1st gen tundra 2wd lift kits?

Hey everyone,

So my truck is 2005 tundra sr5 2wd and I have been browsing for a lift kit or spacer lift that is preferably 3 in’s or more. I do not intend on doing any off-road whatsoever this is my daily driver to work and wanted to raise it up a bit. Any suggestions on what lift I should start looking at? All opinions welcomed!

 

You can get lift spindles for a 2wd. Not cheap, but should keep it riding nice.

 

Read the "Suspension, wheel and tires ..." section of this thread: https://www.tundras.com/threads/so-you-wanna-buy-just-bought-a-1st-gen-tundra-eh.115928/

It has the key points you need to know. With it being 2WD and V6 and (mystery cab type), almost any kit is going to take you to 3" or more. At which point there's a lot of other shit you need to upgrade if you plan to avoid tweaking/breaking/bending/doing more damage than you want to pay for on other parts of your truck.

 

Thanks for directing me to the thread shifty (also my apologies I updated it just now I didn’t realize I forgot to put it but it’s an access cab) after looking I was wondering since supposedly the ac’s actually lift higher than expected if I wanted to lift it 3-3.5 inches should I go with a 2 or a 2.5 and what else should I invest in while getting the spacers/ bilstein’s (still deciding which one to pick)

 

Note: I also do not intend on any off-roading and while most likely not get bigger tires than stock (265/70/16’s) just want more of an asthetic lift for the moment, but any suggestions or opinions are greatly appreciated!

 

Need to give us a budget.

Look, like the other thread says, if you're looking to get to 3" the right way, you're doubling or tripling the amount of money you need to throw at this. The only way I or anyone else on here can really help you is if you want to do things the right way and with these trucks, unfortunately that means $$$$$$

Here's what we're trying to help you avoid:

This guy also has an Access Cab, V8, 4WD and installed an Old Man Emu 3" lift kit, and did everything right, with extended links, new upper control arms, the whole shebang. Even with all that extra weight - much more weight than your 2WD V6 Access Cab has, he was smacking the shit out of his suspension components and ultimately would've damaged something if he kept it installed. He ended up having to buy a totally different lift kit. $$$$! Worth noting most of the kits you find online aren't designed for the Tundra, just marketed as "fitting" them, and the lift measurements are taken when installed on a fully loaded Double Cab with V8 and 4WD which is heavy as shit compared to our Access Cabs and with different geometry.

This guy tried to be 'smart' and install a Rough Country kit, and added pucks (which is generally a bad idea) because he was intent on getting to the height he wanted anyone else's advice be damned. He bent the shit out of his knuckles in the process. New knuckles cost $600+ EACH just for the knuckle, don't think it includes extras. $$$$$$!

I guess what I'm saying is this:

You need to set your expectations in the realm of reality, and if you really want to get to 3" lift, be ready to pony up some cash. You can easily get away with, like, Bilstein 5100s set to the bottom notch with a lifted spring (Bilstein warns against running anything except the bottom notch if using lifted springs), and slap in some 2883 springs, which should level your front end to match the rear. Then throw an add-a-leaf ("AAL") in the rear for 1.5" lift and it'll make a pretty significant difference. You may be able to get away with some OME 2884 springs, but you may end up having the ass-end squatting on it. But it's not 3", it'll be closer to 2", the right way.

Here's a good thread to read with a truck similar to yours in weight/ride characteristics. Yes, it's Regular Cab. But ... your results should be similar.

I dunno. It's all you. If you really want to go more than 3", start looking into bracket lifts. Tuff Country has their 4.5" kit, but avoid the weird knuckle spacers they offer. RCD also has their 4"-6" kit.

 

Hey shifty,

I appreciate redirecting me to that thread and love the setup he has however I don’t know I feel like I’d just want to be a little higher so maybe i should just save up for the tuff country or rcd like you said, I would prefer something like spacers but as you mentioned they aren’t really the best thing for probably having a quality ride. I guess my overall “goal” would be 3-4 inch lift, either stock 16s or aftermarket ones, with a more aggressive stance meaning in this scenario wider. I would prefer the lift to be under 500-600 but if needed 800 or less in terms of the suspension. Thank you for your help throughout and with my questions! Also side question do you know if these 05-06 access cabs have the weird bolt/plug holes under the stock flares on them?

