Taco PRO Owners: Interested in a spring upgrade for front?

I don't know that the stock broken spring issue is super common, and it's just the thin end of the spring where they are ground flat, at least from the pics I have seen. Not something that will leave you stranded, but not ideal. I just hit a pothole super hard going down a gravel road, and my springs are still fine (I was concerned about the big hit and checked). I haven't heard anything about the Eibach lift springs having an issue with breaking, just noise. I don't remember when they switched from the flat ground springs, but the newer ones that aren't flat ground were resulting in a lot of squeaking.

What I would be more concerned about is the life left before a rebuild is in order. They are supposed to be rebuilt at ~50k miles. Not sure how many miles are on the ones you picked up, but from the year, they are likely due for a rebuild. I would do that before sending it. Pretty sure if you called Eibach they could set you up with a proper spring, if that is your concern, or get them rebuilt and have the Eibach lift spring installed at the same time.

My new plan is to get a set of Performance Elites from Accutune and save my stock shocks for when they need to be rebuilt. I don't have a place to store my truck in the air while I wait on a rebuild, and I'm not paying $3k+ for a set of OEM to swap out. I'll just swap in the OEM while the rebuild is taken care of. Buy once, cry alot.

 

Thanks for reminding me, I have 48k on mine now. Ill have to pull them off this summer and send them out.

 

Only 16k on them, i may rebuild them since I am not in a rush to install them. At the very least, I am replacing all of the bushings and washers on them as a preventative measure. Prob going to have the springs powder coated as well.

 

Another option would be to get the 2020+ Westcott collar/perch and either the Eibach or OEM 2020+ spring which retains the full coil at the bottom

 

I'm just going to run the setup as is, after having the coils powdercoated. I am looking to stay at a factory ride height, I am after ride quality and performance, not additional ground clearance. It seems like getting the OEM pro springs on their own is impossible, so I am going to send it as is and if the springs ever break I will either custom fit an aftermarket equivalent or just swap to a different suspension setup from Bilstein or OME. Had I known about all of the pitfalls of the pro suspension, I would most likely have just gone with a Bilstein 112 setup to begin with.

 

I have had Eibach springs installed on my 19 Pro and was very pleased with the lift and performance. Have not experienced anything with springs breaking. After adding full skids and sliders, even added a 1/4 spacer on top.

 

I just installed the kit on my 2017. Used the on-truck method to decompress/compress the springs (safest/easiest way to install these). The ride is the same if not smoother than the stock spring. I’ve only had it installed for a few days but no weird sounds or any abnormal behavior with handling. Alignment was straightforward as well. So far, couldn’t be happier. With how straightforward the install and outcome was, glad I went this route instead of the Westcot route. I did a bit of a write up regarding the install on the FB group.

 

Post your write up here for us fine folks who don’t have FB.

 

You got it. Here it’s…


A bit of a long post but all sorts of fun info…

Finally did something major to my 2017 TRD Pro. I bought the Pro because of its unique looks and the factory Fox suspension. After a few years of owning it, I installed 285s (33’s). Had to mold some plastic in the wheel well to keep rubbing to a minimum.

Fast forward a few more years, I finally decided to put some lift on it. Debated between the Westcot kit and the Eibach kit. Knowing that Eibach made the factory TRD Springs and that, typically, using an extended spring vs pre-load spacers (Westcot) is a better way to go for ride comfort, I pulled the trigger on the Eibach kit. At the same time, I installed sliding quick disconnects along with a sway bar drop/relocation kit (simply moves the sway bar forward 1-2” to help with lift clearance). I opted to do the install myself to save money. I had the time and tools and it saved me $1,000 that local shops wanted to charge me. Instead of using a sketchy spring compressor, I went with the on-truck method seen in the video here (this method is hands down the safest and easiest way to remove/replace a coil over spring and requires basic tools and a floor jack): https://youtu.be/vkVLBOnAifc?si=o-ydP39U8AtUGwTm

I got about 1.5” in front and 1” in back. Ride feels the same if not smoother than stock. So far loving the setup. Gives me a bit more clearance and lets me retain the stock TRD Pro Fox suspension. The Eibach kit costs about $330, the Overland Custom quick sliding disconnects are pricey at $220. Sway bar drop/relocation kit was $35. By doing this all in my own, I got a lot of bang for my buck.

