Rough country 3" Lift on my 2019 Tacoma sport 4x4

Hey guys! I just got a new 2019 tacoma sport 4x4.

I put so much money down that I had to go with a mid level lift. I got the 3" rough country lift with N3 struts and a 2" rear block and shocks. 1st off my upper a-arm bar hits my coil overs if i go over a bump too fast.

Also when I brake I hear shifting of parts coming from the right passenger side front where the suspension is. It doesnt sound natural at all. The truck rides great other than when I brake a little too hard i hear something moving or hitting on the right side and im not sure what it is.

When I call rough country all they say is "hmmm that shouldnt be happening" they are morons!!!

What do you guys think? Did i get a crappy alignment or do i need new a-arm bars?

I love the 3" lift i think it looks great and Rough Country swears that it will fit with no problems yet im still having problems! Please help!!!

 

If you installed the lift, get under there and Re-torque everything to spec. If you didn’t, take it back to the installer and have them look at it. You’re probably going to need UCAs to get good alignment numbers. I’ll spare you my opinions on rough country.

Also post detailed pictures of your suspension if you can.

Oh, welcome to TW!

 

I thinky you may need a whole new lift.

 

Ditch the RC lift, do some major research and then go at it again. Welcome to TW. Now post a pic of your truck. Good luck with your new truck Brother.

 

If i ditch the RC lift what would you guys recommend to get me about 3" up front? Honestly at this point im thinking about calling and returning the lift. I didnt spend 40K on a brand new truck to have a crappy lift.

What you guys recommend?

 

Curiosity, but is there a reason you want a 3", VS say a 2"? I went 2", and have 1 size bigger tires and love it. I had a 3" on my 2017, and had issues.

 

Thats a loaded question with a lot of dependencies and can easily get lost in the rabbit hole.

I recommend browsing the suspension forum and reading some of the sticky threads. Most reputable brands:

King
ADS
Fox
OME
Toyotec
Bilstein
Icon

 

I just went through a bunch of research, youtube videos, Q&A with folks in the know on the forum, and went with an OME lift from Headstrong on my 2018. Within my budget, this was the best deal. No pics. It gets installed in 2 weeks.

https://www.headstrongoffroad.com/s...mu_Kit_w/_Dakar_Leaf_Pack_-_2016__Tacoma.html

 

I went with the Dobinson kit through @eevaldes and 0 regrets. Loving it.

 

Hey fellas here are some photos of the truck! As you can see from the photos there is already some wear on the coil overs and ive only had it installed for 3 days!!! Every time I turn to the right or brake I hear parts clinking or hitting from the right passenger side and I have no clue what it is but I know its not supposed to happen!

Rough country is blaming the installers and the installers are blaming rough country saying 3" is too high for this truck... yet I know people with 6" lifts running just fine on their tacos! Ive already dropped over 1k on this and these people are seriously pissing me off.

I love the height that my truck has with this lift. I was thinking about switching the rough country to the Icon stage 1 0-2.75" lift comes with 2 new coilovers/ struts and 2 rear shocks. I want to know from you guys. 1. will this solve my problems with the grinding and unwanted noises Im hearing in the front and 2. will I still need a 2" block on the rear like I have now even tho it has the rear shocks for the icon kit???

Thanks fellas! really need your help!!

 

Looking at the bottom of the coils, did they come pre-loaded, or did the installer put them onto the strut? On all the ones I've installed, the base plate where the coil rests, has a "stop" that the end of the coil rests against, and I'm not seeing that in your photo. It looks like there's a little indent there, but the coil isn't lined up with it.

 

Pretty sure anything over 3" of lift requires spacer blocks.

Looks like your shocks are pre loaded too much, given how far down the UCAs seem to be in pic 2.

 

So a 3” lift is significantly different than the 6” lift so I wouldnt directly compare them. People are running 3” no problem at all.

Icon shocks are digressive which some people like and most don’t. Most shocks are a progressive shock. Icon also has a pretty bad rep on this forum due to leaks and very poor customer service and due to that I generally steer people away from them. You would be better going with an OME kit or Bilstein 5100s or something like that.

Rough Country isn’t well respected so very few folks are running them.

Shocks don’t provide lift, coils and springs do. So in order to lift the rear you will need either a new leaf pack, add a leaf, spacer. Etc.

Can you measure from the ground to the fender or the center hub to fender and let us know what the measurement is?

 

Center hub/ fender to ground on the front sits exactly 40" and the back sits exactly 39.5" . Everyone Im hearing from is saying billstein or fox. Do they make billsteins in 2.5" lift? all the shops are telling me the billstein 5100 max height is 2" . Those are my stock coil overs and the installer put the strut into them himself. I just went back to the shop today and they told me if I do the Icons/billsteins/fox then we wont have the noise problems or the clinking when turning to the right/ breaking.

 

Thanks for all your help fellas!

 

*READ THIS*

I’ve ran OME, TOYTEC, RADFLO, FOX, King, and All-Pro.

X2 on the torque recommendations. If your UCA or tie rod ball joints are not torqued correctly then they won’t SEAT correctly = movement and noise. With that said, compressed springs sometimes groan when breaking in and should subside after time.

Bilstien 5100 should give 2.5” of lift on the highest setting with your stock springs. Another option is running a longer 16” 600lb eibach coil on the 5100s at the lowest setting. This should give lift with little preload. That said, bilstien 5100s are heavy duty, generically valved shocks which are not the smoothest. They are high quality and will last forever. RC is simply not good, you have the best truck ever built with a now low end suspension. If you have the money, Fox or King extended travel (no need for external res if you’re not serious about off pavement use) with Uniball UCAs. Rear blocks are not the greatest over time, they can result in axle wrap. A light rate add a leaf is all you need, nothing heavy duty.

Old Man Emu is heavy duty, not super smooth until you add a lot of weight: trail armor, winch, gear, etc.

TOYTEC...no thank you.

In summary, if you are on a budget, I would get the 5100s on all four corners for $400 and a set of eibach coils in 3” diameter, 16” long and 600lb spring rate. Do not move the c-clip up on the shocks until you try it.

6” lifts are bracket lifts, totally different animal than 3”. You also don’t need 3” to clear 33” tires, you only need 2.5” of lift. Thinking in terms of function over aesthetics will save you much money and headaches. Also ditch the shop and learn to work on it your self. Have them mount the springs on the shocks and dive into the rest on your own.

Your front end is set way too high. Those poor UCA ball joints will not last long at that angle. Be honest, how’s the ride feel??

 

Thanks man you gave me a lot to think about. Honestly the truck rides great. Its not as smooth at the stock 2019 sport shocks at all but thats also because I have off road suspension. Honestly, I dont have the time or resources to learn to do this on my own. This is a big job and I really want it done right. I can't tell if this shop is trash or not. They had around 30 5 star reviews on yelp. But at this point im already out hundreds of dollars Im just thinking about going to the damn toyota shop and having them do it for me.

Im looking at aroud the $2,000 range. Do you think I could get kings, or fox's for that price?

 

No.

Maybe heavily used?

 

40k on a truck, don’t cheap out on the suspension. Save up a little bit more and buy once cry once. What’s your goal and plans for the truck, how do you want to utilize it? I would look and kings or ADS first those are the top of the line suspensions.