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Tuff Country ToyTuff Country's new 5-inch Toyota Tacoma Kit From the February, 2009 issue of 4Wheel & Off-Road By Fred Williams Photography by Fred Williams
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We have an '01 Toyota Tacoma we are going to build for Ultimate Adventure this year, and we have some very extensive plans for the truck over the next few months. But rather than just jumping straight into the extreme high-dollar axle swaps, we decided to start with some mods that would make the truck look better and improve its off-road prowess right off. Seeing as how we can never leave good enough alone, we decided to install a suspension kit on the truck so we could go play. It just so happens that Tuff Country has a new 5-inch suspension kit for Toyota Tacomas, and BFGoodrich has some new 33-inch All-Terrain tires we wanted to test. So after a few calls, we tracked down a shop to get the work done, got some shiny wheels for our truck, and got started on some Tacoma testing. If you're looking for the most extreme suspension and tires for your truck, then this isn't it. On the other hand, if you want to give your truck a wicked new look and improve the off-road ground clearance while retaining that stock ride quality, then this recipe for improvement is for you.  We took our '01 Toyota Tacoma...  We took our '01 Toyota Tacoma to Off Road Warehouse in El Cajon, California, and worked with their techs for two days to install the kit. It was the first 5-inch Tuff Country Tacoma kit they had installed, and one of the first built, so it took a little while longer than usual to get all the holes lined up and parts bolted together.  Though possible to install...  Though possible to install in a well-tooled home garage, we would recommend taking the kit to a qualified shop if you have any doubts. The disassembly of the IFS is not exactly hard, but having some airtools, a lift or quality jackstands, and a person or two to help is almost required.  With the front differential...  With the front differential removed, a portion of the lower rear A-arm mount needs to be cut. There is a new lower subframe that will support the front differential, and to clear where the differential will sit, the old supporting crossmember must be trimmed as per the instructions.  In addition to the rear crossmember...  In addition to the rear crossmember being removed, a section of the driver-side rear support also needs to be cut away to clear the hydraulic lines for the rack-and-pinion steering. We actually had to cut more than the instructions said to, but since the new subframe is tied into the brackets at four places, we were not concerned.  The new lower subframe was...  The new lower subframe was a tight fit, and possibly due to the abuse the truck received from the previous owner, we had to pry and pound on it to get all the bolt holes to line up. Remember not to torque all the bolts down until they are at least all started. Another thing to be careful of is which bolts go where-the instructions are very specific, and though some bolts are similar is size, the lengths may be different by 1/2 inch, or you'll have bolts bumping into an axleshaft.  The front suspension doesn't...  The front suspension doesn't affect the stock ride quality, because rather than replace the coils and shocks, you simply add a spacer to lift up the truck, and longer spindles. Another benefit of the Tuff Country kit is that the factory-style ball joints come already pressed into the spindle.
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