Tacoma Leveling

[PatSully]

a little late, but great job and it looks great! how do you like the ride quality? is the front/rear ride imbalanced at all?

my Tacoma was well out of warranty when i bought it so i couldnt get the TSB springs. i put in the Toytech add a leaf set and it added like 2+ inches to rear end of the truck and i had the same over kill rake your truck had.

i hated the stiff ride, i only had a decent ride if i had a bike in the bed or wen towing a trailer. i tow or have a bike in the bed 10% of the time so i took the extra leaf out of each side and i am back to stick ride height and comfort. towing isnt as nice right now, but i am planning on the rear firestone airbags over the fall since its too hot now.

 

[FZ1inTX]

a little late, but great job and it looks great! how do you like the ride quality? is the front/rear ride imbalanced at all?

my Tacoma was well out of warranty when i bought it so i couldnt get the TSB springs. i put in the Toytech add a leaf set and it added like 2+ inches to rear end of the truck and i had the same over kill rake your truck had.

i hated the stiff ride, i only had a decent ride if i had a bike in the bed or wen towing a trailer. i tow or have a bike in the bed 10% of the time so i took the extra leaf out of each side and i am back to stick ride height and comfort. towing isnt as nice right now, but i am planning on the rear firestone airbags over the fall since its too hot now.

Jeez! Never saw this Pat... Sorry! The ride quality didn't really change. Nothing noticable to me anyway. Maybe you should look into the Toytech Lifts and get a full kit. Some aren't that bad in price. Another option is ride-height adjustable new Bilsteen's all the way around?

Or, keep an eye on CL or ebay for a set of TSB leaf packs that someone replaced with a 3rd party set. I really like the TSB pack, not too stiff but still able to handle a load or towing.

 

[FZ1inTX]

This is the truck as it sits now... I got into a group buy for wheel spacers from BORA, a US company. I got the 1.25" spacers all the way around and they are hub-centric. I figure while it's up on jack stands, I may as well replace the brakes all the way around... the last inspection stated the rears needed replacement soon. Still don't get that because the truck has 38k on the ODO, The fronts are fine (but I wanted ceramic so....) and the rears wore out first.... don't know! So I'll be busy for a few hours this weekend...

 

[jspansel]

I just put some Thermo Quiet on my 01 Tacoma and they are great pads!

 

[FZ1inTX]

I just put some Thermo Quiet on my 01 Tacoma and they are great pads!

Are you a member of TacomaWorld? Awesome site!!

Glad to hear these are good ones. I've never put brakes on my own vehicles. We've always leased vehicles and finally decided to buy ours... almost every 3 years, they just got traded in. Now we own both vehicles outright and have to keep them up but it's been a lot cheaper!!! Toyota's just don't break down...

 

[BDazzler]

Are you a member of TacomaWorld? Awesome site!!

Glad to hear these are good ones. I've never put brakes on my own vehicles. We've always leased vehicles and finally decided to buy ours... almost every 3 years, they just got traded in. Now we own both vehicles outright and have to keep them up but it's been a lot cheaper!!! Toyota's just don't break down...

And sometimes they just don't brake.

:bs: oke: :jk:

 

[jspansel]

Are you a member of TacomaWorld? Awesome site!!

Glad to hear these are good ones. I've never put brakes on my own vehicles. We've always leased vehicles and finally decided to buy ours... almost every 3 years, they just got traded in. Now we own both vehicles outright and have to keep them up but it's been a lot cheaper!!! Toyota's just don't break down...

Yeah, just signed up over there not long ago... seems a lot of good information. Have not posted yet. I had an 06 TRD Sport Tacoma a couple years ago (best vehicle I've ever had... Miss it like crazy). On TTORA.com and Toyotanation as well when I had that.

Just got this 01 from my dad this last month. He just got a new Tundra and traded me his 01 Taco straight up for my 01 Civic! He is the original owner from brand new. Has 160k on it, mostly all highway from Virginia when we had 100 or so mile a day commute. Just had all the service done to it.. Oil, timing belt, water pump, rotors/pads etc. Runs like new.

Will eventual get it a small lift (1.5-2") with some 5100's and a Wheeler's leaf pack in the rear and either OME 881 coils up front or Eibachs.

Not as roomy as my 06 was, but its a great truck just the same!

 

[FZ1inTX]

Yeah, just signed up over there not long ago... seems a lot of good information. Have not posted yet. I had an 06 TRD Sport Tacoma a couple years ago (best vehicle I've ever had... Miss it like crazy). On TTORA.com and Toyotanation as well when I had that.

