Just did the install Bilstein 5100s and OME 885 coils - my take, tips, advice

I finally finished what i started yesterday lol. Actually, i had to take the coils to the shop to finished and they were closed by time in got them out. here are a couple things i notced for the other people going to undertake this job.

first off, its not that hard to do. Ive done total sub-frame removal on F-body cars so this was cake. here are some things i foudn out along the way.


to remove the sway bar end links, you need to stick an allen key/wrench in the center of the bolt. i was dumb founded about how to stop it from spinning until i saw a picture of a removal. its a metric size 6.

the sway bar is heavy, dirty and greasy. if youre not careful, you can smash a knuckle or smash the electrical wire that goes to the ABS. keep an eye out for that. this is where a second person will come in handy but i did it all solo.

before you start this procedure, take pictures of your truck and get any measurements you want. I forgot to get them before i have taken off the drivers side so i have no way of comparing thee two. you gotta do it now so you dont forget.

when you diconnect the tie rod ends, dont use a pickel fork. it will damage the boots. i tried a couple other method like hitting the knuckle and hitting the top with a brass hammer and one side wouldnt budge. the pickel fork got it right off, but torn the boot. now i gotta order and replace it. when you re-install it, if the bottom part spins while you try and tighten the castle nut, stick a jack under it and put a little "up force" to help seat it and it shoudl stop it fromt spinning. before you start this project, make sure you get a pack of new cotter pins. its like a couple dollars for a pack of 5 or 10 of them. that way if you destroy the ones on there, you can replace it.

no need to disconnect the UCA. just stick a botle jack and a piece of 2x4 against the wheel well and push down both the upper and lower control arm. no problem getting the 885 and 5100 to fit. if youre using a top spacer, i can not verify it will work.


real simple.
1- 4 bolts on skid place
2- 1 bolt on end link (each side)
3- 4 bolts hold sway bar to frame
4- 1 castle nut and cotter pin on tie rod end (each side)
5- 1 lower shock nut/bolt (each side)
6- 3 top shock nuts (each side)

bang!!! out comes shock/coil assembly. take it to a local shop to have them swap out the hardware that holds it all together (unless you have new hardware). The shop by me is a rip off, but its not like i was in a position to go elsewhere. it was a Sunday, raining on /off and i had all that shit strapped to the back of my motorcycle lol $44 each ($94 after tax). If he woulda charged me $50 i woulda threw the kid doing it $20 but not at $94.

when youre doing the install, put the 3 top buts in and if you have to spin the bottom part of the shock to line it up with the area it seats into on the LCA, nows the time. just stick a long socket extension in there and gently twist. it will work for minor adjustments, but if its over a 1/4" you might have to compress the spring and then realign it. make sure its ok before you finish building the completed units.

i stuck a bottle jack on top of the uca. i stuck a 8" piece of 2x4 on top of the bottle jack to disapate the pressue on the wheel well. i think like 8-9 pumps of the bottle jack gave me enough clearance for the shock assembly to fit. a whack or two with a brass hammer and it went into its craddle. stuck the taper pin in the hole and then the bolt went right in. snugged it, snugged up the top and then tightened it up as per the manual.

its a good idea to have a drift pin or tapered pin for getting the shock to just that right spot. I have one an ironworker gave that fits right thru the bottom of the shock. Its just a tapered piece of steel that you can hammer thru the hoel an donce its thru it will allow you to put the bottom bolt right in with no problems.

another thing that helps is to get yourself two 5 gallon compound buckets with lids. put one on each side of the truck where youre workign so you can sit while you work. then you just walk to the other side and you have a chair waiting. its a lot of back and forth so two buckets helps.

this is something you should have in you tool kit any way. go to home depot and buy yourself a few different pieces of black pipe (basically sprinkler/gas). In the 1" size... get a 1 foot piece, a 6", a connector, a cap or two. The in the 3/4" size get the same. Its good if you need to make an extension or if you need to make a custom piece for a shop compression press or many other uses.

i went to harbor freight and got a nice floor jack for $80 and a nice set of 6 ton jack stands for $45. Combined, they made it easy to lift and safe to hold up. With a coupon, you can prolly get them cheaper.


just my experience on the install. i will do the AAL tomorrow. hope it helps if you need it.

good luck on your install.

