First Tacoma Here, Looking to Get it Reliable!

Hi all, first-time Tacoma owner here, looking for some expert eyes to make sure I'm not missing anything as I work to get my (new to me) 08 Access Cab healthy and happy. First Toyota for me, but I've got good experience wrenching on Jeeps before this. Bought it lifted, but have come to find it was done on the cheap and I'm now paying for it on this end...

So, the details: Looks to be Rancho Quicklift struts in the front with 1.5" strut spacers + 2" blocks in the back with RS9000XLs. Hub to fender height in the front is 23.5-23.75". Stock UCAs with bad upper ball joints, and slight rubbing on the sidewall of the tires (265/75R16s). I'm guessing the ball joints gave up the ghost from the rough angles being put on them, and that the 5.25" backspacing on these wheels isn't quite enough to clear this rubber. I've also got some rubbing on the LCAs at full lock, and I'd love to cut down on that if I could.

My biggest issues to fix first seem to be getting those ball joints replaced (or just aftermarket UCAs), the clamshell bearing swapped out for the ECGS bushing (got a good amount of play in the DS CV tulip), swap in a refurb rack and pinion, and reboot the CVs. When it rains it pours I guess...

Just jumping into questions here:

• My plan is likely to get into some 5100s and OME springs, and probably leave the blocks in the rear for now. If I want to get this thing down to 2.5" of lift in the front, I'm after the 855s, yeah?
• Since I've got to do upper ball joints anyway, and I'm still looking to stick to 2.5", are some JBA UCAs the way to go? Will the added caster exacerbate my LCA rub? And will they give me a bit more clearance from the tires, or are wheel spacers/different wheels the only option here?
• I've seen plenty of back and forth on diff drops regarding premature boot death. Worth it? Should I run long travel boots instead? Stockers with some silicone spray every now and then?

My grand plan for this rig isn't crazy — just enough lift to get up rugged forest roads and such and camp out of the back. But mostly I just want it to get down the road for a long time here. The drivetrain is happy, and I typically run vehicles until something major keels (and then fix it). Apologies for the wall of text, and thanks in advance, folks!

 

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