Finally Got Her Lifted!!

Full suspension lift, no blocks. Bilstein 5100's all around, Wheeler Off Road progressive Add-A-Leaf pack for 2 inches of lift front and rear, reused OE coils

I wanted to keep the factory rake and stiffen up the rear suspension because I am building a camper to put in the bed. Although Wheeler advertised this product for 1st gen Tundras, there was some grinding required to make the leaf pack fit. This has been noted in other threads. The new 5100's fit like a dream and went on perfectly. The job took me a weekend but that is almost entirely due to my limited tools, and my never ending quest to make my own life as miserable as possible. Otherwise this entire job could easily be done in a day.

Initial impressions after installation, LOVE the height, didn't want anything too crazy. Ride is SO much better than the 20 year old stock suspension. Tested it on a rough patch of road that I used to catch about 3 feet of air on at 45 mph and I hardly felt it. I have to say, I'm a little sad this exciting street jump has been eliminated from possibility, but there's always trade-offs. NO squeaking or rattling of any kind. Alignment is definitely off but that should be a quick trip to the shop.

If you're doing this job and your truck is stock, I would definitely recommend replacing your sway bar links while you have the wheels off as mine were seized up and the bushings were absolutely shot. I would also recommend c-clamps, a grinder, deep sockets, an impact driver, and a breaker bar as EXTREMELY helpful tools for this job.

Next on the list are bigger wheels and tires, steel front bumper, real rock sliders to replace those ugly, beat up step ups. I will also be blacking out all the chrome.


Before, During and After...No this isn't weight watchers

 

Awesome humor.

 

Lookin good Louis!

 

truck looks a lot better. Well done.

 

Love the old body style

 

No wonder my friend gets mad, I kept spelling it sandy ego.

 

@Mt.Andoo did you leave the overload spring in the rear or take it out?
Nice job by the way. Looks good with new suspension.

 

I'm planning to do the wheeler progressive AAL for my 05 soon, to replace the rear block. Looks good!

 

I just installed the Deaver AAL which is progressive. The Wheeler's is cheaper, but when I went to order it was out of stock. Just another option if you run into that situation.

 

Nice work! I completed a lift on mine this weekend and agree with all of the tools you recommended. I have the advantage of air tools and indoor garage with two post lift but still, a lot of brute force required throughout. I totally agree regarding the sway bar links. I replaced mine with OE size aftermarket links but was wishing there was an aftermarket sway link that was adjustable. Lots available for my Jeep but couldn't find adjustable for the Tundra... do they exist?

 

The sway bar links look similar to what are on a 3rd gen 4runner. I swapped in front or rear links (can't remember) from a 2nd gen 4runner because they are longer. I was breaking links every time I hit a deep pothole. Not adjustable but could be a good option.

 

I'm going to have to look into that, thanks. Could definitely use longer links.

 

https://suspensionmaxx.com/product/SMX-122270T

 

Nice work!

 

I love those wheels. Nice truck!

 

Suspension Maxx is one place for adjustable links.

Another one is a member here that lists his stuff in the for sale section here.

 

Thanks Casper, I just ordered a pair.

 

I left mine on because I am planning on putting a lot of weight on my rear end once I get my camper built. And thank you!

 

Sounds like you've got the dream shop! Us shade tree mechanics could only dream of having a lift haha. Lots of time spent on my back in the driveway that weekend...

 

Sick look! Im planning on getting the 5100s installed on my 2012 along with new wheels and tyres. I just need a little info on how to buy Bilsteins? Do they already come with everything you need? Or do i need to be careful of not having everything in a package? Totally new to all this being because ive had a 99 ford explorer for the past 8 years (since i was 15) so this whole truck/lift thing is all new to me. Would appreciate any info or a forum i should checkout? Thanks in advance

 

Welcome to the forum sir, there are specific threads for different generations of Tundra. Look in the 2nd Gen threads for information on your model. This forum is for the 2000-2006 model and the truck changed drastically for the 2007 up models.

 

Which notch did you use for the Bilsteins?

 

Your truck looks great, that's the exact suspension setup I have and I love how it rides. What trimming did you need to do to install the Wheeler's AAL? I didn't trim anything on mine during install and now you have me worried...

 

The metal spring clamps that hold the factory leaf spring pack together were placed in such a way on my truck that they prevented the new pack from fitting snugly up against the factory springs. There are two clamps per pack, one towards the front of the pack and one towards the rear. The are secured via a large rivet that I ground the head off in order to remove them and install the new spring clamps provided by Wheeler. You may be able to install the new pack while leaving the old spring clamps on, but I found it made the most sense for their placement on my specific vehicle to remove them entirely. I'm not sure how the position of these clamps may have been altered between our model years. If you took a picture of your leaf pack as it is right now I could quickly tell you how similar/dissimilar it is to mine and you can make the judgement call as to how you want to proceed from there!

 

I am just here to see the camper build.

 

HAHA SOON!! I'm going to be starting that build this fall. Going to be a steel frame, cab over slide in camper. Aluminum shell with a VERY unique interior design. I'll definitely start a thread for that and post progress videos on YouTube, so keep an eye out!