ReadyLift 69-5510 and Pro Comp 65660K kits for 2wd 5 lug 2005-2011 Tacomas - Installation problems

These two kits are two of the few (if not the only ones) for 2wd 5 lug Tacomas (2nd generation from 2005-2011). They are both 2.75 front strut spacers with 1.75 rear add a leaf that can allow you to put up to 31" tires. ReadyLift has an instructional video on Youtube that shows you how 'easy' it is (the link is below). But it may not seem as easy as it looks (at least it wasn't for me). So here are some of the struggles (and solutions) I faced while installing the Pro Comp 65660K on my Tacoma.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7w_Hg8JoKLY&index=1&list=WL

PLEASE READ EVERYTHING AS IT MIGHT HELP YOU IN THE PROCESS OF INSTALLING!
I have divided it by sections so look up the titles in CAPS if you are stuck there.

First off, I installed the Pro Comp 65660K kit on my 2006 Toyota Tacoma 2WD (2.7L) access cab (5 lug) manual transmission. As we know, the unbolting and dismantling is easy. The difficult part is putting things back together especially with added stuff on original parts.

-DON'T TRY TO DO IT BY YOURSELF (UNLESS YOU'RE SUPER EXPERIENCED AND HAVE ADVANCED TOOLS).

In the video, the instructions seem 'easy' but if you're not an experienced mechanic like me, it is not as easy as it looks. Let me tell you straight out, have another person working with you (or even 3 guys won't hurt) and it will make this 100 times easier than doing it all alone.

Cars that are newer (less than 10 years) it is fairly easy to unbolt torqued bolts just with a regular ratchet and your own man strength. But older cars or cars that have old rusty stuck bolts will require a break bar or a high torque impact wrench to unbolt. I recommend applying PB Blaster Penetrating lube the night before on all the bolts.

-TOOLS/MATERIALS

*I loaned most of the tools and materials from friends. The extra jacks and jack stands, impact wrench and couple of other hand tools.
*Tools like break bar, spring coil compressor, 20-200 ft/lb torque wrench, and C-clamps I loaned them from Autozone for free (just pay deposit, you get your money back).

To start, aside from the required sized tools, sockets, wrenches, etc, you need:

1. (2) 3-ton jacks that are in good condition.
2. (4) workable jack stands.
3. (2) bottle or scissor jacks. These will help to sustain the control arms so they don't hang too low and also help sustain the rear leaf springs when you remove the U-bolt bracket. If they are too short or don't reach use blocks of stable wood for added extra height. Or you can also use extra jacks (if you have more than 1).
4. Break bar (if you have rusty old bolts that can't remove).
5. If you don't own an air compressor or power air tools like me, then you need to get yourself a high torque impact wrench (at least 200 ft/lb torque) with a pair of batteries.
6. A cutting wheel or hacksaw (I used the hacksaw) to cut the long strut bolts.
7. (2) 6" C-clamps that you can buy from Autozone and return them after you're done with them (just keep the package and receipt).
8. Spring coil compressor tool to rotate the top of the strut 120 degrees. (You can loan it for free at your local Autozone).
9. (1) 20-200 ft/lb torque wrench (you can also loan it at Autozone).
10. Thread locker for the control arm bolts.
11. I also recommend having different lengths and ratchet sizes for the required sized sockets (like extensions, swivel sockets, long and short sockets, different size ratchets, wrenches, etc).

**BEFORE REMOVING THE CONTROL ARMS (LOWER AND UPPER) PLACE A JACK UNDER THE ROTOR/LCA TO HOLD IT IN PLACE WHEN YOU REMOVE THE BOLTS.

UNBOLT EVERYTHING STEP BY STEP AS IT SHOWS IN THE VIDEO AND INSTRUCTIONS.


