What Should I do? Suspension Issues

Hi everyone, I was reading a post from Shifty - So ... you wanna buy / just bought a 1st Gen Tundra, eh? | Toyota Tundra Forum, and I've determined I'm one of those guys that messed up and installed the wrong type of lift. I have a 2006 AC 4WD Tundra, and I installed a Rough Country 2.5" leveling kit so I could install 285 (33") tires on it. This was 6 years ago, and now the issues have started.
4 months ago, just before hunting season, I installed the following new front-end parts (not OEM - seems like a bad choice now):

• Tie rod(s)
• Upper ball joint(s)
• Control arm(s)
• Control arm bushing(s)
• Lower ball joint(s)

Now, I have a new knocking (metal on metal) sound coming from the driver-side front. I hear it when driving slowly (so I can hear) while going of small bumps off road.
I don't know what to do? Keep patching it with parts or remove the 2.5" Lift Kit from Rough Country?
If I remove the 2.5" lift, could or should I replace it with the Bilstein 5100 option ~$700 (Bilstein 5100 3" Lift kit)? Or do something else? If using the 5100, would I choose for the following:

• Front Springs (OME 884, 885, 887 or 888)
• Front Strut Assembly (none or Yes with new top hats)
• Rear Leaf Springs (none or Icon 1.5" Add-A-Leaf)
• Upper Control Arms (none or one of the 3 $600 - $1,000 options)

Thank you for your help!

 

Personally, I would remove the spacer lift, and replace your lower ball joints. I don't have experience lifting my truck, but I can tell you that the hype for OEM lower ball joints is very real. You definitely need to replace them with OEM ones, from a dealership. There are dozens of people, including me, who have experienced catastrophic failure of the LBJs.

I would definitely remove the spacer lift, or at the very least get a smaller spacer. A smaller spacer lift can be fine, but a large spacer alters the suspension geometry very significantly. I don't have experience lifting my truck, so I don't know specifics. Hopefully someone who does have experience can chime in.

I do know that it is much easier to fit a 32" or 32.5" tire on our trucks with less lifting, less alignment issues. I run a 31.8" (effectively 32") tire on my truck on the original, worn out springs. No lift/level. With a little bit of trimming the mudflaps, I have zero rubbing, even when fully compressed and turning.

If you're dead set on 33s and a lift, awesome. But give it some thought- it's significantly easier to fit a tire that looks nearly identical to a 33", and you'd have a better ride, less rubbing, and it would cost a lot less.

 

Thank you @FiatRunner for the quick response. I will see what I can do, but I do want the extra height for driving in the woods while hunting, since some of the water crossings get over 2 feet deep.
Hoping to hear from @Shifty too.
Thanks again!

 

The clunking on bumps could be a number of things.
1) shocks leaking and blown, and not effectively "dampening" the spring so the shock will top out on droop travel
2) a-arm and / or knuckle hitting the spring
3) lower ball joints making love to themselves
4) sway bar bushings where the bracket holds the sway bar to the frame.

I have experienced # 1 before on a different vehicle, once the shock loses its gas pressure, it wont effectively be able to control how fast the piston in the shock moves inside the shock body. This leads to the shock topping out over bumps and pot holes, meaning the spring pushes the shock to its maximum length and the shock tops out. There should be fluid and gas inside the shock that stops this from happening but once a shock has been leaking a while they start fluttering on bumps, then they start topping out on pot holes and speed bumps.
I have experienced #4 on my tundra, when the sway bar bushings went out they did it pretty quick. It went from silent, no problem, to a "slight" thud on a big bump like speed bumps, to a more audible thud on bumps and pot holes, to basically fluttering and knocking every bump on the road all within 3-4 weeks. The first time i heard it i SLOWLY made it back home and jacked the front end up expecting it to be ball joints but they were tight as new. I looked and didnt notice the sway bar bushings at first. After about 3 weeks of this getting progressively worse, the bushing started to show some rust as the worn out bushing had then eaten the paint off the sway bar and allowed the sway bar to start rusting. This was easy to spot at that point and a relatively easy fix.

 

It would help if you tagged the right guy. You're tagging @Shifty but I'm @shifty` and I don't get any notification you're tagging me if you don't tag the right member.

Spacer lifts are the devil.

