Suspension Lift Question

Got a 3 inch lift kit... everything was fine.... and though it is an older vehicle... maintained well. My question is ... at 3.5 lift... the need for a differential spacer or its equivalent is needed. I went from 16s on my wheels ... to 17s.... does this affect whether or not I require a spacer or not? .....I don't mean to be a jerk... went through and got some things done to repair a combination of vandalism, maintenance, and a few things that I knew needed to be done. There is currently a loud enough "clunk" going on..... had the u-joints replaced and it wouldn't be surprising if it's drive shaft related. Was hoping to narrow things down and be able to move on. My ride is a V6 4x2 .... not a 4x4 ..... for all I know.... someone ignorantly removed something they thought wasn't needed or looked "mickey moused" to them.

 

If you are getting clunks and something doesn't seem right then you need to check out the driveshaft and pinion angles. Increasing lift height affects pinion angles and your driveshaft. Have a reputable shop take a look at it.

 

About 2" to 2.25" of lift is considered the maximum a stock Tacoma can handle without greatly increasing the likelihood of drivetrain vibrations and increased CV wear, including excessive/early wear on the CV boots.

In my case when I upgraded from stock 2014 TRD OR suspension to +2.5" on the front end, I didn't have any vibrations, but I could see the front CV boot accordion folds touching one another -- very bad. So I reduced it to 2.0" lift (via preload adjustment on front coilovers) and the CV boots are now good, and there continue to be zero drivetrain vibes. I didn't do a diff drop or any other drivetrain modifications.

Once you go beyond 2.5" and into the territory of doing diff drops, adding shims here and there to try correct driveshaft angles, etc. things get a bit dicey. I'm not saying it can't be done successfully, just that from what I read & understand it gets more complex & more sensitive to very small changes in angles.

 

I've got 2" lift up front... cv boot ribs (on passenger side) just touch with diff drop out. With dd drop installed ribs look great. Switched out the 16" wheels to 17" and went up to 275/70R17 tires... doesn't look like it effected the cv angles at all. The diff drop has been on now for 16 years with zero issues... the original boots still look like new. Had a slight take off vib... carrier shim too care of it.

 

Different sized wheels will not affect your CV angles. The 'hub' end is still in the same location. Only the lift or angle of the lower control arm location will affect the CV angle.

 

people say not to lift it too much. And not to drop the diff.

once upon a time, I probably lifted mine too high ignoring that. Resulting in shitty ride from no downtravel, and positive camber from maxed out height.
Lowered it a bit to fix that.

depends where the clunk is coming from. Could be worn LBJ’s.

 

I'm guessing.... but it sounds either like its the ball joint area where the rack and pinion is at..... or the driveshaft area. When the ground is very level, 0 issues..... I'll definitely have to go take it in either way.....will report back once the issue is solved. Thanks for the responses... helps me learn and ask better questions.

 

Pinion angles are good... in my case... it's the U-Joints for sure and potentially the transmission driveshaft seal as well. Ball joints are in good shape. So I'll be taking it back ... once again.. to get this stupid issue fixed, then get a proper tune up for my truck. Hopefully if you have a weird clunk sound...and you are not moving... sometimes It will make the sound too. Maybe this will help somebody else out when it comes to needing your U-Joints replaced.

 

Ok.... so here we are... weeks later. Found the other culprit... that being the center bearing of the driveshaft. Here is something I wish I knew earlier, which is the option to purchase an entire brand new driveline. If I would of known that earlier... I would of went that route instead of piece meal.... I can't fault any of the shops I worked with to get the problem fixed considering the noise sounded like it were the brakes or coming from the engine bay itself. Just another lesson learned. My only question is, when it comes to parts... are there ones that should be outright avoided?