Lift issues

I recently bought a used 2020 trd off-road with 17k in miles. I recently had a shop install a 3 inch spacer lift on the front(kept the factory bilistein shocks) and a 2 inch rough country lift on the rear. The place I brought it to installed everything including the blocks and the new shock for the back. As well as the 3 inch spacers in the front. I upgraded tires and tire size but kept the Toyota factory 16 inch wheels. I went with a 285 75 16 BFG KO2’s. I’m sure you’ve heard this story before but here is mine. The first day I drive it seemed ok but then the next day when I got in the interstate and got to around 50mph it had vibration or like a tire not balance feel. Also felt like it was having a hard time going into certain gears when accelerating. I brought it back to them and they said the front tires weren’t balanced. So they balanced them again. I also forgot to mention that they put a .25 wheel spacers on the front because the tires were barely touching the upper control arm when you made a hard turn either way. I left the shop and it’s still driving like crap. Bringing it back to them tomorrow but they are trying to tell me that those tires are just hard to balance. Anyone else know what might be going on here?

 

Could be needle bearing up front…..or that your suspension is maxed out and you’re feeling everything now. block and spacer lifts can be rough rides.

The gear hunting or hard shifts is from going up in tire size, it’s extra weight the truck isn’t used to.

 

Yeah I definitely feel like the vibration is close to my drivers side. I went ahead and ordered a replacement for that needle bearing. Figured that couldn’t hurt to have it replaced with the east coast one that I saw on another post

 

Our trucks were always sluggish. Adding heavier and larger tires will make it even slower. Assuming you upgraded from the stock oem tires, you went from a 40lbs tire to a 60lbs tire. That's an extra 20lbs per corner so you'll feel it. That's one of the reason why I stuck with the lighter 265/75/16 tire option. You could try getting a tune as it might help.

 

Most likely It's that .25 spacer. Your wheels are no longer setting properly on hubs. Tacoma wheels are hub centric.

 

100% this. If the shop didn't know that then I'd go somewhere else.

 

It was doing this before and after the .25 wheels spacers so it has to be something else

 

They added the .25 spacer when I brought it back the first time it was vibrating when they balanced the front tires again.

 

Welcome to the trials and tribulations of owning a lifted truck. Start with the needle bearing and go from there.

 

Main reason why I keep on holding off lifting my 2017 .

 

When lifting these trucks, you get what you pay for. You put a $300 lift on the truck with heavy tires and the worst spacers possible are upset with the way it rides...nobody here is surprised. You can either spend the money to put a good lift on there or keep chasing the vibration. Could be anything from the needle bearing, drive shaft angle, pinion angle, loose hardware, alignment (without new upper control arms, I'm positive your alignment isn't right). Is the vibration only under acceleration or all the time? Try putting the truck in 4WD and see if it goes away.

 

I think doing a spacer lift that tall is part of the problem, it's my understanding if you want to go more than 2/1" you defiantly should be buying an actual lift kit, rather than spacers. With help from a an experienced tech, we installed a 2/1" spacer lift and it aligned and rides great. Also check your CV boots and shaft angles, again I think anything over 2" and you need more suspension work to correct the geometry.
Signed,
not a lift expert

 

My truck is lifted 2” and I didn’t touch needle bearings. All I had to do was install a 4 degree shim for the rear axle. Drives smooth like stock.

 

Have you tried putting it in 4wd to see if the vibration goes away? That would be a good indicator its the needle bearing.

 

Did you use a hub centric spacer? If not, that's probobly your problem. The wheel isn't staying perfectly centered on the hub.

 

Yeah definitely not scared to admit that I probably bought the wrong lift. Just let me know what I should have bought and I’ll get it. Thx

 

Also getting a bit of a shake in the steering wheel when hitting bumps and just riding in general

 

Curious, what was the indicator that you needed a shim?

 

I’m very happy with my Ironman lift. Took me anywhere I wanted to go in Moab and the alpine loop and I’ve had zero issues in the last 20k miles other than a blown ball joint that Ironman replaced for free. Dobinsons is a good lift as well. Plan on spending roughly $2500-$3000 for a good lift.

Pinion angle will determine if a shim is required or not. The shim goes between the block and the leaf spring seat on the rear axle.