Need Suggestions for Good 2-3" AAL with Good Padding So No Sqeaking

I needs at least a solid 2" AAL for the back. I tried a Deaver on my 2nd gen and sqeaked like crazy. Anyone for some that will give 2" lift that won't start sqeaking?

 

Both of my Deavers on my 2017 don’t squeak. I left the overload leafs in and have about 2” on the rear.

Talk with Marie about it at @HeadStrong Off-Road

 

Totally agree with HS recommendation and I’d also suggest adding leaf liners while you’re in the process.

HS add a leaf, 1/2 inch spacer, liners, removed overload, trail-gear ubolt flip with Fox 2.5s. perfectly quiet and right at 2” of lift over stock

 

We did the icon
Left the overload in
No noise
2” lifted

 

It's rare but squeaking does occasionally happen with my 5 year old Headstrong 3 leaf AAL. It was completely silent for the first couple years (~25k miles) now is >95% silent. Unsure what the rare/occasionally squeak is from.. dirt/debris or sitting for a week. <shrug>

I'm happy with them for the support/ride/price. I'd like a full leaf pack replacement but haven't opened the wallet wide enough.

 

which liners do you use?

 

https://a.co/d/7KpgiPX

Only used liner on add a leafs and spacer, left original leaf pack alone. Was more than enough to do bioth sides.

 

Are they rubber? How long have they lasted? Did you get 2.25" or 2.5"?

 

2.25 and I’d say they’re a really flexible plastic. Totally guessing on mileage since installed based on tire rotation intervals but 6-7k. Maybe a little more, not sure.

 

I ennded up building a franken-pack or lead-enstein from stuff i had around my shop. End result was about 3-4" of lift and actually performs and rides really well! I'm only playing with these to determine the height pack i neef but if your on a budget I can say I would actually recommend the combo.

I had a new set of 2nd gen recall leafs and a new set of 3rd gen TRD Sport leafs. The overload leaf on the 2ng gen recall pack is longer and thicker than the 3rg gen packs. And i had a cheap Torch AAL (

$70 TORCH 1.5"-2" Rear Add A Leaf Lift Kit for 1995-2023 Toyota Tacoma 2WD 4WD TRD SR5

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B082VKNYL5) laying around.

I took apart the 3rd gen pack, made sure to keep the aluminum spacer pad in place, the added the Torch AAL, placing a 1/4" Energy suspention pad and the OEM aluminum pad between the lowest leaf on the 3rd gen set and the Torch AAL, then placed the 2nd gen over loaf spring with the aluminum pad under the AAL, then placed the OEM 3rd gen overlaod leaf with OEM aluminum pad under the OEM 2nd gen overload leaf.

It was a hell of a time with clamps squeezing the pack together but sime out pretty dang good.

I also added 1/4" Energy suspension pads to the edges of the AAL to prevent future squeeking.

With the block and the franken-leaf pack i have abour 29 5/8" from center of hub to fender. If i had a 4" lift in the front i would for sure keep running the pack!

 

You don't mention anything about the (what appears to be) 3" block in the rear.

 

I did, i mentioned the measurements with the block. The whole reason for the thread is i am trying to determine what size pack i need to match the front lift. The block is 4.5"

The block doesn't effect the flex or ride quality. The post was just to give people on a budget a good option for a 3-4" lift pack

 

Ok. I see that now. That's a lot of lift for the current tires.. I assume you're planning on going up to 35s?

 

I have a set of 36's for it once lift iis settled. Thats what it will look like. I have 29" center of hub to fender in front

16" brake lines up front, 22" brake lines in the rear snd extended ABS lines 14"'s

 

Right now, with the block and the Franken-pack I'm estimating I am getting about 8" of lift. The back sits a little higher than the front. I think I am going to go with a 7" pack. The front measure right under 47" fender to the ground, once I get Castor set I'll take a final measurement to the ground and hub.

All in all, if you have 2 good sets of OEM leaf packs laying around, especially a set of the 2nd gen recall packs laying around and just want a solid 3"-4" leaf pack for a low cost, the Franken-Pack is a good option. I'd run it if I only had a 3 or 4 inch lift. rides good and flexes well.

 

Franken-Pack details...

 

Is this one of those Friday deals? How the hell?

 

no, LOL!

I put new coilovers in the front a few weeks ago. I have been making adjustments until I figured out how much lift I was going to go with in the front. I am not going to order my Alcan's until I know what specs I need. So I kept adjusting the front and everytime I adjusted the front I would either add a different size block or leaf in the back to even it out. Once I got to 4.5"-5" blocks in the back I did not want to try any blocks taller than that. So I started messing with the leaf packs. I started the thread originally because I was looking to take the easy route and order a 3" AAL setup to stack on top of the blocks to keep making adjustments with the height.

Then I decided instead of spending money on an AAL setup just to use until I can order my Alcan's I started looking around my shop to see what I had to just put a leaf pack together.

I had a new set of 2023 new OEM TRD Sport leafs and a set of new 2nd gen recall leafs in the shop. And I dug up the cheap set up Torch AAL's. So I started playing with those originally just to find the height I needed and came up with the Franken-Pack. Which turned out to be a pretty durn good setup if all you need is 3-4 inches of lift. So i decided to share my findings.

LOL, I have an extra Deaver leaf from a lift pack and the rest of the OEM leafs from the 2 OEM leaf packs. So once I place my order for my new Alcan's I plan on putting that Deaver leaf in the Fraken-Packs and add a couple more of the extra OEM leafs to see what I end up with, just to experiment

So to wrap it up, in the pics I have the 4.5" blocks and the Franken-Pack leafs on top of the blocks. Which gave me around 8 inches total lift or so. Again for the sole purpose of finding out how much lift I needed for my new custom made leaf packs. BUT while doing my experimenting I discovered a way for guys on a budget to build a pretty durn good 3-4 inch leaf pack using spare or easy to get parts for cheap.

Isn't that sort of the spirit of TacomaWorld to share stuff you discover when experimenting