Toytec centerpin


the toytec shim slides onto the center pin


then slid the center pin through the shim and screwed the centerpin through the leafs and bolted it back up nice and tight


I could have probably used the AP center pin, but I would rather have a longer pin than barely enough


this is how I got the leaf spring nub back into its perch for both sides, basically used the bottle jack to move the axle back enough to where I could then by hand work the axle back a bit until the nub slid into the perch


then bolted up the U-bolt flip kit (I cut the excess of the centerpin off so it would be flush with the new base plate)


now onto the other side, basically rinse and repeat for the other side and as I said at the beginning there is most likely a better and safer way of doing this, this is how I ended up doing it and it worked very well




thats basically it for installing the toytec shims, easier than I thought it was going to be, although a bit challenging at first to get the centerpins out and get the new ones in with the shims attached


here is the final product




pinion angle before/after



looks better now that the 3* shims are in, my vibs are still there, but they have been reduced a good bit, they are bearable now



thanks for looking and hope this helps someone! I put this together since either my searching skills suck, or someone just hasnt put together a how-to on toytec shims, this was a first for me and it was a good experience

 

here's what I did for the bumpstops to be mounted on the strike plate up top

comparison between the factory bump and the new daystar bumpstops




then just drill a hole according to what size the stud is in the strike plate on the top, the Daystar stud is 3/8 so I just drilled a 3/8 hole and bolted it right on in there. Did the same for both sides



there is still a good amount of space left even with the bigger bumpstops once all 4 wheels are back on the ground and under her own weight

 

Great write up. If you host your pictures on imgur you can resize them accordingly, just a heads up. Good job nonetheless.

 

thanks! ya ive been wondering why all my pictures are extremely huge, completely forgot that I can select the size that I want , thanks for that, Ill get that fixed

 

Do the shims help any? How was your ride before? I have the AP STD's with the street tacos carrier drop bracket, my angle is pretty good and i have little to no vibes, didn't see a need for shims. AP also says they don't need it... but hey maybe it helps!

 

they did help a little yeah, the vibs around 40 are a lot better than they used to be and at 70 there still there, I have a driveshaft spacer I still need to install and ive also been thinking about getting a Cb drop from OME and that should hopefully reduce/get rid of the vibrations, but none the less yes, the shims did help

 

How do you like the Allpro leaf pack? How is the ride compared the stock rear springs? Still trying to decide on a rear spring pack for my truck.

 

Thanks great description and images.

 

I love my Allpro standards, they ride really nice. compared to stock, they ride a lot better and are smoother. The APs have 11 leafs compared to the stock 3 I believe, so the spring rate is better which allows for a smoother ride. I'd reccomend these Allpros, very well built

no prob! and thanks!

 

Thanks for the writeup! Those are the 2.5" bump stops?

 

no prob, and nope they are the 4.5" bump stops

 

Ohh, dang! Alright, I think I'm just gonna do this on my next tacoma hopefully

 

Bump! I'm gonna be doin this actually, great info

 

Thanks for the write-up. I was curious about the construction of the Toytec shims and your photos helped clear up a question I had about them (whether I needed a super tall head on the center pin).

I wanted to make one point in your process in case someone else trips across the thread. Where you show using patio blocks under your bottle jack like this.



This is usually a bad idea. Concrete can fail when used like this, particularly bad are CMU/cinder blocks used as jack stands. It's not so much that they can't take weight but that it's easy to start a crack if the bottom of the jack isn't flat and spreading the load. A rock or if they jack rocks towards an edge the force concentrates and starts the crack. So at least put a piece of plywood between the patio block and jack to cushion it.



Those patio blocks are dense so you probably weren't at much risk but it's safer to use all wood blocks or stacking plywood when doing stuff like this.