Anyone in the SF Bay Area demo a b/j flip truck?

Ok, that came out a little weird, and I hope it doesn’t violate any forum rules…

I’m planning a 3/3 drop and would like to see how bad the bumpsteer really is with a b/j flip.

Any flipped trucks available for a test drive?
Thanks,
Marc

 

I have a ball joint flip on my truck- I've got a little bump steer, but it is totally manageable. A little bump steer is totally worth how awesome the Tacoma sits

 

Thanks, and what a beautiful truck!

is that only a ball joint flip, or is rheee any other front end work? Looks pretty low (and that’s a good thing)

 

My Truck is dropped 3 inches in the front through the ball joint flip and DJM upper control arms. I also flipped the upper ball joint in addition to the lower ball joint. The rear is lowered 4 inches with blocks. When I lowered the truck earlier this year, I replaced all 4 shocks with KYBs. The springs in front are stock, and the leaf springs in the back are stock. Also, I replaced a bunch of bushings with polyurethane bushings.

I think your truck should sit about the same as mine with a 3 3 drop. If I have time, I can snap a few pics of my ball joint flip for you.

Michael

 

Thanks for the info; any pics would be appreciated.

do you recall the part numbers for the KYB shocks?

 

Love the tire/wheel combo

 

Here's a couple of pics of my ball joint flip:

On the upper control arm, the ball joint is flipped to the top. On the lower control arm, the 2 bolts closer to the wheel are inverted to ensure no contact with the inner barrel of the wheel.

I hope this helps, and it would be nice to see more lowered minitrucks in the Bay Area!

 

my bad- the first pic is BEFORE the lower ball joint is flipped. The second pic is with the ball joint flip.

 

Thanks for the great before and after pics!

very clean installation, especially with the nyloc nuts.
Two questions:

I understand that new bolts are needed when the stock upper control arm are used because of the spacers; it looks like the DJM arms don’t need the spacers. But why weren’t the original bolts used on the lower control arm? The flat head on the outer bolts in particular give more clearance for the rims.

I see a washer on the inside front lower control arm between the ball joint and the strut…what size is this washer? It looks like it’s the reason for longer bolts at that location.
Thanks again!

 

From what I can remember, the DJM lowering kit came with a bunch of new bolts and washers. I just used the new hardware- I think the new bolts could have been grade 8. The directions were hard to decipher, but it came out great in the end. The reason I used the new bolts is because the new bolts are bigger and burlier. I remember that I had to drill out the traction/stabilizer bar to accomodate the larger bolt. This is how DJM wanted you to do it, so I did it that way.

Also, I went with KYB MonoMax shocks on all 4 corners because I wanted a more comfortable ride than with the Bilstein 4600s or the Bilstein 5100s. I believe the Bilsteins are a lot stiffer than the KYB's. I do not remember the model number, but I believe they are KYB MonoMax's.

Remember when lowering your truck that you may run into trouble with stock wheels. Stock 14 inch or 15 inch wheels won't work with a lowered truck because the wheel hits something. I ultimately went with 16 inch wheels because I wanted a good ride, but good 16s are hard to find today. Most lowered minitrucks start with 17 inch wheels and go up from there. There are a bunch of lowered and super-slammed trucks with 15s, but they get a ton of rubbing. With the 3 4 drop, I didn't have to do any fender massaging whatsoever, and my truck doesn't rub at all. That is what I wanted.

Good luck with your lowering, and please post pics of your truck- I'd like to see it

 

Thanks for all the information! I had downloaded the DJM installation guide and have to agree…while the control arms look very well made and the kit appears complete, it’s not very well written and a puzzle to figure out.

I’ll probably go with the KYB shocks…did you just order the stock part number for the Tacoma?

Point taken on the wheel size; I tried several different rims before settling on a set of early 2000’s Mustang 16x7 et39 with 215/55-16 tires. The backspacing and diameter of the rims will clear the lower control arm bolts, and the tire’s height is the same as stock, and the width will clear the fender edges.

I’ll try to post two pics; the first was a cool set of Mustang Cobra rims that unfortunately were too wide and not enough backspacing to clear the fenders. The second pic (just the front wheel) is the wheel I’m going with…mock-up roller tire.

Nothing lowered yet; just got a set of 4x4 rear leaf springs for the S-Dad mod.

 

Your truck is gonna look awesome once the stance is sorted! I do like that dark color. I can see the potential in that truck


The shock model numbers are:

KYB MonoMax 565030 Front
KYB MonoMax 565065 Rear

 

Finished the ball joint flip, and very happy with the results so far. I did a shade tree alignment with a 24” level to set camber (basically removed the larger shins and achieved almost true vertical) and a taut string line to set toe at 1/4” toe in.
The truck tracks straight with no wandering or noticeable bumpsteer, and centered steering wheel.

I did the S-Dad rear leaf mod using a set of aftermarket 4x4 leaf packs, but only got 1.5” of drop….thinking either they were “heavy duty”, or maybe my original springs had sagged.

