NW WA Meet / BS Thread

Can't put a stop work order on a place that doesn't work...

 

You’re joking, right? I make claims on Tacoma all the time for work, and it’s almost as easy as climbing Mount Everest in a handstand with bear traps hidden under the snow every 20 feet.

 

FIFY!

 

@snellbilt?

 

It’s not super hard if you do it before install, but the wrenches tend to slip out. Also, Jim has a cool portable spring compressor.

 

I got this one and wrestled with it for about an hour before calling it quits.

Even with the lower shock mount secured in my vise, it would start to rotate the whole shock body as I went to compress it after a certain point. I never got them compressed enough to get the preload collar to spin.

I plan on taking them out again this weekend to try again if you, or Jim, have any suggestions.

 

True.

 

I'm gonna have to look in to this. Is there special tools, or a special fill port? Will regular orings work?

You're welcome to use my compressor if it's worth the drive up from the great capital of this great state.

 

Oh no. Jim’s is a real compressor that he made a hitch mount for! Works awesome.

 

Use an impact on the coil compressor. Most adjustment collars also have a small set screw you should loosen. If it still doesn’t come off once the coil no longer touches it it’s either cross threaded or seized and you gotta cut it off. Hi end shock companies like Icon/King/etc will sell you replacement collars.
I’ve taken off/on plenty of coils with a shitozone compressor and yours looks way more stout than those

 

Thanks Jim, what style compressor do you have? Did you have to use the special compressor adapter tool that ARB sells for the BP51s

 

Yea, I loosened the adjustment collar nut completely. They are brand-new, so they shouldn't be frozen or seized. The issue I was having was the entire shock body was rotating with the compressor as I would tighten it down. I almost need to secure the top mount and bottom mounts in order to get it tight/compressed enough without rotating. The BP51s are a bit different from any other adjustable cover out there, and the preload cannot be adjusted while on the truck; sobthey have to be removed each time an adjustment is needed.

 

Try mounting it sideways and use a prybar to hold the compressor in place. I think that’s how I did it

 

I'll try to figure out a way to better stabilize the compressor and shock, it was getting late and I was starting to come up with crazy/unsafe ideas to make it work.

 

My front bp51s started leaking after two years and I got them replaced recently. I used these SPC spring compressors. The collar was still super hard to turn, but I was able to preload the new springs from 5mm to 15mm. If I remember right I turned the collar while wrestling the coilover on the ground. The lower spring seat may come apart as well so you have to make sure it is assembled correctly before removing the compressors. Also make sure the top hat is in the correct orientation.


Specialty Products 40260 Universal Spring Compressor

$211 SPC Specialty Products 40260 Universal Spring Compressor

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0039K4AJA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_7RI0CbE3DY2NK

 

I assume you loosened the pinch bolt first.

 

Where were yours leaking from?

 

Not sure exactly where it came from, but probably from where the shaft enters the shock body. It is not from an external source. I will get rid of these if they give me issues again, especially since I just picked up a GX470 and want to lift it. The lower mount bearings seized up last year and trashed one of my lcas. A few months later this happens. ARB customer service has been excellent, but this is very annoying to deal with and I don't even wheel much.

 

Sweet I’m not the only person that feels this way. I have had a lot of issues with mine. Adjusters seizing up, leaks and the ducking spherical bearings. They must get them from the same place Toyota sources their frame material.

 

Well, my yellow OME front shocks got scraped by the hard plastic piston cover, and now the shock bodies are rusty AF in those areas. Overall, I'm unimpressed with OME suspension stuff (durability and ride quality too). My Dakars are squeaky, and while I haven't noticed a loss in rear lift height over the years, the spring pack does look awfully "flat" front to back. Actually, appears to have a bit of an "s" shape from hanger to hanger.

If I was going to replace my suspension, or someone was looking for suggestions, I wouldn't buy nor suggest anything OME....