If you read the community info Tundra post, you know the ICON add a leaf doesn't lift 1.5" and you'll be lucky to get ¾" out of it. If you really need 1.5" out back you need to go with the Wheelers Offroad AAL, or go with HD leaf springs from ATS or similar if you prefer budget friendly offerings.

But really, what do you want out of your truck? To keep running 33s? What's your lift doing for you, realistically, like what does having the extra 2.5" do for you personally, help you clear rocks, help you crawl parking stops in the local mall parking lot? Could you be OK with 32½" instead?

You should isolate what the clanking on the front-right is. You may start by removing the passenger swaybar link totally. Still there?

Can you give us pictures of the lower passenger shock mount? Have you checked out your upper and lower control arm bushings?

When you replaced your LBJ's you're saying you didn't go OEM? And you haven't replaced them with OEM yet? Because those symptoms could very well be failing lower balljoints, and THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU USE AFTERMARKET LBJs. We're up to 19 pages of victims at this point.

 

@shifty` knows a lot and will have some advice. Here's what I did 'cause access cab and economical for intended purpose. 33s with ride height adjustable front shocks, stock springs, AAL, and stock UBJs. YMMV. Many will stay under 2.5" and use coil overs with replacement springs for smoother ride and other beneifts. Pay attention to height and CV angle.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/wha...-gen-tundra-today.2558/page-2268#post-3836537

Edit: Looks like @shifty` posted while writing this and can help you decide if you really want 33s!

 

Thanks @badass03taco & @shifty`
Below are some pictures of the driver's side where the sound is coming from.
One correction these are 32" tires, not 33" as I said earlier (they are 285s)...
I like the extra lift because I use this truck mostly for hunting, and some of the roads are really bad with deep ruts, unfriendly rocks, and over 2' deep water.

For what it's worth, this is what is installed on driver side: Carquest Premium Ball Joint 410-96849 - Advance Auto Parts;
The rest of the parts are TRQ (SKU: PSA36540) from Parts Geek: Control Arm Ball Joint Tie Rod and Sway Bar Link Kit | Partsgeek.com
All these repairs/parts were done in Aug, 2024...

.

 

More than anything, you need to get the lower balljoint the fuck out of your truck, STAT, ASAP. NEVER USE AFTERMARKET LOWER BALL JOINTS. This is a hard, firm rule on 1st gen Tundras. See thread link above for what happens.

Given you have that bullshit strut spacer installed, it may very well be your lower balljoints that are fucked, and your truck is going to be sitting with its front wheel tucked up into it like the dozens of other suckers in that thread I linked above.

This is not a joke. This is for real. Replace with OEM lower ball joints ASAP.

This is why strut spacers shouldn't be used:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihErEq6SRrk​

 

I sure wish I'd found this tread before I put the RC 2.5" spacer lift on it 6 years ago.
Point taken about the LBJ, I will replace those with OEM Toyota Parts. I will also remove the RC 2.5 strut spacers on the front.
Considering I use this truck for hunting and traveling on the highway to/from the woods and around town on occasion, I want to have as much lift as I can get without doing damage.
That being said, what's the recommendation for the front? I have a 2006 AC 4WD V8
I'm looking at the Bilstein Height adjustable 5100 shocks for 2000-2006 Toyota Tundra
or the Eibach's PRO-TRUCK SPORT SHOCKS
and leave the rear Blocks ASIS, since I don't haul much other than a dog box with 3-4 hunting dogs.
what do you suggest? What should I set them to? Do I need anything else?

Thanks again for the help!

 

Did you read my prior posts?

Some use 5100s, and stock springs at 2.5" can level with Wheeler AAL in rear or likely the blocks, but keep in mind that for 4x4 AC V8 instructions show 1.1" setting max. Apparently Eibach is built differently +0-3" without topping out and valved for smoother ride IMHO. Have a 2.25" clip setting that would likely work well with tiny rake if have rear setup for level at 2.5". Can call and talk to their tech support who were very helpful. May suit your stated purpose. Got for like $221/pair on sale at Wheelers regularly $260. Might be at Summit too.

 

thank you @ToyotaDude & @shifty`
So, if I use the Eibach Pro-Truck Sport Shock and stock springs with a 2.25" clip setting would that setup damage any other suspension parts over time, or is that amount of lift "OK" for my 2006 AC 4WD?
Would I need to replace anything else now?
and I will replace the LBJ with OEMs...