Crooked frame or bad suspension?

It's not enough to need an AAL, only about a 1/2" lean when the gas tank is full. They're All Pro Expos, not sure who makes their springs is it Alcan? At any rate I bought them new but through someone that had 2 sets of them on the forum so I don't think I could take them back to AP.

I have a small shim to put under the leafs on that side but I'm undecided if I'm going to install it or not just yet, since I might add AALs to the both sides anyway cause I'd like to lift the rear in general a bit more on both sides.

 

My springs are the Alcan Springs.

So far I’m noticing too much rake but it’s more level than before, I think, with the shackles loosened and the springs more broken in. Seeing a half inch lean maybe? Will need to measure on a level surface to be sure.

Alcan is willing to send me another leaf to toss in, but of course that’s a bit of work to install so I’m trying to avoid it. A half inch shim might be the easiest option if it bothers me.

The only concern there is I really don’t want the rear any higher than it already is as it’s a fair bit higher than the front. Hope these things settle in.

 

They should settle if they're still brand new, leaf springs always sit about an inch or so higher when new. Do you want them to be level with the front? Achieving a perfect front/rear level height can be a bit tricky but it's doable, however I'm of the belief that the rear should sit a bit higher than the front by 1/2" - 1" to account for weight in the bed. A level truck will have a sagging rear end whenever it hauls anything of substance, and a squatting rear end never looks right (to me anyway).

How much time has passed since you installed the leaf springs? One way to help break them in is to take them on a dirt road with some ruts in it and flex out the rear end - it helps get the shackles moving and the springs flexing and should get them to settle in to their normal state pretty quick.

Depending on the ruts this is a good way to get yourself stuck if you don't have 4x4, so take a friend along if you don't lol

 

I’ve hauled a 350lbs motorcycle a couple hours of driving. I figured that’d help but it’s not there yet. I forgot the exact numbers but the rear looks like it’s maybe 2” higher or more than the front. I want it to be 1” higher. I don’t want it level as I do haul stuff.

I’m going to haul the same bike to Death Valley tomorrow, so that’ll be plenty of loaded mileage to help break them in.

I’ve had the springs on for two weeks.

 

I thought you were talking about adding an AAL to one side to counteract the taco lean...

Aren't the expos the heavy weight springs? And you're considering AALs? What about a longer shackle instead? You can't go *too* long, but you should be able to get another 1" with some longer shackles (unless you already have longer shackles).

I just try not to get too wrapped around the axle (see what I did there? lol) about 1/2" of lean. If that's something you notice, you have a much more calibrated eye than I do, lol. Plus, if you pick up a fattie at a party, or throw some gear in the back, now your truck is leaning the other direction.

 

That must have been the OP talking about adding a single AAL...I wouldn't want to add one to just one side. But yeah I might add an AAL to both sides for more height and weight capacity...with my bed rack and RTT on all the time the Expos only give me about 2.5" of lift which is barely higher than the front. When I load up with camping gear they sag lower than then front by a little bit.

I thought about doing adjustable shackles but haven't really seen much about them on here, my main concern is even the Expos sag some when holding ~500lbs or more.

Last year alone I went through a few different leaf spring setups trying to find what worked...stock + 3 leaf AAL (didn't hold weight worth a crap)...standard Dakars (also didn't hold weight worth a crap)...Dakars + AAL (barely held weight worth a crap)...and now the Expos. The Expos are the best I've had so far but they're stiff on the street and still sag some with camping weight.

Anyway you're right the 1/2" sag to the driver's side isn't all that noticeable so I'll probably just disregard it until I decide to just put AALs on both sides. Anyone need a 1/2" steel block for the rear? lol

 

yeah 2" over the front is on the extreme side, I would see how they sit after your Death Valley trip and address it from there, they should be completely settled after a run through DV

 

No it was you that I was quoting, talking about adding an AAL to help with the lean, but I thought you meant just adding *one*, lol...

Have you thought about airbags? I don't really know enough about the firestone ones to know how well they'd hold up off-roading, but with all that weight, it would be an easy way to get perfectly level with whatever weight you got back there.

 

I won’t be off-roading the truck in DV, but yeah fingers crossed.

My springs sit lower when loaded. Like flat or slightly under. Normal springs on the Tacoma should be pretty flat.

Half my suspension trouble was reading posts that indicated the springs need to arch up. Not with this truck.

If it rides fine and you aren’t hitting the bump stops I wouldn’t worry too much.

My alcan springs ride 10x better than my old setup. They’re slightly arched up but close to flat when unloaded. Loaded with 400-450 they are flat. They ride great loaded and unloaded.

 

I had airbags. I have a pair sitting on my shelf I’ll sell haha. Not a fan at all. Maybe if I had to run more than 500 lbs over stock empty bed weight. Right now I can do 450 and am not hitting the bumps.

 

yeah 6lug Tacoma leaf springs always look flat or flat-ish....it's a common misconception that they should be arched, since we have "spring over axle" setups the flattened look is normal. Trucks with spring-under setups have very arched springs.

My Expos look pretty arched but that's only because they're designed to be that way, when I had Dakars (even with the AAL) they were flat, too.

yeah I don't know how well airbags would work offroad...I saw them used on one of the offroad trucks that they built on that show Dirt Everyday but they were only using them because that's what they had in their garage lol. I mean at most I'm carrying maybe 700lbs on a fully loaded camping trip once every few months so it's not a huge concern for me. I'm starting to think adjustable shackles might be the way to go so I can adjust the rear higher if I need to and bring it back down for normal everyday driving.

 

That was the Pacer episode, right? Those bags were to replace the springs, rather than just act as "helper" springs. From what I understand, some bag designs are de-coupled from the frame so they don't limit articulation or over stretch the bags on droop. I just don't know how they'd handle being bashed and jiggled around.

IMO, the shackle thing is not the way to adjust for added weight. You'll still blow through the travel because the springs aren't strong enough, it just starts higher in the stroke.

I'd just leave it as is if you're carrying really heavy loads only occasionally. Hitting the bump stops a few times won't make your truck blow up, lol.

Adjustable shackles are freakin expensive (relative to normal ones). And really, they are just to figure out what length you really need. They should rent them where you can install them, set your length, then order the proper length (without all those extra holes).