Rough Country 2" Leveling Kit for 05-23 Toyota Tacoma | Anodized Red - 744RED

Nicely finished. Hope you like red. Original studs needed trimming for this 2" kit (2"or so at the wheel, thus 1" thick at this inboard location) just like other brands. Studs are a long-term advantage b/c the steel nuts provided are holding on to steel stud threads. Bolts, as used on others, thread into the aluminum plate and there's the risk of worn/stripped threads if removal is in your future. The studs are pressed into the plate from the bottom and have a larger diameter within the plate than the threaded portion. The disadvantage of studs is that the lower control arm has to go that much further down in the fitting process, b/c the entire assembly is that much longer. Was still possible without swearing. Detach the outer tie rod stud, the 4 lower ball joint/control arm bolts, and both left and right sway bar links. Tie the bar ends up and out of the way. The tricky steps are:1) Mark the relative position of the upper mount with respect to the spring and shock body b/c the mount must be rotated 60 degrees to bring the new plate's studs to exactly where the original ones were. If this is off, the lower shock bolt won't line up. Forcing installation with bushing preloadedsideways will cause early bushing failure, and this time will be practice for the next time. Rotating requires compressing the spring just enough to unload the upper mount. This is tough b/c the 2019 springs are stiffer than earlier Tacoma springs - greater weight, for sure - and I used an $800 free-standing strut compressor that does earlier springs easily. Felt as though these springs were too stiff to fully compress, but was able turn the mount with a pry bar at the studs with the compressor cranked to the limit of apparent safety. Make accurate marks and let a shop with a heavy duty pro compressor do the rotation. Politely explain the need for accuracy and mention a 12 pack. Upon return, trim the original studs until they are below the new plate's bottom. Put their nuts on before trimming so that any thread lead-in distortion gets straightened by undoing the nuts. Install plate and torque old nuts to spec.2) When assembly is installed, torque wrench won't fit the new innermost top nut (15mm) except with a narrow-head torque wrench and a 15mm crowfoot, maybe. Just torque the outer nuts, mark the position of one to the flange, then loosen and re-tighten back to the mark with your favorite box-end wrench to get the feel for free-handing the inner nut. You're on your own with this.3) Torque the shock's lower bolt when the truck is back on the ground. Tightening while on jack stands, wheels off is easier but will shorten bushing life. That bushing carries the weight of the truck X 2, being halfway inboard, and that's why it's a frequent repair item already. Give it every chance at life by not pre-twisting it, or the dreaded bushing squeak will be in your future. Leveling was fine, just a touch higher in front. Owner was happy with it and installed new, taller tires.

Worked great. Once installed on the strut had to swap left and right strut to fit bolt pattern on truck. No big deal. Lifted nicely to accommodate 265/75/17 tires with no rub! Not even close!

No more sag and not too hard to install if you have the tools. Love the look and result.

Brought the front end up 2.5 inches given it may settle a little will update review after a year very easy to install and now my 2023 Tacoma can clear 285/75/16 without rubbing

Rough Country never fails to please

The instructions were accurate and easy to follow. I have plenty of tools that made this job easier. My one and only complaint would be the nuts that came in the kit. They were slightly smaller than 16mmand to big for 14mm. I tried to see if an SAE socket would fit. It must have been the elusive 15mm. A socket size and a wrench size I dont have. When tightening them up, I feared I would strip them.

2013 Tacoma Prerunner. Measured before and after. Gives 2 inches in front exactly like it says. Just an FYI, you have to cut about a quarter inch off the old studs in order for the strut assy to sit flush in the shock tower. I just hit them with a cut off wheel, no big deal. The only annoying part is the new nyloc nuts they come with are 15mm. Who uses 15mm?? Anyways, they look good, did what I expected. Good product for what they are. Ended up with a slightly nose high "bro-lean" on the truck so I will be putting a 7/8" block in the rear to even it out. Happy with the purchase overall.

Me funcionó perfectamente