 

I really hope you read the post he linked and are pretty mechanically inclined. There's no easy "going back to stock heights" after most bracket lifts you're cutting part of the sub-frame out at least on the Tuff country.
I "had" the 4.5 in TC when I bought my truck. Wasn't real familiat with the difference in lifts at the time. DO NOT get that 4.5 " tuff country lift. Just FYI, I'm roughly 1500-2000 just in parts in to make that kit partially go buh-bye and more safe. Not counting misc shit that breaks etc while working on stuff.

 

Your budget isn't compatible with your desires, at least when talking about a 1st Gen Tundra. If this was a Ford, GM, or Dodge vehicle it probably wouldn't be the case. You may want to trade your Tundra in for one of the big three I just mentioned if you're looking for the lift you claim you want, even if doing all the work yourself. Hell, you're going to be spending 1/4 of your budget just getting the vehicle aligned! (Unless you want to be dropping $200-300/ea on tires a few months down the road)

If you do all the work (except the alignment, which you'll want to add $100-200 budget for) your best low-buck bet is probably going with:

• Front: Bilstein 5100s + OME 2884 springs, Bilsteins set to 1st notch
• Rear: Add-a-leaf +1.5"
• Add a 2" body lift or something, I guess? It'll get you close to 4"

But I'd strongly consider extended swaybar links, and know if you start scooting over 2.5" lift, the alignment shop may have a hell of a time getting you into alignment unless you update your upper control arms.

I'm going to bold this one statement with hopes you read it: If you try to achieve your claimed goal with only suspension components, you're likely going to damage your truck.

 

+1∆∆∆∆
I forgot to add to my list aftermarket UCA's. I got them for 550 ish iirc. I believe they are more towards 700 now.SPCs anyways.

 

OP, from your responses, im confused what your desire for the truck is. You want to lift a little, but not use bigger tires?

lifting is a much more expensive thing than just the lift. Does your truck need a better look? Maybe a set of wheels you really like is all you need?

 

Thanks for trying to help I guess but I think I’ll just figure it out. However my other question was do these 05 ac tundras have bolt holes/ plug holes under the outside door moulding!?

 

yes you will have square holes underneath those strips

 

Hey man, you're new here I assume. The people that respond to these type of questions after telling you to search and still post links WILL NOT steer you wrong. A LOT of people have asked similar questions, they seen the shit with these trucks.people do wrong. Everyone's here to help. There are a couple handful of people that respond religiously to all sorts of topics. If you want these are your truck family. I swear you'll likely not get better advice unless they are also on another Toyota forum, which would likely net you similar results.

 

+1 on this, and if you feel like you're not getting honest help here, there's a few other forums to get a 2nd opinion at, although I reckon they'll say just about the same. Whatever you do, don't run from forum to forum until someone finally tells you what you want to hear. And never trust a vendor, even some of the most reputable vendors you'll see recommended here have fed the non-DoubleCab folks bad intel on lift parts.

At the end of the day, nobody on here owes you anything, and that's in your favor: We have no reason to tell you anything other than what members on here already established as cold, hard fact from direct experience. Actually, for liability reasons these days, you'd (or we'd) hafta be idiots to feed you info that'll result in injury or death. Nobody wants it on their conscience nor do they want a lawsuit ... just know you won't find that level of honesty or concern everywhere on the internet!

+1 on this too, but I'd add: The square holes are basically there to ensure you position the trim correctly, level. IIRC, those trims are held on with adhesive, the trim piece itself has bump-outs on it that slide into the holes, so when the adhesive touches paint, you won't need to pull off and realign again.

 

Perfect place to install 6" spikes, I hear the Mad Max look is all the rage these days and all the cool kids want to be deep in the trends

 

Thank you all,

I think a big issue at the moment is I need to take a step back and assess FOR SURE what I want my truck build to be. A big issue was me not being very confident or for sure what I want to build and I mean I would assume this is very common! Cmon these first gens realistically look amazing no matter the build path from pre runners to overland builds to bubba truck builds and I’ve even seen some lowered ones that look exceptional! I need to look more at these builds and think on it more before going and spending money on a build item I feel confident on or think is good without good research probably eventually wasting my money on something that isn’t beneficial or healthy for the truck so at the moment I plan on just browsing builds and using the internet to find “my build”, thanks tho for assisting me throughout this forum in general!

