Economical Way to get rid of 2” Rake

Howdy,

Looking for some thoughts/ advice on how to get rid of a 2” rake on a 2004 Tacoma. I tried to take pics of the suspension, but I bought the truck this way and can’t really give you much detail beyond that. I’d prefer to raise the front, rather than lower the rear.


Icons in the front, Bilsteins in the rear. I did not see any blocks in the rear.

Approx. 7.5” in the front, 9.5” in the rear on 235/85/16s.

Hopefully that’s enough info for those of you willing to help to provide thoughts, opinions, advice, etc.

PS - if possible without complete suspension do-over, I’d like to run 285s when these 235s wear out.

Thanks In Advance

 

Economical? Either crank up those icons a little more or just toss a few 80lb bags of quikrete in the bed. Just watch your cv angles.

 

Shocks don't raise or lower height, so the mention of the 5100s in the rear is irrelavent. What you need to do is post your full rear setup.

Leaf pack doesn't look stock, and for having a camper shell, that rear end is sitting up pretty high.

But like mentioned above, add a bit more preload (within reason) to raise the front.

 

Thanks for the info. So, from what you both said, you see enough adjustment left in the front to get me closer to level? You say within reason - what will it do to the ride if I end up trying to squeeze too much out of it?

 

You could crank up the front coilovers to achieve a higher front end but that may also make your CV angles too sharp and put in the territory where your UCAs can get the wheels in proper alignment. I’d say the most economical way to get rid of the rake would be to take a leaf or two out of the back and lower the rear just a tad. I had a similar issue with my truck, and after I took a leaf out it dropped me enough to be level with the front. Here’s a reference:

 

I’d explore dropping the rear down a bit…lower the center of gravity for a new driver. Just being a dad, can’t help it.
(Referring to your other post about being your sons first truck)

 

Very nice. What is your setup? Lift, tire size, etc. See, the whole problem is that I thought I knew what my plan was until I took it to the shop. The guy came out and looked at the front and said they were just about maxed out. He also told me I couldn’t run 285s. Thoughts?

 

Much appreciated - thank you!

And it doesn’t help that the stock wheels and skinny tires add to the top-heavy feel.

 

Thanks, in those pics I’m running full OME suspension with 882 coils in the front and the Dakar leaf pack with a leaf removed. Also have adjustable SPC UCAs up front. For wheels and tires I’m running 285/75/16 Yokohama Geolandar G003s on 16x7 4Runner wheels along with a 1.5” wheel spacer all around. Had to do some trimming and bashing to get the tires not to rub. I do love the 285s but a 265 honestly would have been more manageable.

This is also just personal opinion, but running the lowest amount of lift with the largest tire for that set up would be ideal such as 1.5-2” of lift with a 265 would be perfect. This way the truck still rides really well on and off road, tires are easily available in any configuration in that size and you really don’t have to regear for any power loss. If I did it again, I would have probably gone that route since this is 99% an on road truck with the occasional trail riding

 

Great info - thanks for sharing! I’ll definitely start looking that direction.

 

A lot of practical experience and wisdom in this post.

 

I would pull out a leaf or 2 from that pack

 

I came here with one plan in my head (maintain rear lift, increase front), but so far, it seems like the consensus is to simply lower the rear.

See? This is why I came to you guys! You've helped a poor fool with what should have been an obvious solution. You all deserve a cold beer - it's 5:00 somewhere!

 

From the looks of it id say the upper control is aftermarket as well, maybe an spc. Can you take a picture of the upper control arm, spc control arms are super adjustable.

 

You know, I thought about that and then ended up not taking a separate pic. Thanks for the offer! I'll do that when I get home. I honestly wouldn't know stock from aftermarket, so I'll let the jury decide.

 

This is an spc control arm

 

This is a rare Tacomaworld moment that should be memorialized. All too often, new members are hesitant to abide by the advice that they solicited. With time, you will learn more about your truck and what you want from it, and may eventually experiment with a different approach.

 

For the record, your Quikrete comment is still my favorite one on the thread. It may yet come to that - I might have my son building fence this summer, so we'll just load 'er up til it looks like a Cali lift. Rake problem solved!

 

That's just what I'd do / recommend. Your wants/ needs may differ. If you are dead set on keeping the rear at said height you could either crank the preload on those coilovers a little more or get a heavier rated spring, but in doing so like others have stated will increase your cv axle angles thus making harder to get a proper alignment and a stiffer ride. Pros and cons in whatever route you decide. Feel free to pm me if you have any questions

 

Stick around for a while....lot's of good humor to be found here. In my case, I didn't need quikrete when I did my fence...our soil already resembles concrete.