Did Lower Bracket of Firestone Ride Rite for 2016 Toyota Tacoma Change

Updated 05/18/2023 | Published 05/17/2023

Question:

I have a 2016 Toyota Tacoma. I purchased the F2407 firestone ride rite kit. It arrived today. My 1st question is did they change the design of the lower mounting plate. In two of your installation videos it appears the lower plate is bolted to the rear leaf and then bends down and picks up additional support contacting the axle. In the F2407 kit I received this lower plate is flat and does not bed down and contact the axle. My concern is since the airbag now rests right in the edge of the leaf will it pushing in the install bracket be torquing the leaf spring over time loosening the mounting bolts and causing other challenges. I attached a pict of what I received for a lower bracket, and the two pictures from your website that appear to show two different bottom brackets. My second question is what happens to the airbags when the vehicle is placed on a 2 post standard shop car lift and the suspension in effect hangs. Will this tear the air bag as the rear axle now will be in part hanging from the airbag at its fully extended length of the shock? Question 3 is it critical to install the daystar cradles to eliminate the axle limiting effect of the rear axle with the airbag and also solve the above mentioned stretching of the airbag when it is on the car lift. It looks like those daystar cradles are about an inch thick. And vehicle could bottom out on them on right circumstance.

asked by: David P

Expert Reply:

It does look like the lower bracket of the Firestone Ride Rite kit part # F2407 has changed. The current design does not have a portion of the bracket that bends down and sets on top of the axle for additional support.

I understand your concern but if you install everything properly and torque down the install hardware you aren't going to see any issues with the hardware backing off or coming loose.

When the vehicle is jacked up by the frame with either a lift or a jack the suspension will be able to fully extend since the bag is only connected to the top bracket. The lower bracket does not attach to the bag. Daystar cradles are not needed.

expert reply by: Jameson C