Leveling Advice

Okay, this helps a lot. Not something I personally would do, I plan in having a mechanic install the suspension, sway bar links, doing an alignment, etc. I plan on just giving the mechanic this information so that they are able to do what is necessary, but thank you greatly for giving me this info. Helps clear up a lot and really makes things clear. Thanks for everything guys. planning on ordering everything suspension and parts wise tonight, then when they come getting them installed.

 

I just replaced my stock shocks on my 2015 Tundra Limited with Bilstein 5100's on all 4. Kept stock springs and set the fronts on the first ring up from the bottom. I like that it raised my front but now my front is about an inch higher than the rear and the rear seems to sag slightly. I do have and cap on the back so there is weight from that. I will try and post a picture. I thought this would level the truck a bit but now it just looks lower in the rear. What is the easiest fix for this? A block in the back or an added spring? Or something else?

 

You're currently posting in the 1st gen (2000-2006) forum. You may want to post about this in the 2.5 gen (2014-????) forum over here for help: https://www.tundras.com/forums/2-5-gen-tundras-2014-2021.27/

(Or maybe in the Suspension forum)

 

Love the gold TREs...to match the wheels ... and the Maxlinks. Whose are these ... not OEM?

 

From the factory. At least I know I haven't changed them, and the truck only has 77k.

 

I recently just put bilstein 5100s on my 04 double cab 2WD both front and rear and set the front two on the third notch with stock springs, because I had seen that the higher you go on stock springs the rougher the ride gets. I wanted the truck to be level if not, a little bit of rake didn’t bother me, however after a couple of months of driving it, the ride is a little rougher than what I had anticipated but I’m still nowhere near as level as I had hoped. Should I spend the money and set them back to the stock height clip and if I do which OME springs would you guys recommend since I’m not 4WD and don’t have a topper on the back or anything on the front?

I am a new truck owner and wanting it to be level opened me to a world of lifting kits springs, struts, shocks, AAL and this is all so confusing and I have no idea where to go with all of this info.

 

Read the suspension section of this thread: https://www.tundras.com/threads/so-you-wanna-buy-just-bought-a-1st-gen-tundra-eh.115928/

Same thread linked in reply #11. It has all the answers you need.

 

Someone like shifty will chime in here with some sound advice.
For what it's worth, I'd start wrapping your head around the idea of doing things the right way.
The old saying, 'Buy once cry once' really holds true for suspension on these trucks.
I did a fair amount of research to level my 2006 2WD DC 'correctly' and for my needs & budget (as well as my age) it just wasn't worth it.
Maxing out bilsteins or adding spacer blocks etc. will just leave you disappointed, not to mention put extra stress and wear on the truck . . . leading to more, and more frequent problems / break downs . . .long story longer . . . you won't be happy.
You're probably a younger dude and I totally get it . . . but if you ain't got the dough to do it correctly . . . save up and do it the right way when you can, trust me.
I bought an F-150 2WD many years ago with the I-beam front end . . . the previous owner wanted a 'specific look', (one of the reasons I bought it).
But once I drove it... the front end was a complete disaster . . . and scrubbed tires like sandpaper on the ground. Total nightmare.
I found a builder who was all about Ford I-Beam front ends, really good guy and very talented with fabrication . . . I went to him and said, "I don't care what it costs, I want this thing to sit the same, but I don't want to have any driving, handling, turning, or alignment / tire wear problems. Go ahead and rip off anything and everything you need to make it right".
He actually took good care of me and didn't gouge me on price. I drove that ruck to Alaska from California twice towing a drift boat. Never had a single problem with the front end, and I eventually sold it to a guy who knew it had been done right. Last I heard he still had it and was happy as could be.

If you're not planning on keeping your truck for any significant amount of time . . . I'd suggest just running it and not throwing a bunch of wasted money at something you're not gonna keep.
If you do plan on running the truck for a while, take care of all the maintenance stuff whhile you save up enough dough to do the suspension correctly.

You'll thank me later.

Edit- See . . . I told you shifty would show up.

 

You are 100% correct. I just turned 20 this June, I did a decent amount of research but after looking this forum up and doing a deeper dive I can say I did not do enough. I appreciate the advice and will 100% do it the right way the first time. It was my grandfathers truck so I plan on keeping this thing as long as I can and hopefully if I maintain it and take care of it, it’ll last me as long as I hope. However, after reading shiftys reply and that original thread, I have a much better understanding about what I should’ve done/need to do to make this truck how I’d like.
Thank you again.

edit: HBTundra, what’d you do to level your 06?

