Need Some Advice on Lifting Tacoma

I'm 17 and want to lift my truck. The problem I don't really know how to go about it. Friends tell me it's stupid to just buy a lift kit and do it myself. But looking at pricing has made my wallet wanna kill itself. Any advice on what to do?

 

It’s doable yourself. Plenty of videos. Just make sure you torque everything to spec and get an alignment after. The right tools make it much easier.

 

I DIY'd it on my truck ('05 dclb) in my garage this winter. Bilstein 6112s in the front, 5160s and a cheap add-a-leaf in the back. I had them set at about 1.5" lift and really like the way it turned out. Took a couple days but it was a cool learning experience.
Probably about $1500 with the parts and a couple tools I ended up buying. If you wait/save up for a good deal I think it's worth it.

 

It depends on what your are trying to accomplish. Different tasks would justify different lifts. I primarily Overland and trail ride so I went with a lower lift of 3". If you are interested in mud bogging or rock crawling that might justify a higher lift.

Lift kits are not impossible to install but having proper tools is very important. I went to a buddy's shop to install mine myself and having access to a lift made it a lot easier than to jack it up and put it on jack stands.

 

This reminds me. May have one of those garages near you where you pay an hourly fee to rent a bay/lift/tools. Could be another option.

 

Also don't let the negativity get to you. Do what your want with your truck and as long as you love it that's what counts. Just take my advice when it comes to this and "Buy once, cry once". It may seem expensive at first but in the long run it is worth it.

 

Without knowing anything about you it is difficult to say if it would be stupid or not for you to attempt this on your own. Do you have any knowledge or experience working on vehicles? Do you have all the right tools? I'm a banker with minimal mechanical experience and only a basic tool kit so for me it would be very stupid. Your mileage may vary.

 

A lift goes a long way when installing a lift kit. Makes life a hell of a lot easier.

 

I have no experience with any type of car mods.

 

Here is my 2013 Tacoma. I installed Toytec Bilstein 5100 up front and Bilstein 5100 with an Old Man Emu Dakar leaf in the rear. I had a buddy help and the two of us knocked it out in an afternoon on his buddy's shop's lift. He is pretty mechanically inclined so his help helped out a lot but to be honest I probably could have done it on my own minus lifting those Dakar springs above me lol.

 

Fork over the fee to have it installed for you then. Doesn’t sound like self installation is for you. There may be a local TW member who would do it for cheaper than a shop.

 

Watch some youtube videos on it and see if it something you can do. It is more intimidating than it really is but not having proper tools can seriously set you back.

So this video shows a pretty accurate depiction of someone that is not super mechanically inclined and does it in his driveway (if he is on here this is not meant as an insult but I found his videos the most relatable).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DTaey9l5Wc

I have learned more about my truck by doing the work myself. The only thing I let someone do for me was the electrical work on the lighting and winch. Other than that all the work on my truck has been by my hands.

 

This community is pretty friendly. See if there are any meets in your area and make some friends that have the same truck and see if they will help you.

 

If you have no experience at all then this probably means you also don't have tool. Based on that, I'd say definitely do not attempt this on your own.

If you're a handy person but just don't have automotive experience but want to learn then you could do some prelim research on youtube to see what you're getting yourself into and then buy tools and give it a try. A lift kit install is pretty simple as long as you're not going too big (which involves replacing a lot more parts). A better idea, IMO, would be to find a friend, family member or even a new TW acquaintance and get help from them. People that work on cars usually do so because they like doing it and would gladly hang out for a day in their garage with you to do your install and teach you as you work together. Many would be happy to help for nothing more than a free lunch/dinner.

For something like this if you want to learn how to work on your own vehicles then it's all about diving in and getting your feet wet but making sure you have some support. If you are just trying to save a buck then I'd say just pay the $ and have someone install it. For the cost of all the tools you need to do the install you're not looking at saving any money doing it yourself. Investment in tools is well worth it if you plan to continue to work on cars but not for just one suspension install.

 

You being 17 I can understand not having experience with vehicle modifications. How ever your never going to get any by not trying. I would assume you have access to tools maybe your fathers I think the most difficult task would be grinding out the rivets on the leaf pack if you don't buy a replacement set and use an add a leaf. Besides that all of the rest of this is very doable as long as you are mechanically inclined. Look at you tube and see how a coil spring assembly gets removed and installed and if it seems like to much to handle then take it somewhere. Mind you this is for a basic leveling / lift kit up to about 3 inches anything over that and you may need some other tooling and or modification that needs to be done.

One thing to keep in mind you have to pay to play, so learning to things yourself will save you money as things are not cheap. No matter what your hobbies are in life one thing holds true none of them are cheap. Good luck and have fun.

 

Lifting a truck is good for learning how to work on a truck.
After the lift is on for awhile you will learn how to...
change ball joints
change tie rod ends
change CV axles
change front differential bearings
change u joints
replace steering racks
replace control arm bushings...
The learning never stops until you sell the truck.

 

I would learn how to do basic maintenance first. Replacing filters. Changing all the fluids. Spark plugs. Once you do all these and acquire the tools to them then tackle a lift with more tools and a better understanding of basic wrenching.

 

For a first time DIY'er like yourself, I'd call headstrong off road. They'll hook you up. Get the shock and coil assembled by them. If you do that it's pretty much plug and play. Don't have to worry about decompressing coils or anything like that. Depending on what go with in the rear you could DIY. I went with a progressive AAL and just had a shop install it for me

 

Leave your truck alone ,a lift does nothing for your truck.
Work on your career if you want to do something good for yourself.

 

This^^^
You are 17 and I’m sure you have very little $$$ , you aren’t mechanically experienced and you want to lift your truck. I’m pretty sure the reason for the lift is to look “cool”. Total waste of money and time and won’t increase the value of your truck. If you pursue this I wish you well but still such a waste.