Should I remove spacer + block leveling lift in 1st Gen Tundra?

Hi All,

I recently purchased a 2006 Double Cab SR5 with 133,000kms. The previous owner installed a lift using spacers in the front and blocks in the rear. The lift is approximately 1-2", (I will measure and update). As I understand it, this a less than ideal way to lift these trucks as they put strain on other parts, thereby requiring more maintnance. Currently I'm having issues with the upper ball joint rubbing on the coil, which is causing me some concern. After some reading, I see this is a common issue with 1st gens and these types of lifts. I also understand that lifts using spacers and blocks can cause a whole host of other problems with the suspension, etc.

So, I'm currently considering removing the lift all together and bringing it back to stock. The truck has LT285/70/17s Wrangler Duratracs on currently but they seem to have <25% life left on them. If I remove the lift these tires most likely wouldn't fit, so I'll have to buy some new tires as well.

Basically, I'm just reaching out to anyone with more experience in this area as to whether this is the best route (remove the lift and return to stock), or if putting something like Bilstein 5100's would be a better route to fix the problem.

Side note: I plan to use the truck for hunting, fishing, hauling, and general running around to the hardware store. I'm not really concerned with how the truck looks, in terms of a lift looking nicer as I'm sure most can agree it does. I just need a regular truck, nothing too exciting haha.

 

Yes

 

Definitely look into the 5100s to lift your truck versus utilizing those spacers.

 

You’re right, everything you wrote. You could get rid of the spacer and block lift… and go back to stock size, no problem.

But those 285’s won’t fit in there without a bit of lift. You could lift with Bilsteins and keep that size. You like the way it looks, and for off road driving, the bit of lift that sized tire provides is helpful— as it is or, if you find yourself somewhere gnarly, you’ve got extra rubber to air down and still have some clearance and cushion.

Edited: removed mention of shackles. Not a 1st gen thing. Read below.

 

Any idea on the average cost of doing a lift properly in this fashion, and what all for hardware would be required? Additionally, the size of lift that would be required for those tires?

Also, with the age of the truck being ~16 years now, and living in Canada, rust is something we need to contend with up here. According to the previous owner, it's been rust treated every year and is in great shape for the year. I'm just concerned with putting a large chunk of change into a truck of this age and whether it would really be worth it. I know the Bilstein 5100 setup could likely add up quick.

 

I’m sorry, I don’t. My 1st gen is long travel so cost doesn’t compare. Plus, you’re in Canada do everything costs more to get to you. If I were you, I’d search suspension in the first gen sub forum. That will mostly help you identify good retail sources for parts that fit our trucks. Then call one or two and see what they’d recommend. As you’re doing this, go into the 1st gen lunch table discussion thread and see if anyone will chime in. Lurking on the 1st gen sub-forum for just a couple of weeks will help you learn a lot.

 

Ok thanks for the help!

 

If you want to run 5100s up front I would say you're looking at about $300 in parts, this is assuming you have the original Toyota springs up front. Save another hundred or so aside for alignment after. Labor to install should be about 2 hours at any decent shop. Keep the lift range around an inch(2" or less really) and you won't need to mess with any special aftermarket upper arms.

Also a good time to look into any joints that may be worn, upper and lower ball joints and the outside tie rods ends are good things to check into. Most of us prefer Toyota parts for those.

Leave the rear alone, or replace those shocks if you want to have all 4 corners refreshed. No need to mess around with anything else back there.

Congratulations on the truck, looks sharp. Welcome to the forum.

 

Thanks for all the info. I appreciate the welcoming to the community!

I'd be looking to do the work myself, so I can save some money there but I will need to bring the Bilstein's in to get the coils compressed and set on. This setup sounds good to me especially if I don't need to upgrade the control arms while keeping the lift under 2". I will be replacing the ball joints as they appear worn out from the spacer setup. Maybe the tie rods as well.

In order to fit those tires (285/70/17) in the rear would I not need something to lift it once the blocks are removed?

Finally, with the Bilstein 5100 setup are there any concerns or increased stress on other parts that I should be aware of?

Thanks again.

 

Welcome! Good advice above, definitely follow it.

285/70/17s are only 1.1" larger in diameter than stock 265/70/17s. That means they only have half an inch more side wall than stock tires. I would leave it alone, but if you remove the blocks, you should be fine. There's debate on where blocks will flatten out leafs which you can find threads on the forums.

