Deaver J59 & Fox 2.0

i'm looking for some feedback on my new rear suspension setup. i've already purchased and mostly installed everything, but am new to this and am worried i overlooked something in planning (despite my hours of scrolling through TW).

i'm swapping the sad old stock springs and shocks on my 98 limited 4x4, and purchased a set of deaver j59 springs, fox 2.0 shocks, and extended (20") brake line. using the stock shackles. the literature says the shocks are good for up to a 1" lift, and the springs provide 1.5" lift. on the daily, i run a bed cap and little else. deaver said the springs will ride at about +1" with that setup. so that all seemed okay to me.

i have the springs installed, and the top of the shocks mounted. however, to get the bottom of the shock mounted, i've had to damn near fully weight the springs. that doesn't seem right to me though because then i would then be significantly limited by the shock even when doing some light wheeling. i feel like this whole setup is pretty modest, and i shouldn't have this issue or need to run limiting straps. thoughts?

 

One of the things the J59's are known for, is that the travel is great. It's one of the things that made them super popular when these trucks were new. The springs will settle a little. I'm running the J59's with the 1.5"+ 5100s and don't have an issue on the road at all. I think you'd be fine. I'd say that if you wanted to take advantage of all the additional travel on the J59's that a shock relocation would be the right path.

 

What's the part # of those FOX shocks? It sounds like you are saying with the truck at ride height the shocks (fully extended) are too short to fit?

 

that's right. when i initially attempted this, it was probably 2" short, but i had the suspension loaded by jacking the diff up and everything was only finger tight for fitment. i've since put the truck on all fours and torqued the u-bolts, and that allowed me just enough room to connect the lower mount. so it's all assembled now, but at ride height the shock is still fully extended (~20.5"). seems like i should be a few inches shorter so i have about 70% of travel available for compression. maybe i'll gain that as i break in the springs?

part# 980-24-672

also - any idea if this setup warrants a different bump stop than stock? would i need a bracket to extend the load adjuster or is there already enough adjustment available within the stock configuration?

 

i definitely don't want to relocate, but when i started out down this path i expected this setup would provide me a reasonable amount of travel (whatever that means) for the tame trails i frequent. hopefully that's still the case!

 

That shock looks to only be a 7" travel shock, that's gotta be about the same as stock. I run OME Dakar leafs, claims about 2.25" lift, they use every bit of travel from a 10" travel shock, but in the stock mounting configuration, that requires me to use extended bump stops. I bet you could use a shock with around 9" travel, without extended bump stops.

 

thanks to you both for the input. i have everything installed and even added a couple hundred pounds to the bed to help break in the springs. the shocks are still pretty maxed out though (especially the passenger side!). i never realized the driver and passenger sides are different lengths until i started digging around over the last week. hopefully, i can drive around for a while and still salvage the fox 2.0's. if not, that'd be a pretty limited application for those on the 1st gen. i'd really hate to buy a new pair too.

 

a couple updates:

- the springs haven't compressed at all, and i've definitely felt the shocks limiting travel in a corner. i've been driving around pretty gingerly though, so probably why the suspension hasn't moved much. hopefully haven't damaged the shocks.
- i also found a pair of fox shocks at wheelers offroad, and they're not the same shocks as listed on fox's website (also the ones i purchased and listed above (part# 980-24-672)) for the 1st gen. i spoke to fox and they couldn't confirm which shocks wheeler had, or whether they would work for the 1st gen tacoma. wheelers says they work great for the 1st gen, but wouldn't give me the fox part numbers. if you look at the specs, the fox shocks at wheelers very closely match the bilstein 5100 spec. it all seems a bit weird, but was thinking about ordering the ones from wheelers to replace the 980-24-672's. has anyone purchased them or have additional thoughts?

thanks!

 

If Wheelers is selling them for the 1st gen Tacoma then you should be good to go. The shocks you have now I wouldn't use on anything other than a stock truck.

If I were a betting man I would bet these are the shocks Wheelers has packaged for that set. Left ----edit, wrong shock-----and right 985-24-004.

I couldn't find the shock they would be using for the left. The only universal one I found matching those specs was a resi shock. I do see shocks with those specs for various other application specific uses...like Nissan, Isuzu.....either way, I would trust that whatever Wheelers is selling will be just fine on your Tacoma.

 

Take out some of the bottom leafs, also did you take out the stock overload leaf bar?

Contrary to popular belief, thats a lot of steel back there for this rig!

e/ any driveline vibrations? That’s the next project to tackle!

 

Also my 2c, suspension travel isn’t just one direction you’ll want some upward travel too.
If the shock is full length at stock height it’s not going to work, you’ll need to get a longer shock or remove some leafs to lower the height of the rear.

 

following up after installing the wheelers fox shocks: they fit and work great with the deavers. i'd say just about the right amount of travel in both directions, based on my limited driving thusfar. haven't been offroad with them yet, but i'll follow up once that happens. a friend of mine works at fox, and he looked up the part numbers for me. said the wheelers ones are "builders" shocks with no specific valving for the 1st gen, but could be revalved by fox to make any adjustments i may want. i'll probably never do that, but whatever.

 

i now have a brand new set of fox shocks (980-24-672's), but can't post them for sale on TW. looks like there's a minimum number of posts which may be the cause, and i'm 3 shy of it. i guess the admin takes this very seriously?? i've been on here for years, and sent them an email asking about it. unfortunately no response though.

 

What!? I can't hear you! Can you repeat that 3 more times?

 

i'm so glad you asked! i'd like to speak with you about your taco's extended warranty...

 

Oh, an extended warranty for my 20 year old truck! Sign me up.

 

Can you share the Fox part numbers from the shocks you got from Wheelers?

 

wheelers part number is 985-24-004.

been driving on these for a while, and no complaints.

paired with the fox 2.0's in the front and sitting on 265/75r16 it rides almost level. with a bed cap installed the rear is .5" higher than the front.

 

Same part number on both sides? I ask because Wheelers lists different measurements for left/right.

My best guess based on measurements was 985-24-004 for the right and 985-24-034 for the left. Looks like I was at least half right!

 

Yeah sorry. 985-24-004 for the passenger side and 985-24-083 for the driver side. Passenger is definitely longer.