Drop Bracket Anonymous

Did more research. Apparently 37 is for the runners. I also saw where someone tapped it and used motor oil as a lubricant and it turned out fine. I think after work I'm going to try and tap and re thread so i can keep using the m10x1.25 bolt. If that doesn't work then I'll take it to a shop. It threads, it just wont torque down- hoping that's my saving grace lol

 

You'll just have to see how it feels. The reason it is popping when tensioned might be because the threads are barely engaging. You definitely want full engagement on these. Good luck.

 

Agreed. Preciate it. It's still sitting in the driveway on jack stands. Will keep ya posted.

 

I have had to rethread a couple of holes on my truck now. I went back and forth on how I wanted to go about it and ended up using a helicoil kit as it allowed me to run the factory hardware and maintains better retention than regular threads.

 

I'm going to look into that more now. Got new hardware, cleaned out the holes with brake cleaner, and used loctite but the threads are too far gone now. I'd prefer to keep the stock bolt as I'm worried going up a size will mean the bolts wont fit through the holes on the balljoint without modification.

 

Bump

 

Bump. All parts have been acquired. Now the only deciding factor is do I do it at:

A - Work
B - DFW Toyota Specialty Shop

List of shit to be done:

Vehicle: 1999 Toyota Tacoma

-Reweld factory crossmember (removing drop bracket lift)
-replace OEM coils on Billies with eibachs
-Lower balljoints
-front end bushings
-clutch, flywheel, and bearings
-clutch hydros
-alignment
-mount and balance 4 wheels and tires.

 

Anyone still have some parts laying around....

I'm looking for the D/S front spindle to fit my FabTech lift.



14 DCSB TRDOR

 

Hey fart knockers. Copied and pasted from another board I'm on.


Here's my truck before:


There is one shop that I trust with my vehicle, and that would be Tandem Offroad. @TandemOffroad on Instagram and you can find their website here:
http://www.tandemauto.com/off-road.html

They are a specialty TOYOTA and LEXUS offroad shop ONLY. They know their craft exceptionally well, and they take an immense amount of pride in their work. If you ask anyone with a Land Cruiser, 4Runner, Tacoma, or Tundra for a recommended shop, Tandem's name is always the first to make an appearance, and it is the name said over and over. It doesn't matter if you have a Tacoma like I do, an overseas Hilux ute or surf, petrol or diesel, FJ40, 55, 60, 80, 100, 105, or even 200 Series Land Cruisers, these gentlemen will take care of you, and do what you need.




I was looking for the correct shop, and soon I saw a friend's Tacoma in the parking lot. I knew I was in the right spot. Here's some of the vehicles at Tandem at the moment:



This is @Shadowrunner_Tacoma on Instagram:



Both technician's vehicles at Tandem Offroad, Pablo (Tacoma) and Brandon (FJ Cruiser):

Both trucks are running Tandem Offroad's Custom Model 612 Wheels, and they are sweet. The wheels are custom made by Tandem, for Toyotas and Lexus trucks. They are 17" wheels, and have the perfect offset and backspacing.
"The outer lip has been given additional thickness for to resist gouges that may be encountered during low PSI conditions. The 12 ridges on the outside have been placed there in order to protect the valve stem from damage. The six spoke design offers excellent strength."
https://tandem-offroad.myshopify.com/products/model-612

A supercharged Lexus LX450 (also known as the Lexus version of the Land Cruiser):


A real deal Toyota Hilux Surf RHD Turbo Diesel:


As soon as I arrived, the pros at Tandem Offroad started going to work on my Tacoma. Before I knew it, or even though to grab pictures, my truck was in the air, wheels off, rotors on a table, and LCA's were nowhere to be found!!

The front rear cross member from the factory had been cut to allow the drop of the differential. You can clearly see it here. At this point also, they had removed the rear aftermarket crossmember that is a part of the drop bracket lift.

Here Pablo, Brandon, and Alex are removing my front differentials and axles, as well as the front crossmember:

Yes, there are multiple stands in place to ensure the safety of the vehicle, parts, and employees, I just didn't have the best angle.
My front differential and axles, along with the front crossmembers of the drop bracket lift.