 

I still haven't done a level to my truck yet.
I've kind of gone around the truck and done all the nick-nack smaller upgrades that I've wanted to do . . . and a few I haven't done yet.
Keeping a running tab even on the small items sure adds up . . . like $700 for a set of Carhartt seat covers (they're killer though).

If / when I do decide to level it, I'd like to base it off of a set of the 18" Darrell Waltrip BBS Wheels that came as an option on the Waltrip trucks in 05/06 i believe.
I've always had a liking for those wheels . . . but whenever I see a set for sale in decent shape near me, they want an arm & a leg for them. Maybe some day.

There's lots of excellent info and helpful people on this site . . . ask away and you'll be in good hands.

 

Ahh okay I have as well, just like speaker upgrades cause mine were blown, headlights and LEDs, and tinting it. I was planning on doing a head unit upgrade and some other things but after seeing all the stuff I should do for suspension I’d rather pay for the right things and do it the right way first and then go to the less important upgrades like the sound system. And same as well I’d love to get my hands on a set of TRD pro wheels, I’m not sure on the matte black with the red TRD or the gunmetal grey wheels, not too sure which would look better with my metallic silver but I have a lot of time to figure that out. Many other important things to do first that’s for sure

 

Tip, from someone more than twice your age who is 3-4 dozen projects in at this point.

Make a list. Prioritize that list. Make a point of NEVER having two items on the list active at the same time if you can. The worst thing you can do with any project, the quickest way to kill motivation, is to have too many concurrent tasks. If you do land there, and you feel overly tired, break your project down into smaller pieces, and bite off one at a time. Finishing any piece can be a motivation builder.

I know this doesn't answer your question, but what I just shared with you is how I've managed to score at least 1/3 of all my projects over the years, because someone bit off more than they could chew. Sadly, I actually sold my favorite project because I got mired too hard. It happens to all of us.

If I can make a suggestion, try to time your wheels and tires to coincide closely with your suspension. Like .... if I could make any recommendation, get something with adjustable struts (or coilovers) up front. Coilovers are budget heavy for the good ones, but 5100s, 6112s from Bilstein and the Eibach Pro kit are very approachable, cost-wise. The cool part about these is, you can buy them in advance, set them at a very low setting just to get them installed, and when you get wheels and tires, bumping them up a notch to lift the truck is something you can do on a Saturday or Sunday.

There's some strategy involved for sure. And there's options, like, AGP makes a TRD Pro replica that is in much more favorable offsets/width over the actual OEM, and in better colors. And cheaper!

Holler (publicly, not via PM) after you jot down your vision, if you want to run it by folks. Sometimes it helps to hit the 1st Gen Builds forum to get ideas and thoughts too, maybe it'll sway your opinion. Whatever you do, don't feel obligated. You don't NEED to have 285/70r17 (or 33s in general) to have a good-performing and cool ass looking 1st gen. Hopefully the Builds forum may show that, it's been a while since I've been there. You can absolutely have an offroad-worthy, rugged looking truck lifting an inch, then adding an inch of tire with soem nice all-terrain 265/70r17s! And be ~2" taller.

The important part is to get thinking. Ask questions. And hopefully the info we tossed together, as a community, in that 'so you just bought a 1st gen' thread helps open your eyes to the kinds of questions you need to ask yourself about what you want.

 

Thank you, I appreciate the help and will take your advice to heart. I plan on coming back for ideas, and just hopefully as my knowledge gets better and better hopefully answer questions other new owners may have at some point to down the road.

 

Okay after some thinking and with Christmas coming up i think i have an idea for what needs to be done to the front end i already have bilstein 5100s, and im going to get OME springs so that i can lower the clip on the 5100s back to the stock notch, however i am unsure as to what springs i should get. On many of the websites that sell pre assembled 5100s with OME coils they say to use the 2885, however alot of people are saying the 2884 should be used anyone have an idea as to which would be better? Im a 2WD DC. And besides the coils, i plan on getting OEM lower ball joints just so i don't need to worry about them, extended sway bar links, and I don’t know if upper control arms should be upgraded to some after market ones as well. If in your guys opinions they should be upgraded to aftermarket arms, which brand should I use?

 

Never trust vendor websites. All that information on which to pick can be found in the "Suspension, wheel and tires ..." section of this thread, as has been both posted and copy/pasted multiple times in this thread. All the info you should need is there.

If you don't like clicking links, @The Black Mamba copy/pasted the entire section (albeit an older version) in reply #3 of this thread.

If you were 4WD, I'd tell you go 2885. You're not, so you probably shouldn't use 2885 based on the direct experience of others on this forum who actualy drive 1st gen Tundras.

Seriously though. Before you spend your hard earned cash, read that section of that thread. And go back through and read the replies on the 1st page of this thread for other bits of information.