Some of the struggles I had and my tips on how to deal with them:

-HOW TO ROTATE TOP OF THE STRUT 120 DEGREES

One of the main questions (if not the main one I had), and I don't know why the major f*ck they forgot to mention such an important step, was how the hell am I supposed to rotate the top of the strut 120 degrees?!! Well you need a spring compressor tool! Because even a 5 year-old knows that right? Well turns out that you need to compress the coils really really tight (and this is where the impact wrench comes in handy) to free up the tightness and pressure of the top of the strut. Once you have tightened the coils enough, the top circle with the 3 bolts will move freely. When doing this, make sure the lower end of the coil stays in place with the circular bracket thing. As in, don't let the lower tip end of the coils stretch out far from where they are supposed to fit because you're gonna have a hard time trying to fit it back in. This actually happened to me. The lower end of the coil stretched outside the bracket and it is almost impossible to put it back in. Luckily, it didn't stretch out too far and I was able to fit it back in. But before you start loosening the spring compressor tool, make sure the strut assembly fits correctly back into the suspension. Make sure the lower end of the strut fits correctly into the lower mount and check if the bolt goes though. Also, check if the top of the strut is in the right angle of the three bolt holes. After you check if everything fits correctly, you can start loosening the compressor tool, this will bring the coils back to their natural position and will tighten the top of the strut.

-PUTTING EVERYTHING BACK TOGETHER (FRONT) When your're putting everything back, make you sure to check everything before bolting/torquing. Follow the steps on the parts you need to bolt back in the order the video/instructions tell you to. I placed a jack under the rotor and lower control arm (before unbolting) just to hold it and prevent it from lowering too much when you remove the bolts. Doing this made it easier when I put back the strut and upper control arm with the two bolts.

-END LINKS RE-INSTALLATION PROBLEMS When I was installing the strut back into the suspension, I noticed that the end link didn't reach back into the sway bar. The bolt that goes up couldn't reach so i couldn't put the bushings and bolt from the top. If this happens to you, the solution is to remove the other end link from the other side. By removing both end links, the sway bar can now move and adjust to the correct position so you could install both bushings (the ones that go over and below the sway bar).

-UNBOLTING THE REAR

WORK ON ONE SIDE AT A TIME
**BEFORE YOU REMOVE THE U-BOLTS, PLACE 2 BOTTLE/SCISSOR JACKS ON OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE LONGER (TOP) LEAF SPRING. PUTTING THESE SMALL JACKS WILL HOLD THE SPRINGS SO THEY DON'T FALL HARSHLY WHEN YOU REMOVE THE U-BOLTS AND BRACKET THAT HOLD THE SPRINGS TOGETHER. ALSO, THIS PREVENTS THE AXLE FROM LOWERING AND OVEREXTENDING THE BRAKE LINE, WHICH COULD DAMAGE IT. DO NOT REMOVE THE SMALL JACKS UNTIL YOU HAVE INSTALLED THE NEW U-BOLTS WITH THE BRACKET.

As it is shown in the video, put the jack on the middle axle housing and place 2 stands on the side rails. Then, place the 2 bottle jacks on opposite ends of the longer (top) leaf spring. If you only have one bottle/scissor jack, place one on one side and place a jack stand on the opposite side at the same level. When I was removing the u-bolts and the bracket, the leaf springs lowered and fell on my head almost yanking the break line. This scared the crap out of me because I thought the jack stands had broken and the car was going to smash me. To my relief, it was just the leaf springs that fell abruptly and lowered more than they should've. That's why I recommend putting the small jacks or another pair of jack stands so they can support the weight of the leaf springs. Keep them there until you have securely bolted the new U-bolts with the bracket back onto the leaf springs. After securing the leaf springs with the bottle jacks and removing the u-bolts with the bracket, put the 2 C-clamps a few inches from the middle bolt. Remove the bolt that is holding the springs and gradually release or loosen the C-clams. (This and the next steps can be seen in the instructional video).

-BOLTING BACK THE REAR SUSPENSION When you are installing the new U-bolts, make sure the new middle bolt holding the leaf springs is aligned with the hole that is in the middle of the bracket. This can be done by gradually tightening each u-bolt (4 bolts). Tighten them in an 'X' form and then gradually tighten them and check that that the top part of the bolt is going in the right direction towards the hole in the middle of the bracket. You have to play around with them to get the bolt centered (use the impact wrench).

**Everything else is basically shown in the video. However, the video doesn't show the 'what if you get stuck here' parts. That is why I decided to post this long but hopefully helpful piece of information for all of you noobs like me that are going to install the kit yourselves. These were some of the struggles I faced while I was installing this kit with my dad. We thought it was going to be easy because we trusted the video but there were a couple of parts where we got stuck and had to figure it out by ourselves. I hope my tips and personal experience helps some one in need. Let me know if it did please. That will make me feel better haha

Remember, always be safe all the time when working under your car and if you think that you cannot remotely do it or think that you will or have damaged something in your car, leave an expert do the job. I hope this helped!