At any rate, the stance is still to tail-up, plan on 2” blocks this weekend. Since this will be a total rear drop of 3.5”, I’m thinking I should use 2 degree angled blocks (or wedge spacers). I’m not quite sure which way the angle should go; any suggestions?

 

It looks like half your truck is pretty sweet there When I lowered my truck, I did the rear blocks first, so I was rolling around with reverse rake for a little bit!

I agree that the bump steer is not that big of an issue at all. The stance is appropriate for the truck- the fender gap is proper in the front wheel well. However, I notice that you have a lot more sidewall on your front tire than the back. Depending on your final wheel tire combo, the fender gap may change a bit if your overall circumference is different.

As for your rear, the gap is larger than what I would have expected with just replacing the rear leaf springs. I thought the S-dad mod involved switching the leaf springs with 4x4 leaf springs and removing a leaf? Also doing something with the overload leaf?

As for the 2" blocks, I am unsure of how much wedge to put in. The blocks I got from the DJM kit were 4", and had a pin on top and hole on bottom for mounting. From what I can remember, I do believe the blocks were slightly angled, but I am unsure of how much. In your case, your leaf springs and blocks are slightly different from my setup. Probably those small differences will affect how much angle is there.

I recommend consulting MJBTaco. He is highly knowledgeable in Tacomas and he has made rear lowering blocks in different sizes. He should know exactly how much angle is needed for the rear. I believe you can find him here on TW, or he is on Instagram.

Your truck progress is looking great- finish it up and make it look awesome - and post some pics after!

 

Thanks yet again!

Regarding the sidewalls: the tires are all the same size (215/55-16, which works out to almost identical circumference as the stock 195/70-14 wheel/tire combo). I see what you mean looking at the photo, but that must be a trick of perspective, camera angle distortion or an illusion created by the much smaller fender gap
in front, compared to the semi-lowered rear….or maybe a combination of all three!

yes, I did the S-Dad mod using a 4x4 spring pack, removing the middle leaf and using the 2x4 overload leaf in the frowning position….still didn’t get the drop I expected, and I’m thinking these aftermarket springs are beefier or more arched than Toyota springs. For reference, the center-of-hub-to-fender-lip measures 17”, compared to 14” at the bj-flipped front end.

2” blocks should give a net rake of 1”, which is what I’d like.

Will check in with MJBtaco…thanks for the tip.
More pics soon!

 

One more thing to note when lowering the rear is bottoming out. When I dropped my truck, the rear was almost resting on the OE bumpstops. I first removed the OE bumpstops, and shaved them down to less than half the height. That helped immensely. Even though I trimmed the original bumpstops, I would still occasionally hit the frame in the rear. I then installed low-profile bumpstops. That fixed the problem completely.

Just be aware about the rear bumpstops, and I think you'll be fine. Since you are shooting for a 3.5" drop in the rear, you may have enough clearance for the suspension to travel- you'll just have to check it yourself.

Good luck with the rear- it was way easier to lower than the front for me!

 

Here’s the truck with 2” blocks installed with the 2degree slant short side facing front. It sits perfect for my tastes, and drives great…no weird vibrations, rubbing or wandering.

I trimmed 1 1/2” from the bump stops, which seems to be enough; there’s many speed bumps in SF and it’s not audibly bottoming out. Looking at the shocks, it looks like the previous owner installed KYB Gas-Adjusts, and they look pretty new, so I think I’m set there. I did find a work receipt in the glove compartment from last year detailing front end work (ball joints/tie rod ends/sway bar links) so maybe the shocks were provided to the mechanic?

Moving on to the interior next. My truck has the bench seat, which is in very good condition but I want buckets. I picked up a pair of ratty early Miata NA seats I plan to reupholster with eBay kits I’ve used before, and found a pair of Corbeau adapters.

Also looking for a 97-00 instrument cluster with tachometer…I’ve heard about the need to use the same cylinder count, and hoping to find one with similar mileage…there’s videos on reprogramming the odometer, but that’s a bit more than I want to tackle!

 

Your truck sits way better now!

I like very much your drop There is a little fender gap in both wheel wells, but it is looking tons better than before.

In my case, I did foresee a tiny little fender gap on my truck. I wanted a truck I could drive around, and especially a truck that functions as a truck, ie hauling stuff! Also, I wanted a little sidewall on my tires for a bit more comfortable ride than going with 17s.



The interior upgrades were fun- my horn even works with the steering wheels
Go for it with the upgrades- make your truck super cool

 

Also, the roads in Oakland are pretty shitty too- tons of cracks and potholes!

 

Since you are in SF, I highly recommend you getting a quick release steering wheel. So many Tacomas are getting stolen in the Bay Area, and it is getting worse. Making your truck look awesome is gonna attract more thieves.

I've got a little bit more peace of mind that my Tacoma doesn't have a steering wheel when I park it somewhere in Oakland or some other shady area in the bay.