Hey so I'm about to inherit my old man's 2004 Tacoma(he bought a new 2016). Its a 2wd, 2.4 4 cylinder, 5 speed, reg cab, short box, about the only option it has is a/c, carpet, and mud flaps. Truck has around 160k on it, but its in great condition, no scratches, no dents, no door dings, always garaged.

Anyways, its a great truck, but I just hate the way it handles. Even when this truck was much newer, with a lot less miles, I just felt like it rolled way too much in the corners and just feels a bit too soft. I'm not going to tow anything heavy with it or load the bed up.

So what would you recommend to firm it up a bit and get rid of the float? Lowering it a couple of inches would also be on my list, I'd like to get it level, right now it has that stupid factory rake with the rear higher than the front.

My first thought was to install a set of S-Runner springs and some aftermarket shocks. Those springs should stiffen it up without ruining the ride quality(I still want it to ride nice, firmer is better though). As for shocks, I'm at a loss and hoping for some recommendations.

I'm also thinking some thicker/beefier sway bars would help things out as well.

Anything else I should replace at this mileage like ball joints, tie rod ends, etc? Truck steers great, no wobbles, no slop, doesn't pull, doesn't squeak/rattle going over bumps or any of that nonsense.

Also I know this is mainly a 4wd forum. So if you have suggestions on a better forum to use, I'd appreciate it.

 

So your dad gave you a well preserved truck and you're gonna rice it out?

Boo.....

It probably only needs new shocks. Put some Bilstein HDs on there, and drive it like an adult so it goes another 160k. Maybe you'll even pass it on to your own kid someday.

"Stupid factory rake" ??? Your dad needs to repo this truck before you ruin it.

 

It is a 2wd truck it is going to ride like that.

Pray tell just what are you comparing it with.

If you want a good rough ride weld the shocks so there is no travel that should give you a ride like a buck board .

Another way would be custom rear springs with about 10 leaves or more

Heavy duty strut/ springs to match the rear.

 

Oh go ˟˟˟˟ off, I'm not some punk kid living at home.

Obviously I'm not going to get any answers from you guys, cause your forum is full of assholes. I ask for some advice on suspension parts and how to CORRECTLY lower the truck so it doesn't ride/handle like ˟˟˟˟˟, all I get is attitude. I plan on driving this truck into the ground going back/forth to work, figured if I'm going to keep it another 5 years/100k miles I might as well enjoy driving it.

 

Yeah I'll admit you aren't getting very supportive responses...

You're right that this is mostly a 4wd site, not full of assholes, though you'll often get responses that require a thick skin. If you want a real treat, try posting this on the pirate forum...

There are probably sites better suited to your needs. Toyotaminis comes to mind, though I often get re-directed to porn when their site comes up in my search results...so I don't know how I feel about sending you that way.

What kind of vehicle are you used to? What are you comparing the truck to? I guess the first thing I'm curious of is whether your expectations are reasonable, then we can go from there.

What is the 2wd suspension setup? Coilovers on the front? Shocks and leaves in the rear? You can put new, stiffer coils in the front and the stiffest shocks you can find. Same with the shocks in the rear, plus maybe an overload leaf or something, if not a new, heavy duty leaf pack. Not sure what the anti-sway bar set up is but that's another place to look.

I don't know enough about 2wd suspension so I don't have brand recommendations or anything.

There might be a person or two on here who know about lowering, but this is definitely not the right site for that kind of thing.