Steering and Suspension overhaul thread

Yeah I hear that, I got these, and most everything else, from Amazon

$387 Dorman 929-401 Leaf Spring Compatible with Select Toyota Models

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003SJJRMC?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s03 for $113 each. I'm heading to Georgia tomorrow for vacation and I'll be back on Sat or Sun. it's 1600 miles each way so the springs should be pretty settled in by then so I'll post about them when I get back, I'll also try to remember to post again in a month or so.

I just took her for a drive and she's running so smooth. Took her up to 80 and it felt like nothing. The steering is tight and responds instantly, tracking is perfect. So glad I did this.

Starting on the headlights now, I'll post pictures soon.

 

My alignment was only $69.95.

 

Were the springs right and left side specific? Seems like some company's come that way and others are more universal. See like get mixed reviews so it'll be cool to hear what you have to say about them after some use.

Did you replace your shackles or just reuse the stockers?

 

These were the same for both sides and I was able to reuse the driver side shackle but the passenger side was rusted in so I bought a new one from NAPA which was also Doorman. I'll definitely give you my thoughts on them as I use them.

 

Head Lights are in, I'm just waiting for it to get dark so I can aim them. Man, what a difference. I don't know who decided plastic headlights were a good idea but they're not. I bought some Meguiar's Headlight Protectant to help these last a little longer. I'll just make it part of my monthlyish Armor Alling of the interior.



I don't care how ninja you are you are not getting the grill off and back on a 17 year old Taco without breaking a few clips. I bought 10 of the grill clips and 10 of the button clips for inside the wheel well from the dealer a while back and I definitely used a few on this project. I like to have all bolts and all clips in proper working order.

 

I mounted the bar light last night but I'll have to wire it when I get back. I'm going to add a new fuse box because I want to run a few wires back to the bed for USB outlet/cigarette lighter and camper shell lights. I'm also going to install a 1500w power inverter and run outlets to the cab and the bed. I'll start a new thread if I post all of that though, the body mounts and performance updates will be the last things I post on this thread. Thank you everyone that followed and commented, your tips really helped.

 

Nice work. It kills me not having any camber or toe in the rear, too used to driving cars. Though why did they put positive camber up front?? I never understood why this is allowed at all in the alignment specs, as it would restrict turn response. Also it looks like the rear axle is tilted back on the passenger side.

Im very interested in your impression of the springs after they have had some good break in. Has the ride height lowered a bit since install?

Did you buy two of the same item? Cause Amazon has both Dorman 929-400 and 929-401, for left and right sides respectively.

Check on Groupon for alignment specials. They should only charge you $35-40 as they are only aligning the front, and go in with your own specs. I had them put about -0.5 of camber up front for better turn in.

I broke all of the clips on mine when replacing the radiator, turns our you have to remove the grill to swap that too. I bought them from this ebay listing.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/GENUINE-TOY...ING-/171134961631?hash=item27d87047df&vxp=mtr

 

I just got mine back from alignment.
the steering wheel is HEAVY now with all the new bits pushing back. I guess I never realized how loose it had gotten over the past 14 years.

The shop also said "hey, did you know that you have this big rust hole by your left side rear leaf spring hanger?"
no. no I did not. thank you for that. Now I know that after dropping about $1k on parts and bleeding all over my truck. that's great news. thanks. argh.

ABS also fires when coming to a stop. I'll have to pull the ABS sensors and see if there's anything on the toothed wheel in the knuckle. The left side sensor bolt broke off when I removed it, so I light have to retap a little better, too.

sigh..

 

That's interesting. I just checked into that on Amazon and for my 2000 4wd it says the 400 PN does not fit and the 401 does. Has a $7 different price as well. One of the answered questions on there says that a Dorman rep claimed they are the same spring and work on either side. Seems weird to me that they would with the fuel tank on the drivers side adding weight. RockAuto lists only the 401 PN and states that it is for both right and left? Anyone be able to clarify this?

 

95-97 use a significantly shorter spring than 98-04.

 

Ok, I apologize for the last post. You are correct, -400 is 95-97, -401 is 98-00.

