Dakar install - lining up center pin with spring perch

I'm in the process of replacing my tired old rear suspension with a set of Dakars and figured something out that I wanted to share in case it can help someone in the future. Haven't seen this mentioned before, so I thought I would. Apologies if people already know about this.

I got done with the driver side and was having a lot of trouble on the passenger side lining up the center pin with the hole in the spring perch. It was a good 2-3" off. Tried pulling the axle forward using a ratchet strap, which I know is a trick a lot of people use, but got kinda nervous about the force I needed to use. Then I decided to try loosening the nuts on the driver side u-bolts. After that I was able to line up the passenger side center pin just with one hand.

Seems like the u-bolts need to be a little loose for both sides to line up easily, so don't torque them until both sides are together. Hopefully this can help someone who encounters this issue in the future.

 

I’m actually wanting to do my own install but have no idea how. Do you know any videos on how to installing rear suspension for a 3rd gen? Can’t seem to find anything online.

 

Any rear suspension install video for 1st, 2nd or 3rd gen Tacomas should be all you need...there are a lot out there for 1st and 2nd gens. The suspension set up is the same assuming all you're doing is shocks and leaf springs (not cutting and custom fabricating anything).

Just make sure you have the proper torque spec numbers handy for your truck as those will likely vary a bit between the generations, but the process of removing and installing the shocks and leaf springs is the same across the board.

 

Thanks for the video. I’ll check it out when I get a chance.