OME BP-51 Install Report and Height Adjustment

anyone else struggling with the stock spanner wrench to changing the damping settings?
the spanner is too "rounded" on the tang and keeps popping off the adjustment collar pockets with any amount of dirt/mud in them.
actually even after i cleaned them really good they still pop off super easy.

anyone have a better spanner?

 

try taking a square file to that spanner edge to clean/square it up. I don't know of another spanner that will fit.

 

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this thread. It has helped me tremendously preparing for my install. My BP51's are at the house ready to install and without this thread I would have been battling adjusting pre-load and trying to compress the springs with a spring compressor that would ultimately been a major hazard to myself. Now just awaiting a new spring compressor linked in this thread and will do the install on a weekend when I'm off work.

For more info for any future readers, my current setup suspension wise and added weight is as follows:

Suspension: OME Nitro Chargers with 886's + @HeadStrong Off-Road 1/4" spacers up front with SPC UCA's. Dakar HD leaf packs out back OME Nitro Chargers.

Front: ARB bull bar bumper, Smittybilt winch with synthetic rope. ARB dual compressor mounted under the hood on passenger side. AGM battery in stock location.

Center: Demello Sliders.

Rear: 4XInnovations bumper with tire carrier, swingout & Jerry can holder + Hi-Lift Jack. KBVOODOO designs bed rack (Tepui RTT mounted when we go out adventuring; don't run it all the time)

My plan is to set pre-load as close to 20mm as possible adjusting for the typical TACO lean and with the weight I carry daily try to be as level as possible, but I might settle with having a very minor rake up front so when I do load down with gear and the RTT I'm not negative raked out back.

Again, thank you all very much for this thread. It was worth reading all 43 pages before doing my install.

 

One of my adjustment settings in the rear right shock will no longer adjust, it just spins the entire housing. I've got to try and find some way to grip the shock housing to keep it from spinning and see if I can free the adjuster and get it to move.

 

There's a hole through the top of the shock body that you can put in Allen wrench in so you can adjust it without spinning

 

Not sure it will help anyone, but I just went through installing the full BP-51 kit in my truck. I spent far too long looking online for a spanner wrench for adjusting preload. I managed to find one that fits perfectly on the adjusting collar.

https://www.grainger.com/product/53...gucid=EMT:10339122:Item:CSM-323&emcid=NA:Item

 

For what it's worth.
I believe you can damage the threads if you don't take them out and use a spring compressor to adjust pre-load.
But that's just what ARB told me, they also said not to use the preload to adjust lift only to adjust preload for weight.

 

Correct, there is a chance of damaging threads. My adjustment on truck was solely to realign the collar correctly as per ARB instructions as I didn't do so when I adjusted them on the bench in a compressor. But the wrench could still be useful then. As for preload for lift, I had to add some as when I first installed at the shipped 5mm preset, I only gained 1.25" of lift over stock, which did not work with the 3.25" lift the Dakar leafs netted. Driver set at 12mm, passenger set at 9mm with a Headstong 1/2" spacer on the driver side and 1/4" on passenger set the front perfectly level side to side and netted a total lift of 2.75" front and the rear has sagged down to 3" so far.

 

+10000 on this post! ARB didn't have the wrench in stock and won't for a bit. I looked at every tool and industrial supply shop in multiple nearby towns and no luck. Grainger had this in stock and shipped same day. Thanks for the info Evan!

 

No problem. Glad I could help.

 

Just a few tips from my experience, the macpherson strut compressors linked here from Amazon do work but i could only get it to compress enough for 13.5mm and 10.5 mm. When you compress it you want to get a flat head in between the coil spring and the preload collar and get it the coil to pop off the collar, this will make it able to spin freely by hand. I am only going to be installing backwoods adventure mods bumper which is only 84lbs and probably the lightest winch i can find. Hoping that will be enough preload. Also my bp 51's did not come preloaded at 20mm they were at 2.5mm. I'm assuming installing spacers is the same as adjusting preload, so i should just be able to make up any difference with spacers if the settings i'm at aren't enough preload.

 

That’s exactly what I did. Mine are set at 12(D) and 9-10(P). Passenger side was about 1/2 inch higher and I wanted a little more height out of the front without adding more preload. Headstrong off-road spacers we’re exactly what I needed. 1/2” spacer on driver side and 1/4” spacer on passenger side leveled the front side to side and brought the front up just the correct amount. You will need longer upper strut bolts though.

 

I installed some spacers from Amazon just so i can get it all installed after not having time for 5 weeks. The spacers change the bolt holes orientation so the hinge part of the front shocks don't align 90 degrees from the body of the truck, does that matter?

 

Seems the upper cv axle boots are wearing a line in them after install, do I need to do a diff drop to fix the angle?

 

Notched out my rear shock mounts . Read a few horror stories .

 

Is this something that still hasn't been corrected?

 

I saw one video where someone had this issue
I personally have beat the crap out of these and never had any contact between the two parts.

Edit:
Just wanted to add that ARB is fantastic with their warranty and customer service. If this did happen, they would make it right. I personally would rather not modify my top mount and run the risk.

 

Guess not , along with similar other shock designs .

 

Customer service, yes. As far as actually warranty . I’m going on 3 months waiting for an uPper control arm replacement .