Toyota Tacoma 3" Toytec Budget Lift
Installation write-up and pictures...

Write-up by Kyle Brenneman

"This lift was installed for a friend while he was at Marine Corps Boot Camp as a graduation gift for him.  The lift is the Toytec 3-inch Deluxe 1000 kit.  The kit includes add-a-leaf in the rear along with new longer rear shocks, brake relocater bracket, and spacers for the front.  I would recommend buying new u-bolts for the rear because they are extremely hard to get off and sometimes warp when they are removed.

To start off the installation, we began by disconnecting the sway bar and then followed by removing the struts in the front in order to remove the coil in order to put the coil spacer in the strut.  After using a coil compressor, the strut came apart easy and the spacers were put in along with the new longer bolts in order to accompany the strut spacer which sits on top of the strut.  When taking apart the strut, be sure to mark the coil, shock and plate at the top so that everything goes back in straight and lined up.  The last step for the front is to put the top spacer in and push the entire strut back in and put all of the bolts back in and reconnect the sway bar.

The rear section of the lift is extremely straightforward but proves to be difficult.  Start off by disconnecting and removing the old rear shocks and then disconnecting the e-brake cable.  Next put a jack on the rear axle and remove the rear u-bolts on one side.  Slowly lower the jack to take all of the pressure off of the leaf springs.  Put a c-clamp on each end of the leaf pack and removing the centering pin.  Remove the c-clamps and then remove the overload spring.  Put the new add-a-leaf in and put the overload spring back on as well.  Use the c-clamps to push the leaf pack together and then put the new centering pin through.  Remove c-clamps and reinstall the u-bolts, bump stop, reattach the e-brake, and install the new shocks.  The brake relocater bracket is straightforward and is just a twist of a few nuts and bolts.

This lift provides clearance for 32-inch tires without any trimming.  The lift is a bit stiff but eventually settled a bit.  Toytec offers a lift that includes Pro Comp add-a-leaf and a kit that includes Toytec add a leaf.  The Pro Comp Kit is a lot stiffer and I would recommend getting the Toytec add a leaf kit.  This kit is fairly cheap and makes the truck look a lot better and gives it a larger boost in ground clearance."

Here are a few pictures of the installation of the lift kit:

The next two pictures are before and after pictures with 31 inch tires:

And with 33 inch tires (33x10.50x15 BFG Mud Tires):

The next picture shows the rear flex with the lift on 31 inch tires:

And with 33 inch tires (33x10.50):