Dakar Questions, Post Delivery

So I just received my full OME kit from Toytec.
As I unpacked the new Dakars, I noticed one of the plastic pieces around the springs was broken on one side(pic #1). Will this negatively affect anything like performance, longevity, pre-mature squeaking? Should I contact Toytec? Or is it simply cosmetic and should I forget about it and install as is?


Toytec already installed the bushings in the new leaf pack, which is sweet. And it looks like they installed the center pin collar to accommodate for the axle shims(pic #2, please correct me if I'm wrong). Do I even need the long center pins that came with the shim kit or are they just an extra now?


Any help would be very much appreciated.

 

That isolator keeps the leafs from squeaking on the retainer , if it looks like it will stay in there , it's fine

You never needed extra centre pins , just the collars and that's been taken care of

Malkin sucks

 

Thanks Peter. I'm going to call Toytec and see if they could mail me a replacement.

 

Those plastic pieces are on odd extra thing that OME puts on the Dakar packs. They are not necessary, and getting a replacement piece is near impossible.

 

They don't act as a silencer between the retainer and the leafs ?

My Dakar pack had one retainer hoop cockeyed and was squeaking until I re-aligned it , I assumed the plastic was there to isolate the hoop from the leafs , I don't know why else they would put them in there .

 

That is the idea, but no other spring that I know of except the Dakars have it. As long as there is a bit of a gap between the clamp and the leafs, there shouldn't be any noise.

 

So I called Toytec about the broken isolator and I was given a bit of a cold shoulder. I didn't catch the guys name, but he said that half the time those pieces are broken when they get Dakars from ARB.
Regardless, I got a phone number for ARB and called them. Spoke with a tech there and gave him my mailing info. They should be sending me the part tomorrow.
In the end, I'm not overly fond of the attitude I received from Toytec, especially considering I just spent $1300+ on parts from them.
Props to ARB though.
For those with this issue in the future, I'd recommend calling ARB.