Reposting- Need advice installing a lift on a 2nd Gen double cab

Reposting this because I initially put it in the wrong forum- So I recently purchased my second Tacoma, its a 2010 Double Cab 4x4 TRD offroad with a short bed. The truck is 100% stock so naturally I want to mod it out and while I have some experience with this on my previous truck, it is my first 2nd gen so I had some questions and figured what better people to ask than you folks on TW. The lift I wanted to do was a suspension coil-over set up and go about 3" since I want to run 33" BFG/ATs with no rub. I was looking at 5100 series Bilstein struts and shocks, along with leaf springs and leveling kit. I was looking at either OME coil overs or ToyTec which I had on my 4runner, but I wanted to get others opinions on that. My main question is what am I missing? I have read quite a bit about a front diff vibration that occurs after the lift is added. Id rather spend a bit more and do it right than go cheap and screw something up. Any opinions and advice are greatly appreciated, thank you

 

Don't forget your spring upgrade for the rear. 1.5" icon or general 3 leaf add-a-leaf or new leaf springs altogether! If you lift 3" up front you'll end up nose-high otherwise. At that height you also need new UCA'S to get your alignment into spec. My suggestion is to only lift 2" up front to save yourself some $ on UCA'S. There are literally dozens of threads with info on this, so use the searth function. There's also trimming involved to clear 33's regardless of how much lift you've got. Look into the 255/85/16 tire size if you REALLY want the height and want to minimize clearance issues. It's narrow enough not to rub on your control arms without running spacers, just keep in mind your truck will find turning an approx. 33.5" tire considerably tougher.

 

Totally agree with @techride . I did like a 2.5" lift on mine with Bilstein adjustable 5100's with OME coils upfront and Deaver AALs with OME shocks in the rear. Didn't have to change any other parts and my alignment is pretty spot on. Unless you really want 3+ lift difference and have the budget for it..........

 

I appreciate the response! The leaf springs I found come with the Bilstein kit I found along with new UCAs. The kit I found was actually pretty complete, it just didnt have the coil overs, which is why I asked Toytec or OME. Ive ran both with good results but they were on older vehicles so I wanted to get opinions for the 2nd Gen Taco. I have a buddy that does alignments so I planned on doin that regardless, I figure why chance it just err on the side of caution and do everything right. So you think Ill need to trim the fenders no matter what to run 33"s? Its not a big deal but is there any way around it? Also do you have any advice regarding the front diff vibe? Maybe putting after market CVs? I wanna head off any problems before they start. Thanks again for the responses guys

 

I planned on maxin it out at 3", this is gonna be an offroad truck so I cant go any higher than 3" without risking the NM desert tearing up my suspension which it most certainly will. Saw a poor guy take a Jeep with a 6" fab tech lift out there and literally didnt make it a mile into the trail before the wash started eating his rig, pretty sad sight

 

Wouldn't worry about aftermarket cvs. There's no way around the trimming and removing mud flaps if you end up running 33's. Maybe consider your 32" options or the tire I mentioned in my previous post. I didn't like the idea of trimming either and ended up (happily, I might add) with 265/75/16 tires.

As for the coils to pair with the 5100's the best options are a set of OME or eibach lift coils. Again, something worth doing some research on using the search function.

 

I definitely will, thanks again for the information. OME was my first choice since thats what I ran on my 2001 and they did good on the trails after some adjustments. Ill try to find some more info through the search

 

The front end vibe you speak of is well documented. If you have a vibe issue, and selecting 4x4 makes it go away, then you have a front differential needle bearing on the drivers side that is no good. Grab the inner cv joint and wiggle it up and down. If it appears super sloppy, you can plan on replacing the needle bearing there in the differential. Not that hard to do, and, it happens on non-lifted trucks too! Read the "official front differential vibe thread" on here. I replaced mine with the ecgs bushing, problem gone...