 

what was your final front lift height with this setup? im looking at doing 5100 with 885s on my 05 dbl cab long bed but im not sure if i should at the top plate spacer or not. Im looking to get a full 3"

 

I'm running 885s and Billies...getting about 3"...maybe a smidge under. I have a prerunner...4x4s will yield less lift due to added weight

 

thx, i think im going to go with the top plate spacer, i dont mind if im over 3'. Im adding LR UCA, as well as a diff drop has already been done so i dont think ill have any problems if im over 3"

 

Looks like your going to have to change your signature!

 

Thanks for the info OP! I did my 885/5100 install last weeken using your info. Took about 4 hours. I was nice not having to take apart the UAC. My truck rides like a dream again! (had 5100's @ 2.5 on stock coils). I got a little under 3 inches but expect it to settle. Now off for an alignment. Thanks again!

 

I am looking at the 885's for my 06 DC prerunner. Curently have the 5100's at 1.75" (want more lift but not 2.5 on the billys). Did the 885 @ 0" setting on the 5100 give you about the same amount of lift with the 5100's at 2.5" ? or the other route I am thing is 5100 @ .85 with the eibachs. looking for 5100 2.5" setting equivalent but with springs.

 

Yes. It gave a bit more lift than the stock coils/5100 @2.5 combo. But it will settle some. You may want to do a little homework on the OME coils. I went with the 885 cuz I'm a 4X4. You might want to look into the 884's unless you are running or plan to run a plate bumper or winch.

I would highly reccomend the OME with the 5100's set at 0. The ride is great. IMO the stock coils shouldnt be preloaded. Too much of a harsh ride.

 

subbed for later

 

Something else i found out later was to make sure when the coil seats into (that piece on the shock that holds it on the bottom - name escapes me) that the end of the coil is facing the back of the truck.

basically if you ran your finger all the way down the coil from the top, the place your finger should end up is at the backside facing the rear of the truck. kinda hard to explain, but trust me, put your finger on the coil and just run it down the steel until the coil ends. hopefully when the coil ends, the last spot your finger touched is -
- on the right handside of the shock body for the drivers side
- on the left hand side for the passenger side.

mine is about 25 degrees off, but according to the gurus on this site it doesnt matter.

 

I have the 5100's on the front now set at 2.5 and want to put new 885's on instead of my current coils. I know setting the 5100's at 0 will be safe, but if I go to .85 can it still be done without getting new UCA ? I want to get as close to a true 3" out of this, with getting UCA at this point. Thanks. Or is there a better spring that would suit my purpose ?

 

Did you need to order anything other than the 885s to assemble them to the 5100s? Also did you have to use anything to compensate for any lean? I'm about to order the same setup and I want to know exactly what to order.

 

sub'd

 

Good info. I have the exact setup & getting 2.5" of lift on driver and passenger. One bit of advice from me, get the 1/4" spacers for the top plates if you don't feel like cutting too much. I am cramming 32x12 in there and rubs really bad in reverse & half - 3/4 lock and that was WITH me trimming a bunch of plastic. I think if I had that full 3" of lift it wouldn't rub at all. Good info here none the less.

 

I know this thread is way old, but have any of you guys installed the top plate spacers with this combo? I can't seem to get mine to fit with the spacers?
I have not tried the bottle jack idea though, I might try that next time. I bought two types of spacers the smaller one for the driver taco lean and the other ones that are thicker to give me that extra .5 inch for a full 3 inch..
I guess if the taller spacers won't fit ill just try the taco lean spacer and go from there. ( on driver side )
Any info would help not trying to jack your thread op, just need to get some info.

Thanks,

Brett

 

Crap, nobody?

Brett

 

And also want to verify that u can run 885 or 886 with billies at zero. Toytec says they aren't compatible but I don't see the difference is billies at zero vs stock shocks when using lift springs. Thanks.

 

You can't run stock shocks with 885's or 886's either

 

go on.... i was under the (apparently wrong) impression that you could.

 

We just did mine , with 885 X's and 5100's set on zero. I also used both spacers on the drivers side, for the lean. It was almost to the point it would not go together, but it eventually did fit, the passenger side went in alot easier,with only the 1/2 spacer on top and no taco lean spacer. I also put new isolators on my coils from Wheelers, and they were pretty thick and may have made installation a little harder also. Right now my truck is at 3.5 inches over stock, it's a 4 cyl. Ac 4WD - I don't think it's going to settle much. The hub to fender well measurement is right at 23.5 on both sides,a little more than I wanted. Good luck,somebody on here should have some good tips on installing them for you.