Old Man Emu setups on 1st gens

Hmm. Makes me wonder if I should just return all of the parts I ordered to rehab my sway bar...

 

I really like that setup, that’s like 4” of lift? I wonder how much it will settle. I plan to run 883s but wasn’t planning to run that spacer on top. How are your CV angles?

 

I love my OME set up. Even with a ton of weight in the back they handle long washboard roads with ease (they will sometimes start to fade after 2 or 3 hours a little but I do too ) I also love that they are super durable and don't really have to worry about blowing a shock in the middle of nowhere.

I am running Dakar's with two OME Additional leaves, Timbrens and Nitrochargers and it keeps this heavy girl planted.

DSC_0867 by Matt Sawyer, on Flickr

 

Yep, was very surprised at 4" but was told from wheelers it could be more than 3" with the worn out (130k) stock suspension. Sorry no help on the cv angle, its a Prerunner.

 

Ah that’s why you were able to go to 4”. If you had a 4wd I think your front CV angles would be too steep

 

Got a bit over 3 with my worn out suspension

 

It’s probab wasn’t 4” of effective lift. Some of that was probably due to the stock Suspension sagging some. It’s best to go by the hub the fender measurements and compare those to what others are at. Usually 24-24.5” hub to fender is equal to about 2.5” of lift. Plus, his measurements are ground to fender so that 4" includes the increase in tire diameter as well.

 

The more I read the more confused I get so I hope to find some advice. Try to keep this short but with enough info.

2004 Double Cab Pre-Runner V6, 2WD running Rugged Trail T/A 265/75/16 tires. 160K miles. Replaced rear springs 5 years ago with Wheelers Alcan group buy to eliminate axle wrap. New U bolts and hangers at that time. Added 1” blocks to rear springs and 1” riser over front coils at that time. Rest is stock.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...elers-offroad-1st-gen-leaf-replacement.82726/

Happy with this until drivers side leaf spring, bottom leaf snapped. I am disappointed but OOL I am sure after 5 years. Truck mostly used in town with occasional light trail and occasional heavy load. Nothing that should have broken a spring. I am looking to maintain fairly stock set-up. OK with a little more lift but otherwise what would you guys recommend?

Reading this thread and looking at the EMU web site it seems there are set-up’s but the EMU web site does not show anything for 2004 and older. Wheelers has a set Dakar set OEM CS046RA/RB but wanted to check in here first as that set raises 2.5”. Not sure I want that much lift. Thank you for the help.

 

It would be nice if I could get some feedback on my upcoming setup.

I have 5100s set at the highest setting right now with stock coils and a 1.5” progressive AAL from wheelersoffroad. I sit about an inch lower in the front and I’m hoping to level it out by lowering the 5100s to the bottom setting and using OME 881 coils with a 10mm top plate spacer. Would it work? I have a 4-cylinder extended cab by the way.

 

Mjhenks,
I cant really help right at this moment, but I have a 2004 double cab Prerunner 2wd and I just bought these https://www.headstrongoffroad.com/store/p247/Old_Man_Emu_Dakar_Leaf_Pack_for_1998-2004_Tacoma_(PAIR)_-_CS046R_A/B.html from headstrong offroad. They just showed up today (3 days from order to delivery, which is awesome) and they advertise 2.25 -2.5 lift. I am hoping to get them installed tomorrow. I will let you know what I get out of these. Looks like these are a little more beefy then what I saw from wheelers. I currently have Fox 2.5 Factory w/res coil overs on the front. This raised my front up almost 3 inches. I was hoping to level the truck out, now I have the "bro" lean. I have stock rear springs now and after a little investigation I noticed my leaf springs where a bit wavy from multiple heavy loads. So, needless to say it was time to change.

Long story short, I am looking to keep my truck mostly stock with improved suspension, and a little lift. I will let you know how the OME turn out. I have read many post on here stating that they are the way to go, which is why I finally pulled the trigger. That and the Bro lean.

 

Mjhenks. I have a 2002 DC prerunner. I put the ome dakar springs that you are looking at on my truck a few months ago. They both have the + signs on them which means they have a spring rate higher than the factory spec.They put me over 3" when first installed. They have settled a little now and with a camper shell and a static load of about 100 lbs I sit at about 3 " in the rear. This has my truck sitting level with the 1.5" spacers on stock coils and billstein 5100s set on zero in the front. It's always okay to have a little rake back to front if you end up with some. You can also take a leaf out to bring it down. At the end of the day, the dakars ride beautifully. This truck is a daily driver that occasionally goes on the dunes. Like so many others I think you will be happy with the dakar's performance imo. I'll be getting rid of the coil spacer and probably putting an 881 with a 10mm spacer or try the 882's I got for a good price for shit's and giggles even though they aren't really for our trucks. Hope this helped.

