I just got an '81, and it sits a little too high for me. I want to drop the truck 2" all around, altough 1.5" might work in the back too.
Let me know if I have this right - the back is easy, blocks. I figure they make 1.5" lowering blocks. No biggie.
The front is what I'm not 100% sure of. I am figuring you just move the tortion rods down a little. How many notches for 2"? What kind of alignment issues will I have when I get it set? I'm sure that toe and camber will need to be reset.
If these answers are floating around the site somewhere let me know.

 

for a minimal drop it shouldnt throw off the alignment at all. but its never a bad idea to get it checked after. especially if you have nice tires on there. i did a huge drop on my 78 and havent had it aligned in almost 30,000 miles. its got some camber but thats unavoidable as low as i am. lol.

and for the amount to do it, theres no set number. the wear and tear on every set of front springs is different. but i would start by getting the torsion adjustment arm flush with the hole in the crossmember. and fine tune from there.

 

another tip is to put the front jackstands under the lower arms so you can see how much its getting lowered as you do it. a set of ramps works too. just anything to have the weight on the suspension not the frame.

 

Cool, thanks for the tip. I haven't done a drop on a torsion rod suspension before, so I wanted to get some info before I even planned it. Thanks!

 

Where did you guys find your lowering blocks? I want to find 2" blocks and can't find anything that fits. I hit up a guy on the board here that makes them, but I'm trying to find all the options before I choose something. I know everyone here seems to drop more than 2", so do they even make 2" drop blocks?

 

I got my 3 inch blocks out the local Auto store.

 

summit sells them. thats where i usually get them. they have a kit for an 87-90 dakota, which should work just fine. they are cast iron. better than the crappy djm aluminum ones. i broke 2 sets. dunno. castings suck, or the ubolts stretched or something. thats not right though.

id say for 2" just pull the center leaf. it gets about that much. just leave the full length and the factory overload.

 

Yup, Cast aluminum blocks SUCK! I had a set crack on me while I was tightening my Ubolts.The pin gets shaved too after long use. I use nothing but iron blocks that can be bought from your local 4x4 store. Most of the 4in. blocks angled and have an offset pin that helps to keep your driveshaft from being pussed in. Just make sure you buy the right width and install them correctly.
http://www.suspensionconnection.com/cgi-bin/suscon/79004.html

Cold rolled alluminum blocks and steel blocks are good too.

http://www.stylintrucks.com/Articles/suspension-djm-loweringblocks/article.aspx

 

the ones the member here makes are a nice looking product too. just make sure that whatever blocks you get are for 2.5" wide springs. and that the ubolts fit whatever you have. measure the diameter where the tube sits. universal kits usually have 3". my 78 was about 2.5-2.75" axle tubes. i had new ones specially made at the 4wd shop.

 

I have been looking for the blocks, and this is the closest i came up with:

http://www.stylintrucks.com/parts.aspx?partfamilyid=3330

Are the 79-83 and 84-88 leaf springs the same width? If so I can grab the 2" blocks these guys have. I'm guessing they aren't and that the later trucks have wider tubes.

Which Summit blocks fit? I couldn't find any that were the right width.

 

I have an 82 in the process of restoring and Im doing a 6/7 drop! I have 4 inch blocks middle leaf removed and torsions turned. Will eventually install drop spindles off the 84-88 trucks that will be fabricated by a member. Which leads me to the member known Beefed Taco. He makes and works on all the local San Diego Tacomas 95-04 and ships his product out too. His website is streetacos.com. He's trying to start dabbing in the pre-taco trucks. I back his work and heres a a couple of pics of my trucks. Prices are very fair and his work is clean and safe.

 

Cool got a PM from him tonight. Thanks for the tip!

 

Here's another bit of info regarding your blocks and earlier Toyota trucks. When it comes to these pretacos I always ask a question....I noticed when I was at the salvage yard, that some earlier Toyota trucks have a weird metal bracket that surrounds the leaf pack at the axle area, and I noticed it uses a huge pin deal and is different than just a normal leaf pack and block setup. Does anyone know what I'm talking about? I need to snap a pic next time I'm there. These are how my blocks are, so make sure your axle and leaf look like the last picture here....

btw, my blocks measure 2.5" wide and 6.5" long. Pin is grade eight 1/2" and hole is 19/32, or slightly bigger than 9/16". The small leaf perches on the axle don't fit most hollow blocks and you get what you see in the 2 pics below, which adds to failure. My u-bolts are bent at a spring shop I do business with and they're offered in 1/2" diameter grade 5 (OEM size) or FAT 9/16" diameter grade 8 and are made to spec for the block. They will be made for the 2" blocks and your axle unlike universal aftermarket ones that are about 10" long. SD YOTA has a fat set and loves them. His welded diff was stretching the cheapies quickly. They are bent at 3" to fit the axle tube and u-bolt plates correctly. I have yet to offset the pin since nobody has had any issues, but it could be done if someone wanted that.

 

Beefed, I know what you're talking about. my 1994 xcab has it.

Apparently called Centering Blocks.


People NEED to know when it comes to blocks, you CAN put the centering block ABOVE the drop blocks....
Not the Drop blocks on top of the Centering blocks.

Anyhow, that centering block gives an extra drop. Forgot how much exactly.

 

Interesting...can you get a pic? I'll snap a pic of this thing I saw on a earlier Yota when I was at the yard. It definitely looked OEM.

 

yeah. cast blocks do this.


i had 2 sets do it. so i cut them down to the flat part in the middle, and ran a bolt through 2 and the leaf pack. even if i lose all 4 ubolts the blocks arent moving. lol. and the top isnt open anymore.

 

Holy crap dude! I didn't realize the cast are crap too. Thanks for the pic.

 

dont thank me, thank DJM for saying i installed them wrong. i asked why the first set did that within months, and the replacement set did it in a week. they said i must have left the bolts loose. yeah, impact gun must have only been finger tight. lol.

 

So to remove the center leaf, I pretty much have to remove the entire spring, right? I figure undo the u-bolts, lift the axle, and slip out the center spring? I've never removed a leaf before, the only other leaf spring suspension I did anything to was on my '66 Mustang way way back, and those are solid packs.

I probably won't get to that for a bit, but I figured I'd find all out I can before I try it. Judging by the bolts holding the bumper on, everything is gonna take major effort to break loose.... I had to WD40 those bolts multiple times and hit with a breaker bar to get all of them loose. Took me over an hour to remove the rear bumper.... BAH. I can't imagine what the U-bolts will be like.

Wanna try removing the leaf before I go to the blocks... if the ride's too soft I'll swap it back in and go the blocks route.

 

if there's a clamp holding the center with the main, you just need to get a big plier

Yeah, its very simple!

get new Ubolts.... the old ones are rusted on teh threads... it'll take you at least 1-2 hours attempting to applying 150+lbft of torque on bad threads just to make it to the nearest autozone or similar store...

I took my mid out
then i got 3" blocks with new u bolts....
i had to take out my ubolts.. so i cut them off