2001 Taco, Trying to understand differences in suspension

OK Quick and Dirty....

I bought a 2001 Tacoma 4x4 TRD on 32" BFG All Terrains. Pretty Truck but as you can see the rear sagged a bit.


DSC_9287 by njfourwheeler, on Flickr

I couldn't find any evidence of a front lift so my assumption was that this was a factory height vehicle. Maybe when it had the frame recall performed they installed the wrong rear springs? (The springs were replaced as well during the recall.) In lieu of time and rather than replacing the new springs, I ordered a 1.5" block set and leveled it back out.


2010-12-30_16-17-09_129 by njfourwheeler, on Flickr

I rarely see any other Tacoma TRD models that look this tall and don't know much about the suspension options on these trucks, but it all looks like stock parts to me. Are my assumptions correct? Can i order replacement shocks, ball joints, etc without being concerned about fitment and suspension travel limitations? If it is all stock what differentiates this truck from others when ordering parts?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

great looking truck! it looks lifted to me. do you have any pics of the struts/coils?

 

I'll take some pictures this weekend and post them up.

 

It definitely looks lifted to me.

 

Great looking truck.

 

Yeah, it is lifted. Post some pics from under the front of the truck and also from the side of the top of the coils/UCAs.

Take pictures of the leafs springs and shackles, too.

This is one of the biggest, widest ranging discusison on the forum. Depending on what you want to do/how you want it to look/how you drive it, there are lots of aftermarket coil options that will work. Most people trash the stock coils and shocks, which are notoriously soft and crappy.

For a simple, quality, complication-free lift, you can get OME 881 coils and nitrocharger shocks or Bilstein 5100s without any other mods. This will lift about 1.75 from stock ride height (assuming stock tire size). Downsouth Motorsports and Wheeler's Offroad both have good deal on these linds of setups. At 3 inches of lift, you need to buy a lot more hardware because the driveline and CV angles will start being an issue (from what everyone says. I have never done that).

Did you read the stickys at the beginning of the suspension forum? These are a good place to start to get your head around it.

 

Thanks guys. Here are a few photos of the front suspension.


2011-03-04_16-33-53_272 by njfourwheeler, on Flickr

Scratch that... my Droid isn't cooperating, more photos coming soon.

 

Here's the rest.


2011-03-04_16-35-34_946 by njfourwheeler, on Flickr


2011-03-04_16-36-26_492 by njfourwheeler, on Flickr

 

So these parts look very stock like to me, but obviously the truck sits higher than stock. Is that drop in the lower control arm stock? Why suck long bolts on the front upper spring perch? Any help would be much appreciated. I want to get some front end work done before my next long drive.

 

the UCAs and LCAs are stock. my only guess is that the coils are lift coils, possibly OME ("Old Man Emu" -- not to be confused with OEM).

For replacement shocks, a lot of people here like the Bilstein 5100s and/or the OME Nitrogen-charged 90004 shocks. Any balljoints you order should be OEM.

 

The truck looks great man. the front looks lifted to me. Looks like you have longer coils.

 

Thanks guys.

 

I need to order shocks for this truck. Does anyone have part numbers for typical shocks for this application?