Will a 1/2” Spacer lift damage the shock?

Thinking of putting a 1/2” spacer at the top of the strut of my bone stock 23 TRD OR 4x4. The total lift will be 1”. Is this big enough to cause the stock bump stop to not work? Do I risk the UCA’s or CV axle hitting or binding? I off-road mildly about once a month. Just want the slight lift to get more down travel (tinkerer’s adventure) and for the look.

 

No I ran that combo for a long time on my 2g and it’s the sweet spot. You can trust my boi Kai

 

Great to hear! You had no issues with some more aggressive off-roading? Did you notice better droop? Kai is great, I just know he demo-ed on a GX and didn’t know if the Taco had similar geometry.

 

No issues, better droop, no binding, trolling on the ones at 3” lift. As you know multiple vehicles use the same components (prado platform) I’m currently on 5100’s with 885 at bottom clip rolling on 35”s and Chevy 63’s and 14”s rear. All party, no issues.
https://youtube.com/shorts/AeWQixxkf4I?si=APJfzyM-tiJ2Zxf2

 

Woah, that’s a sick rig my man. Those 35’s look meaty. Do you have a front locker on it too?

 

F/R locked. But obviously that clip is open/open to observe for non cross max flex.

 

Sick. How much travel over stock are you getting?

 

I’m kind of lost in the sauce at this point but I’m ok with the current combo. So far going LT hasn’t crossed my mind.

 

Ran the same setup on 2022 sr5 for a year absolutely no problems no change in ride and beat on it pretty hard, eventually went to billstein 5100s

 

Good to hear, thanks. Did the 1/2” level out the truck or did it make it squat? I’ve been reading that 3rd gens have little rake from factory and will squat with even a small lift.

 

Gets it leveled.

 

Great!

 

I’ve been running a 1/2 inch spacer for years with zero issues. I did the install at my old shop and even did the alignment on our brand new alignment machine. It was such a small change everything was still in spec, since I’m OCD I dialed in my alignment anyway but it honestly wasn’t needed. Kai has great content and his channel is an awesome asset to the off-road community.

 

Thanks for the feedback. Did you re-aim the headlights? I'm pretty convinced I'm going to do it, I just want to make a list of what needs to be re-checked (alignment, headlights?, etc.)

 

No, at the same time I actually added a 1 3/16 spacer in the back as well. I have a Snugtop shell that never comes off, now my truck basically sits exactly how it did from the factory but an inch taller or so.

 

Oh, Okay. I haven't yet considered that. If I just do the 1/2" shim on the front, do you think it'll mess with the headlights?

 

Not any more than putting a camper shell on the back and loading the truck for a weekend outing.

My only caution is: DON’T run a half inch spacer on anything but OEM shocks. For instance, I put a smaller (3/8 inch) spacer above aftermarket shocks (Bilstein 6112’s) and it caused the UCA’s to contact the coil springs at full droop — even with aftermarket UCA’s (SPC’s). This is because aftermarket/upgraded shocks are typically already longer than stock to maximize travel.

 

Noted, thank you! I have a bone-stock truck, so I don't think this should be a problem (for now). Was your fix just to remove the 3/8 inch spacer?

 

It will most likely level it. Here’s an old pic i took while I had this lift. It was the 1/2” spacer up front and the trd pro/trial edition 1/2” block in the rear

 

1/2" spacer works great, this is what I'm running on my 2nd gen currently to level it out since I've got the Icon AAL.