ORI-Struts Experience

Got some super bumps in the post today! Judging by the looks of it I'm gonna almost be on the bump stops at my current ride height. The Wheeler's super bumps are huge! I may have to add some height.

Also regarding aftermarket UCA, are you guys running them? I'm not sure if I need them but I wonder if I can gain some droop with them. I'd wager that an UCA with a grease-able urethane bushing will allow a much more free movement of the suspension. When I had the struts off during my install I noticed how much the movement of the A arms feels limited by the deflection of the rubber bushings. Are they designed that way to limit droop? It felt like I had to lean on the spindle quite a lot to get it to droop more than it would on its own, though the weight of the wheel/tire would help pull it down.

So do you think UCA would offer a bit more travel? I don't seem to need them for clearance issues.

 

I see. I do like the JBA parts. Living in Pennsylvania, I like the idea of a sealed and greased balljoint over an exposed uniball. It should last longer with less maintenance through the winters.

Any idea when poly bushings will be available from Marlin? I'm thinking of buying his standard UCA and welding my own gussets to the pivot points like his HD ones have. It's pretty simple to add gussets and it'll save like $200.

 

Nice, re-buildable ball joints will be awesome! The JBA arms are the ones I want for sure, but I think I gotta do something with my rear suspension first. I can't stop thinking about SUA...

 

Just installed my super bumps! What a pain! I will surely invest in a set of allen sockets for the rachet. Using the allen key was tedious.

I had to jack up the front and remove the wheel and I confirmed that I am getting full extension. 8" of shaft showing with no weight on that corner. In an earlier post I was concerned that I wasn't getting full droop but that may have been because there was no pressure in the strut at the time. If I can make it from full droop to full bump then I don't really have a need for UCA, unless for alignment issues... Hadn't considered that yet. Seems to drive OK.

I did notice when driving around that when I hit a bump or pothole the steering wheel will shake back and forth a bit. Feels almost like the wheels are fluttering when I hit a single, somewhat large bump. Could this be a rebound issue? Right now I have the rebound adjuster screws right in the middle, maybe I need more rebound dampening? Or is that an alignment related issue?

 

right on, looks like UCA are in my future after all.

 

Hey @BradyT88, I was wondering, I know you wheel hard and jump your rig so I was wondering if you have any kind of gussets or braces welded to your front suspension. I been thinking lately about all the gusset kits you can get from Total Chaos, coil bucket braces, cam tab gussets, spindle gussets, even LCA skids. They're all pretty inexpensive upgrades for the durability they give.

Do you run any of this stuff? I was pondering adding them to my truck just for insurance. I don't jump but I sometimes like a bit of speed. Ever since I added the ORIs I find myself hitting bumps a little faster just to test them. You even experience any bending or deflection or deformation?

 

I am running spindle gussets and the coil bucket gussets up front. I have the cam tab gussets but I never got them installed. (All of that from TC). I am running the coil bucket gussets with the LR UCA's but I don't think I would recommend that for most people. It is a little hard on the bushings since they weren't designed for that and I get a lot of noise from them.

Everything moves around and bends after time. I doubt much on my truck is still straight...

 

Thanks! Another question about the coil bucket gussets, did you weld the inboard side? Getting to the outboard side is easy enough I'd guess but to weld the inside you'd almost have to pull the motor wouldn't you?

 

My friend did the welding for me and I can't remember if he welded both sides. I'm guessing he probably got as much of the inside as he could reach.

 

Yea, I think you could get some from the engine bay, leaning over the fender.

 

Hey all, it's been a while. I'm having a bit of leaking trouble with my struts. When I installed the remote reservoirs I used teflon tape on the threaded connections. I've since learned that teflon tape has no business in such a high pressure system.

So what did any of your guys use? I found info on Locktite 545, it's good to 10,000psi and relatively cheap online.

And this stuff seems to be good but expensive.

http://www.gasoila.com/products/pip...l-ats-anaerobic-thread-sealant-with-ptfe.html

I checked my fittings with soapy water and found no bubbles but a few weeks after adjusting my ride height the truck is obviously lower in the front. It was about level when I made my adjustment.

 

I just used thread tape. haha Honestly they are beveled pipe threads. Just spin them a little tighter and they seal up. I had one side that went flat over night. Spun it a little tighter and never had another problem with it.

 

Hmm. Maybe I'll try that first. I thought they were pretty tight. Maybe they vibrated loose a bit.

 

yea that's what I was worried about. I should prob disassemble and thread seal just to be safe.

 

So I want to remove all my fittings and replace the telfon tape with a proper thread sealant. Can I remove all the pressure in the upper and lower chamber by the normal procedure then support the truck at the frame allowing the suspension to fully droop? With the tires removed that will probably allow enough access to remove the various fittings and reinstall them with sealant.

Does anyone know if oil will leak out if I remove the lower Schrader valve? If it does I'd have to remove the struts completely so I can turn them upside down to remove the lower. Usually when I vent the lower valve a bit of oil does come out.

Thanks!

 

So after lurking on this thread for a year, I bought a set. Just installed them yesterday and after messing around to figure out how they work, I'm now at the fine tuning stage and could use some clarification.

I ran 140 in the lower and about 700 up top ground to fende was 38 3/4", about 23 1/2" hub to fender. A quick trip to the store and it was super soft. At the store, I was over 39" ground to fender, and my UCA's were maxed out at droop, like rubbing on the bolt through the ball joint. So it seems after adjusting, they take a minute to settle?

Got them adjusted to my desired ride height, but they are still so soft, on a hard hit I think I bottomed out on something. Bumped them up to 200 in the lowers and it's still super soft. I can hold onto the front bumper and roll the truck left to right with my body weight.


Any thoughts?

 

maybe check the dampening adjusters? They are the small slotted screw near the lower mounting point. You may get some more stiffness by turning them, but I forget which way is stiffer.

I have my adjusters right about in the middle, but to be honest I never really did a thorough fine tuning. I've been running only 95 psi in the lowers and about 700-750 in the upper for my ride height. I even have my sway bar removed so I get lots of body roll! I also upgraded my bump stops to Wheelers Super Bumps. They are pillow soft when you bottom out. Between the ORIs and Super Bumps it made a huge difference in the ride of my truck over rough terrain.

 

Can anyone post picks of the UCA at ride height?

 

This was my ride height when I first installed them. I run my height a bit lower now so I maintain some more droop, but the trucks overall stance is high in the rear now.

 

What pressure does the lower and upper chamber come to you shipped? Fully deflated for less shipping space?