Our trucks should be able to fit close to 35" in the rear stock. The rear's a little bit different for tire clearance than the front, since it is solid axle and there's no cab in the way. The wheels don't turn, so you don't have to worry about wider tires hitting stuff like the frame and control arms like you do in the front.

I have less lift in the rear than you do, and slightly bigger tires than 285/70/17. Even with a rear tire completely stuffed in the wheel wheel at full flex, they do not rub there's still a bit of room between the tires and fenders.

If you're looking at removing the lift block and putting something else in there to keep the rear end raised, take look at a full leaf pack from Deaver, Alcan, ATS, or other brands recommended on here. I would skip single add-a-leafs unless it's something like the Icon add-a-leaf pack which I believe has multiple leafs.

 

So you’re suggesting he run 33’s on the front and 35’s on the back.

Seriously, I run 33’s front and back on long travel, run wheel spacers on the back, and my tires stuff and stop due to friction, every time there’s good articulation. I get that it’s the solid axle + down travel on opposite side, but I am surprised to learn your tires don’t get stuffed— when mine do, it’s not the exterior panel of the truck bed (I cut that away), but the inside of the wheel well.

I’m not trying to confuse you, OP (as I said, my truck’s long travel and a whole different set of considerations) but, since you’ve got a couple of very knowledgeable 1st gen guys weighing, I figure I’ll do what I can to prompt specific recommendations regarding your rear suspension. Which may help me understand better too.

 

Your rear travel goes further @Sunnier

Stock rear is more like

The stock bump stops on these trucks are something like 4" tall. I've slammed mine a lot of times but the tire didn't hit. There were a few guys long ago on TS who were able to articulate with 35s on stock rear without hitting. I don't recommend anybody go stuff a 35 expecting no problem, but a 33 without aggressive offset should clear fine.

 

Part of the take away for OP is that suspension is an art and every truck's going to be different, that's why taking into consideration many opinions helps!

And yes, I've never had clearance or rubbing issues in rear end when articulating. It's never rubbed back there on the trail nor have my tires stopped from friction. Mind you I do have a little bit less than an inch of lift in the rear.

The exterior panel of the truck bed actually isn't a problem either, but it would be a concern if I was running spacers or an aggressive offset.

 

So to confirm, if I remove the spacers and blocks and install the Bilstein 5100s in the front, I should still be able to use the same wheels (285/70/17)? If so, this is likely the route I'll go.

I wonder if the rear end sit much lower than the front if the Bilsteins were set to 1-1.5"? If so, would Bilstein shocks in the rear do anything to raise it at all or just the options provided above such as leaf packs and add-a-leafs?

I truly appreciate all the help that's been provided by everyone here!

 

In order to get a lift from the rear, you’d need a leaf pack, aal, or shackle if you’re planning to go with the 5100s on all corners.

I don’t think your rear will sit lower since you’ll have some rake from your leaf springs.

But, if you were to load your bed, you’ll start squatting and go nose high.

 

And yes, lifting the front should still clear the 285/70r17. You won’t know until you try, might have to trim a bit here and there, but I’m sure you’ll be fine.

If anything, you can always find a ramp to start articulating the fronts and see what rubs from there once your suspension is at full bump with the 285s.

 

Hang on, first gen cannot be lifted by shackle. These trucks use an inverted shackle, you can lower the truck by a longer shackle but can't lift it at all. Let's not add confusion here. Other than that, I completly agree

@ComeStaiOggi the first gen Tundras in stock form have between 1.5-2" height difference front to back if you measure from the center hub to the fender, with the rear being taller. Most trucks have some amount of rake like this. To level the truck you wouldn't need to lift the rear at all, just bring the front up a little bit to suit your taste.

Rear 5100s won't provide lift, but they can accommodate a bit of lift because they can extend further than stock shocks. So if you decided to lift the rear (by block, or add a leaf, or entire new leaf pack) you have the room to stretch. They also work well at stock height.

You tires will fit with 5100s, same way they fit now. All you are doing is getting rid of the cheap route (and potential consequences) in exchange for a better way to achieve the stance you want.

By the way, if you have lift blocks in the rear you will want to use new u bolts when you remove them. U bolts stretch and are a one time use item, new ones are around $30 and can be sourced from many online retailers. I like Wheelers Off Road myself. With new u bolts I recommend checking the torque again after 100 miles and again after 500 miles.

