Is it normal for the factory rear leafs to bend slightly the "wrong" way? My truck has 70,000 miles on it and as far as I know all the suspension is original equipment. I looked at my brother's rear leafs and they are the same way. I am thinking about going from the 4 leaf design to a 5 leaf and putting new shocks inthe rear. I would like to also put new coil springs and shocks in the front. I've heard I can get a few inches of lift just with new equipment and no mods. That would be sweet. Any recomendations on brands that won't put me in the poorhouse? :killbarne

Leafs are never meant to bend backwards. That means they are overloaded or weak. Replace them or use helpers.

I have a 2000 and had the same problem. I have since made the least expensive fix. I added a leaf from Wheeler off road. I got the leaf from their website and had it put on my a local mechanic. It fixed the problem. Just check for broken leafs too.

You know I have read a few threads where people had similar trouble with there tacoma leaf springs one of them did an aftermarket leaf that could cary more load and lifted his truck due to a greater arch and He saved money over gowing through the dealership. I didnt have a problem with the leafs in my 93 hilux (plain jane) and I just traded it this past spring. Is Toyota making the leafs weaker to give the truck a softer ride?

I have a 2000 and had the same problem. I have since made the least expensive fix. I added a leaf from Wheeler off road. I got the leaf from their website and had it put on my a local mechanic. It fixed the problem. Just check for broken leafs too.
did you achieve the desired lift that a whole new leaf package can give you? If so, I may just go with helpers from JC Whitney, they have some decent springs that are custom fit to your truck. I don't see any broken leafs by the way. thanks for the input.

I think in general the metal used on Toyota vehicles is sleightly lower grade than on other vehicles. The only place this shows up is in the leaf springs and the body. It's not a big deal. I am completely happy with only adding a leaf to my taco. It rides the same and hauls well. It probably lifted the rear by 1.5 inches from the stock level. I'm not convinced that a whole new set of springs is necessary. If I were to replace the springs, I would not go to a dealer and buy more cheap metal from them. Go aftermarket.