HELP!! Rear lift leaf spring opinions needed!!

I’ve owned my Tacoma since 2008 when I purchased it new. Loved it. At the beginning of this year I was going to retire the silver bullet and get a new truck but my wife and I found out that we were expecting our first child. After 7 years of trying everything this was a blessing but it was unexpected. So now I’ll be keeping my truck just a bit longer. That being said I’ve done a couple of small things to it now that I’ll have it longer. My issue is this. I’m a pre runner lifted with spindles and bilsteins in the front. The rear is stick leaf springs with a 4” maxtrac block and bilsteins. I have axle wrap like a mother. When I go to sell this truck not having that rear bumper feeling every other stop would be nice. So I’m now looking at lifting rear springs. If need the same amount or so of rear lift and wanna eliminate axle wrap. I don’t haul any additional weight and do not off road at all. Daily driver and I’d like as smooth of a ride as possible. My rear OEM spring are from 2008. Probably shot by now. Just looking for suggestions. Don’t wanna spend a ton since I’ll sell it soon. I know Rough Country isn’t get but they have a cheaper 3.5” spring set and OME has a 2.75” set. Any other options out there that are decent? I also wanna hear what people think that have those. Thanks in advance.

 

Unless you put the leafs under the axel you will have some axel wrap. I have custom made Alcan 4" lift 8 leaf spring packs with military wrap in the back. Had them made rated for additional 600lbs of weight. Running a GoPro under my truck, Even with a 4" aluminum one piece drive shaft I can still see some axel wrap under heavy acceleration, but it unloads as I slow down so I don't have the jerk when I stop like I had with OEM leafs and 2 piece drive shaft.

https://www.alcanspring.com
There is also Allpro, I believe they have a couple of options on how many leafs you want in the pack. Then there is Deaver, they make some pretty heavy duty leaf packs.
https://deaverspring.com

 

I’d want about 3.5-4” lift on whatever I get. I don’t mind the axle wrap if is is seldom and I do t feel that rear end bumper like I’m getting hit. Other than what you had custom made do you have any recommendations for a set of springs? Also, if I had to add a 1” block to whatever springs I get do you think that would be more prone to the rear end bump feeling? Thanks.

 

Congrats on the kid.

suspension is a tough spend if you plan to sell. Look for someone’s castaway if they go LT or back to stock perhaps. Primary goal should be limiting the spend. Or keep the truck and make it nice. You have at least 5, probably 10 decent years before your kid is too big for a DCSB.

 

It’ll be a tundra in the near future. Just wanna get baby girl here first then pull the trigger. Just looking for an option or two to research on before I buy. Thanks.

 

I'd find some OEM take offs, or OEM replacements.

Cheap single AAL, and 2" block, done.

Most brodozer lifts use AAL's with blocks to get 4"

 

I did an AAL but when I first lifted it. Way too stiff. Looking for a softer ride. That’s why I was leaning towards a new leaf pack altogether.

 

They've changed in the last 10+ years. I used to hate AAL's but there's progressive ones now.

https://www.iconvehicledynamics.com...-96-up-tacoma-00-06-tundra-15-add-a-leaf-kit/

A full pack is the answer, I'm just looking at alternatives.

 

I was looking at the OME 2.75” lift without added weight on the rear. They are $550 ish a pair. But I don’t know how the ride is.

I also wanna avoid the poly bushings. Those things squeak so bad. I’d use rubber bushings.

 

Tundra is a rough one. I’d like a ‘16-21 crew cab too but they command a hefty price, even today. And not a ton of inventory. Newer Tundra is a whole different ballgame and for sure not cheap either.

 

Nope. I saw that Toyota is the most constrained product in the industry and tundra is the worst of Toyota. They can’t make them
Fast enough and they are robbing tundra parts to put in the Sequoia. Not good for me. And they are might proud of them. They aren’t bad if you can get a 30 year fixed mortgage on one though. Lol.

 

Still seeking opinions

 

personally, i think part of that jolt is due to the 2 piece drive shaft. Since your selling it, I assume you just want to get it to where when someone test drives it they don't feel the jolt? Have you checked your u-joints to make sure they are in good shape and greased well? also check the carrier bearing placement, make sure its not binding up. also with a 4" lift some 3deg or 4deg angle shims might be cheap way to alleviate some of the built up force. Do you have the stock 3 leaf or 4 leaf pack? you can also put some clamps on the leaf packs to stop some of the axel wrap.

also stiffer shocks can help kill some of the axel wrap. when I had the recall 4 leaf packs with AAL I had a set of shocks that for Tundra's that I would use sometimes when I had alot of weight in my truck and for pulling and I found that the axel wrap was alot less. Ride was pretty stiff though unless I had alot of weight in the truck.

 

seriously, try getting some 3deg shims, place them to where it tilts the differential down. Have you ever watched axel wrap live on a GoPro while your driving? Ideally you want the output shaft of your transmission and your pinion to be parallel or the pinion even a little lower to compensate for a little axel wrap. If you have a GoPro, put it under the truck and watch how the leafs and differential move when you accelerate. The front half of the springs bend upwards which makes the pinion angel very high. When you stop, the pinion is going to go back to where it wants to be and unload.

 

I'm still running stock springs (shimmed) with 1.5" blocks. Wanting to get rid of the blocks I am looking at Icon aal, Icon rxt (2.75max)and dakars.
icon rxt gives most options for ride quality with a happy medium. Dakars sound to me like it's all or nothing. And the aal, though a cost effective fix is a cheap fix that will probably have a short life.
I'm going with icon rxt (286ea+free shipping on Amazon) but I plan on keeping the truck awhile.
Rough Country might be the way to go. I haven't heard about the springs. I've heard the shocks run soft. A full pack would also look better for resale vs. an aal.
Like @jboudreaux1965 said. Check into some wedges for under the overload spring. (pointed forward). Make sure your ubolts are torqued enough. I do 90-100#'s.
A carrier bearing spacer is another option and there are some great videos out there for checking driveshaft angles.

 

If your going to keep the truck a while and you know what height you want, know how much gear you carry everyday, if you tow anything etc, don't rule out Alcan, they literally take everything into consideration when designing a leaf pack for you.

Whatever you go with, I'd go at least 1 step, maybe 2 or 3 steps heavier duty than you think you need.

 

Not knowing what height to go with is why I went the cheap block and spacer route....to see what kind of results it gave.
I stick to medium range or stiffness.
Don't really haul anything but like a firmer ride than the sloppy bouncy stock setup.