Pablo grinding flush the OE mating surface to prepare fitment of a new crossmember.

You can see here that with the remove of the diff drop and the aftermarket crossmembers, about 8" of ground clearance should be restored to the taco.

Back to the hotel, as well as the bars, and again, no pics to be had :dude: everything's getting recharged and up and filled to the top!

Day two of work being done-
The new front rear crossmember has been welded in place, and everything is shaping back up! You can't even tell that the crossmember was cut out in the first place!! These guys do awesome work!!


More updates shall come! Thanks folks!

 

Wait, where did all my front end stuff go?





There it is!

There wasn't a lot of picture worthy work going on today, but today we moved the spindles, and spindle spacers. Also removed coil spacers and installed the new Eibach/Toytec coils and reset the Bilstein 5100's. Not only that, but we also installed new upper and lower balljoints as well!!

 

Here's my front differential and axles stabbed back in!

and now with the lower shock mounts bolted in and the lower control arms attached!

 

Bought a first gen with a big pro comp drop bracket setup and the front passenger ball joint spacer has a chunk missing. Found a fab/Toyota guy in town that said he’d remove all of that, sort out the fab for X-member and instal a 2.5 rough country all the way around and sort out a plethora of other odds and ends it needs for 2700. After reading up on drop kits I feel like that’s as good as I’m gonna find. Just bought the thing too. Hi, my name is sogoku and this is what I get for not knowing my shit until after I’ve bought the thing.

 

Shelling out big bucks is worth it to me, and I specifically set aside the funds for it. That being said, I’m in mine for less than that.

Is the chunk from the “can” missing, or is it just the cutout for access? Mine was pretty jagged and looked fucked up, but was normal.

I bought a crossmember from a forum member here, reused my shocks and other shit from my RCD/Pro-Comp lift, etc.

I would not install a rough country lift whatsoever.

 

The passenger ball joint spacer that looks like a potato or grenade has a piece at the top missing. I don’t know enough about the stuff to feel comfortable driving it. I’m sure it’d be okay enough but I have a backup vehicle I’m using at the moment. I have 265 75 r16s and I think they’re too wide for stock so the half-measure lift is to clear those. After the truck purchase and this bill I’m preparing for it’d be a really really long time before I can get a super fancy setup. I’m 95% on road and 5 off. I just want something I can go camping in and cross a stream or two. Down the road, depending on money I’ll revisit the lift again. Open to advice though. Bilstein 5100s in front and prob the rear too, they’ve been painted over so who knows though. Leaves are all flat so a lot of that price is sorting out a lot of issues with the suspension as a whole. Kicking myself over this truck right now. I’m even thinking I should have just got another old beater jeep. Smh

 

Realistically, I wouldn’t even bother redoing the drop bracket. Seriously. If you don’t plan on doing crazy stuff, just rollwith what you have.

Call 4wheelparts. I needed a couple replacement parts for my drop bracket to get it back proper, and they sent them to me in a day or two.

Get a spare “grenade spacer” or two, it’ll probably be $60 at the most, replace one or both, and just go with it.

Spend half of the $2,700 on fancier shocks and leafs, thing will ride like a dream. Sack the rest away in savings.

 

These were with 295/75R17’s. I’m sure 265’s are fine.

Just replace the spacers and get moving.

 

its on about a 6” and I’d like to be about a 2.5-3. I didn’t know what a drop bracket kit was at the time and I thought I could just swap suspensions bc it’s a bit crummy at 65-70 mph. Come to find out there’s no sway bar. If I get the grenades replaced is there a rear end setup, maybe adjustable shackle , that I can get to be high enough for level in this for now and adjust it when I can get to the front end? I do want a bit of rake in the dream image of my minds eye. This is how she sits right now. It bugs me that there’s more wheel well gap in front than back. The wheels look a little better in person.

 

This is the spacer.

 

Yeah, that looks pretty fucked up. Get two new ones.

If you’re set on doing the reconversion, just don’t get the RC lift. Billies with medium springs, and get your rear sorted.

 

I have 5100s in the front, can they be adjusted to different coils?