Old Man Emu setups on 1st gens

Swapped the coils today, left the 10mm spacer in and I'm glad I did. Front is sitting 1/2" lower than the rear at 39.5" with the 255/85s, hub to fender is at 24 1/4".

The ride is also greatly improved! Less body roll in corners and just feels much more solid and less squishy then the tired 881s.

I'll snag some pics tomorrow

 

I recently had to make the same decision. I was running stock front coils on 5100's and the ride was terrible. I eventually broke one of the rear leaf springs so it was finally time to lift it.

I ended up piecing the lift together. Some pieces came from Wheeler and the rest from Toytec.

I called Wheelers and discussed the lift with the guys over there. I ended up buying the Dakars. Install was super simply and they brought the back upabout 5 inches compared to my old worn out broken stock springs. During the install I realized that I needed an extended rear brake line so I did some homework and ended up at Toytec.

After talking to the guys at Toytec for about 30 mins I was comfortable witht hem and decided to buy the rest fo my lift. OME struts with 883's with the 5mm spacer to get rid of the Taco lean. Also picked up the extended rear brake line and got a set of braided front lines while I was at it.

When I first installed the 883's the truck was nose high as they lifted the truck almost 3.5 inches as compared to the stock springs on the 5100's. I felt I had made a mistake going with the 883's as they felt stiff and I was nothappy with the way they rode.

I drove the truck for about a week and the springs broke in nicely and settled at about 2.75 inches of lift. The ride smoothed out considerably and I'm very happy with the way the truck drives.

I'm saying all this simply to say, don't be afraid of the 883's. They are stiff at first but they break in nicely and the truck feels really well planted and secure on the road. The truck rides and drives better than it has in 10yrs.

One last thing. My truck has all stock body work and skids (for now) and ita V6 access cab for reference.

 

Friend gave me his old spacers and in the process of install found that the ghetto axle wrap mod was making the old tired leaf packs much worse. Ordered up the Dakars and waiting for them to arrive. Also ordered 3 degree shims and bushings from Wheelers. Currently I'm sitting on stock springs coils with the bilstein 5125 and 5100's, I'm level with 2.5" over stock. I ordered the shims just in case, as the blocks I have are shimmed and I'm not experiencing any driveline vibs. Anyone else using them? Also anyone know of any homemade or purchasable kits to flip the ubolts?

 

This is the Trailgear kit that I used.

http://www.lowrangeoffroad.com/u-bolt-flip-kit.html

 

Quick question guys. I'm installing a full Wheeler's OME lift on a 98 extra cab V-6. I'm attempting to get the top nut off of the drivers side strut. I've run out of purchase on the shaft with a crescent wrench and the nut still isn't loose and it's just spinning the shaft. What's the next move? Thanks in advance

 

My $0.02: Undo the 3 top plate nuts and the the bottom eyelet bolt, drop the entire C/O and take it into a shop with a good spring compressor to have the hardware swapped over to the new OME C/O.

I'm not a fan of playing around with the coil springs.

 

STOP!
Do not remove the top center nut!
Tighten it back down, and then remove the three perimeter nuts around it, then the bottom bolt and nut. Slide the assembly out. Take it to a mechanic and then remove the coil if you need to.

If you have a full kit, your new coils should be mounted to the new shocks already.

Removing the top center nut without proper knowledge or tools can end in serious injury, the coil spring is held under pressure with that center nut and it will fly apart with quite a bit of energy.

 

Thanks! Bookmarked for sure! I forgot that I'll have to relocate the shock mounts if I go this route, it will be a little while till this gets to the top of the project list.

 

If you have a local welder, isnt too hard.

This kit comes with a pair of bolts to mount the shocks on the cross bar.

$200 Trail Gear Frame Box Kit - 120165-1-KIT

http://www.4wheelparts.com/Lift-Kit...J4-4yGLO26zo99r4YlAqdfhGj00cTmJkClhoCmwzw_wcB
Then get these for the axel:
http://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/catalog/STAB3.html

Or you can do this:

 

Thanks for the replies guys. BDN I was trying the compressor-less method so the spring's energy was controlled by a floor jack, and TomTom probably going that route after all!

 

Lol, ok cool, the way it read I assumed differently.

 

A ttora link!? haha I like that except rerouting the exhaust might be nice. One day I will box the frame and relocate shocks, but maybe not today as my lovely wife says "NO MORE MODIFICATIONS!" in that polite and quiet indoor voice haha

 

After letting everyone else test and tune, I have officially ordered the 883 coils w/ dakars and AAL kit. Had to throw in the Camburg UCAs because NEW STUFF! Went with the 883's because I run close to GVW when I do field work. I will have to post a build thread, but that will be a few days. OME shipped only drivers side leaf springs to wheelers!! Ready to get these saggy springs off my beautiful truck and have it ride and haul like it should. I've been researching and reading up for months. Needless to say, I will be walking 3 feet off the ground when it's done.

 

You'll love it. Post pics of those camburgs when you get it all isntalled. I'll be getting those in the future too. I can't get my alignment in spec with the 883s.

 

If you dont want to go all crazy boxing your frame and what not, ruff stuff makes some shock mounts and just weld them on the axle and keep the factory setup, meaning one shock on the front of the axle and one on the rear and then make a spacer for the upper shock mounts (links all over the internet on how to do that). The mounts are less than 10bucks each i think so its easier to hide form the wife!! I ran it like that for 6yrs until recently when i ran my mounts up through the bed on ford shock towers.

 

Good point, come to think of it I could probably do a decent job of hacking off the mounts from the stock axle plate and remount them. There will be a time and place for all this come together soon enough

 

That would be more trouble than its worth and still be weaker than an actual shock mounted in double shear. The ruff stuff mounts are 15.00 a pair.

 

So not quite 4 months later....

My front inner factory boots did leak somewhat. They no longer leak.
The outer boots did rub, I didn't have the money or time to do anything about it. I let it go knowing this is 1 of 4 vehicles we have to drive so when the boots split then I would address it. The boots no longer rub. I would think the springs found their happy place. Just enough time to settle in.
The rear Dakars did make a bit of noise, but almost 4 months into this they are quiet as a church mouse. I keep out of the mud. I wash the trucks under belly each and every time it gets dirty. No salted highways in Florida.
4x4 once every weekend going to fishing hole. I drive mainly around town.
My mother-in-law has worked the rear springs over with her trips to home depot more than I have fishing.
Like I said, this purchase was to refresh the old worn out factory set up.

I love it.

 

One more thing, the orange yard stick in the picture doesn't touch the top of my wheel arch to this day. Still over 1.5 inches space.

I also helped a buddy out picking up an appliance from Lowe's. He has a factory 2002 4runner. He told me to avoid a big dip in the road on the way to his house.
I hit full speed. He really liked the way the truck took the hit, asked me about OME.

 

1998 V6 5-speed TRD 4x4

31x10.5 r15

881s
Dakar leafs
Nitrosports all around