Squeaky OME Dakar Leaf pack fix/solution?

I like this idea. Made me think about how years ago I had an 89 Jeep YJ with an Old Man Emu suspension (great set up!). I ran the Currie greasable shackles with it and never had any squeeking issues. I wheeled the crap outa that Jeep too.

 

That squeek kinda ruins the mood when you are in a RTT late at night.

 

This is what I use.

Recoated leaf pack...

Add some new leaf liner, and Silicone that that to the leaf pack... and added grease like crazy...


Also added these bad boy.

Problem solve.. For now....

 

If anyone looking for the greasable leaf pack bolt... Post below....

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...s-greasable-pins-and-bush-kit-2005-17.458013/

 

These leaf isolators definitely helped. For them to fit the dakar leafs, one half of the alignment pin needs to be cut off and the remainder shortened. Now, the only squeak I hear is from the shackle mounts.

 

So do we need two bolts for just the front of the leafs? Or does these also work on the rear of the leaf?

 

They're designed for the fixed end, but you can also buy a 2nd pair for the shackle end, they work the same on both ends.

 

The friction pads on the new Dakar’s are greasable. You need a pointed tip for your grease gun. Locate the cutout in the leaf where the friction pad snaps in. There should be a small hole in the friction pad, just press the tip in and give it a little grease.

 

Not sure if this can be added to the OP, but, a lot of us have issues with squeaky Dakars. The source of the bad squeaks as shown in Ghost ship's thread below, is the front sleeve that come with the Dakars rub the inside of the front leaf mounts on our trucks.

This past weekend, I installed new front bushings on my Dakars and it DRASTICALLY helped with the squeaks. Squeaks are now non-existent.

I started by following the thread posted by @GHOST SHIP which can be found here:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/change-the-front-bushings-in-your-dakars.479071/

If you're like me and live where it snows or your Dakars are older (mine were installed 5 years ago), you will likely need fire, a sawzall, a crowbar and a 2 lb sledge.

Altered "how-to" starts here:

1) Remove the leaf pack from your truck; front Dakar bolts, rear Dakar bolts and u-bolt on my flip kit were all 19mm.

2) Set fire to your bushings to remove the sleeve and seized rubber bushing:



*It might take multiple fire cycles utilizing brake cleaner and more fire to melt away the entire rubber bushing. It should be also noted that removing the entire bushing is not entirely necessary as I will explain in the next step*

3) These bushings have a steel race sleeve between the Dakar eyelet and the rubber bushing. Take a sawzall to the steel race sleeve inside the eyelet of the first leaf in the Dakar pack.

4) Take your crowbar/beefy screwdriver wedge it in-between the first leaf eyelet and the steel race. Then, 2 lb sledge and beat the hell out of the crowbar/screwdriver to mangle the steel race until it is removed.

5) Grease your bushings that you purchased here: They will slide easily into the Dakar leaf eyelet.



6) Put everything back together on the truck BUT, when you go to install the old front Dakar bolts, install these new, greasable bolts from Dobinson that you purchased here:

https://www.dobinsonsdirect.com/pro...it-for-toyota-tacoma-and-tundra-2005-to-2018/

*I believe these are 21mm*

Source: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...s-greasable-pins-and-bush-kit-2005-17.458013/



7) Don't forget to torque all your bolts, u-bolt and lugs.

Take her for a test drive and enjoy quiet Dakar leafs!!



*Hope this helps some with really bad squeaking that have never seemed to quiet them down any; aside from blasting them with a powerwasher only to not combat the noise*

 

I just installed dakars on Monday. I went one step further and drilled two holes in middle area the metal bushing sleeves so grease could get to the actual bushing from the Dobinson greasable bolt.

 

I just got the Dakar EL095R installed on my 08 2nd gen Double cab tacoma. Thought I made such a great decision and was loving the ride until about 1000 miles When I hit a really bad bump going 70 mph. Now all I hear is squeak squeak squeak. I turn the wheel and it’s squeak. I brake hard and then it’s squeaks !!! The rage inside that I felt was indescribable lol. If I didn’t have to go out of town for work I’d be fixing those dang leaf springs tonight. Hopefully the suggestions you guys mentioned above work. I’m really bummed that it’s happening. Feel like I should of bought another brand right now. Oh well.....

Rant over

 

Did you get this fixed? Which solution worked if any?

 

When I added a leaf and went from medium to heavy pack they started to squeak.....bad, really bad, I knew it was coming but was still bummed out.

From this thread I went the grease route. I used a grease gun w/ a needle to hit the spots provided. I then used a can of spray on white lithium grease from HD to hit the points where the leaf springs attach to the frame. I'm a week in and no squeaks thankfully, only time will tell.

 

Dont worry it will be back......every other month my truck ends up sounding like a covered wagon doing the Oregon Trail....... just love it when people are staring at your brand new truck because it sounds like 75' Chevy used for dump runs when you drive by.

 

Those were my exact thoughts on both accounts LOL.

 

I used a needle and greased all my contact points with Lucas marine lube 4 months ago and have had no issues. It took like a week to start squeaking before I lubed them after Initial install.

 

Thanks for all the info in this thread. I installed new Dakars yesterday using a bunch of stuff from here to help guide me. Hopefully doing it right from the start will keep the squeaks away but time will tell.

 

I too have the same leaf pack. I actually drive the truck off-road weekly. It squeaks SO badly.
My mechanic got the grease from the TSB, with a needle tip.
Remove yellow pads, clean, grease, install. After one wheeling trip, covered wagon.

Tomorrow we are going to try the replacement pads shown earlier in this thread. I will report back if it actually fixes it after a few weeks of wheeling.

 

Grease in between leafs with a needle and the spray on lithium grease bought me about two weeks lol, squeaks are back. It is annoying AF. Will keep trying different combinations because it drives me nuts, the only relief is when it rains, that seems to get me two days of relief.

Keep us posted.