Are lift kits bad for your truck?

So I have a stock 5 lug manual regular cab and I am looking to lift it and add bigger tires. I'm thinking Fat Bob's 2.75" with 31's. My question is, is it possible to lift my Tacoma without modifying it in such a way that it will slowly fall a part over time. I know that our trucks are built to last and I just want to make sure that I don't shorten the live of mine at all. Also, with 31's would I need to regear?

 

I see rock lobster is going to handle this

 

As soon as you start messing with factory designed standards/specifications .. ugly little trade-offs start appearing. Want to widen out the 'stance' of your 5-lug with either rims with much reduced off set, or with wheel spacers, you've compromised the design parameters of the axle bearings. Expect to wear them out and replace sooner. For the 5-lug, the 2.75" front end lift is at the edge of specs for what the stock UCA and LCA can handle in terms of suspension travel and possible interference contact with various components. Taking things to design limitations will put some additional stress on steering and suspension components. example - Do you like bigger, heavier tires, armor? Your brakes will need to work harder, and your motor will really notice (with the stock gearing) larger tire sizes than 245/75R16 or so.

Is a lift a bad thing in terms of reliability and durability in the long term? Don't know.. just recognise that the 5-lug lift kits do have their own inherent limitations - pushing against those limitations, may result in a higher service maintenance cycle.. I haven't heard anything catastrophic going on with these kits in terms of any failures. Certainly, I am very happy that i put in the Readylift kit with bilsteins into my own Tacoma. The benefits of doing it, outweigh any potential reliability concerns that i may have had, so far.

 

Is there anything you don't know, HackD?

 

Any time you strain components you're decreasing their lifespans.

Pretty much universal.

 

So if I regear, there will be no extra strain in the engine?

 

That is the purpose of a re-gear.. to re-match the the transmission gears, to where they are most effective in terms of optimal torque/horsepower.