04 Tundy 4x4 lift recs please

Hello fellow Tundra lovers,
I purchased my truck a few years ago, and the previous owner had a lift on it already so I thought i was getting a deal. Several CV boot and axle problems later plus very rough riding on city streets I’ve realized it’s been more of an issue than I ever thought imaginable. It’s a total chaos lift kit. I drive washboard gravel roads a lot during summer months and two tracks to get to fishing spots but nothing super crazy.
Toyota dealerships have quoted me to revert the truck back to stock would be almost 4k. Any recommendations or insight is greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

No details on inches front or back, sorry. I went to an off-road mechanic and they did recommend a diff drop and high angle cv axles as well. They said another lift wouldn’t cure the condition u less it was less of a lift

 

A couple more pictures. I guess since I’m not mechanically inclined I’m wondering it total chaos is a reputable company and I can move forward with that lift and hope the diff drop and high angle CVs resolve the issues or from perusing older threads if toytec or other brands will give me a smoother ride when just going to run errands. I understand a trucks gonna truck on the washboard but every time I hit a small pot hole you’d think I just ran someone over. Thanks again

 

4k to return to stock?? Better have one hell of a happy ending.

you have uniball upper control arms and bilstien 5100 shocks on the top setting. Very mild setup but yes ill bet it rides rough. Total chaos is high quality.

you could just get new shocks since you dont know how old they are and find someone selling stock upper arms if you wNt to drop down in height.

the tires look heavy, what load rating are they?

 

Try the front differential drop and hacvs. My old 06 had 5100's on the top perch and I ran it around for 3 years without issue. Even worked out of it and 4x4 just about everyday

 

The tires are LT 285/75R16s. load range E. I had my diff serviced today and I believe they inflated to recommended PSI. I will check the invoice. Hmm looks like they inflated to 40 front and back. I feel like 33 or so was what most shops did in the past

 

Thank you all for your time and recs, I appreciate it and wish I would have done this sooner. The off-road mechanic I took it took was supposed to email me a packet of recommendations but it’s been five days so I’m doing my own research in the meantime.

 

So when I walk back in there and want to sound like I know what I’m talking about I should agree to the diff drop, get some HACVS and talk with them about quality after market coil overs?any way to just drop down from the highest setting? Lol thanks again y’all

 

You can lower the 5100. They say get new set rings though, they say dont re-use them. e rated tires is so beyond overkill on a gen 1. I ran D rated on my gen 1 which was awful as well. C rated was MUCH better than D

 

As others said yes you could lower the front by adjusting the spring mount position but at that point you may just want to get new struts and coils and start over.
Don't UCA's of that style (uniball I believe) need periodic disassembly and lubrication of some sort? I don't recall the specifics but I know I've read it.

 

Wow this has been much more educational than all of my trips to Toyota combined. I should have saved all the money I’ve given them and put myself through tech college for auto repair

 

Too further this learning process how do load rating on tires work and how do they affect the driving experience?

 

Higher load means stiffer tire which means stiffer ride. That's the basics of it anyway.

 

The E load range tires alone are contributing quite a bit to the rough ride. They may be 5-10 lbs heavier per tire with much stiffer sidewalls and both will result in a much harsher ride.

Tire pressures are nearly as controversial as oil threads but I'd start by inflating the tires to the pressures recommended by Toyota on the door jamb. Next, if possible, find a Tundra owner with C load range tires to see the difference.

Good luck with the improvements.

 

Load Index = the weight capacity of a tire and is marked on the sidewall with numbers roughly between 90 - 120 for cars and light trucks with higher numbers indicating higher weight capacity.

Load Range = indicates the how a tire is constructed but moreso how much tire pressure it can hold. Higher Load Indexes and Load Ranges generally move together but they aren't the same thing.

