rear leaf question

[wilson]

well I am in the market for new leafs for my 07 tacoma after the dealer told me they are "technically not broken." they are sagging like crazy and I'm having an issue getting the TSB springs out of them as well. So I have decided to get some custom deaver packs made. My daily driver weight includes a shell and smaller front runner rack .This weight, plus two adults, is what is refered to below as unladen. after loading it up with gear ,including two adults, for a trip last weekend I hit the scales. the results are below.

fully loaded
steer axle: 2620 lbs
drive axle: 2608 lbs
gross: 5228 lbs

unladen
steer axle: 2460 lbs
drive axle: 2080 lbs
gross: 4540 lbs

some Im looking @ 688lbs of gear! which at first struck me as rather portly, now i am not to sure. Anyway, I will finally get to my questions. Now truth be told 98% of my driving is on-road and 2% off road camping/wandering in the desert.so I am concerned with how a spring pack made to handle this weight will ride in a unladen,daily driving situation. anyone had a similar pack made that has any input?

 

[1911]

No experience with Tacos but a fair amount with leaf springs. As long as you don't want a large lift, it is possible to make leaf springs that hold up the weight and still flex and give a nice ride. Kit springs (and stock springs) are a compromise for a wide variety of weights and driving styles; custom springs are the way to go in your instance. Be sure to tell the spring maker the weights you quoted above, and don't forget to add the weight of any future mods and to include things like extra gasoline and water as a part of your load. Better to overestimate than underestimate your total weight IMO. No experience with Deaver, but Alcan makes nice custom springs, as long as you're very specific about the weight, length, and lift desired.

 

[wilson]

thanks for your reply! I am looking at lifting it 1.5 inches to avoid the the driveline vibration that seem to plague a lot of folks when they lift these trucks. I got the weight and lift specs, what is the length spec all about?

 

[1911]

I got the weight and lift specs, what is the length spec all about?

The eye-to-eye length of the spring. Measure your old ones, and don't assume they know what they should be for your year and model of truck. With extra lift you usually want them and inch or so longer, but for 1.5" of lift you won't need to worry about it, just get the stock length.

 

[wilson]

thanks for the schoolin man!

 

[wilson]

Anyone know at what point (amount of lift) people begin to experince the driveline vibration mentioned above?

 

[keezer37]

Anyone know at what point (amount of lift) people begin to experince the driveline vibration mentioned above?

I experienced it stock if I got on the pedal enough. Vibration is directly proportional to the torque applied. With 1.75" lift in the rear, I needed to drop the carrier bearing some. You can use pieces of 1/16" thick flat bar available at Home Depot. Stack up the flat bar pieces until you hit your sweet spot. CAUTION: At about 1/4" (four pieces) you need to get longer carrier bolts.

 

[wilson]

I already have a bit of an odd vibration when I give it a little gas to kick it down a gear! I drove my buddies yesterday and he does not have this. I plan on taking it in monday to see what the dealer says.
this is some great info Keezer37. I will definitely be looking into this. So, if your using 1/16" plate it looks like you got two in there. Did you find dropping it 1/8" did the trick for 1.75" lift? I'm looking to do 1.5".

 

[keezer37]

I think I've got 3/16" in there. I could double check. I dropped the carrier 1/16" at a time. The vibe lessened each time until I put four (1/4"). At this point, it started to increase. So 3/16" was best for me.

Pick up a angle finder from Home Depot, they're about $15. Check the angle of the drive shafts on either side of the carrier bearing before the lift (they're probably the same angle). Check the angle after and there will probably be a difference between the two. You'll want to drop the carrier enough to negate this angle. Bottom line though, drop it enough to get as much of the vibe out as possible.

You might want to measure your lift height before and after. Measure from the center of the wheel hub to the lip of the fender. Good info to keep recorded so you can see how much the springs settle.

 

[Dave Bennett]

So I have decided to get some custom deaver packs made. My daily driver weight includes a shell and smaller front runner rack .This weight, plus two adults, is what is refered to below as unladen. after loading it up with gear ,including two adults, for a trip last weekend I hit the scales. the results are below.

fully loaded
steer axle: 2620 lbs
drive axle: 2608 lbs
gross: 5228 lbs

unladen
steer axle: 2460 lbs
drive axle: 2080 lbs
gross: 4540 lbs

some Im looking @ 688lbs of gear!

I did custom 12 pack Deavers and they sucked when loaded, I was hitting the bumpstops all the time...

The cure for the rear spring issue with Gen II Tacomas is Old Man Emu Dakars with the extra leaf spring.

Put OME Dakars on there and forget about it.

.02

 

[Overland Hadley]

Put OME Dakars on there and forget about it.

x2

 

[wilson]

I did custom 12 pack Deavers and they sucked when loaded, I was hitting the bumpstops all the time...

The cure for the rear spring issue with Gen II Tacomas is Old Man Emu Dakars with the extra leaf spring.

Put OME Dakars on there and forget about it.

.02

interesting, what were the specs that you gave for the 12 pack? I would do the OME thing but I don't really want to lift the truck that much.