Front end and Rear end suspension.

Hey guys, I've spent months combing through all the forums, so please have patience with me.

Last year my mother needed some money and I needed a truck so her brand spanking new Tundra (02' Limited 4.7L 4x4 extended cab with limited slip) that I may or may not have taken for a few joy rides in my time became an option for me. This thing is mint condition, still has undercoating and is a monument in my driveway. We are a toyota family, I sat in a carseat in the old 3banger toyota van. And got a nose bleed from not wearing my seat belt in it......

So here I am (in Canada) at 230,000km with the jitters about the lower ball joints.

So here you are wondering what the fuck I want. Lol

I am going to do the LBJ's, spent a lot of time crawling under it looking at loose and worn components and overall I am pleased. However, I need to know since I'll be in there, I want to keep the UCAs so I want to go with a bilstien 5100 set up in the front (I figure 2.0" lift is sufficient for my needs) I may put a front bumper winch combo on the front after the sting of financial burden under our communist leader Trudeau has made it impossible to afford a lift...

So question is:
-what spring to go with in the front to accommodate for said bumper/wench
-will the BFGs and stock rims off my 21' 4runner fit on the old girl(just under 32")
-and why don't you guys ever talk about what to do with the rear when you lift the front 2.0"?? What do I need a spacer pack? Add a leaf? What rear shock to go with? Yes camping gear and kayaks all day in the back.

Just imagine I'm your 5 yr old son who needs help crossing the road.

I want to make the right choices as a baby is on the way and the wife may kill me if I keep spending money on trucks and guns

Thanks in advance

 

The megathread section has an overview of suspension, wheels and tires. Keep in mind the limits of billy clip settings mentioned for AC if planning to use OE springs for the lift up front. There are various mentions of other springs and expected lift heights.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/so-...ught-a-1st-gen-tundra-eh.115928/#post-2980386

Here's a few links with descriptions and links to parts for what's on my truck running Eibach pro adjustable sport shocks up front with high clip setting using OE springs and stock UCAs on 33.2s with a Wheelers AAL in rear.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/2-5-lift-on-1st-gen.140326/#post-3536338

https://www.tundras.com/threads/2-5-lift-on-1st-gen.140326/#post-3536140

https://www.tundras.com/threads/father-son-project-cheap-black-wheels.143380/#post-3606946

May need to reboot your CVs at some point too depending on how high its lifted.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/1st-gen-lunch-table-general-discussion.60450/page-1916#post-3451375

There are better feeling suspension options up front for more money using lower clip settings and different springs. Others will likely share their experience with these setups especially with the bumper / winch weight.

 

You shouldn't need UCAs since you don't want to go above 2" in front. But since you want a bumper and winch, you'll probably want 700lb spring rate coils. I'd look into Eibach, Dobinson, and OME coils. Something tall enough to achieve your desired lift, without needing to adjust the 5100's past the lowest setting.
But you might be happier with 6112's and 700lb springs.

Something people always forget is upgraded bumpstops front and rear. Another thing often overlooked is the brake proportioning valve bracket.

For the rear you can't go wrong with 5100's or 5160's, paired with decent progressive add-a-leafs.

Here are some of my picks:

 

Let me be the first to say, "undercoating is suspicious af", especially knowing the following, from collective knowledge on here:

• The OEM coating and other coatings actually do nothing to stop the rust, primarily just cover it from being seen
• These frames often rot from the inside-out, and coatings will actually allow water (and any road salt mixed with it) to sit inside the framerails
• Depending on what coating is/was used, it could be a really bad thing or a really good thing
• If the coating was done by Toyota, it's a bad thing

I'd highly recommend getting a snake cam and running it inside the framerails, especially in the front horns. One guy back in Feb/March posted on here a truck he thought was mint, only to find the framerail just under the master cylinder was essentially non-existant once he took the splash apron off. Not even sure how the frame wasn't snapped in half after seeing his pics.

Still, all the spring info is in the thread ToyotaDude linked up. I posted it, but it's not my thread, I just organized the info and update it when someone PM's me to change something. The "suspension, wheel, tire" section has all you need to know. A simple 1.5" lift with 51000 and OME 2883 and upsizing the tires to 265/70r17 will lift your truck over 2" for example, that jump from 265/65 to 265/70 for 17" wheels adds an inch in diameter alone. I see you're running OEM 16s though, so ... make that "update to 265/75r16 to gain an inch of diameter". You really don't need to go whole hog with more than that. I legitimately think the side effects probably aren't worth it to the majority of people when you consider added wear and tear, comfort loss, etc.

 

some site are saying the 5160 is for 0-2" or rear travel, some 0-1.5", and I swear I read somewhere that I need at least some lift with them, but I actually like my current height/rear stock spring rate. Can I just run the 5160 without any mods? do I run the risk of bottoming it out with stock bumpstops? I’m actually thinking about a rear sway bar with these on stock leaf springs.

 

You should be fine.

 

The reason you hear less about rear set ups / lifts ( speculating here....) is:

Non-TRD trucks have a difference of 3+ front to rear. Making front look extra low. When in fact stock they will go through anything a truck with this wheelbase should be used for. If you dont have 5k burning a whole in your checking account, stay under 2" best way to lift front end is at refresh time so all the bushings only "see" the new lidted geometry and dont have play from wear at the old "geometry" this is just my opinion.

Once lifted , any wear items in front end will expose themselves and you should expect additional costs. If you have the budget and get all quality parts and install it yourself you could be fine. Just from reading on here its 50/50. And i know quite a few people who go back to stock kyb or 4600 after a while to regain compliance and reliability. I forget the exact number. But you can really obly gain 1.5" max travel with stock upper and lower arms. Matbe less.

But they do look great level.

 

Thanks! You’re probably right about that rake. And I never even thought about the bushings, but I swapped everything out already up front. I installed the “Eibach” UCAs you sold me and 6112’s. Replaced everything but the axles and passenger spindle

 

Thats awesome. Great to hear!