 

Ok perfect. I will be ordering 5100's for the front to replace the spacers and accommodate my current wheels.

Are blocks in the rear known to cause other issues or stress stock components in a similar way that spacers do in the front? If the blocks aren't a concern in that way, I may keep them in. If however, they are likely to cause other parts to wear out prematurely then I will remove them.

Thanks again!

 

If the blocks are short, say one inch, I wouldn't be worried. While it is possible to over extend a shock, you would have to be jumping your truck to extend hard enough to damage the shock. If the block is taller, you're shortening how far the suspension has to extend before the shock is maxed out.

If you're doing any serious towing then blocks on the rear can increase leverage and lead to axle wrap. This is when the torque causes you leaf springs to bend in an s shape. Long term it can wear your springs out but it's a bit of a mild concern unless you're doing heavy duty stuff, and again if its a short block its negligible.

If you ever get behind a tall lifted truck at a stop, watch the rear diff carefully as they leave a stop light. You'll see the axle wrap. It gets exacerbated when those trucks have 6" blocks.

 

Oh ok, that makes sense. I believe the blocks on the rear are approximately 2". So something for me to think about

Thanks for the explanation! It is very helpful.

 

Hey man, I'm also in Canada and want to do the same suspension set up. Where did you order from and what was the cost for the 4 bilstein? Nice truck btw. Really low k.. looks to he in great shape.

 

Hey Danimal, sorry for the late response. I haven't checked in on this site for some time.

I purchased the Bilsteins from https://bilsteincanada.com/. I only ended up getting the adjustable 5100's for the front so that came to around $450 after tax and shipping. They shipped fast with no issues.

I hope this helps.

 

As an update for everyone, I've encountered some issues while performing this swap of the previous front strut assembly's with 2" spacers for the bilstein 5100s.

I removed the old coil springs, however, it turns out they aren't the original OEM springs. I tried using these coil springs with the 5100's but they bowed out when set to the 4th notch (1.6" for DC 4x4). Unfortunately I didn't take a photo of this, but it seemed fairly significant.

So, now I need to purchase new OEM coils, which is quite expensive, approximately $600 said and done. My current options seem to be buying the OEM coil springs, or removing the 2" blocks in the rear and bring everything back to stock. Then using the $600 I would use to buy OEM coils, towards purchasing new tires, and be generally disappointed.

 

I'd see if you can find a pair of OEM takeoffs and reuse the coil springs off of those, if you don't want to spend the money on new coil springs. People usually let them go pretty cheap if not free. There may even be a member on here that has a set laying around.

 

Eibach and Old Man Emu (OME) make suitable replacement coils for your front Bilsteins.

 

When you say "OEM takeoffs" you mean the original strut assembly's eh? I checked around my area and outwards without any luck. Even scrapyards have nothing.

I ordered "Quick" strut assemblys from Rock Auto, hoping I could remove the coils included with those as they are intended to be OEM-grade. As luck would have it, the bottom of the coils are wound slightly tighter than the Bilstein bottom seats and thus won't seat properly. So that was another headache and point of frustration. If I do need to return to stock, at least I have these available.

My concern with this is that I'm looking to just raise the front enough to accompany the wheels (1-1.6") and my understanding is those coils are designed for 2" lift set on the stock setting of the 5100's. I want to avoid needing to upgrade my UCAs to avoid the knuckle hitting the coils. I understand this to be common when lifting around 2"+.

 

Yes, I mean to find someone that took off their complete coil and shock assembly and didn't reuse anything. I took mine off and sold my complete assemblies to a dude for $50 who only wanted the coils for his 4Runner. Might even need to post a wanted ad.

What @KNABORES said about the Eibach/ OME (Old Man Emu) coils is a good option too. I would've done that instead of the "quick" struts.

 

I think I've decided to go with the OME 2884 coils on my Bilsteins at the bottom setting. According to 1stGenOffRoad.com this should produce 1.5' of lift for my truck (DC 4x4).

Does anyone have any experience using OME coils on Bilstein shocks? I've seen some posts speak about not mixing them but I'm not sure that is really an issue as long as I stick to the bottom notch. Also, 1stGenOffRoad sells this exact combo (https://www.1stgenoffroad.com/store/p626/Bilstein5100/OMELift.html#/) so I would think this setup works.