First Time Lifter Requesting Advice

Hello All,

I have around 170,000 miles on my stock TRD OR suspension, suffice to say it's served me well, however a recent trip to DV gave me more bumps and bruises on my precious truck then I would like to admit. Hence I have decided to retire the stock suspension and get something middle of the road that will lift me around 2-3 inches of lift in preparation for more additions I am planing in the future. Here's how my truck sits now:




It's leveled out with the shell and it sits a little low for me with the amount of off-roading I've been doing lately.

After a couple weeks of research and lots of questions answered I landed on this kit: Complete Old Man Emu Kit with Dakar Leaf Pack from @HeadStrong Off-Road (shoutout to them for being very responsive and super helpful!) and just ordered it yesterday without coil assembly and no UCAs.

I purchased the 886X coils with the 9000 Struts and HD Leaf Pack with the intention of adding more weight (RTT, bumpers, etc.) I have researched these pretty extensively and realize I may actually need to get UCAs as I don't have any weight up front and the kit will likely lift me around 3 inches.

I am thinking of installing it myself and am trying to compile all the parts needed. Apart from what the kit includes (carrier bearing drop brackets, bushings and sleeves, and extended U-Bolts), would I need anything else like extended brake lines or extra hardware to complete the install?

Also does anyone have any experience with this kit? From what I have heard the ride quality can be pretty stiff with the 886 coils.

Any expertise is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Adam

 

Hey I have this exact lift kit and love it on my 3rd gen.
So yes you will need new UCAs. Any lift over about 2in and your stock ones will hit the springs during down travel.
You'll also want to replace your front drivers side needle bearing. It doesn't do well with the increased CV angle and can potentially shred itself and nuke your front diff. Search the forums for horror stories. East coast gear supply makes the bushing. Had a friend who works at a shop do it for $75 and a 6 pack. Some guys do it themselves but its a pain in the ass.
I don't have extended brake lines and romp my Taco now and then, never an issue.
I also run a steel bumper, awning, RTT, decked storage, and started with a medium duty leaf pack. After the steel bumper i had some lean so I went the AAL route to bring it up to HD rating and couldn't be happier.

Tools:
Torque Wrench. You can rent one for free from your local auto zone.
Red thread locker
Impact gun
Breaker bar
Minimum 2 jack stands but I used 4 for safety overkill.
Some spare cotter pins. Mine were rusty and bent when they came out of the castle nuts.
If you can do it on a lift this will save you an insane amount of time. I went the driveway route and with a buddy it took us 10+ hours. Guys claim to get it done on a lift in 4-5.
You'll also need to get an alignment and make sure that they recalibrate your stability sensors. Lifting the truck throws off the geometry and your dash will light up like a Christmas tree. This is normal. Just have it reset and you should be good. Don't try to have a dealership do it because they'll give you bluster about how they have to reprogram the entire truck and want to charge you $500. (Speaking from my own experience). I told them to kick rocks and went and got my same mechanic friend to do it for free. Literally plugged in his tablet, hit some buttons, let the truck sit for two minutes, and was done. Zero issues.
That's all I can think of. Let me know if you have any specific questions

 

Thank you for the reply. Good to hear brake lines will likely not need to be replaced, I was dreading that.

The list of parts and tools is MONEY! Thank you for that

Good to know about the needle bearing too, I hadn't heard of this. Did you get that replaced before or after installing the lift, or does it matter? Is it just an OEM replacement or is the East Coast Gear supply bushing made for the increased CV angle?

Appreciate the help

 

So the needle bearing is aftermarket because the oem one isn't designed to be run at a higher angle for extended periods of time during normal or offroad driving.

And you're in luck, I made myself a cheat sheet with the instructions AND Torque specs. These were all taken from a shops install video on YouTube.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1P-yoYDqEGIKIsoCpunkinMfLEYKKstbjaf8D5xWw93w/edit?usp=drivesdk

I would lookup and watch the video a dozen times so that it will feel familiar when you go to actually install the kit. I don't remember the specific one, but there are several to pick from.

Also some other helpful tools would be an open ended wrench set (richy ratchet), and a normal socket set

 

Got it, will order that today.

Man this is a life saver, thank you for this and all the information. This will be a HUGE help.

Yes I have started watching a few videos, hoping to get real familiar with the process before there's no turning back.

Appreciate the help and expertise man, cheers to you mate!

 

Absolutely brotha! Best of luck