Leaf Spring Replacement - OME or OEM?

Very helpful thread here, hoping to revive for a clarifying question. Here's my '03 Prerunner Xtra cab 123k miles, carrying a constant load of about 400+ lbs (leer canopy and a plywood drawer system full of camping equipment). Stock original suspension.

If I go with General Springs HD leaves, what shocks do I want? I am reading conflicting info between Bilstein 4600 and 5100... I thought 5100 would give it a lift? I don't plan to do anything to the front suspension, as my mechanic said it looked fine up front. I want it to sit level with the load, and obviously handle well.

Also, would this still be considered oem suspension? All the shops around me say they only do oem. One wants to use Dayton leaves and Monroe OE spectrum shocks, but he'll probably install whatever I want if I supply the parts (and im nervous about being responsbale for makin, but I'm having a hard time understanding exactly what I need. Waiting to hear back from the other about what they want to do.

 

Stay away from anything Monroe- Complete garbage.

If you're constantly carrying weight, then the HD springs are the right choice. Dayton, Huskey, Dorman, General Springs, all sell what I would guess to be the exact same spring (manufactured by someone and they slap their own label on them).

4600 or 5100 REAR shocks will not lift your truck. If you do any dirt roads get the 5100s.

5100 front shocks have an adjustable spring perch that you can set for certain amounts of lift. The shock it self if not responsible for the lift. Either the spring (with a higher spring rate) or precompressing the spring (by adjusting the perch) causes the lift.

 

@Andy01DblCabTacoma okay thank you so much for the swift reply! So if my local mechanic prefers a HD from any of those 4, they'll all be comparable and fine? Perfect. And in your option, does it make sense to not upgrade the front, or should I get the bilstein 5100 front/rear set?

If I order all the parts myself and bring them in to my local mechanic, I just want to be 10000% sure i have all the necessary pieces and the RIGHT pieces.

 

You very much get what you pay for. I opted for a set of cheap leaf springs as a temporary fix for something else. There was a notable difference in ride quality between the original OEM pack and the cheap pack. If you can afford it, I would look into a better spring option. Most any spring manufacturer would be able to make you a custom pack to sit level with 400 + lbs of constant weight. The rear spring market is a bit tricky- at this point, most companies just advertise leaf springs that lift your truck, but they can all make factory-height springs if you call them.

Shocks do not cause ride height differences*- they dampen motion. Installing 5100 rear shocks will not lift your truck. However, I would expect that you will notice a difference in ride height between your worn out OEM springs, and ANY pack you replace them with.

It's equally important to address the front suspension too.

* There are some shocks that do, but for the sake of this thread, 5100s, 4600s, etc do not.

 

I'm starting to understand more clearly, thank you. Re: better spring option, do you mean better than General Springs HD?

 

Yes. General Springs, Dorman, Huskey, Dayton, etc... If you look at the part numbers from each brand, they are all identical or nearly identical. This leads me to believe that they all source the springs from one manufacturer and apply their own sticker to them. It could very well be General Springs that makes them and supplies the others

So the better option is getting in touch (call on the phone) with a local spring company or a reputable company like Deaver, Alcan, etc to get the right pack for you. I know it's way more money, but the products are significantly better.