Is this a Lift, Level or Lift/Level kit?

Hey gang!

I bought a 2007 Tacoma last summer with 172,000km (106,000 miles) and I'm looking to remove the current kit on it. I've been told it's a Lift, Levelling and a Lift/Level kit on separate occasions and I'm confused, to say the least. My understanding is that the complexity of removing the kit depends on what kind it is. I'd greatly appreciate some help in determining the true type of kit this truck has.

My right rear tire has a hole in the side wall and the other tires have less than 50% of their tread life left. I think this is a good opportunity to buy tires with a lower aspect ratio and better fuel economy while removing the kit. I drive about 20,000km/year and never go off-roading. I just need a dependable truck to drive my daughter to school and work while using the truck for DIY projects around the house. I admit that the truck looks great the way it is, however, I'm not a big guy and I feel ridiculous getting in and out of this truck lol.

I have basic mechanical skills and I was wondering if this could be done economically.

Any input is appreciated, thanks!

 

looks to me like 2" spacer lift.... front and back. Are you looking into slowing down the rust issues?

 

Spacer lifts are normally a breeze to take off...

But that's provided that your nuts aren't all titanic-grade rust welded into place. Good news is that the actual front spring mounts look like they'll budge. P-blast the hell out of those spacer top bolts. For u bolts, just break that shit and save yourself some energy.

You'll need new U bolts at a minimum anyway. I don't know what's going on with your leaf pack, but I'd consider that too. I personally wouldn't like seeing any kind of flaking on a leaf spring.

 

@OffroadToy Great, thank you! I think I'll just remove the spacer lifts when I get new tires and bring everything back to stock.

The rust on the frame was a big concern of mine. The previous owner said he brought it to Toyota for the frame recall and was denied since there weren't any holes in the frame. I decided to purchase the truck anyway since the Carfax indicated that the truck was undercoated yearly by Krown. There's lots of surface rust but still no rotting holes. I've had a few mechanics look at it and they all agreed that the frame still seems structurally safe despite the surface rust. I plan to continue with yearly undercoating. Do you have any advice I could use other than undercoating?

 

@Rock Lobster Thank you! I had a hard time getting a good picture of the rear suspension. It seems like there's a block between the leaf springs and the axle.

 

I'm not sure what to do at this point (don't have rust issues where i live.) Like you said do a yearly coating (not the rubberized crap) and keep an eye on it for sure. Another thing you might want to remove is differencial drop spacers if the lift came with them.... no need if your going back to stock.

 

A leveling kit is a lift kit. Adding the word “leveling” describes the intent of the kit. In the Taco’s case, it is usually a 1.5” to 2.5” front kit to reduce/eliminate the Tacos’ factory rake. In your Taco the rake remains because of the two-inch blocks in the rear. A one-inch would have leveled it more. With the amount of rust I see, you may first want to check if your LCA front cam bolts are seized, a common occurrence on Taco/FJ/4Runner suspensions. I don't see a significant improvement in MPG removing the lift and getting smaller tires. I have a similar lift as your current truck (2.5” front with OME coils, and 1-inch blocks in rear with OEM springs) and I get 16mpg in city and close to 18 if I keep it under 70mph on highway. I doubt you will get better than 18/20.

 

@Chuy Thank you! This is exactly the explanation I needed to clarify my confusion. I assume the kits will still be different between a lift/level? Either way, it sounds like I have Spacer Lifts which seem pretty straightforward to remove.

Option B would be to leave it and just get 4 new tires? I'm guessing it's not a great idea to just get a new right rear tire, especially since the left rear is at the end of its life.

I'm currently running Falcon Wildpeak's AT3W P285/70R17. They are discontinued and I can only find one in my area. What tires are you running on your Tacoma?

Thanks again! This forum surprises me with how helpful people are. It's giving me hope in humanity lol.

 

I think your truck would look nicer by replacing the two-inch blocks with one-inch - of course, I’m biased because that’s what I have. Yes, removing the lift requires no special tools but you may need to deal with seized nuts and bolts. Right now, I have mixed tires - Venom Terra Hunters in rear and Kelly Edge AT’s in front, both 265 70 17. I am waiting for the Venoms to wear out more before replacing them with the Kelly’s.