Rubbing with 33" 2.5 lift front. Do I just cut the fender now?

Here is my situation. When the 2.5 lift was first installed, it rubbed a little in the back. I took it to a reputable alignment shop. After the alignment rubs the front now.

I have 2.5 Lift front, +18mm offset 18x9, 33" Toyo AT3.

To my research, this should be a safe setup. Is it even worth trying to get another alignment or push/cut the fender? Here is the picture of the full lock.

The back of the tire have plenty of space.






UPDATE. AFTER PUSHING THE FENDER. This is good enough at full lock if the suspension doesn't move

 

First remove the spat. That little plastic piece at the bottom. Then you can use a heat gun and make some room. Alignment or bumper shims work too.

 

Start by removing that useless little flap at the front of the fender well and see what that does for you. From there you can push the fender liner forward with some heat and something to manipulate its shape, or if you really need cut it or get front bumper shims.

 

Great minds….

 

I want that 30 seconds of my life back for writing that reply.

 

Again… I was thinking the exact same thing.

 

Copy. I'll post pics after I have done it

 

Nothing to add, but solid advice given by all.

 

Update: I used a heat gun and push the fender back. It doesn't rub at full lock. But it does rub at full lock + suspension up travel. I'll keep working on it. I am surprised it takes so much work just to fit 33".. On my 100 I was able to throw the 33" on with a 1.5 lift

 

33x12.5”?

Didn’t see width mentioned. Kind of wild that they’re rubbing if they aren’t 12.5” wide or greater.

 

275/70R18

 

Goodness.
I’m running a 285/70r18 (stock wheels) on a 1” lift with zero rubbing after removing the useless front spats.

 

I think the alignment place pushed the wheel too far forward. I have tons of space in the back of the front wheels at full lock. They should've split the difference. Oh well. It's easier to trim the plastic at this point.

 

Sorry to thread jack, but my truck has 35" x 12.5" tires with a lousy 3"/1" (spacer/block) lift, and I'm trying to replace the lift with a proper suspension lift (and bring it a bit lower in the process). This thread has me concerned about rubbing (I've got zero rub currently).

Are there any good threads discussing the minimum lift needed for 35's on 2.5 gens? Hoping to drop it down to about ~2" of lift up front, and replace the block with RAS + AAL to restore some rake back.

 

I have the same wheels with 285/75r18s (35x11.5) on a 2” lift and I don’t have rubbing in the front, but my front fender liner is both cut and pushed forward from the previous owner I believe. No bumper shims or anything though.

 

I wouldn’t worry about modifying the front bumper, it’s very easy to do and you just do enough to not rub there. It’s just plastic. Needing a bmc on the rear is a bigger deal but uncommon if your rims are near stock offset. I had 315/70r17s with no lift at all, with the front bumper plastic somewhat modified in 15 mins.

 

When was your alignment done? How much caster do you have? Also, you can pull your plastic forward a bit if the heat gun wasn’t enough. And adding bumper shims to move the bumper forward is fairly easy also. I trimmed my plastic on my first truck and regretted doing that because mud would get into the hole I made.

 

Can you take a pic of your fenders? I want to see how much more I need to move or cut.

I don't know. They don't have a laser alignment. I was told they do it "old school". I can only confirm that the LCA cams were adjusted, but I have no idea to what degree. My tire shop recommended this alignment shop, and Yelp had raving reviews.

At this point I am going to focus on moving the fenders. It is what it is. I'm sure if they did a better job on the alignment, it wouldn't rub.

 

Here is the updated pic.

I'm going to bend it more when it cools down here. Way too hot to be outside with a heat gun.

 

I would, but I’m away for the next 5 days so I can’t until then. Your pics look like you’re doing a good job there and probably won’t have any consequential rubbing.

 

Interesting. Should be able to fit a 275/70R18 ( 33.2”d, 10.8”w) in there without doing much of anything. You’re at basically the same width as stock, and just an inch more in diameter. Could it be your wheel offset (+18) ?

 

Need a better alignment my friend

 

Running a 295/55/20 on +20 with 1.9 up front. No rubbing and I just removed the useless flaps. Sure you got 2.5 up front?

 

I have the same size tire on a bone stock tuck with zero rubbing. It must be your offset.

 

I had the same set up. Had the same issue. Got new UCA's and an alignment. Went with JBA offroad. That fixed the issue. Might be something to look into. I also was surprised that 33's on our trucks would be kinda a hassle. I'm looking at 35's now and that seem like a bigger issue. Good luck!

 

Proper alignment and installing a coachbuilder bumper shim (which will push the bumper out about 1") will be a lot less work and look much cleaner than obliterating the liners w/a heat gun...

These have already been mentioned, but they really are the best approach to your rubbing issue...

 

Here is what I did to clear 34's
https://www.tundras.com/threads/trimming-front-bumper-liner-and-mudflaps.63755/

And here is what I did to clear 35's
https://www.tundras.com/threads/new-tires-and-stuff.146657/

 

I need to look and see what lift I have. Both manufacturer and inches of lift. I'm running 305s with no rubbing issues.
And maybe looking at running 33s eventually.

 

For installing those bumper shims, is it doable to loosen both sides of the bumper mounts and slide one side’s shim in at a time without removing the bumper? If so that would be pretty appealing.

 

I'm not sure... I'll be doing mine when I upgrade the fogs in the bumper. I think for me, it'll just be easier to do it all at once and pull the bumper completely off

With that being said, it looks like @Prostar 190 did his just as you're describing. 5

He said the only issue for him was needing to have a ratcheting open ended wrench... but I"d hit him up w/any questions you may have!