tacoma suspension up grades

[Ursidae69]

Scott,
I would also assume that Deaver marks the leaf packs for left and right as well as forward/backward for proper orientation during installation?

P

Mine were the same left or right, but I had a slight driver's sag. Scott at deaver can make one side slightly stronger and you call that the driver's side. I plan to send mine back and make then 10-leafs because I sometimes have more weight than you are looking at and when I do I plan to make the driver's side stronger. Forward and backward isn't a problem, different bushings so you know which way they go.

 

[Scott Brady]

P,

I should have a pair of the remote res. Donahoes in a few weeks. I can report on their performance.

I have been unhappy with the Bilstein performance with regards to fading. My set is toast after the last trip. The valving was good, but mono-tube shocks cannot recover from extreme overheating. That is why dual tube or remote res. are prefered for high speed/long distance travel.

I believe that Pasquale (DesertDude) had similar negative results with the 5150.

 

[Scott Brady]

good point on the bushings Chuck. The forward eye is also milatary wrapped.

 

[BajaXplorer]

I'll wade in here with some info for my specific vehicle, '02 Tacoma D/C. My truck as a daily driver carries 500+lbs (shell w/rack, fridge, bumper, large chest of tools, parts, survival gear, pullpal). When I go it is loaded with add'l 300-400 lbs. In the daily driver mod it is at a total of 5100 lbs.
Have Deaver 9 leafs in rear with 5150 bilsteins, also 1 1/4 shackles.
Been running this for two years without probs (AllPro coils/A arms in front)
Your questions:
1. Deavers are centered, no problems with flexing.
2. Longer u-bolts come with the Deavers.
3. (1) Adjust BPV no big deal.
3. (2) brake, Can't remember but I think I moved it some.
3. (3) Brake line, bought second one from Toyota and screwed into original and added a spring to pull it out of the way on compression.
A. Did not replace bump stops.
B. Did not do anything about pinion angle.
C. Hit shocks, did shock offset mod with washers/bushings, no more probs

I don't believe the Deavers are side oriented, but frankly I don't remember.
Deaver will want your weight. Plan ahead, if you are going to add more weight later, calc it in. Deaver people are real easy to work with.
Good Luck,
BX

I see there were several replies while I was writing mine.
My 5150s seem to be holding up fine.

 

[BajaTaco]

P,

To answer some of your other questions:

3A - This depends on what length shocks you end up with. One alternative to jacking the truck is to just take to to a gully or ditch on a trail, that you can drive into and max. out the suspension travel. Put the vehicle in 4wd, and leave it in 1st gear, shut off the engine, and set the parking brake. Chock the wheels, and you can get those measurements. Donahoe should be able to give you the extended and compressed lengths on those new reservoir shocks.

3B - I highly doubt you would need to do this.

3C - Yes. I recommend the spacer mod.

As I mentioned to you via email, I think the best solution for those of us with heavy trucks, is to get the largest shock body (oil capacity) that we can afford, even if it means getting shocks with a reservoir. Cooling capacity is a must for our kind of loads. Equally important is valving. We don't hesitate to spend $175-$200 each on really good tires, but most of us balk at spending more than $100 ea. for shocks. IMO, they are just as imperative as tires, when it comes to a quality ride and driving experience. Faded shocks will also add more stress/abuse to your leaf springs and/or coil springs.

 

[Desertdude]

P, I should have a pair of the remote res. Donahoes in a few weeks. I can report on their performance.

I am not crazy about the Bilstiens mostly from a stoutness point of view - for offroad shocks they are quite fragile( in mounting and shock stem dia) as far as the attached rez - a fellow from fox shock mentioned - with that small of a remote rez cannot truly keep up or add anything to the main shock.

But in defense of Bilstien - I think my set held up fairly well through Baja
- for the money -they seem to be OK for moderate off-roading and higway use.

If The new Donahoe shocks are anything like the coilovers - this will be a winning combo :bowdown:

 

[p1michaud]

Information overload!

Wow,
I can't believe all the responses!
Thanks guys for you time spent answering my questions and all your comments. I really appreciate it.

Deaver will want your weight. Plan ahead, if you are going to add more weight later, calc it in. Deaver people are real easy to work with.

BajaXplorer,
I am planning on having the truck weighed prior to placing my order. I have found that the Deaver people are extremely easy to work with. Scot Borne at Deaver has answered all of my questions. I did not think that the U-bolts came with the Deavers if you order directly from them but am not sure. Where did you purchase yours?

I should have a pair of the remote res. Donahoes in a few weeks. I can report on their performance.

Scott,
I'm looking forward to another one of your excellent reviews. They are always very informative. Make sure you get the extended and collapsed length for the shock. They seemed a bit reluctant to send me that specific information after I asked. You might have better luck with your contacts.

Until Scott gets his hands on them for a proper review, testing and feedback here are a few pictures to drool over! Here is all the information I received about them to date: “Our Toyota rear shocks have an external reservoir with a 2” shock body. They are specifically valved for the Tacoma's”

…I think the best solution for those of us with heavy trucks, is to get the largest shock body (oil capacity) that we can afford, even if it means getting shocks with a reservoir. Cooling capacity is a must for our kind of loads. Equally important is valving. We don't hesitate to spend $175-$200 each on really good tires, but most of us balk at spending more than $100 ea. for shocks.

I've thought this over and fully agree with you. Most of my questions came about when I started doing some reading about the various configurations for the rear of the Tacoma. After re-doing the front suspension 3 times and the rear suspension twice I want to make sure I do it right the last time around.

If The new Donahoe shocks are anything like the coilovers - this will be a winning combo

I don't have the coilovers yet, but I will agree from all the reports I have read on the Donahoe coilovers. :victory:

Cheers :beer:,
P

 

[Scott Brady]

As I mentioned to you via email, I think the best solution for those of us with heavy trucks, is to get the largest shock body (oil capacity) that we can afford, even if it means getting shocks with a reservoir. Cooling capacity is a must for our kind of loads. Equally important is valving. We don't hesitate to spend $175-$200 each on really good tires, but most of us balk at spending more than $100 ea. for shocks. IMO, they are just as imperative as tires, when it comes to a quality ride and driving experience. Faded shocks will also add more stress/abuse to your leaf springs and/or coil springs.

:clapsmile Well said amigo...

 

[BajaTaco]

Just an "FYI" to keep in mind for heavy "expedition style" trucks:

The Bilstein 5100 series uses a digressive piston that flows much more on compression so it usually makes for a smoother ride. More oil is allowed to pass through piston very quickly allowing the shaft to compress more easily on a hard hit. The 7100 series piston uses a 50/50 flow racing pattern (50/50 compression/rebound) which doesn't flow as much during a hard hit.

Donahoe Racing does a lot of product apps for SuperDuty trucks and will actually take a 7100 series reservoir shock and install a 5100 series piston inside of it and valve it accordingly (for more rebound control). I bet these new 2.0 reservoir shocks they are making work really well, and I am curious at what "average" weight (GVW of vehicle) they decided on for the valving. My guess is somewhere right between stock curb weight of an Xcab and a moderately loaded weight (aftermarket accessories - bumpers, etc) on a Dcab. I would be interested to find out if they will custom valve these new shocks for someone with a heavily loaded (in excess of 5,000 lbs) Tacoma or if it is close enough that it won't matter much. It seems it would be really cool to utilize this reservoir shock with the 2.0 body that bolts into the stock location, and valve it for our heavy trucks with the fast compression and more robust rebound control.

 

[BajaXplorer]

BajaXplorer,
I am planning on having the truck weighed prior to placing my order. I have found that the Deaver people are extremely easy to work with. Scot Borne at Deaver has answered all of my questions. I did not think that the U-bolts came with the Deavers if you order directly from them but am not sure. Where did you purchase yours?
P

U-bolts came with my Deaver springs. I can't remember having to ask for them, but may have. I went to Deaver's shop after weighing truck (front, rear) at a public scale and talked to Scott. Waited while they put the springs together (30 minutes?), then took them with me to a MORE desert race in Johnson Valley on my way back to Phoenix where my friends insisted on putting them on before I headed home.
Drive thru spring shopping. And friends mounting them in 40 minutes. It doesn't get much better than that.
BX

 

[p1michaud]

Drive thru rules!

Drive thru spring shopping. And friends mounting them in 40 minutes. It doesn't get much better than that.
BX

You have some real good friends! I'll be able to con one or two of my friends in helping out with some :beer: but only after all the work is done! :jump:

Cheers,
P

 

[p1michaud]

Information overload part deux!

Hi folks, well since I received a wealth of information from the good folks on this forum while doing my research I though I'd share with you what I have gathered to date. To give you an idea, I spoke to Scott, Desertdude, BajaTaco, Scott Born the Sales and Marketing Manager at Deaver Spring Inc. (scott@deaverspring.com), Jason Perry the National Sales Manager at Wheelers Off Road Inc. (Jason@Wheelersoffroad.com) and Jeremy Johnson the Sales Representative for Donahoe Racing Enterprises (dr_info@donahoeracing.com). Everyone was extremely helpful by generously offering information and experience as I was doing my research and I thank them for that.