A C Load Range tire has a max psi of 50, while a E Load Range tire can be inflated to 80 psi. That alone suggests that E tires are a lot beefier than C tires but in the case of the Tundra E Range tires are a choice that may be more durable and will definitely be a heckuva a lot stiffer and heavier. The added weight will cause the suspension to ride much rougher (see unsprung weight).

Helpful information...
https://www.treadwright.com/blogs/treadwright-blog/understanding-tires-load-index-vs-load-range

 

I’m on E rated tires and 5100’s bottom perch with 885’s. I don’t have this issue.

It looks like there is a spacer on top of the springs. It is over lifted in the front by what looks like 1 1/2”.

There is too much preload on the factory spring. Only solution is to lower it down. If the age of the shocks is unknown, I’d pic up some new 5100’s or some Icon coil overs. Icons ride very nice.

 

If those Bilstein 5100’s are still good up front, you could buy a set of coils from Eibach or OME to provide the lift with a softer ride and put the clip on the 5100’s back at the lowest setting. Appears your running an Access Cab truck on the upper clip which is not recommended for those. Might be able to keep the lift, and smooth the ride out some. Those tires are not helping as others have mentioned. Very stiff and heavy. Bad combo for a comfortable ride.

 

So to conclude this enlightening thread I should get a diff drop, high angle cvs, trade my tires in for a lighter tire(C or SL) possibly grease the UCA, lower the lift and get after market coils. The bilsteins were new as of October 2020, hopefully me running this set up hasn’t destroyed them

 

You might to be limited to tire size and tire choices if you choose to go to a C or SL tire, keep that in mind. 285/75/16 is generally an E-rated tire from what I've found (I run this size).

 

Personally, I would get some 885’s, lower the 5100’s to the lowest clip, and get new top mounts. Total investment less than $300.

But, you might not like the lower look, but your truck will.

 

As other have said it looks like there is a spacer on top of the coil and in addition the shocks are set on a high setting.

Cheapest option is to remove the upper spacer and set the shock on the third clip or lower. If you're ok losing the that amount of lift up front and the shocks are still good, that's what I'd do.

If you're paying a shop to do the work, get new shocks and coils just so you don't have to pay labor twice if the shocks are blown.

It will ride so much better.

Old Man Emu coil options are
2885 for 2.5 lift
2884 for 2 lift
2883 for 3/4 lift

These are all estimates

(also, total chaos is very good stuff)

 

I’ve been working with Barney brothers in grand junction Colorado.I traded in my 285 tires for a brand new set of 4 265s(cost of only 200dollars with the credit from the previous tires. I unfortunately don’t have the time right now to shop them out on Craigslist ) so I can knock the lift down a bit without rubbing the trim. Im getting new UCAs bc the uniball Total chaos arms are very squeaky and this is my daily driver, not a weekend off-roading rig. The tech there told me the coil overs would be fine? I guess we will see

 

They recommended SPC UCAs for their adjustability and I’m getting the diff drop.

 

It seems im sacrificing durability for comfort and less wear on my suspension with the the tire swap and hopefully the diff drop and lowering the lift down will alleviate the CV issues. Thanks to anyone who posted on this thread

 

If anyone wants two total chaos UCAs I’ll shop em to ya

 

Can those not be cleaned and lubed and you can use them? Save you a bunch of money and they are a nice piece of kit for sure.

 

How much you looking to get for them?

 

That's a great deal on the tires!

If you don't need/want a lift it's easy to go back to stock and save you some money. SPC uca's are very nice, but expensive. If you're under 1.5-2 lift you don't need aftermarket UCA's. So those will cost you $650, plus install.

Sell TC UCA - $(300)
Buy Moog UCA - $200
OEM Upper Ball Joint - $100
Remove spacer - Labor cost
No diff drop needed

 

Man if only you posted this before i bought Camburg UCAs a couple of weeks ago, I would have totally taken these off your hands. They primo for aftermarket UCAs. you could always grease them and replace the uniballs for probably less then getting new UCAs.

@Johnboy1989 I will be taking my stock UCAs off and you are welcome to have them.