Did I buy the wrong front suspension...

Have a 1999 SR5 tacoma

Got Bilstein 5100s for my truck. Rears installed easy (I had the same ones on there previously).

For the front I decided to upgrade from my trash 80$ rock auto coil overs to something nicer.

Ive just finished the front passenger side and it was a huge effort. The results are weird

I bought the

$147 24-249928 Bilstein 24249928 Shock Absorber

24-249928 with the clip height at .63 inches thinking I'd get a tiny lift and it would be an easy install.





i measured after and these are the results (wheel to frame):
front passenger: 8.5 in
front driver: 7in (old suspension)
rear passenger: 6 in
rear driver: 6 3/4 in

The rake is quite extreme...

Now looking on Bilsteins site that part number checks out for my year, but when I drill down by SR5 I see nothing...

 

Are the leaf springs the original ones that came with the truck? If so 25 year old leaf springs are gonna have a lot of sag which will be noticeable with brand new coilovers that have no sag.

 

Yep. Front shocks are right. Problem is old leafs. You've got like -2" of lift in the back.

 

No i replaced them with new OEM springs in 2018

I bought these:
https://www.generalspringkc.com/199...er-rear-leaf-spring-driver-side-4-3-1-leaves/

Would they go bad in 6 years with a topper on the whole time?

 

Those front coilovers should settle a bit, like maybe 0.5" or so, but you're still going to have a squatted stance. You could disassemble the coilovers and reassemble on the 0" lift clip, but I'm betting that still won't level the truck.

You're going to need to add something to the rear, and some type of lift shackle is probably the best best from a cost perspective. If you're leafs are only 6 years old, it's odd they've sagged so much. Do you haul heavy loads or tow relatively heavy often?

 

I would say i have heavy stuff in there often. Ive definitely had it sagging a lot bit with heavy loads / bikes going camping etc.

 

In that case I'd suggest evaluating various leaf springs options. Add-a-leaf would be the more cost effective route. Custom or heavy duty pack may make more sense down the road if you continue to haul heavy loads (and maybe even install air bags to minimize how quickly the next leaf spring set begins to sag on you).

 

Can you post some pics of the lower spring perch area? And did you tighten your lower control arm bolts before you put the truck’s weight on the suspension or after?

 

Tightened/ torqued everything before the wheel / weight went back on

 

seeing you have a camper your stock leafs are doing pretty good. you can install some helper springs, easy to install and inexpensive, Leaf pack would be the next upgrade.

 

Here are various options (at various prices / weight ratings ) when it comes to leaf packs for the rear...

Sounds to me like you're in the "Option 2" camp.

 

Why would he be touching his lower control arm bolts for a coil over replacement? Or did you mean the lower shock mount?

 

Op, do I have this straight, you used whatever existing coil springs that you had on previously?

 

I meant pics of the front. That’s where you seemed to gain 1.5” of lift on one side on a .65” setting.

Don’t you have to loosen them on a 1st gen Taco to get enough droop to fit the coilover out / in? I know you do on a 2nd gen, and same for a 1st and 2nd gen Tundra, so assumed the same for a 1st gen Taco.

 

Nope coils that came with the Bilsteins

 

No, not necessary on the 1st gen Tacoma. Removing one end link from the sway bar can help, then just push or pry down on the LCA.

 

Being that they are new coils they should settle a little. They could very well be a higher spring rate than what was on there, combined with the clip setting, it gave you more lift than anticipated.
I agree with what some others have said about the rear, your leafs appear to have sagged, either from age or load.

I guess you'll need to decide if you want to lower the clip on the shocks, address the rear suspension, or a combination of both.

 

oh sorry here is the front:

 

OP here are some things to think about.

When you say the clip is at the .65 lift setting. I'm assuming it's set at the second from the bottom setting.



You say they came pre assembled. Not sure where you got them but I'm also assuming they are OEM (original) spring height and load rating.

Bilstein should not be run on anything other than the bottom clip if an aftermarket spring height or weight coil is used. (IE OME 880, 881, 882, 883 or Eibach coils)

Replacing the old, clapped out coils with brand new coils alone is going to give you lift (back to stock height, from the sagged height you're used to). So the new coils + clip height is probably just giving you back the amount of sag + the clip height. (I hope that makes sense). Some of this WILL settle. Especially if you've just lowered the truck off the jack and haven't driven it. The way our front end is set up, when you lower the front, back down on to the ground off the jack (especially if you are lowering both sides at the same time) the Lower control arms are in bind at more chamber than you actually have.



(With long travel that is WAY worse... exaggerated... when I lower my front end off the jack my truck is 2 inches higher in the front till I drive it around the block and let the LCAs track back out)

For the back.

You are probably going to want to add in an add a leaf. That's your best bet especially if you carry weight, and/or there as any chance your leafs are sagging any.

An add a leaf with give a little more capacity, and they will ride better than a shackle lift. ALSO shackle lifts are bad for capacity and/or leafs that are starting to sag... shackles will excellerate the sag. Because going with a longer shackle (to add lift) changes the shackle angle to a steeper angle making the weight of the truck sit more pronounced on the back end of the leaf spring.

 

Well, the good news is that your lower perch is on correctly, not upside down like I’ve seen a few times before on 5100’s. I’d drive it for a few days and re-measure.

But since 5100’s don’t include springs, it would be helpful to know what coils you actually got, alongside, or preinstalled by your supplier on those new 5100’s, whichever the case may be…