New toyota 4 pack leafs... defective?

I purchased a TRD off road dblcab shortbed new in 2009. Had Eibach 620 front coils, Bilstein 5100's all around and a Toytec Add-A-Leaf installed within about 4000 miles. Truck has driven perfectly for ~ 7 years.

I got the recall letter for leaf springs, so arranged to have my original leafs(3-pack + Add-A-Leaf).Replacement took place Monday and the dealer also returned my Add-A-Leaf(not installed) per my request.

Because of schedule, girlfriend picks up truck and reports that the rear is much lower(rear is now back to stock height without Add-A-Leaf) and that it rides a bit rough/firm. Ok, I'll check it on Wednesday.

Upon driving, it is immediately obvious that the rear is bottoming out on the shocks over very slight bumps or dips in the road. Had my mechanic friend confirm while I jumped on the bumper while he observed. Leafs appear flattened out and the rear is bottoming out the shocks, not hitting the bump stops.

Sorry about the long backstory...

The Bilstein 5100's(part# C478 or C476) are direct replacement for factory shocks. Same length?
Is this correct?

The truck has 48,000 gentle, old man, mall crawling miles. The shocks may be worn out a bit but are not leaking and appear to be in good condition. But even if they were shot, the rear would still be supported by the springs.
Is this correct?

My thoughts are that something is wrong with the replacement leaf pack.

I already have a call in to the service manager at the dealer but am seeking expert opinions.

Thanks guys, and I'll post this to the suspension forum shortly.
I've forgotten an awful lot in 7 years since I last researched suspension/lifts.

I welcome any comments, opinions or suggestions.

wmb67

 

I'll post some pics later tonight, but the the leafs appear almost flattened out and the truck bottoms out on the shocks just driving on it's own weight or me bouncing on the bumper.

Shouldn't the leafs be carrying most of the weight of the truck and the shocks absorb the harshness?

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/new-toyota-4-pack-leafs-defective.432849

 

Thanks for the help Tom

Copied from the 2nd gen forum:

Thanks Jimmy, you are right. After a bit of email tag with Toytec (who supplied the shocks, springs and add-a-leaf, I think they gave me the answer.
Bilstein 5100's are factory sized replacements, unless you have the add-a-leaf and then they come with shock extenders to accommodate the add-a-leaf.


So I just need to remove these for now because the new 4-pack leaf has not lifted the truck to where the height that the 3-pack+add-a-leaf ended up, resulting in the shock being too long for the current stock height.
For now, I'll remove the extenders and run the rear at stock Toyota 4-pack height, since the add-a-leaf from the 3-pack is not compatible with the new 4-pack, until the new 4-pack leaf arrives from Toytec. Hmm, after 7 years maybe I should get some new shocks while I'm at it.

Thanks all for the help and suggestions.