JC III

After lots of research and good advice from other YT members, I decided to do the Zuk coil spring mod to supplement our ailing rear springs instead of buying a whole new spring pack. An add-a-leaf wasn't going to cut it and spring packs were too pricey, imo. Not only was it cheap ($78 shipped springs off ebay), it was ridiculously easy to do and turned out to be a fantastic solution. Multiple good write-ups on how to do it so I won't bore you with my poor commentary. A few pics for testimony...

Before:










During:






After:










One tip, drop the shock and one leaf spring mount....it sure makes it a lot easier to get the spring in position with just a standard set of "widow-maker" spring compressors. The pic with the before wheel rim to fender measurement is a bit misleading (it was actually 10 3/4"), all the other measurements I took confirmed right at 4" lift in total from completely flat springs. The ride is excellent, both on road and during what little wheeling we've done since we put them on this weekend. I couldn't be more happy with how it turned out. 1 1/2" BJ spacers this weekend should level out the front nicely and then a new set of Bils or OME shocks at all the corners and we'll be done with suspension work....for now

86 TOY

Great pics and results! Looks like you changed the tires out too, what size? Are those the stock 16" wheels from a '05-'08 Tacoma?

Nice runner by the way!

toyNG

Nice write-up. Did you use the 12" or 14" springs?

thook

Wow......those leaf's were dead! Just how mine were. I Zuk'd my rig, too. I need to adjust the torsion bars up a bit. Front is now sagging.

Congratulations....

JC III

Thanks 86, we are growing real fond of it the more we work on it. This will be my son's first truck. He's only got his learners right now but we wanted him to spend time working on it, earning it, driving it, and learning to appreciate it. He's paying for all the parts out of his own pocket, doing more work than most men I know to earn the money for it. My wife and I are just "directing" his purchases to make sure they are the smart ones, but it's his money and his truck. We wrench on it together so it's yet another thing to draw us closer...win/win situation for the entire family.

Yep, the old shoes were literally down to threads when we got it. We buy all of our tires from a local family-owned shop that not only gives us great deals, but small-town customer service. Set of 4 265/75R16 Maxxis Buckshot Mudders for $520 mounted/balanced out the door. Really like their performance on-road for such an aggressive off-road tread. Very quiet and smooth on-road for a mud tire. I know guys who have gotten 40K safely when taken care of and they handle our type of terrain very well. This will be his DD next spring but we spend a lot of time in the woods hunting and fishing so we wanted a good compromise. Not sure what wheels they are but I think you are right. The PO said he got them for free from a friend when that guy upgraded to some custom ones; good looking 16" steel so I'm not complaining at all.

ToyNG, we used the 14" 100# springs per Zuk's advice. Glad I went with those, couldn't have planned the results any better.

Thook, you ain't kiddin...the overload spring was in a slight negative arch. Doing the BJ spacers to come close to even-out and since we just aren't into the boulder pounding scene, I don't think we will run into serious issues with wear caused by them. We hope to not have to crank the TB's any because the on-road ride right now is very car-like and so far, it's done well around the house off-road. Where are you in AR? Most of my folks are in Heber Springs/Pangburn area.

4RunnerFreedom

nevermind. i think i'm going to go with the simpler TJ mod since i will be carrying lots of weight and don't have the proper tools to do the ZUK mod.

thanks

JC III

4runner, you could do the mod with a hacksaw, wrenches/sockets, a hammer, a jack and a jackstand. If you had to, you could disconnect the leaf springs and shock totally and I'll bet you could put the spring in there without compression. Or most of the parts places rent spring compressors for fairly cheap.

Don't know anything about the TJ mod but this was really simple. If you were going to carry a lot of weight you might go with the 12" 125# springs also recommended. I'm sure you could get those in there pretty easily.

Good luck in whichever one you choose, it's the answer for rear sag, imo.

4RunnerFreedom

thanks JCIII! i have a set of spring compressors, sawzall and/or die grinder to cut the bump stop. my concern came with a torch to heat up the bump stop to bend it out.

picked up a set of TJ front springs yesterday for $40 and doing the install today. if these doesn't work for me than I'm definately going with the ZUK mod.

do you think 12" 125lb or 14" 150lb?

JC III

I cut the rear leg shorter and front leg at full length to give me a bit to hammer on from an angle without hitting the rear leg. The rear leg is at the right angle so it's only the front that needs to be moved. Worked perfectly with a 3# hand sledge, just took a while and a blister or two but no need for a torch.

I think 14" 150's would be too much, I know my 14" 100's are perfect. I'd go with the 12" 125 if those are your other choice.

ZUK

iTrader: (1)

Nice, JC! I think that was a very "smart money" spend