Actual Moderator with a Tacoma...But Definitely Not a Build Thread

I have an Air Zenith OB2 compressor. They are baller in terms of $, but they have the highest CFM out of any single compressor I've seen on the market. The ARB dual has a higher CFM rating, but it also draws something like 68 amps vs 35. I wouldn't be worried about the ARB double. Just make sure you plan ahead with your electronics.

I had the ARB single (

$310 CKMA12 On-Board Air Compressor High Performance 12 Volt for Air Locker Differentials and Tire Inflation

CKMA12) in my first gen and in the wife's T4R. No complaints with it. I beat the shit out of them and the only thing that has gone wrong is I had a pressure switch take a shit. They are just not as fast as my current compressor.

 

This is gonna sound really really homo, but I've had it go both ways. I've successfully moved them, and I've also been squirted in the eye.

 

You won't loose nitrogen. You'll loose oil. The nitrogen cavity is separated from the shock oil by the IFP (Internal Floating Piston) in the resi. You just gotta be quick when you adjust it. If you loose too much oil, the IFP will bottom out against the resi cap on rebound.

 

Touche. I was trying to talk in small words for @Fernando though.

 

BTW...the grill in your avatar is almost the same size as a third gen.

 

Ok so I got the 4x HD shackles installed. I'm gonna give them a solid "meh" rating. They are without a doubt beefy as shit, but a few things to note.

First off, either their bandsaw sucks ass, out of adjustment, or needs a new blade. Nothing was cut true. Both the bushing sleeves and the tube on the shackle were cut at an angle, enough so the naked eye could see. Also one of the sleeves was too long and I had to hit it with a flap disk to shorten it.

Also, the provided bushings are not full length. With the bushings installed, there is a solid 1/2" gap inside the tube. Kind of a minor detail, but I prefer longer bushings so they don't deflect as much and I don't have to pump 25 squirts of grease to fill the void.



Next, 4x states the shackles are factory length. Putting them side by side with a bolt through the bushings to center them, you can see the 4x ones are slightly longer. I mic'd them and the 4x shackles are 3/32" longer eye to eye over factory. Definitely not a large difference, but it did drop my ride height not quite 3/16" on both sides.





Lastly the ears on the shackles that wrap the spring pack bushing were a little too wide also. Made for easy installation, but the ears actually had to bend in almost 1/8" before the torque wrench finally clicked. All that being said, definitely beefy, good hot welds, and clearanced everything fine. But some extra attention with cutting, assembly, and tolerances would make it worth the $100.


Since I had a the rear end halfway apart to install the shackles, I figured now would be a good time to measure for estimated travel numbers with the new leaf pack and shackles. I had the shocks completely disconnected for this exercise and made sure I had adequate plunge in the driveshaft slip joint. Since I have have hydro bumps, I can see exactly where the leaf pack will bottom out with the hydro bump completely compressed. With everything the way it sits, the pack and shackle allows for 10.0" of travel. The limiter at this point was the rear most spring retainer on the leaf pack.

For giggles I removed the rear spring retainers to see how much farther it would go. With the rear retainers removed, the axle dropped out another 1/2" and was now limiting on the front spring retainer.



So again, for giggles, I removed the front spring retainers.



When that happened, the leaf below the main leaf came in contact with the shackle hanger preventing it from dropping out more.



A little pry bar and ford tool action and the leafs settled into their full droop. Again, this came out to another 1/2" for a total travel of 11"



Now...science. Removing the retainers and wheeling it is not the right decision. You can see how far the leafs splay out from the main leaf. In this configuration, ALL of the unsprung load will be resting on just the main leaf. This is a recipe for a broken main leaf. When it warms up enough to do my shock hoops and install the triple bypasses, I'll cycle and burn everything in without the spring retainers, but they are definitely staying installed. Too much weight on the main leaf splayed out like that. I'll also probably bring the hydro bumps up 1/4-1/2" for a little more bump travel. With the slightly longer shackles I should be able to bring it up without going too much negative.

@Crom, this is kind of what I was alluding to in the overland thread. There's absolutely no way in hell you can pull 13" of travel with factory geometry SOA, not even if you ran no bumps at all and let the spring pack bump off the frame.