HELP!! 01 tacoma NEWB Suspension help

I recently bought the 01 tacoma for a great deal and it looks like the suspension needs a tune up, Upper and lower ball joints as well as struts and tie rods, I am confused because I don't know if these are stock struts used with this lift kit that came on the truck already??? Also the upper ball joint sits in this weird ball looking extender thing and I am not sure if its one whole piece or the ball joint can actually be pressed out and a new one pressed in?? PLEASE HELP!! Any help would be greatly appreciated.. I am including pictures here with what I am dealing with. Stock or aftermarket struts? And is that a one piece upper ball joint that can be removed or not, I dnt know what lift kit this is or any information on it?... Looks like a 3-4" lift??? Thank You again

 

That is scary looking from the pics, looks like your cv's are leaking too. Looks to be a drop bracket lift. Definable not stock with any of it. Hard to tell what brand with all the rust.

 

Driver side CV just cracked open the other day as well.

 

Wtf is that on top of your spindle?

 

I have not one clue lol. This why I am so confused, Ive never seen something like this before

 

What you have is a spacer lift. The block on top of the shock and grenade looking thing are not stock and to be honest I would get ride of them. Getting some decent lift kits are not expensive, and your truck will love you for it.

 

Is that a Ball joint spacer?

 

iggy, Are they just spacers sitting on top of stock struts? Or do aftermarket struts come with stuff like this? I read the use of this kit is to keep somewhat "stock suspension" without going crazy. But I am honestly looking to just replace the whole thing at this point

 

Yeah it's just a block on top of the shock and spindle. You can pull them off now to keep the CV's from stressing out any more.

 

The coilover looks to be stock or a stock replacement.With it being so rusty it's hard to tell if it's aftermarket or not. Like others said, remove the 2 spacers and replace the coilover/ whatever other wear items need replaced.

 

It has a drop bracket lift.

You can't just remove the strut and ball joint spacers without also removing the drop bracket itself. Crossmember may have been cut too.

 

Probably true too. The CV boot angle doesn't seem that maxed out for what should be maybe 6" of lift.

 

Squeaky,

If I choose to just keep this kit in the mean time, can I just buy new factory struts and lower ball joints just to fix it for now? Because that is the only problem I am having. The Struts are becoming more shot and the lower ball joints are cracked and leaking. Other than that I have no problems with the lift itself. The truck is used for daily driving and mild snow in jersey winters.

 

Yes,

Factory spec struts and lower ball joints will bolt right in. Get the LBJs in ASAP and make sure to use an OEM joint with new bolts.

 

looks like the old 4" pro comp lift. similar to the trailmaster "crapmaster" lift. that sketchy spindle extension makes me uneasy. theres a reason they were rarely seen...



you cant just remove the strut and spindle spacer. this is a drop bracket lift and the original lca crossmember has more than likely been cut out and replaced with the bolt on crossmembers seen. everything except the uca has been lowered 4". that includes the steering components aswell.

 

Looks like someone used a grenade in place of an upper ball joint

 

How do I replace the struts and mounts for the top end of the strut?

 

Do a search for OME install in the Gen1 forum. There are some good write-ups that show how to to this. Essentially, remove the tire and place a jack under the lower control arm (LCA). Apply some pressure with the jack then loosen the Upper Control Arm mounting bolt/nut (it is hella long and a pain, you will have to use a box end wrench) and remove the top hat bolts (all 3 on your strut) then lower the lower control arm down until all the pressure is off the strut. Pop the lower mounting nut off and pull the bolt out. The entire strut will come out as 1 piece then.

 

Also, if you can afford it, ditch that lift ASAP. I'd rather have the 6" fabtech than that... that spindle to UCA looks dangerous.

 

I would remove my phone number off a public website quickly... Privates messages are for that sort of thing. Who exactly are you addressing with your post (Post #20)?