Unknown Lift

Hi Guys -

In November ('13) I purchased a 2011 Tacoma Regular cab 4x4 that I believe has been lifted from OEM. I've decided I'd rather put it back to stock height - I purchased this truck for a daily driver and I'm looking for something reliable; also, my wife has knee problems and even with a nerf bar she has difficulty getting into and out of the truck.

I need help figuring out what's been modified and what I can do to go back to stock. I'm new to lifts, please help. I've included a bit of information below.

The truck is wearing a set of 265/75R16s all around. My understanding is these are about an inch taller than OEM. I can see the front wheel well shroud has been cut to make clearance for the tire and occasionally I scrape it when at 100% turn.

I believe I have an

$190 add-a-leaf kit for 1995-2023 toyota tacoma - 21.5" short AAL set with isolator pads and square bend u-bolts

add-a-leaf kit on my rear. On my rear leaf springs is the part number 48220-04181 (left side). I count 3+1 leaves. There are a set of bilstein 5100 shocks on the rear that I'm happy to keep if possible.

On my front, I don't see a spacer at all. I've read the lift info section. If someone can give me a hint what to look for that would be a good starting point.

I'll put some photos up soon - it snowed here last night and I had to drive the truck today so it needs a wash before I can get clear photos. Let me know what you'd like to see.

The "other" reason to get rid of the lift - when I purchased the truck I immediately noticed a noise when at highway speeds whenever I lifted off the gas pedal when above 55+ mph. The noise is described by my wife as "wind rattling a flat piece of metal". Below 55 I do not hear the noise.

I measured with an angle finder the angle at the front u-joint of the rear drive shaft and zero'ed the finder. I measured the rear u-joint and came up with about 3.5 degrees relative to the first angle. I purchased a set of 4 degree shims and installed these last weekend and now both angles seem to be within 0.5 degrees of each other. The drive shaft reads 8.3 degrees of angle relative to the front u-joint - that seems pretty harsh. Note that on this truck (and from what I read about all regular cabs) there is a one-piece shaft with just two u-joints.

Like I said - I want a daily driver and not a rock crawler. I'd like to go back to stock and have the reliability rather than the clearance.

Where should I go from here?

Thanks!

 

If you have an AAL and 5100s in the back, I am almost certain you have 5100s in the front. Of course pictures will help determine that. However, if you do have 5100s in the front, you can check the perch setting to determine the height of your lift.

If you indeed have 5100s in the front, you can actually keep the front 5100s by setting it to the lowest setting. This will give you a stock ride height and all you have to do now is remove the AAL in the back. And yes, you can keep the rear 5100s.

And welcome to TW!

 

^^^ What he said.

 

Easy enough. I'll check it out and report back what I find, with pictures.

Thanks!

 

Awesome call on the 5100's up front. That was exactly what I had.

I used the video here to decompress and remove the struts and moved the setting to the 0.85" setting after reading other threads suggesting that the handling remains capable and the trust looks level.

The rear add-a-leafs are shown below. I cannot find any information on google about them. As thanks and to pass good will along to the forums - the first person willing to pay shipping can have them along with the shims that are also in the photo. PM me if you're interested.

Thanks guys!

 

^^^ Wheeler's AAL possibly?

 

I'm blown away with the knowledge here.

 

Looks like a pair of our 1.5" Add-a-leafs.