Just got this 01 from my dad this last month. He just got a new Tundra and traded me his 01 Taco straight up for my 01 Civic! He is the original owner from brand new. Has 160k on it, mostly all highway from Virginia when we had 100 or so mile a day commute. Just had all the service done to it.. Oil, timing belt, water pump, rotors/pads etc. Runs like new.

Will eventual get it a small lift (1.5-2") with some 5100's and a Wheeler's leaf pack in the rear and either OME 881 coils up front or Eibachs.

Not as roomy as my 06 was, but its a great truck just the same!

Very nice! I had a 2002 DC, not a TRD... I actually liked that Gen I better than this Gen II in some ways. Keep an eye on group buys at TW because they pop up all the time. Plus the site is so large with a big vendor presence that the members get great buying power.

She looks mint for the age. Dad did a great job taking care of her. Any signs of the dreaded frame rot? (I pray not!)

There's a lot of things I do like on the TRD '07 over the '02 but the biggest complaint for the newer one is comfort.... just not as nice as the older truck. But power on the new one just kills that '02.

I hope to have some more pics after this weekend... another small transformation....

 

[jspansel]

Very nice! I had a 2002 DC, not a TRD... I actually liked that Gen I better than this Gen II in some ways. Keep an eye on group buys at TW because they pop up all the time. Plus the site is so large with a big vendor presence that the members get great buying power.

She looks mint for the age. Dad did a great job taking care of her. Any signs of the dreaded frame rot? (I pray not!)

There's a lot of things I do like on the TRD '07 over the '02 but the biggest complaint for the newer one is comfort.... just not as nice as the older truck. But power on the new one just kills that '02.

I hope to have some more pics after this weekend... another small transformation....

Nope, no frame rust. Was not part of the TSB issued states I believe. VIN shows clean and I believe he had it inspected anyways and got the clear.

He indeed did keep up on it.. (well, I was his maintenance guy! haha)

Yeah, you definitely notice the power difference! I miss my rear doors too! But hell, for a crappy Civic straight across trade... Hell of a deal! Though that Tundra is pretty sweet as well he got I must say. Nothing fancy, base 4.6L 4x4 with tow package, but still a very nice truck. Thing drives and rides so damn smooth.

Lookin forward to see what you do with her. They are indeed great trucks.

 

[FZ1inTX]

There's a place here in my local area that will never see business from us again. Clearly a place that likes to think they can take advantage of women... My wife took the truck to be inspected back in the first week of Feb. They told her that the front brakes were good and the rears, while passing, would need to be replaced soon. So I bought the new shoes and pads figuring I'd just do all four corners. What I found is below in the pics... The first shot shows the OEM shoe with the new shoe held up for comparison...

I didn't replace anything and will shelve the new parts for a later date. I managed to get the rear spacers on before it got too dark and will do the fronts tomorrow. I spent most of the day with a co-worker who is a volunteer fire fighter. We've been outfitting his Xtera with all the emergency goodies. Today we fitted a Whelen siren and an 8-way Whelen 24" light bar. We've already done the headlight wig-wags. We only have to now mount the siren controller and switch bank inside, solder and heat-shrink tube the connections to end the process. He was quoted almost $3000.00 to install all of this by the local shop that services the police/fine/ambulance.... I'm charging him $120 and a case of Sam's Octoberfest beer.

More pics tomorrow..... as you can see in the last shot, it's getting dark!

 

[FZ1inTX]

Spacers are done. Test drive was great, no vibrations, no ill effects. Most important, no more rub! The rub was ever so slight that it didn't damage the tire just left a small thin mark on the inside wall. It was done by a small rounded protrusion on the spindle assembly. No danger to the tire.

Hard to see from the front so there's a cut/paste of the difference....

Before:

After:

 

[Hellgate]

Wow, what a project.

Silly question Eric, what does it do? I read it originally but I don't recall.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

 

[FZ1inTX]

Thanks Pete. It started with the TSB for the rear leaf packs... that raised the rear nearly 2" so I bought the leveling kit for the front to bring the truck back to level and ended up with essentially a 3" lift. But due to the new angle of the control arms and the tire size, it was brushing up against the tire just enough to leave a mark on the inside. The spacers bolt on to the original lugs to move the wheels and tires out 1.25" and provides the clearance needed for the lift. No more rubbing! Gives the truck a wider stance... more aggressive.

Next time I need tires, I'm going to move up to a 285/75R16 from the OEM 265/70R16. That's from 30.6" to 32.8" so these spacers will provide me with the clearance for the extra 1" radius all the way around. :tup:

 

[Hellgate]

Ahhh, okay, thanks for the explanation.

 

[FZ1inTX]

A bit better shots...

Got some profile shots to show the new stance... it handles very well! No drawbacks thus far. I'm quite sure I can go to 33" tires without any issues now.

 

[jspansel]

Looks great!