Installed OME leaf packs, having problems

Just got done installing Old Man Emu leaf packs with an AAL on each side on my 96. Before the install the truck leaned about an inch and a half to the drivers side. After the install it quickly settled back to the same position. I measured and the passenger side is almost an inch and a half higher than the drivers side. Is it possible something is wrong with my frame? What are my options here? I don't want to put any spacers on the drivers side because I don't want anymore lift. Can I take the AAL out of the passenger side? I'm installing 883s in the front tomorrow...will this help with the lean in the rear? If it matters, I have Bilstein 5100s all the way around that are fairly new.

Also, I made a short trip around the block and the truck is vibrating quite a bit. It smoothed out when I got into 3rd gear. Is it because of the new angle of the driveshaft? Here is a picture of that:

 

On the height issue I ended up removing the extra/top overload on the passenger side and it seemed to even up the rear. My truck also had a bad taco lean. I broke down the leaf pack and here's what I found as far as the differences (I have the dakar's for the 98-04 though): https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/taco-lean-and-dakar-springs.477113/page-2

 

Have you got the right and left sides switched? I did this first time, and it will enhance the taco lean.

 

On the 95-97 the springs are the same for each side. No A and B like the 98-04

 

You could still try to remove one more leaf on the passenger side as opposed to the driver's side. The height difference bothered me so much that I had to see how it looked with the top overload removed from the pass side. Thing is, I never noticed the lean on my previous double cab. Even with the stock leaf pack and aal's my current truck didn't "lean" as much (at least I didn't notice it as much as I did with the Dakar leaf pack).

 

I've only done this on later model years....but it sounds like there should be.... (Maybe gas + driver weighed less back then)

 

Could I just take out the AAL on the passenger side? I still think it's absolutely crazy that with a brand new set of springs that are stiff as hell, and less than a quarter tank of gas, that it's leaning THAT much. Really makes me mad because that's one of the main reasons I bought these...to fix the taco lean.

 

I'd remove the top overload first before the AAL. To me, the overload doesn't affect the spring rate until the leaf pack is at or past it's limit. If you have your AAL installed on one side and not the other, I'm not sure how that'll affect the ride since one side (with the AAL in) will be that much stiffer than the other.

I thought of removing a 3rd leaf from the pass side first from my leaf pack but would rather have the same/similar spring rates side to side.

This helped me decide on what to "try" with these leaf packs: http://www.cruiseroutfitters.com/tech_OME_leaf_tech.html

It really does suck that you have a brand new set and the problem you wanted to solve is still there. Have you tried calling the vendor you purchased them from? I wonder what they have to say?

 

That's a pretty informative Q&A, gonna try driving it around for a bit in the morning after I get the front springs put on and see where she sits. If it's still leaning I'll do some experimenting with removing a leaf or one of the overloads. Is there a way to remove these without taking the whole pack off the truck?

I have not tried calling the vendor yet. Was going to give it a few days and see if it gets any better.

 

Each time I removed/installed a leaf or two I ended up removing the entire leaf pack. The last time I did it I had to replace the U bolts and leaf pack center pin too.

 

If you're concerned about the frame not being normal, you could take some measurements from the frame to the body on each side and see if they match up. It might not be exactly scientific, but it would be pretty easy.

 

I had a custom set of leaf springs made that are very similar to the ome. After initial install, found a good amount of taco lean. Swapped them side for side and it sat much better. This is on a2010, but point being these were not a side specific set either. It was worth the extra time and am still happy I did that. Fwiw

 

That seems to be the logical next step.

 

Well, I got the 883s installed yesterday and it helped a lot with the lean, even in the rear. I have the Bilstein 5100 shocks and I set the passenger side to stock height and the drivers side to the middle setting. I was going to tear the back end apart and take out the AALs because it was sitting really high but after getting the new front springs in, I don't need to take them out. I love how the truck rides now! So much more like a truck and no more body roll in the curves. Took it to get some supplies for yard work after I got everything installed...put 12 bags of mulch in the back and I don't think it squatted at all. With the old springs i could set my beer on the tailgate and it would squat.