 

I read that the prerunner v6s get 3" lift with 881's and 10mm spacers. I don't know what the weight difference between the v6 without differentials and the 4cyl with differentials is but they may be similar. What's your front and rear center hub to fender measurements? Also I ran 5100s on the top setting with stock coils on my 02 DC prerunner for a second and got 2.5" lift, so I'm curious why your 1.5 " aal is still sitting higher.

 

I'm really close to pulling the trigger on Wheelers OME full kit + dakars. Been researching for WAY too long.This would be my first suspension install. Iv read 100s of pages of this and other forum posts. All the other options i.e 5100 + eibachs seem to be aimed at 3in+ and lots of weight (toytech: eibachs are like 620 or 650 right?) Also when i start pricing out 5100 + dakars +?? coils i always end up 300$+ more for lower cost(not saying they aren't good) shocks. Problem:
-Cannot decide on 881 vs 883. I understand they are the same length 881(500lb) & 883(590lb). I have been told I could "get away with 881s if this is all the weight I have". Would rather a LITTLE firm over sagging too soon. Planning to keep it for awhile.

Facts:
-270k
-Leaves are sagging
-4600 shocks are leaking
-recently installed a RockDefense low profile bolt on bumper, picture attached. This is only extra weight. I estimate +70lb over stock w/ the cross-member. Picture Attached.
-dont seem to have noticed a huge difference in height(ie going down) after the bumper was added. Has me questioning if I need the 883

Goals:
~2.5in lift to keep up/down travel good
~avoid UCAs, been led to believe these aren't required at ~2.5in



Other considered option that im torn on.

 

Dirty White.

Thank you for the feedback. Any pictures posted of your truck other than your thumb nail and do you happen to have before and after measurements i can compare with my current setup? My wife is going to hate any more lift to the truck but i suspect that is going to be un-avoidable.

If all you had to add 1.5" in the front and got 3" in the back then if i remove the 1" blocks from the back with these leaf springs then i may end up the same height. Were installing the 5100's a must or just because your OE were shot? My shocks are still stock as is my whole front end other than the 1" spacer. Trying not to spend more than i have to.

What about shackles in the rear? did you go with anything special? Right now i have non-greased ones. The squeak but it is not super bad.

I will be pulling the trigger next week as driving around with a broken leaf is not a huge comfort.

Thank you.

 

After completing my install last night, I think I need to revisit the u-bolts. We wound up using axle relocation plates, with the axle moved back one inch (where it almost naturally settled with the dakars installed). We left out the bumps for now until I can figure out how to get them lined up, but I'm thinking I need to revisit it today and pull the relocation plates to pull the axle centering pin into the spring, reinstall the bumps, and ditch the plates.

I’m tired and sore from yesterday, and was at wit’s end at one point. So if anyone can offer advice on this, please do...

Edit: Pics for a better idea of what I’m talking about.

 

What makes her "heavy"? Im looking into getting a set of dakars for my taco. Im running a camper shell, with a carpet kit and the kit is loaded 24/7. Im just worried about the dakars being too stiff. Also i already have 2 inch shackles on my stock leafs. Any insight for me? Thanks man

 

This camper on the back makes her heavier then stock:

DSC_0154 by Matt Sawyer, on Flickr

I would do the dakars with one add a leaf. I think that the stock dakars will sag and flatten out after 6 months with the set up you are describing. Buenas Suerte!!

 

Figure I'd link this here in case anyone needs it, I have the OME exhaust/tailpipe relocation bracket FK-21 for sale...bought it and ended up not needing it (chopped my exhaust off at the axle)

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/for-sale-ome-exhaust-bracket-fk21.550163/

 

The OME Dakars are not stiff in the least...I installed the CS046a/b packs a few weeks ago and they're far softer than the stock pack + 3 leaf AALs I was running previously.

Only issue I've run into is that they've settled into their natural "flat" state that Dakars are so well-known for, so I've lost a half inch of rear lift or so. Ordered the Dakar AALs yesterday to put in this weekend, which will probably stiffen them a little bit but I'm not that concerned about it because they ride pretty soft as is. At least IMO

 

For what it's worth, prior to my current Kings setup I was running OME 881s up front with 5100s set to 0. No additional armor weight. The 881s only gave me about 1.75" of front lift, definitely not 2"...if you want 2" or more I'd go with the 882s or 883s. Looking back I wish I had done that anyhow.