Leveling/Lift Options

First - I will preface this with the fact that I am a new Taco owner and member of Tacoma World. I bought a '06 4x4 Crew Cab Long Bed TRD SR5 with 110k miles at the end of April. I have attached a picture. I am taking her tomorrow to have the front windows tinted, 4 inch nerf bars added, and in-channel window visors installed. It is currently sitting on 265/70R17 tires. If the tire size calculator I used is correct they are roughly 32 inch. They are still fairly fresh so I don't anticipate changing them for a bit but when I do I want to clear a bigger tire. My question for this thread (and believe me I have googled this fountain dry) is what are my least expensive but best options? I do not want to go too big, I was thinking <3 inch. I have been reading that I can do a leveling kit to bring the front end level with the back end but leveling kits aren't that great. I have also read (and am probably most interested in this) about Bilstein 5100 shock absorbers that are adjustable to bring the truck level. My follow up to this route would be - how easy is install for just the front shocks for someone who is good at oil changes but that's about it? - how much of a visual difference do these make on the truck? - I have read that setting them to 1.75 would level the truck, how much bigger of a tire can I clear with such a setting? - Would anyone happen to have a similar set up that could shoot me a pic so I can see? Again, I have googled the mess out of it but I can't really tell if I am looking at a truck truly sitting on what I am talking about or if it has a full lift or some other kind of suspension mods.

 

2nd post in this thread should do it for you. https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/cheap-but-good-lift.367047/#post-10010624

If not, dig further and look at BJMoose's daily driver build thread.

 

Here's what I did for about 2" all around:

Front: Bilstein 5100s set at 0" w/ OME 884 coils. I had Wheeler's assemble these so I didn't have to deal with a spring compressor.
Rear: Bilstein 5100s w/ General HD Leaf Packs

I don't like AALs unless you're adding them to brand new leaf packs. You could also go with Wheeler's HD packs to get a similar lift in the rear.

It looks like this--though the photo is a few months old and I think the rear has settled a touch more so it looks closer to level now:


I'd have to add it up again, but it's in the $1000 ballpark to do that.

It rides great! Handles a load much better too.

 

so....

What you are saying (and from reading that other thread) is that it is not as simple as just adding the Billies in the front to get an extra couple of inch tire clearance?

 

I'm of the opinion that if you're going to do it, you should do it right the first time and not take shortcuts.

5100s are good shocks, but I wouldn't preload them with factory coils--I'd use them with coils that will do the lifting on their own and leave them set at 0. It'll ride better that way.

In the back, I wouldn't do an AAL on leaf springs that are pushing 10 years old (or even 3-4 years old like mine were). Replace the entire things. Then swap the rear shocks too because they're cheap, easy, and everything is new.

Regarding tire size, I'm not sure what you could fit with a lift similar to what I have. I'm still running 265/65 R17s until I burn through the tires that came on my truck. Next year, I was just going to do 265/70.

 

I guess I'm not getting out of this for less than $1k...that is going to be a hard sell with the wife, especially if I do it when I add new tires too

 

Thanks all for the replies - very helpful. I think what I will do is wait until something needs fixing and do it all at once. i.e. if I need to replace a shock or leaf I'll just do the whole project then instead of nixing working parts now. I could probably pitch it to the wife easy if I say 'It NEEDS this stuff to function properly'

What other inexpensive mods are out there? Like I said, I am getting the nerf bars and window visors tomorrow. I've seen an LED light bar in the hood scoop that looks cool but I question the legality in NC (I am in North Carolina) and if it would pass inspection.

I have also seen someone talking about TacomaWorld stickers. How would I get one of those? I am a bit of a sticker connoisseur

 

You know, on an '06 your factory shocks are probably getting tired and aren't working as well as they were originally. Leafs too.

Heated seats cost me less than $100 and a couple hours of time. But, that may be semi-pointless in NC. I just drove down there a few weeks ago. I have a cousin and friends in the Concord/Kannapolis/Huntersville area. Nice area, though I think I'd miss the more dramatic change of seasons that we have.

I also love my OEM bed mat. Keeps things from sliding around.

I'll stop being a bad influence now.

 

I did add a bed mat, it is extremely underrated as to how valuable it is not having stuff slide everywhere.

As for the older shocks/leafs. I have started noticing a squeak coming from the rear, mainly the driver's side. I would think this is a sign that they have dried up and could do for some lubing and eventual replacing.

 

It's probably from the leafs. Usually happens when they get dirty. If you spray them with wd40 or lithium grease it'll probably stop for a while. On my OEM leafs, I ended up spraying them with brake cleaner then added bike inner tube pieces between the leafs at the ends. That quieted them for good.

All leaf packs do it. Folks do similar things to quiet Dakars. My Generals are barely starting to make noise.

 

Can you attach a pic of the bike tubes? I want to see what you are talking about so I can make this noise stop!

 

I never took one when I had those leafs. I don't have an inner tube between mine currently.

But you're looking for something like this to cut up and place between each leaf--mostly at the ends.

 

Ha - I knew what an inner tube was, I was thinking more along the lines of it in the leafs...

Do you just wedge apart the leafs where they come in contact with each other and slide a piece of the rubber in?

 

Yes, exactly. Primarily at the end of each leaf. That's where the noise comes from.

 

I just solved the squeak problem. So simple. I can't believe it actually worked. I didn't have any inner tube, and I am something of a modern day Macgyver and hate going to the store when I 'can make something work that I have lying around', so I used a workout resistance band. I cut it into large squares and folded it into compact smaller ones. It is just a thinner version of what an inner tube is made with and once it was in the leaf it compressed down quite a bit. I got down there and pried one of the ends of leaf apart and slid some rubber in. Shook the truck, squeaked still. Pried the other end of the leaf apart and slid some rubber in. Shook the truck, squeaked. Went to the other side, pried, slid, shook, squeaked. At this point I had lost hope. Figured there was no way 1 more piece of rubber would do it. Well, I went through with it, I had come that far. Shook - silence. I couldn't believe it. I had to take it around the block and see for myself. Unfortunately I couldn't roll the windows down bc they were tinted this morning and they taped my controls off so I wouldn't roll them down until at least Thursday. I listened close and cracked the door some to hear. Nothing. Nothing at all. So simple and effective. Thanks for the tip!

 

Great!

I have to do that to my new leaf packs soon. They squeak sometimes.