Tacoma Spring refurbishing

idk about hate, just had a lot of things come up that were more important than a business deal, but i haven't been able to successfully make contact with him for months now and due to his first (waiting many months for my order) let downs he said he would send more and he never did. the experience was far from delightful, i tried to pm him, never been a fan of throwing stuff out in public.

 

I've got a spare set of first gen leafs I want to refurbish. I'm thinking just keep the top leaf and add 2 or 3 chevy leafs. I've got a new OME lift up front with just adjustable shackles in the rear. The front lift gave me about 3 inches, so I'd like the rear to be at least level if not a little higher. It sits lower right now with the shackles on the longest setting.

Does anyone know the measurements to cut the Chevy leafs to add to the stock leaf pack? Tried reading the whole thread but couldn't find it in there.

 

Well I pulled the trigger on the TSB springs and added my Wheelers HD 3 leaf add a leaf to em - 7 leafs total.

100% happy with the setup. The rear end is a bit stiffer than it was with the non TSB springs. The rear came up the inch I was looking for as well. I typically dont haul anything ever, so I cant report on this yet.

 

Holy Novel!

 

Ok guys, I've been MIA for awhile and theres a couple of you that are no doubt mad as hell but please consider that I've been homeless for almost a year now & am typing this in front of a carls jr. w/wifi so can't really say I'm back in business...try to bear with me a little longer if ya can & thanks...

 

I think I quoted that backwards. Well, hope Cobra gets it.

 

Hope you do ok Doug. If I was located over there I'd try and help you out, maybe some other members can

 

Has anybody built a leafpack to run with about 6" lift up front? Will be for a 2005 DCSB

 

damnit doogersnot...... wish u was closer, u got a couch here brother... much love

 

Hey thanks matt & I think theres some light at the end of tunnel, or a train coming at me , haha should be better soon

Careful what you wish for brockster haha & truly appreciate the offer brother....does a 12 pack come with couch ?

 

I havent but find some SUA donors if ya do

 

Decided to limit my driveshaft issues and stay with my 4" setup. Picking up some Chevy leafpacks tomorrow to get rid of my blocks. Great info on here!

 

im not joking brother....... and a 12er sounds perfectly fine man. If u need to relocate, u have my number man.

 

I'm looking for some insight on people that have done this mod on their 1st Gen. Right now, I'm set up with stock everything. I've pulled a set of springs off of a Chevy S-10. I will be installing Bilstein 5100s all around and will set the front at the 2.5 (max) setting. If it is possible, can someone glance at my current springs and recommend what I should take from the Chevy springs to give me the 3 inches I'll need to look level. Thanks in advance.

Current springs:



New leafs:

 

Hey, I haven't done this mod yet and don't have a first gen, but I might be able to help you and will at the least bump the thread.

So off topic of your question, you have a 2.7L 4x4 and you want to set the front to 2.5 on the bilsteins? This sounds like a bad idea being you have the 4cyl which I assume weighs less than the 3.4L v6, which the lift numbers are based on. You may end up adding way too much lift up front and putting excessive wear on your cv axles and also causing a bad alignment which leads to bad tire wear. You may want to research some more about lifts for 2.7L 4cyl 4x4s and I would recommend you buy new coils and set the bilstein to zero, letting the coils give you lift instead of a preloaded OEM coil.

To your rear lift situation, try to read some of this thread and maybe the first page (not sure where good info is for ya). If you keep only the top most main Toyota leaf(the one with the bushings/eyelets) then I would add 2 of the chevy leafs under that and see where you end up. Getting your desired lift height isn't going to be an exact science unfortunately.

 

Thanks for the info. I have read about half of this entire thread. Due to Doug's situation he's often hit-or-miss with info which I was getting from PMs. I will look further into other lifts for the 2.7 and see if I can figure out what will work.

 

So im looking to revamp my entire suspension soon but none of the off the shelf leaf packs entice me all that much. I was looking to minimally raise my rear end but have better weight handling. I know i should look for thicker leafs that have less arch but not sure if my current finding is any good. they are brand new and for a 1998 1500 would they be good to start with?


Edit: i understand its a bit of a gamble anytime you are adding leafs like this but just curious if i was in the right direction

Edit 2: for the front im gonna have coilovers so i can match the lift but dont want it crazy rear high as i only have 30" tires

 

I think you are good to go with those leafs. Doug always said and preferred the Chevy leafs for this mod. Take one out and slap it on your current pack and see what it does.

 

@T4RH33L, I've read the whole thread and it seams most of the first gen guys only use their main Toyota spring and support it with 2 or 3 chevy springs cut to fit. It seems like they usually cut the second leaf to match the stock length second leaf and then progressively get 7-8 inches shorter (3.5-4 inch per end). Seems like the OMD was ok with the initial soft compression of the Toyota springs but wanted to quickly reinforce it for loads/wheeling.

EDIT: Don't forget to keep your springs cut elliptically/non centered as the center pin is offset. (I think that's why they cut the second spring to match the factory second spring length)

I too am first gen 97 (I have the shorter springs than the late 97 to 04) and plan to do this mod soon. But my local wrecking yard (B&R) is WAY overpriced (almost the costs of new parts) so I'm hunting craigslist harder than ever.

As far as the front lift goes you can get away with the 3 inches if you do a differential drop. All it is is a couple ~1" spacers and longer mounting bolts and it brings the angles back down.

 

So I rebuilt my spring packs with fresh new Toyota 3+1 leafs. Also cut it close with the new centering pins, didn't need to cut them.

Toyota main
Toyota second
Chevy 3/4 ton
3 leaf 1.5 AAL
Overload


Took some shock measurements and I think I need to take some more and figure out what to do, shock extenders, relocate shock mounts, etc..
New spring only droop 28.5"
OME BP51 extended 25.75"
OME BP51 collapsed 17.25"