OME BP-51's Installed; No Spring Compressor Needed for Preload...

Got the OME BP-51's installed up front... The install kit didn't make it with the coilovers (long story) so I bought top bolts, secured the reservoir with a sandal and a velcro strap, adjusted the preload and installed them for tomorrows alignment appointment. Rears and install kits are coming next week, but I wanted to get the truck aligned this weekend; shops are busy this time of year and it was hard to secure an alignment on a weekend.

Also, I haven't been able to find anywhere online where someone has adjusted the preload WITHOUT the use of a spring compressor.... Pain in the ass to find a shop in town who could do it, believe it or not. Five different shops and their wall mounted spring compressors were "not compatible" and I wasn't going to spend money on the OME adapter so that only a shop can use it. I fab'd a beefy spanner wrench (3/4" thick) and I was able to adjust them no problem at all.

Traced the profile of the collar on cardboard, transferred that to a piece of flat stock. Torched it, flap wheel'd smooth, drilled a hole on the end and stuffed a needle roller bearing out of an old race and drilled an over sized hole on the outside and puddle welded the bearing in place. Boom. Thing fits like a dream and effortless to the collar with a little cheater bar.

Preload... Because I know people get crazy about exact details. ARB says to not exceed 20mm... which mine came preloaded with 5mm. I don't know why. 20mm is .78 of an inch... roughly over 3/4. So is set my preload to 7/8''. This is America, I'll use inches. I have 7/8'' of thread showing at the top. I didn't want to risk jackhammering these expensive shocks... So, despite the truck sitting a hair nose down, its okay. The truck will level out with all of our camp gear and fridge and blah, blah, blah..... So, she's fine.

The ride is leaps and bounds better than my previous setup. 888's on OME shocks.... Um, I should mention, I have full BAMF skids (heavy heavy heavy), C4 Fab bumper, winch, and dual batteries. The front of the truck is really heavy. So, all the things considered, I love where she sits and especially how she feels, so far. Ill be getting an alignment tomorrow and test her out some more down the road. Already, I can tell the suspension is truly worth the money. Shitty alignment and the truck takes ruts like a champ, and recovers instantly. Ive fallen in love with my truck all over again. Cant wait to get everything installed and head out.

Hope this helps people.

 

Too bad you weren't in Socal. Two shops here can set preload for under $45 for both fronts. I ended up buying a specialty spring compressor on Amazon for $99 and have adjusted multiple times for testing purposes and weight changes. The spring compressor feels safe too. Logged in several off-road miles and 17k miles total on my bp51 suspension. Current setup I have rides the smoothest I've had yet. Really apparent on the trails.

Love your ingenuity though on the homemade setup. Thanks for sharing your experience. Super fun stuff.

 

What weight springs are you running?

I have almost an identical setup (BAMF bolt on skids with kickout, C4 Lo-pro bumper, softopper, bedmat, gearbox and some other stuff). I’m running 700# springs on ADS

Just curious

 

I’m pretty sure OME is running a 690lb spring. I’ll have to check for sure

 

Total cost out of pocket $0, so I’m not bent about it LOL

 

Glad you got it figured out. I got the same compressor as Dave and did it myself.

I am not sure I followed you completely, but you still need to release pressure on the springs to make the adjustments. I used the included comp/reb spanner tool (did you not get one?) to also adjust the preload, but only after tension was removed. Otherwise you can damage the threads.

Good choice on BPs, smooth as silk.

 

Threads are good! Whew! Only needed to set it once Hahahaha I’m so damn happy with them already! And no, I didn’t get the spanner wrench.... that’s all coming with the rears... the order got screwed up.

 

Right on.

When did you buy and where from? Did you get the whole kit or just front coilovers?

I'm asking because ARB did a spring change recently and their original specs no longer hold water.

I just installed mine a couple weeks back and the newer springs were set at 7mm which is where ARB wants stock weight. Needless to say, I didn't listen and did 10mm/13mm passenger/driver.

 

Oh, right on. So, I ordered through Low Range Off-Road. I already had
Dakar rear packs and ordered the shocks and coilovers selerately. The fronts and rears were separated and somehow the “install kits” were separated as well. That’s why I had to come up with a temp solution for securing the reservoirs and fab’d my own spanner wrench.


I also called ARB because, thanks to you, I now know I’ve received the new coilovers. I didn’t have the black reducers on the bottom shock mount. Mine came with Pre-installed silver cups zip tied together and the preload was preset to roughly 5-7mm. Which was what threw me off.... I was expecting the older 20mm preset.

I guess so many people complained about getting over 3” of Lift on stock Tacoma’s.... I can’t say for sure.

 

My theory is more likely than not more people do not have the extra weight up front so installing this at the preloaded 20mm for all the weight made the front end stiff. I originally set to 10mm with minimal weight and it used to still be pretty bumpy on regular roads. Off-road was nice though. Setting at 5mm probably would have been smoother but never tried. Probably why they choose that setting for the guy without weight. Now at 13mm with my added weight (less than what you have) is perfect for me now. I did add a spacer on the driver's side which evened out the truck from the taco lean. Definitely not as much of a lift than the higher preloads which I tried but definitely more comfortable.

 

She looks great! Can’t wait to get the fitment kit so that I can play around with rebound and comp settings. I’m loving th factory setting so far.

 

Which spacer did you go with and how much added lift did the spacer give you? I tried using a spring compressor to adjust the pre load on the BP-51's, but was unable to get the collar to turn (1/4" space between the coil spring and the collar). I had the allen head bolt completely out of the collar and the whole unit on a work bench.

 

Wow I definitely thought that with the Allen removed it should rotate. Some used wd-40 and I stuck a Phillips screwdriver in a hole on the collar to rotate.
In the end I set both sides (given my current weight setup) at 13mm and then used a headstrong off-road 1/4 spacer on the driver's to account for the taco lean. This setup was my best setup after several different combos which also included setting offset differently on each side.
I actually still have one extra spacer sitting in my garage that I took out that I once used on the passenger side.

 

You wouldn’t want to part with that spacer for a fellow BP-51 purchaser that’s using your setup as a guideline for his would you

 

If for some reason it doesn’t find its way to you, I’d be interested

 

what size is the pin you welded in there? thinking of just buying the icon wrench

https://www.headstrongoffroad.com/store/p42/Icon_Spanner_Wrench_-_198000.html

 

I start reading and get to this point... thinking "this guy is MacGyver"

Then I see the spanner wrench fab'd up... WOW. Those BP-51's look amazing by the way.

 

So, just used some spring compressors to try and adjust pre load I compressed the hell out of them And never was able to get collar ring to budge. Looks like I need a tool like you fabbed up. How are people turning the collar even after compressing they spring? I did loosen the collar Allen clamp btw but don’t have any tool to rotate the collar.

 

Apply some WD at the threads, loosen the collar... Once you have something sturdy enough to spin the collar, it should go. And also, obviously the spring would be compressed for this if you dont have the assembly on a vice and a big spanner.

 

Sorry to quote an old post but did you have a link to that compressor? Was it this one by chance?

Goplus Macpherson Strut Coil Spring Compressor Interchangable Fork Extractor Tool Set

https://www.amazon.com/Goplus-Compr...386419011&s=automotive&sprefix=spring+&sr=1-6

Im having a hell of a time finding a shop that can adjust the preload for me.