Enjoy the pics!

 

One more pic…

 

Came out great!!

 

Great method just using a floor jack!....I've used those claw type compressors a few times....nerve-wracking! You're basically waiting for them to let go and the spring taking your head off!

 

Yup, I did a bunch of research and saw those clamps that everyone was using. Not lying, if using those clamps was the only way, off to the shop my coil-overs went. I was actually making calls to setup an appointment to have a shop switch the springs out for me when I came across this video. Saw that a few others had similar videos. After watching the videos a few time, I realized it was the safest/most straight forward way to switch out the springs. When doing it myself, there was never an "oh crap!" moment. It was so smooth and the spring decompresses immediately (and stays put) when you let the floor jack down. Genius.

 

A buddy of mine picked up a used Brannick 7600 compressor cheap from a shop that was liquidating...now we use that! Lol

But this method looks like it works great and is far less stressful....

 

For sure! This method works well (and with less heart attacks) with the stock-style shocks. I think some after-market shocks don't have the shock shaft bolt protrude like it does with the stock setup so your clamps will be the only way to remove springs. Always good to have a set of clamps handy though.

 

I'm nervous to re-open this can of worms but since this was one of the hot topics with why these extended springs may or may not be a good idea, there's finally a video showing these internal bypass zones on a rear TRD Pro shock (I'm assuming the front zones are positioned similarly). After watching the video below, an extra bit of pre-load is not going to affect that bottom rebound zone as seen in this video. This rebound zone is VERY close to the bottom of the shock. You'd have to be getting near airborne to have your piston close off this internal bypass rebound zone. The zones higher in the compression of the shock won't engage regardless of these extended springs or not unless you're smashing down hard on rough terrain. Maybe you'd notice a performance difference in these zones as they wouldn't close off as quickly when you're getting close to those zones? Regardless, unless you're doing high-speed desert runs every day, for 99% of us, these extended springs won't affect the bypass zones nearly as much as first thought. Watch the video below and you'll understand.

Here's the video. It's nice to see the bypass zones at the top of the stroke and the one rebound zone at the very bottom. https://youtu.be/LIeBG934Etw?t=99

Oh, and just to be clear, these by-pass zones are designed to circumvent the built-in piston valving. There is still some valving happening on the compression side of the stroke near the upper-bypass zones (uses flat shims) but it's far less restrictive than the piston valving. It's basically a way to make the shocks provide a very plush ride (it's probably why some folks complain about the front end diving under hard braking) in the middle of the shock travel. Once the zones close off due to topping out or getting close to bottom out, that's when the typical piston valving kicks in and helps make the shock more progressive. Again, I just can't see how an extended spring that offers 1.5" of lift (or Wescott for that matter) would negatively affect the design of these TRD Pro shocks judging by where the zone ports are in the video.

 

Sorry to bump this back to life, hows the ride 15 months later? Have the same set up minus springs, smaller 265/75 tires but color and all, staring at the truck for the last few months i love it but that 1-1.3" would really do me a solid with the rear block as i don't keep much in there and tow minimally. No jokes guys!

 

I’m only 7 months in but the ride is still smooth and still have a proper amount of lift that I was aiming for. As mentioned before, the ride actually improved to being more plush after the spring swap. No issues here and the rear 1” Eibach blocks have been fine as well.

 

Still happy with my choices overall. The added stiffness from the new coils was giving me a bit more harsh feedback, which is understandable. But I have since upgraded tire size to 285/75/16 and the added weight at each tire has really toned down that harshness I was getting. All while only losing 1mpg after the tire size increase(yes I recalibrated) I’d say I found that sweet spot between increased off road performance but still ‘streetable’ as a daily driver.

 

Curious, your ride got stiffer after the coil swap? Mine softened for sure which was fine by me.