Before lift, after lift (with stock tires), after lift with Kumho AT51 30x9.5 tires

 

Nice write up lift/tires looks good

One thing I did instead of compressing my springs was slightly bolt the top in and shove a rod in the bottom hole of the shock and rotate the shock that way. A spring compressor is most likely the better way but it worked for me since I didn't have a compressor on me and the truck was already appart.
Also I've seen a few ways to remove the front shocks from their home (removing lca or uca). I suggest doing the latter because our uca has 2 easy bolts to remove instead of a thru bolt like the 6 lugs.

 

Yea I had to go to Autozone half way through the installation to rent the stupid compressor tool.

And that's a good idea (removing the UCA). I would have never thought of that! Haha

 

Happy to hear that it worked out for you - i couldn't offer advice in your 'help!' post - simply because having gone through the investigative pre-install process, i knew that it was generally a pain in the arse to install and setup correctly - life is too short for that shit, and i was more than willing to pay someone else to take on that grief.

So, how do you find your lift now? Appearance and ride wise? I know it gave me satisfaction in not having an underachieving factory "low-rider" any longer.

 

^^^^^^^
Why can I only like this once

 

Yea I wanted to have the experience of doing it myself and it seemed 'simple enough' to install it myself but yea it was a pain in the ass if you don't have any experience. I also wanted to save some money rather than pay someone and not knowing if they treated my babe with respect (if you know what i mean) haha

And the ride is good. I love the new height and look. It has lost some power though but it's not too bad. I don't tow or drive a lot of uphill mountains or anything so it isn't that bad. I just wished they made 5 lugs taller looking with bigger stock tires but oh well.

I notice your taco has a grill guard. I would like to add one to mine later on. What price range am i looking at? And how's the install? Is it worth it?

 

Did you upsize your tires at the same time? shouldn't be any power loss with a lift/level alone. I didn't see any mention of a tire upsize concurrent with your lift/level.

Mine is an ARB off-road bumper. As my signature indicates, I'm armored up for the mean-streets/to sooth my paranoia about congestion and idiots around here. It's not a cheap endeavor.. i paid around $1450.00 CDN at the time to buy the bumper - but it is airbag compliant, with a proper collision crush zone (unlike our truck's stock bumpers - they aren't required to be NTSA crash compliant). I did the installation myself over a weekend, taking my time. It was straight-forward - hardest bit was to find a neighbor to grab an end of the bumper and lift it up onto the subframe.

The off-road bumper is something you more usually find on the 4x4 or prerunner version of our truck.. i'm definitely an odd-ball in the herd of Tacomas. I'm only going off-road, if i get run off-road..

 

I see in another thread - that yes, you went up to 30" tires - I too noted a bit of sluggishness going up to 29.3" (stock is 26.9") and it took a few weeks to adapt to the new shifting regimine (mine is manual tranny). My desired next tire bump-up to 235/85/16 may necessitate a re-gearing as it brings that up to 31.7" .. fortunately i have plenty of rubber remaining on my 225/75R16's to push that off for another year or so..

 

Haha yea better protect yourself from all those crazies and thank you giving me an estimate on the bumper!

 

Another rear shock to use us the one for the Pre-Runner or 4x4. It has the necessary increase in travel and is properly valves for the truck depending on the type of AAL. I'm running a Fat Bob's Garage kit with the short AAL(supposedly stiffer) and the 4x4/Pre-Runner shocks work great.

 

looks good bro im trying too lift mine same height i have a standard cab yho! where did you get your kit at and how much are they thanks!!

 

I bought the Pro Comp one on Amazon for $230 (at $280 in other sites). I believe the ReadyLift is more expensive ~ $300

 

cool thanks bro!!

 

Do you need new rear shocks after adding the AALs?

 

Yes. The 5 lug shock will be too short.

 

Which would you recommend? (I know that's like, a hella vague question lol)

 

Or if I were to (hypothetically) go to a pick n pull, what model truck could I get them off of?

 

Once you do the 2" aal your can fit anything meant for the rear of 6 lug Tacomas that were made for 0-1" lift. I have fox 2.0s but I know alot of people will do the bilstein 5100s. You could also get a set of yellow trd shocks from someone cheap that's trying to get rid of them. (Only the rear fits though).