Wheeler's 8 Leaf Pack on 2013 Baja

I finally decided to go with Wheeler's 8 leaf pack with an add-a-leaf to resolve the harshness I was feeling when I hit large bumps with my stock rear 4 leaf pack and Ride Rite air bags. I removed the Ride Rite bags and replaced them with Wheeler's Superbumps as well.

This is the initial stance of the truck with the stock leaf spring and air bags after about 75k miles. Tires are the stock 265/70R16:



You can see that the rear end is sitting lower than the front end, and that is with 5 PSI of air in the ride rite bags. With this set up, every time I would hit something like a cattle guard or decent bump on the highway with speed, I would get a bone jarring jolt from the rear end, which I assumed what ragged out stock spring bottoming out.

I went with the 8 leaf pack with the add-a-leaf based on the fact that I run a topper all the time, and I usually have 300-400 lbs of gear in the truck at all times.

This is what the truck looked like after installing the 8 leaf with the add-a-leaf (9 leaves total) and with my winter 265/75/R16s:




As you can see, even with the little camper (150 lbs of tongue weight) and a full load of gear for a trip, I am still sitting at least 2", maybe even 3" higher than I was with the stock springs. I drove like this for almost 3000 miles waiting for something to settle, but they never did. I also started getting vibration in the drive line on my 1->2 shifts. It was also pretty harsh on washboard roads.

When I finally got the time I decided to pull everything apart and remove the add-a-leaf to see if that would resolve the problem.

Here's the truck with add-a-leaf removed:

The difference is subtle, but the truck is much closer to level now. The stock 8-leaf was pretty much exactly what I needed and the add-a-leaf was overkill. The ride is just slightly rougher than stock in every day driving, and the bigger bumps are managed in a much more progressive way.

Removing the add-a-leaf brought the rear end down 1". With the 9-leaf set up I was at 24 1/2" (~3" of lift) from hub to wheel arch, after removing the add a leaf this dropped to 23 1/4" (~2" of lift). All in all this is the happiest I have been with the truck's suspension since I bought it. Those stock springs are complete garbage, I have no idea why they don't put something like these on from the factory, the expense can't be significantly higher.

 

Good write up. Pics are missing though.

 

Thanks for the heads up, are they working now? Trying to host photos on Google and the permissions or a little wonky.

 

Nothing yet. I usually just link photos from photobucket or something like that.

 

Alright, finally got a chance to get on the laptop and get things sorted out, scrapped google and went the Photobucket route, should be working now.

 

Hey rockhopjohn, awesome post.

Would you mind sharing where you got your springs from?

I just bought a 2014 Baja. I wasn't in the market for only a Baja, but found a used one in pretty great shape.

I noticed the rear sagging a bit at the dealer, but thought that might be the normal rake of a Baja. I wasn't totally plugged into "what's normal" on these trucks (it's my first Toyota, let alone Tacoma). Driving home, it was getting dark and I noticed the lights were a bit high and got a few people flicking their high beams at me. So I hit TW and found this thread.

Stock leaf springs in light-duty trucks/SUVs are notoriously bad in most makes. Rest assured the Tacoma doesn't have the market corned on crappy leaf springs. But I totally agree with your comments - no clue why manufacturers don't spec a better spring. It's not like it's holding the truck up or anything...

One other thing. I found a locked thread in here where someone was talking about their blown rear Baja shocks. It apparently was a source of contention for some members here. FWIW, the left rear in my new-to-me truck was replaced by the dealer I bought it at because it was blown. The right rear is weaping fluid (just noticed that...), so I'm confident I'm on borrowed time. Disappointing.

 

My Baja had a rake from the factory, but it only got worse when the truck was loaded and after 75k miles on the springs. The new leaf springs have leveled the truck and brought rear up about an 1-2" higher than it was stock.

I got the springs from Wheeler's Offroad, @YotaDan who posted above has helped me throughout the process of choosing the springs and then with some different installation and tuning issues. In addition to the springs you probably want to consider some upgraded bump stops. Wheeler's SuperBumps or Timbrens are pretty popular options.

As for the rear shocks, I have 85k miles on them and am by no means easy on the truck. I haven't had any issues with the Bilsteins. In the process of swapping the rear leafs I checked the rears out pretty well and they seemed to be in good shape. I do make a point to clean the truck pretty well after I encounter any salt or do any offroading. Once they go I will probably be upgrading to Kings all the way around; but I expect to get another 30-40k miles out of them.

 

I'm a dolt. In reading too quickly, I clearly missed that. Thanks.

@YotaDan I will be in touch sometime soon.

Happy to hear that about your Bil's. My truck has about 56k miles, but given it's used I can't speak to the life they've had. I have another vehicle that I run Bilsteins on and they get pounded, but have held up remarkably well. As in, zero issues over their life. So I was surprised by these.

I'm searching and haven't gotten there yet (my weekend internet project on here...), but do you know if these are just revalved 5160s? As in, 5160s valved/tuned to TRD specs? I'm looking down the barrel of having to replace one and thought about just upgrading both at once. It's a heck of a nice "stock" shock setup, but for a little more Benjamin Franklins...

Thanks.

 

One other thing about the leaking rear shocks. If you are running hard off road on ragged out springs

That is my understanding. TRD tuned 5160s on the rear and 2.65" diameter smooth body 9100s on the front.

 

Thought it was 6112 in front

 

Nope, the 6112 wasn't around in 2013.

 

Ahhh