05 axle and leaf spring and wheels

[nitro7]

i own a taco 05 4cyl access cab auto and noticed that the leaf springs are UNDER the axle which means that adding blocks to lift it would be impossible. most trucks have the leaf springs ABOVE the axle. is there a way to make my truck's leaf system above the axle so i can add blocks to raise the truck? im guessing that by moving the leaf system above the axle will create some lift right there. im also trying to add 235/75/R15 tires to my dinky stock wheels. the standard wheels look really tiny for a truck. toyota should do something about that.

[Adventure North]

Originally Posted by nitro7

i own a taco 05 4cyl access cab auto and noticed that the leaf springs are UNDER the axle which means that adding blocks to lift it would be impossible. most trucks have the leaf springs ABOVE the axle. is there a way to make my truck's leaf system above the axle so i can add blocks to raise the truck? im guessing that by moving the leaf system above the axle will create some lift right there. im also trying to add 235/75/R15 tires to my dinky stock wheels. the standard wheels look really tiny for a truck. toyota should do something about that.

Well I'm not trying to sound like an ass, but you did buy a base model Tacoma, and unfortunatly for you that means there is no easy way to lift the rear aside from going to a full spring over conversion which will be costly and will require a fair amount of modification. All prerunner and 4x4 models get a spring over setup so trading to a base prerunner setup may be a better option if you want bigger tires. Base prerunner has 245/75 16's. Also you may find it difficult to lift the front because the base model has a totally different suspension design then the prerunner and 4x4 models. All the lift kits for the 05+ Tacoma are for the 6 lug prerunner and 4x4 trucks so finding something for the front will be a challenge as well. I hate to be the one to break the bad news to you but you maybe stuck with what you have unless you're willing to trade up or are good at fabricating.

[nitro7]

i already got the rear a little lifted. i think around 1 inch with super springs. also wondering why spacers in the front would be difficult? seems like the fronts are pretty basic and straightforward. i think

[Droppedmytaco]

You can buy new spring pads (the flat pieces that sit on the leaf springs) at most 4wd stores, and weld them to the bottom of you axle. Then using you stock hardware you could flip you axle.
If you "flip" the axle so it sits under the springs that will yeild about a 4-6 inch lift in the rear and you are not going to be able to lift the front that high in order to level it out using the stock a arms and spindles. You will have to wait for a company like fabtech to start making lift a arms or lift spindles. Go outside and jack you truck up until the front wheels are barely touching the ground and measure how much higher it is. If you somehow put a spacer in there to raise it that high you will never get it aligned and will chew up tires like crazy, not to mention that it will ride like crap. Since noone makes any suspension (lift or lowering) for the base model 5 lug trucks your only option is to fab up your own a arms or trade you truck for a prerunner.

I lowered the front of my truck with some shorter springs that set my truck down 3 inches in the front and I had to relocate my upper a arms up in order to be able to align it. You can only lift or lower about 2 inches, any more than that you will not be able to align your truck. This is the problem I ran into when I first lowered my truck. I figured out that if I moved my upper a arms up it would give me a lot more camber adjustment and I could get it aligned. Hope this helps.