Sagging after possibly hitting pot hole, and installing skid plates

Hey TW,

After installing skid plates, and possibly hitting a pot hole at speed, I noticed my rear end started sagging, and leaf springs flattened, especially the driver side.

Truck also has the tube style front and rear steel bumpers, and a cap, so possibly 600+ lbs extra weight.

(Picture before the sagging started)

Questions:
1. Would AAL just solve my sagging, or would I end up with a lift, if yes, how much of a lift?
2. In the future I am considering upgrading to Elka 1" lift suspension (front and rear), should I go directly to that and avoid AAL?
3. Should I consider something else?

School me

 

If the sagging only started after hitting hole at speed, is it possible you have a cracked leaf spring back there?

 

I guess it is a possibility, but I will have to look in the daylight to see. I didn't hear any suspicious noises after it happened, and I tend to go over those holes fairly regularly. Biggest difference is the addition of skid plates, a few weeks ago. Also, DS seems a little worse, but PS is flat too. Could both sides crack at the same time?

 

OEM springs? First, I'd check for cracks in them. It's possible. The driver side does lean in our trucks. Don't forget that. A cap and rear tube bumper isnt that much extra weight. The front bumper won't affect rear sag.
If you're planning to upgrade then I would go all in for a new set of rear leafs as opposed to an aal.
Nice looking truck too btw.

 

Thanks! Suspension is currently oem. I know my mods are each "light weight", but they are starting to add up. I never noticed DS lean before on my truck, right now it is more of a lower sag than the other side. And the leaf springs seem to be bent kinda weird, I have to take a picture later.

 

While you're poking around on the truck, you can always inspect the front springs too. Pretty unlikely, but one of those could've cracked too I suppose.

 

No clear cracks, but the leaf springs are beyond flat, front end is lower than the middle.

What's the verdict TW? New leaf packs required, or can I just AAL?

 

New leaf packs required. An AAL would be the backbone bearing the load of those worn leafs

 

My leaf springs (non tsb) on my 2013 look about the same. Flat, no crown to them at all, and that’s without a cap, skids, or any constant weight in the bed. I think leafs are the way to go for you.

I’m replacing my flat ones with a set of tsb leafs I got for free because new leafs are pretty expensive and I don’t want the lift that Dakar’s and most other aftermarket leafs provide.

 

I want a very small lift, 1/2 in to 1 in. But like you said, I can't find anything in that range. But I'm also wondering, maybe if I install leafs that normally would give a 2 in lift, would it be less in my case, on the account of all the extra weight?

 

Also wondered that myself, as I would eventually like to add a cap and keep things in the bed. It looks like Deaver makes some springs that offer 1” of lift or so. Not sure if they’d sag due to a cap/armor/bumper (Id hope not), but they’ll run ya about 800 bucks. I’m sure there’s some people on here who run these

https://deaverspring.com/product-category/leaf-springs/toyota/

 

Good link, thanks! Heard a little about that brand, but not nearly as much as Bilstein or OME. Gotta do some comparing now.

I noticed they have "stock location", meaning no lift? Might be an option for you.

 

Another thing: some of the Deaver leaf springs mention lift height in inches, while others talk about bed load in pounds. Why not both ratings for every leaf?

Edit: gonna give them a call on Monday morning. Will update here with results.

 

Over the weekend, I did some calculations and realized that my truck is damn heavy. 600 lbs extra weight carried on a daily basis, and frequent towing up to 640 lbs tongue weight.

I called Deaver Springs with this info, and they said none of the products listed on their website are good for me. They will get back to me with a custom spring quote. Also called Elka suspension people, and will get a matching front and rear, sometime in the future.

 

I was waiting for you to mention the heavy, heavy, heavy trailer you're towing. This has definitely contributed to flattening your OEM leaf springs.

You may want to investigate airbags for when you're towing and deflate the when not towing.

 

I thought the heavy trailer might do some damage but with weight-distributing hitch everything was fine. And recently, I haven't done any heavy towing - mostly driving empty to work.

 

this.. i just had this installed, just enough ..
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Front-Lift...-4Runner-FJ-Cruiser-Leveling-Kit/283662495123

$40 Maxtrac Suspension 810010 Suspension Lift Kit Component (Cast Lift Blocks)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GQFE1JS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1