I was looking at Amazon's fitment notes, it lists 929-401 at Right Rear, and 929-400 as Left Rear. Though according to Dorman, each one is the same for left/right.

Though as ive seen some people note, Tacos like to lean, especially with a full tank. Makes a good case for coilovers and corner balancing.

 

Thanks following that up. That definitely makes sense now

 

Bummer about the ABS and the Rust but glad to hear everything else is good. I can't believe how much better my steering is. Hopefully the rust won't be too bad to fix.

The propose of my trip to Georgia was to drop off some silicone molds for a company I own that makes climbing holds for commercial climbing gyms. When we unloaded the molds we weighed the pallet and it came out to 880lbs making me feel a little better about the truck squatting. While driving out here I had a slight vibration starting around 75-80mph but after unloading and starting my drive back the vibration has gotten worse. When I finished everything I rotated the tires from the front to the back but the fronts were no longer round. I'm sitting at Discount in Nashville right now getting all four tires replaced. I was hoping to get a little more use out of them since they only had 28k on them but oh well.

I'll measure the lift when I get back but here's some pictures of the truck loaded with 880lbs plus camper shell and my luggage.


Loaded


Unloaded

 

The ride is smooth as a babies butt now. And the KO2s do look sexy on a Taco.

 

Post trip update on the leafs: They settled in to stock hight, as far as I can tell. I did some google searches and the most common answer I saw was to measure from the center of the axle straight up to the top of the wheel well and it should be 20.5", which is pretty much where mine sits, around 20-20.5. As for the squating with 880lbs in the bed, I weighed the truck unloaded and it came in at 4260lbs so with the load in the back it would have been around 5140 and the GVWR on the truck is 5100 so I was overweight. Overall I'm still happy with the leafs though I may get airbags at some point. Since it's my everyday driver I would rather a smoother ride so I'm glad I didn't get a stiffer leaf.

I'm back at work so I'll get the body mounts put on not this weekend but next. Oh, and now my radiator has a 4" crack in it just below the fill. Always something.

 

I should also say that even though it was squating I only felt it bottom out once and that was a pretty bad pothole.

 

Thanks for the follow up info. Very helpful. I'd like to see how these leafs hold up after a year or so.

 

Nice thread. Congrats on all you've done!
If you decide you want air bags I have an Airlift set I pulled off after I changed my rear springs.
About 1k miles on them. I'm in Co too, Front Range.

 

Nice, some good info for us that will tackle this at some point Thanks for taking the time.

 

A couple of weeks ago I got the body mounts and new radiator put in, I’ve been working and playing too much to post up about it. Installing the body mounts wasn't as hard as I expected and the improvement in the ride was also better than expected. I am glad that I didn’t get the new mounts put in till I had a chance to drive it for a couple of weeks after doing all of the other work. The biggest difference is in the displacement of energy when hitting potholes or other bumps in the road, I was surprised at how much better it feels. The issue I’m having now is I keep on speeding because it doesn’t feel like I’m going as fast as I am, I’ll get used to it soon enough. I work 10 days on and get four days off and over my last two sets of days off I’ve taken my raft out so I’ve been driving a lot of dirt roads towing a light trailer. I won’t go as far as to say the new steering and suspension makes dirt roads feel like pavement but the ride and control are greatly improved.


The new radiator was a little wider at the bottom than the old so I had to remove my brush guard to install it. I haven't been able to put it back on yet, I'll have to modify the brackets a little. While taking the bumper off I found that one of the plastic pieces that hold the bumper on was busted so I had the dealer order a new one at $36. I had to remove the bumper and grill for both of these projects so doing them together saved me some time.



Boostedka: I will try my best to remember to post an update on the leafs in a year. If you remember and I don’t feel free to message me and remind me.

Blackat: I may be interested, is it the set with the remote? How much are you thinking? This is the set up I’m looking at

$321 AIR LIFT 59537 Ride Control Rear Air Spring Kit , Black

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...rue&ref_=ox_sc_sfl_title_1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER