Gen 1 Tundra Rear Suspension Questions

[High Country]

I'm thinking the easy answer is the Fox option. Although a 2.5" option would be nice..... Hopefully something like that would interact ok with my Wheelers AAL pack.
Debating adding the overload bar back in to reduce what I feel is a bit of sag. Wonder how that might affect the ride? I would also need a new set of center pins. It would be like adding a lift block, yeah?

I think King Custom Rears start at $489 a side.. Nice, but perhaps to much for my use...

 

[smokeysevin]

I did a diy cantilever setup on my truck that uses deaver g57 springs and 8" travel FOA remote reservoir shocks. I am planning to add airbags and hydro bumps but I have not had time to finish it yet. I have run the cantilever for about 2 years now and love it.

Sean

 

[High Country]

I did a diy cantilever setup on my truck that uses deaver g57 springs and 8" travel FOA remote reservoir shocks. I am planning to add airbags and hydro bumps but I have not had time to finish it yet. I have run the cantilever for about 2 years now and love it.

Sean

Do you have pics you can point me to? Not sure I would go that far, but interested to see what you did.

 

[Loubaru]

The only person I've seen run King's front and back on a gen 1 Tundra is lhanson. But his were custom made front and back and cost a lot. Plus he did custom rear shock mounts. More often I've seen people run Fox on the rear. They are progressive valving similar to the Kings.

I've been doing some reading on shackle flips vs spring hangers and am trying to make sure I understand it. The newer Tacoma's have the shackle inverted from the factory.... I'm not around my truck right now, but I think we have a similar setup. Does anyone make spring hangar for our trucks? Can we use the stock hangar and just get a longer shackle?

Good to hear about the foxes. I really didn't feel like doing something custom if I do end up going the King route . Correct on the inverted shackle. Since its inverted wouldn't a longer shackle actually lower the truck?

 

[High Country]

Do you know specifically what Fox shock they are running on the rear? I'd like to research it a bit and read up on the shock.

If I go to Fox's website they say Part No. 980-24-674 . Its a 2" shock, and maybe that is enough. ??
http://www.ridefox.com/product.php?...&year=2006-2000&position=Rear&ref=shockfinder

If I do some searching I find these:
https://www.suspensionconnection.com/980-02-421-fox-tundra-2006.html

$139 a piece for the recommended ones from Fox, $320 each for the reservoir shocks.
Curious as to the performance difference between the two.

These ones look good, but could not find one that states it works for Gen 1 Tundra. Probably a custom and then you are up there with the Kings at $500 a side. (I am guessing here) ??
http://www.ridefox.com/product.php?m=truck&t=shocks&p=7

 

[Kpack]

I'm not really sure what Fox shock people have been using. I've just seen them on pics of Tundra builds and for all I know they seem to do okay.

I think the biggest thing to find out with any of the options above is what is their extended and compressed length. If the extended length is the same as OEM then you are very limited on droop. I don't know what the actual extended length of my Icon's is.... That would be good to find out. All I know is they are longer than stock by a good amount. I had to use a floor jack to compress them enough to get them into the mount, even with the rear axle hanging at the leaf spring limits.

The second link you posted is nice in that they have external reservoirs which should help in cooling, but it sounds like they are OEM length.

 

[Kpack]

Good to hear about the foxes. I really didn't feel like doing something custom if I do end up going the King route . Correct on the inverted shackle. Since its inverted wouldn't a longer shackle actually lower the truck?

I don't know, but it seems like it would. That may not be a bad thing if you are adding a spring pack that raises you up. It seems like there aftermarket spring hangars for Tacoma's are longer (hang down further), therefore the ride height should be unchanged with a longer shackle. I think.

 

[High Country]

This is what I found when looking up my Bilsteins:
5100 Series Shock Absorber
Collapsed Length (IN): 13.84
Extended Length (IN): 22.4
Travel Length (IN): 8.56
Lower Mount: Eye 12mm
Upper Mount: Stem
Shaft Diameter: 14mm
Reservoir: No

I dug around ICON's website and they did not list that info there. @Kpack Curious as to the difference in specs as you state in your build thread the difference in droop. Assuming both the travel and extended length grew, but I'm just guessing.

How important are leaf springs to the mix? How hard is it to balance ride, performance, and the ability to handle a load or towing duty?
Leaf springs, bump stops, and shocks: somehow they all have to work together and compliment the front end to make for a good setup. Or, am I making this more complicated than it should be?

When I installed my Wheeler's 3 Leaf AAL pack I left the factory overload leaf off. I think my first step is going to be to put that back on. Then see if the sag I am thinking I am seeing is eliminated.
I can deal with the performance as I save up for the ultimate rear end solution for my use.

 

[Kya]

I tried the Fox 2.0 and they lasted almost a year then the driver side started leaking pretty bad. I was not impressed with the ride or the longevity.


I do carry a Four Wheel Camper around for half of the year. I have the Wheeler's AAL and Firestone airbags. I'm trying these Toyotec rear shocks now....
http://toyteclifts.3dcartstores.com...-Shocks-for-05Tacoma00-06-Tundra-_p_1474.html

Hope they last longer than the Fox and so far the ride feels good but haven't put on more than 100 miles or so. This summer will give a good perspective on the Boss.

 

[High Country]

Do you have any pics of the Toytec one's installed? Looks like a good option to research. Thanks for sharing your experience with the Fox ones.
I did some searching on the Toytec, they seem like a good deal at $399.. It is on my short list of options at this point. Thanks @Kya for posting that up here.

 

[DaveInDenver]

I have 2.0 IFP FOX in the rear of my Tacoma, but perhaps @Kya may have beaten me to the punch. I haven't have them fail (yet, hopefully) but would recommend getting either 2.5" bodies or 2.0 with remote reservoirs. The 2.0 is fine but I've gotten mine fairly hot and heat kills shocks. Also factor in with King, FOX, Sway-A-Way, Radflo and the like that you have to rebuild them periodically otherwise they will fail and being less volume the 2.0" will need service sooner.

 

[Kya]

Do you have any pics of the Toytec one's installed?

Here's some pics of my amateur install. Driver side....



Passenger side. Much harder to access the top bolt on the shock and had to run the reservoir under the bed to keep it far away from the exhaust system....


I'm liking the boots! Our winters can be long and brutal in Colorado and CDOT uses the mag-chloride heavily. Hopefully the boots help with the longevity.

 

[smokeysevin]

My truck is a bit of a mutant but it works. If I were to do the rear again I would have gone with a 9" Full Floater and probably would have done a 4 link or modified 3 link instead. It works pretty damn well as it is though and doesn't give that falling out from under you feeling or buck. The motion ratio on the shock is progressive so as you get closer to full compression it stiffens up rather than going limp. My only real complaint is that the rear end is so narrow I had to move the cantilever arms and pivots inboard which isn't great for damping while turning. Still lightyears better than stock in my opinion. It will run about 14" of travel, but that is with some negative arch in the springs. I need to get an updated picture with my new hitch and airtank mount.

Sean

 

[character zero]

Kings front/bils+deaver aal rear here. I like the setup, so far it has been trouble free on the back, but I also keep a shell on there all the time. I'll consider fox when swapping the rears next time.

 

[High Country]

@smokeysevin Would that set up working for towing or hauling loads? I can see the benefit for off road adventures, but curious if would work for loads. ?? Thanks for the pics!