Also, I don’t know about y’all but removing the side moulding/ front bumper moulding piece can either look amazing or terrible so I may look more into that because if used to my advantage the right way, it would look pretty damn good without em

 

This seems like a no brainer: https://eibach.com/1861/E80-82-066-01-22-TOYOTA-Tundra-pro-truck-lift-system

If it was suitable for 4x4 I'd have already ordered that kit. Trying to figure out if I want to run OEM springs/coils or try another brand of spring with Eibachs front adjustable shocks on my truck.

 

That was what I found. Eibach only supports certain cab/drivetrain configs with it. I like Eibach's stuff, though. They don't make all their own stuff, but ...

 

It is suitable for a 4WD. I called Eibach about this kit while I was searching for what to do with my front end. Suitable as in it will fit, they just didn't test it on a 4WD and get figures for the amount of lift. Not that the tech person on the phone cared much, but I explained the chunk of market they're missing by simply labeling this for 2WD only. He agreed.

Here is the thread I made about it: https://www.tundras.com/threads/eibach-pro-truck-1st-gen-4wd.122463/#post-3138223

I ended up going with Bilstein in the end but was pretty close to doing the test mule.

 

Weird. I called Eibach and spoke with Tanner? to specifically ask about the Eibach coil overs toytec has on their website and he had no knowledge of their existence. Said they don’t make coil overs for tundra’s 2WD or 4WD.

Asked about the lift kit they have marketed for the 2WD and said yes it for 2WD and NOT suitable for the extra weight of the 4X4. This was last week.

Thinking of just going with 6112’s up front and 5100 in the rear. Not real stoked on the idea of a cir clip lift though with all the extra preload. Would rather have coils providing the lift. And to get a 2” lift on a 4x4 DC you’re running the cir clips at their highest point on the 6112’s.

 

One thing I learned on here is, technically, many vendors don't make any lift kits for the 1st Gen Tundra. They're adapted from other models, like the 4Runner, Taco, or GX/LX. Definitely the case with Old Man Emu (OME) and their kits. They don't make anything for the 1st Gens, it's been adapted from another Toyota. Which is great if you have a Sequoia, which is probably close in most aspects, or a DC because it's basically the truck version of the Sequoia. But it sucks for AC/RC truck owners, with unexpected and often undesirable results. Vendors never seem to warn guys with less-common configurations about this.

What Toytec, 1stGenOffroad and others are doing is listing kits to "fit" a specific vehicle based on input from others in the industry who've found things to generally work. But let's be real: People who are fitting this stuff are often doing it on actual offroad vehicles with bigger engines, heavier drivetrains, armor, caps, campers, and other accessories which add weight, so the translations get iffy for dudes rolling 2WD and V6 on an AC 1st Gen.

It would probably work fine, you'll just get 1/2"-3/4" less lift out of it. And Eibach has stiffer springs to fit this application, I'm assuming the kit is using a 650 spring, you could probably get them to sub a 700 with the same specs in there.

People have been using circlip struts for quite a while. Here's Bilstein's compatibility sheet on notch settings for the 5100 with stock springs. I don't know if it's similar for the 6112s, haven't managed to find one. I definitely agree with you though, I'd personally feel more confident and probably be happier with the ride slapping a lifted spring in there than running 15-20 year old OEM springs in there and jamming at the top clip - which Bilstein says never to do on the 5100 with OEM springs at least - or anything above the 2nd or 3rd clip. I'd expect a more-stock ride feel using the bottom clip with a lifted spring.

 

Tanner just told me yesterday that in July they are releasing a Gen 1 Sequoia specific kit...the fronts will probably work well on the 4x4 DC.

 

There was a time I wanted to lift and heavily mod a 2WD Gen 1 DC.
Now after owning mine and appreciating it in it's stock configuration, the only way I'd even consider it would be to buy a second one.
Then I'd prepare to dump buckets of money into it, have it take forever, and be an on-going / never ending project.
That's just not in the cards for me.

 

That is exactly what I did, 6112 front and 5100 out back with new leafs.

I am really happy with the 6112 setup. I went with 5/3 circling setting cause 1) I’m not stoked on preload lifts either and 2) I only wanted about an inch lift up front. That is about what I got with the clips at 5&3.

An alternative is a stiffer bilstein spring up front which if I had to do all over I think I’d have been ok with after having these for few thousand miles.