Reference: Replacing Front and Rear Suspension

[bonifacio]

I've never done a suspension on a truck. I've worked on cars and bikes. I had a shop do the 5100's the first time. Weight and soft springs lead to annoying rubbing.
Thought I'd give it a try. My garage is too small. Parents are out of country for 2 weeks. Figured I'd take advantage of their garage and free loaner.
Just going over everything I need, so I can make it in one trip. This is one of those things that I feel is holding up my life because I keep putting it off.
Figured I'd tackle the front first and see how it is before doing the rear. Rear has a 1.5" AAL.
If I was to change the front suspension I know it's going to need an alignment.
Does it matter when the rear is changed up? Could that affect the alignment in the front?

Ended up with the Firestone Lifetime Alignment. Was around $200.

Already had the Carrier Bearing Drop installed from last time.

Original link: https://youtu.be/oC33zcI9mXY

Original link: https://youtu.be/YqKGATv2SaA


Have the shop put the shock together if it's not assembled.

Gonna leave notes here in case it's useful for anyone else:

• Jack Stands
• Floor Jack
• Breaker Bar
• Prybar
• Torque Wrench
• 14mm
• 15mm
• 17mm
• 19mm
• 22mm
• 24mm
• Sway Bar Relocation Kit
• Socket Extensions
• Impact Driver

Front
Lower Shock Bolt: 61 - 17/19mm
Front Cam: 135 - 19mm
Rear Cam: 139 - 19mm
Lower Ball Joint: 118 - 19mm
Top Strut: 47 - 14mm/15mm
Sway Bar Brackets: 37
Skid Plate (F): 33
Skid Plate (M): 33
Skid Plate (R): 21 - 12mm

Rear
Parking Brake Cable: 9 - 12mm
Lower Shock Bolt: 43/72 (OEM/Bilstein) - 17mm
UBolt Nuts: 52/75? - 22mm (Icon Nuts)
Top Shock: 15 - 14mm
Center Bolt: 40 - 14mm

Lugs
Lug Nuts: 85

5160
Pinch Bolt: 69
Bracket Mount: 20

 

[406Camper]

Just did mine. ICON Stage 3 with AAL. The UCA bolt was the biggest PITA. It's soo long. I had to bend the pinch weld significantly and use leverage to slide it past the body to get it out through the engine compartment. I had an alignment done after.
One trip! What is that like?

 

[bonifacio]

Just did mine. ICON Stage 3 with AAL. The UCA bolt was the biggest PITA. It's soo long. I had to bend the pinch weld significantly and use leverage to slide it past the body to get it out through the engine compartment. I had an alignment done after.
One trip! What is that like?

The good thing is I already have my Icon UCA's done.

One trip. Gonna try. Hope I can stay on task. Trying to start and finish a project in one shot.
For your AAL, did you leave in the overload?

 

[406Camper]

The good thing is I already have my Icon UCA's done.

One trip. Gonna try. Hope I can stay on task. Trying to start and finish a project in one shot.
For your AAL, did you leave in the overload?

We removed the overload springs, replaced them with the AAL.

 

[bonifacio]

We removed the overload springs, replaced them with the AAL.

How much lift did you go for on the front? I have the Icon AAL in now. Was going to put the overload back in for the extra height since it doesn't affect drivability.

 

[406Camper]

How much lift did you go for on the front? I have the Icon AAL in now. Was going to put the overload back in for the extra height since it doesn't affect drivability.

~2.5"

 

[bonifacio]

~2.5"

I guess I could just leave the rear and see how it sits. Decisions decisions...

 

[406Camper]

I don't have a RTT or anything heavy in the back, so I left it as is for now. I like the rake and stance.

 

[TITS]

My shop did the 2" 5100s up front and an alignment. No rubbing with 265/75/16 Duratracs. I feel confident that when I go to a 33" pizza cutter tire, I will not have any rubbing or cutting to do. Still on stock coils as per Bilstein recommendations.

With the 1" rear blocks, my truck still drives like it was stock, just looks a lot better, lifted.

 

[bonifacio]

Did the fronts in 3 hours and 20 minutes.
Driver side was 1.5 hours. Passenger side was 50 minutes. Dicking around.

Not too bad. So the 650lbs does make it seem a lot higher. Will need to add the overload back to the rear.

 

[slidoomz]

lets see some pictures.

 

[bonifacio]

I didn't think of pics. This was before starting the rear.

Drive side rear complete.

 

[bonifacio]

Top was before, right after the 5100/887 was freshly installed. 1.5" AAL without the overload. It did settle and sag quite a bit. Especially with all the added weight in the cab, sliders, top and bumper.

I should have taken a more recent pic before upgrading the suspension.

Bottom is the most recent.

 

[slidoomz]

It’s looking good dude.

 

[Tyler]

I've never done a suspension on a truck. I've worked on cars and bikes. I had a shop do the 5100's the first time. Weight and soft springs lead to annoying rubbing.
Figured I'd tackle this. My garage is too small. Parents are out of country for 2 weeks. Figured I'd take advantage of their garage and free loaner.
Just going over everything I need, so I can make it in one trip. This is one of those things that I feel is holding up my life because I keep putting it off.
Figured I'd tackle the front first and see how it is before doing the rear. Rear has a 1.5" AAL.
If I was to change the front suspension I know it's going to need an alignment.
Does it matter when the rear is changed up? Could that affect the alignment in the front?

Should I apply anti-seize to the nuts and bolts? Use any Loc-tite?



Has anyone done it this way and is it really that simple?

I know I'm late but these are some good questions. So, for future readers:

If I was to change the front suspension I know it's going to need an alignment.
Does it matter when the rear is changed up? Could that affect the alignment in the front?

The rear won't affect the front alignment. So you could do the front first and have it aligned, then do the rear. Or you could do the front and rear and then have it aligned. Either way is fine for the alignment.

Should I apply anti-seize to the nuts and bolts? Use any Loc-tite?

Anti-seize: You could -- your future self might appreciate it. But I never have on any of my vehicles and I don't think it ever caused me any trouble not doing it.

Thread lock: Unless the instructions that came with the aftermarket parts say to, you shouldn't need it. I don't usually add it to things that don't call for it. However, I have seen certain things get loose (not necessarily suspension related) and then I'll use it. @Paige's Jeep's stock sway bar link bolts always got loose. When I finally used thread lock, it stopped. That stuff works great.

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Extra tip: After you torque your bolts to spec, use a paint pen to draw a line across the top of the bolt and continue it onto the structure the bolt is attached to. If you ever notice your line is no longer straight, the bolt loosened.

--

Final thought for future readers: If you are not mechanic savvy but would like to start, I think suspension upgrades is a good place to learn. It is usually a smooth process that only requires using a jack and jack stands properly, identifying cables that need to be detached and out of the way first, and removing and torquing bolts to spec.

 

[bonifacio]

--

Extra tip: After you torque your bolts to spec, use a paint pen to draw a line across the top of the bolt and continue it onto the structure the bolt is attached to. If you ever notice your line is no longer straight, the bolt loosened.

--

Final thought for future readers: If you are not mechanic savvy but would like to start, I think suspension upgrades is a good place to learn. It is usually a smooth process that only requires using a jack and jack stands properly, identifying cables that need to be detached and out of the way first, and removing and torquing bolts to spec.

Nice, visual inspection would be so much better. Should have done that. I purchased jack stands only to find out they were too short. Needed extended height ones. Lol. I've always worked on my own cars and bikes. But for some reason the Tacoma seemed like such a foreign concept. I guess I just had to do it to realize it's not bad.