The rear configuration I chose was Deaver 9 Leaf combined with Old Man Emu N85. I picked them up yesterday! :victory: I chose this configuration for various reasons: weight of the truck, available funding, type of use my truck will see and the environment it will be used in. I also chose the OME rear shocks to match my current front suspension: OME N91sc shocks, in hind sight I should have gone with the N91s, 881 springs and one trim packer per side. I am very happy with the OME performance up front so I expect the same performance from the rear shocks.
I believe that the coilovers such as Donahoe and Camburg would not fair too well in the Canadian climate. My main concern here is winter road salt. It will make anything rust in less than two years. I'm sure the coilovers would function, but they would probably seize so you could not rebuild or adjust them and to me that defeats the purpose of a rebuild able coilover. I would be willing to test the Camburg or Donahoe products for them in Canadian climates!


Shock Information (using stock mounting points):
Stock Configuration for reference:
Stock, the approximate travel is:
Driver 6" travel
Passenger 6.5" travel

Option 1:
OME N85 approximately $75 US each
USA, ARB 4x4 Accessories, 720 SW 34th Street, Renton, WA 98055-4814
Tel: (425) 264 1391 or Fax: (425) 264 1392

Description / mm / in (Driver and Passenger are the same)
Travel/ 230 / 9.05
Extension / 587 / 23.11
Compression / 357 / 14.06

**Option 2:
Bilstein 5100 (5125) approximately $75 US each

Description / Driver (in) / Passenger (in)
Travel / 8.13 / 8.60
Extension / 21.54 / 22.50
Compression: / 13.58 / 14.06
Part Number / BE5-6252-H5 / BE5-6253-H5

**Option 3:
Bilstein 5150 approximately $100 US each

Description / in (Driver and Passenger are the same)
Travel / 8.33
Extension / 22.50
Compression / 14.17
Part Number / BF5-A195-H1
(Reference:

**Note: You will have to replace the Bushings for the Bilstein shocks or drill them out to fit on the stock mounting location. Here are the specs for the replacement bushings:

Standard hourglass shaped eye.
3/4" I.D.,
1" min.O.D.,
1 1/8" max. O.D., 1 7/16" long.

You will need 4 of these (i.e. two per shock)

I understand that these bushings are available from either Energy Suspension bushings as part number #98108R or from Daystar as part number KU08007.

Option 4:
Finally Donahoe Air has released their 96-04 Toyota Tacoma rear shocks. They have an external reservoir with a 2” shock body. They are specifically valved for the Tacoma's. They are applicable on Tacoma with 0-3" of lift in the rear. They are covered by a life time warranty and go for around $ 199 US a piece. Scott mentioned that he will be testing a set of these in the near future and report on their performance.


Other items to keep in mind:
When upgrading the rear suspension on 95-04 Tacomas there are a few "hidden mods" to address as well.

1. Brake Proportioning valve
   
2. E-brake cable contacting thicker leaf packs
   
3. Extending Rear Brake Line
   
4. More rear axle travel can mean dented shock cans
   
5. Disconnecting the front sway bar
   
6. You may need tapered shims to correct pinion angle. From what I understand, not too many people here have had to deal with this problem on the Tacom, but it may crop up so be aware. Roger Brown's Driveline 101 page has excellent information about this on his website.
   
7. You should always use new U-bolts.
   
8. The new Deaver Springs will locate you rear axle forward (i.e. towards the front of the truck) by 0.5”.

For the rear, there are two main options: Deavers or Alcan. Both have been discussed here in great detail, so I won't add to that. What I struggled with was finding once source of information on shock choices so that's why I posted this information. I chose Deavers due to the good experiences that other members on this board have had with them. I can say the same about Deaver, excellent customer service!

Hopefully this information will help other people make a choice with their Tacoma rear suspension set ups. Feel free to comment or point out any mistakes!
Cheers :beer:,
P

 

[Desertdude]

Well done

 

[BajaTaco]

That is a very well thought-out contribution to the forum, and all of those will come along looking for info. Thanks P! :clapsmile

 

[p1michaud]

Thanks

Well done

That is a very well thought-out contribution to the forum, and all of those will come along looking for info. Thanks P! :clapsmile

Thanks guys, just trying to make the information available to everyone.:elkgrin:

Cheers :beer: ,
P