Shackles for rear leveling lift

the one that holds them all together snapped i noticed it after going riding i had my quad in the back and went down like 20 miles of dirt road but it wasnt anything bad so idk how it broke :/

 

You mean you broke the center pin, or the actual leaf?

 

the leaf it literally snapped in half ill take a pic tomorrow and post it it was a major shock to me!

 

Definitely want to see that. That is the first time I have ever ever ever heard of a leaf spring snapping!

 

yeah i work at a auto parts store and i showed some of the guys and they were amazed!

 

It's common for a leaf to break in half in a pack. It just happens sometimes. Probably more so on trucks back East, or ones that haul heavy stuff now and then. See pic below, it's the same leaf you mentioned, on the same style truck. I think I stole the pic from customtacos when a dude posted it.

The first gen 4x4/PR's should all have stock shackles that measure 3.5" stock. Center to center on the bolts. It's also normal for them to not use a metal sleeve in the frame bushings, just a fat 18mm shackle stud, but I have ran into one particular 95.5-04 truck that for some reason had a metal sleeve in the top bushings. Not really sure why, I told him to just remove it so my 18mm bolts would fit through.

 

I have a 99' Tacoma TRD V6 4x4, truck is coming up on 186000. replaced front shocks when i put blocks in in Aug.2010. Rear shocks were new in 2006 and they're just stock length. Leafs are original stock ones. I just checked them out and they are flat, wavy and frowning. Whats the concensus? Do i need to drop some cash and replace them all?

 

My shackles measure 6.5" ctc

 

Once I get my Wheelers Alcan 5 pack leafs and the 881 coils in the front I will have about a 2 inch lift (from what I hear). So I was planning on putting in spacers in the front and 1 inch lift blocks in the back(can't find .5 in ones) in order to get the lift that I want which is a 2.5 inch lift.

Are the lift blocks a good idea or would shackles be better?
I know that neither of them are necissarily that great but does anyone think that it would work good?

Thanks.

 

Shackles would be better. They allow the spring to flatten out more without frowning. Makes the ride softer and allows for more travel. With my 98 I had an issue with the exhaust clearing my 1" shackle lift properly though. I ended up trimming some of the exhaust off so the leaf pack wouldn't push/rub on the exhaust.




EDIT: I'd wait until your rear springs settle before installing the shackle though. A shackle lift won't change once installed. The springs will, and you might end up wanting one a different length. Depending on how far the springs settle.

EDIT2: It's also a good idea to have an impact hammer and/or a torch handy for the install. The rear bushings can be a pita to remove/install. Of course, your also going to want new bushings if your stock ones haven't ever been changed.

 

Kinda off topic.. Can you do a longer shackle on drivers side and shorter shackle on passenger side to make up for the "taco lean" ( just put pro comp 3" lift leafs on rear still leaning)

 

wow dude this is like a 4 year old thread lol.

to answer your question, no!

if you use different shackles then the suspension will lift to one side when you hit bumps instead of straight up and down as it should and this will make it unstable. something you can deal with, yes, but it can cause all sorts of unintended things to mess up.

first try new leaf packs, that may be your only issue, a weaker leaf on one side.

if that doesn't solve it and you need more to level the truck then do it with better front coils that have built in offsets designed to level it out the safe way.

 

Wheelers sells OME leaf spring trim packers. They are steel plates that go under you leafs to correct taco lean. They sell trim packer rings that go under your front coils too as well as plates that go on top of your struts for lean.

 

Haha I noticed this was a old one, yea I just put 3" pro comps on the rear thinking it would work, didn't. I think I'll look up that trim set. Thanks a lot guys

 

Yeah having a leaning truck is pretty lame. If ya check out wheelers off road...in the OME suspension category you'll see them trim packers fur front and rear..there's also a miss suspension parts category in there too with some good parts, blocks, shims, u blots all kinds of use full stuff.

 

I can't find the one inch shackles i know this is an old post but I'm looking for some.

 

can you do stock leafs and longer shackles on a 3rd gen? to get somewhat of a lift.

 

I just checked Toytec's site and I also can't find them, seems they don't sell them anymore. I bought them a long time ago, maybe 8 years ago. Other companies make lift shackles though.