OME losing it's height

Last year we installed a full OME with Dakar leafs, and LR UCA's, front springs are 885's. So, lately I have noticed a significant height difference in the front suspension on my 2012. The truck used to sit just slightly lower in the front, unsure what the final measurement was.

I did a little research and see that there were sagging issues with 885 springs, but I am unsure if they are the 885's or 885x's. I contacted ARB and Wheeler's (where I purchased the lift). ARB said that they made the switch to the 885x series spring many years ago and that I should have them. Wheeler's said there should have been a sticker on them stating what part number they were. No more sticker on these springs.

There seems to be a 1" to 3/4" difference from the front to the rear now. The drivers side is also sitting significantly lower (we did add the spacer to compensate for taco lean) but that too is about 1/4" lower than the passenger side.

The lift has a little over 25k miles on it (yeah, I drive alot).
Sway bar has been removed.

Thoughts or ideas as to what may have caused this? I have definitely put this lift to the test on many occaisions but never jumped it or wheeled it hard enough to bend a spring(s), at least not that I can recall.

 

I did mine my lift about the same time you did and i'm noticing the same. I know I have the 885x's. I plan on rebuilding my rear leafs but unsure about the front. I was told that the 885's should be left on the 0 setting on my 5100's. hoping you (& I) find an answer.

 

To be honest with you its probably just cause of how many miles you have put on them and 25K in 1 year is a significant amount of miles. I have 885's on 5100's set at 0 and I noticed after a couple years that my truck wasnt as high as when I first installed the lift. I think its just from the wear and tear just like anything else.

 

I had the trim packer on the driver side first, but the taco lean was too much. Then I added the 1/4" spacer and it fixed it at first, but Its beginning to lean again. I think i'm going to do the 3/4" spacer on the driver side next. I'm getting tired of the stupid lean.

 

OP are you saying the front has sagged or the back has sagged ?

 

The front. Rear is still good, no changes there.

 

Couple things....

1) I'm not believing any of it until measurements take place. Too many people on this forum don't account for placebo effect. Make sure you're on a level surface.

2) Suspensions settle over time. The best compensation is usually to install something a little stiff when new that breaks in to the ride quality you want.

3) Despite what conventional wisdom says, 1/4" trim packers are not sufficient to affect the Taco lean. My adjustable C/Os have almost .5in more preload on the driver's side to keep things level, which translates to roughly 1" additional lift on that side.

 

Are you sure. Maybe you want to go higher. Mines doesn't seem lifted but when someone actually drives my truck and I see it from a distance coming, it looks lifted. But I do want a higher lift.

 

Weren't you putting them on in my driveway, but had problems with the spring compressor? LOL.

I'm just running the OME Nitro Chargers, not adjustable.

 

1) I can measure everything when I get home in a few hours.

2) I know they settle over time but that is a very large settlement. I have no complaints with the ride comfort or quality. I love it. I dislike the fact that I have lost a ton of height and now have a tendency to rub the fender when I hit a bump that did not happen before due to this height loss.

3) There has not been any noticeable lean until lately. The truck sat quite level after lift was installed and as it settled. Only recently has this happened.

 

It takes about a year for a suspension to fully settle in. Sometimes longer if it's only street driven.

If you've got fender rub, you need to clearance. Lifting an IFS vehicle does not change wheel travel, just ride height. You would've always rubbed if you compressed the suspension sufficiently.

 

With the trails the truck has been on it has sufficiently settled in the last year, probably the first 6 months. My high mileage is due to a 61 mile commute daily.

There has always been minimal rub with my 33's on but always when the suspension was sufficiently compresesed as you put is. A simple washboard trail @ less than 35mph should not create sufficient compression to cause tire rub, that is what happened the last time I was on a trail, approximately 4 weeks ago and when I noticed the height difference.

 

It is possible the springs are just losing it and/or you need to go to a higher rate set.

Add any armor or a winch lately? Gain weight? Adding front end weight will also drop you some.

 

That is what I have been suspecting; the springs are losing their lift. I haven't added anything. The only thing that I have done recently is added some slim cubby HID's and removed the sway bar, actually removed weight. I also swapped back to the stock rims and rugged fails to save the KM2's some wear. But that's it.

 

I had the same issue with mine. I installed right before going to Moab last year and measured about a month after I got back and was just at 2.5" of lift in front. Last month, I measured and only had just a little over 1.5" of lift. I raised my 5100's up to the .85 setting and am back to almost 2.5" of lift.

My measurements were taken from hub to fender so there was no variation from tire pressure. I also have a very flat driveway and the measurements were taken in the exact same spot. For those that find it hard to believe, I also have factory UCA's and it aligns just fine with positive caster.

 

I'm wondering if the removed sway bar allowed the springs to take more of the momentum from side to side and put a lot more cycling through the springs causing premature wear, if you know what I mean.

 

I ran my 885's hard without sway bar and WITH plate bumper/winch/skid and I didn't get the sag we measured in Steve's truck. His driver's side was a full 1" lower than the passenger side, and that included a driver's side 1/4" shim and also nobody sitting in the truck and only 1/2 tank of gas. We have the same UCAs but I will say that our shocks are different. I was running 5100's and he's running 90000's.

 

Yeah ended up putting the spring seats on upside down and was having to compress the hell out of the springs. went home, and looked at some picture and in 30 minutes i had them fixed. All in all it was pretty funny i think. i think im gonna move mine up to the .85 setting when i fix my leafs. hope ya find a solution.

 

Maybe you were unlucky and didn't get the revised 885x. I'm sure a few were still sitting on the shelves of some vendors. Maybe swap out the driver side top plate spacer for a 1/2" and add a 1/4 to the passenger..

 

Mine still has the sticker and it says 885x... and they sagged within a year. Only extra weight up front when measuring then would be equal to that of an extra battery and an extra a/c compressor.