Suspension Questions and recommendations

Hey everyone,

I recently bought a 2006 Toyota Tundra SR5 double cab 4wd with 170,000 miles, and I'm really happy about it. Luckily, the previous owner took good care of the truck and gave me detailed service records. Reading through them, I noticed a lot of recommended work from the dealership, mostly related to the suspension: lower control arm bushings, cam adjustment sleeves, sway bar end link bushings, front struts, rear shocks, and upper control arms.

As a broke college student, I don't have a lot of money to spare. I've done a lot of research the suspension and the cost of these parts and I just don't have that in the bank. While I'm capable of doing most of the labor myself, the cost of parts adds up quickly. Also: lower ball joints were on the list of recommended work and I went OEM and already replaced them myself.

I'm wondering what really needs to be replaced and what I might be able to get away with not replacing. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

It sounds like pretty much all the basics were covered. I guess it depends how long ago those were all done for if it's time to do them again. But with the exception of ball joints, most other parts are just replaced as needed (when they show wear, make noise, or don't feel right).

If the front struts are new, you can do a really basic lift by just changing out the coils on the front and adding a small block or add a leaf to the rear to gain a little height without spending much money.

The struts just probably won't last very long when it's lifted, since OEM struts don't handle lift that well, but you already have them and they're "free" with the truck.

These coils will lift the truck 2": https://exitoffroad.com/product/dob...rings-for-toyota-4x4-trucks-and-suvs-c59-300/
And they need to be run with these: https://exitoffroad.com/product/dobinsons-upper-coil-spring-isolator-pair/
Then for the rear, you can do either of these 2: https://exitoffroad.com/product/dob...-quick-ride-kit-tacoma-tundra-hilux-frontier/
https://exitoffroad.com/product/whe...leaf-set-1-5-lift-for-95-tacoma-99-06-tundra/

But the rear shocks won't like the lift height too much either. They won't last long, as they'll hit maximum extension easily and that jack hammers them apart when it happens.