2016 - Present Old Man Emu Kits

IMO, it's a shit design.

 

Thank you again. I suppose the best plan would be to have an angle measuring device and shims on hand so you're prepared. When I do my lift I want to only have to take things apart once.

 

Yea, I'll do my homework here too. I'll likely only do a smaller, lighter bumper eventually and if I add a winch, it will most likely be the synthetic cable type. The skid plate I have on my wish list is aluminum as well. All of that would be much later either way.

Thanks for the tips!

 

Couple things to keep in mind when you do the math on shimming...

The slope of the 2nd shaft will change slightly as the pinion is shimmed, changing the 1st shaft/2nd shaft working angle.

The pinion rises under cruising load/acceleration and dives under braking. A stiffer leaf spring pack helps mitigate this some; lift blocks exaggerate it.
This is why ladder bars are a thing; they keep the pinion from rotating.

 

Ok, understood. I have been known to accelerate and brake harder than most. Maybe my attitude will change after I lift. I was planning on going with the Softride Nitrochargers all around w/888s and the Medium Leaf Pack like so many before me. I feel this will be the perfect kit for my needs and wants.

I do like the look of ladder bars though.

 

Any recommendations to help with settling?

I’m in a 16 AC OR manual. Stock bumper, no winch, cap etc.


Had the medium duty ome kit, drivers trim packer, installed afew weeks ago with JBA ucas and egcs bushings and 255/80/17. Removed front mud flaps.

initially I loved it. Slight rake, had zero rubbing, alignment was and still is great. rides better than stock.

Til this weekend...first time I took it loaded into the woods on some rough dirt roads. I had noticed some settling before but now I’m rubbing up front and the rear leafs are squeaking like crazy which I’m thinking I can fix thanks to the massive thread on that.

I’m wondering if I shouldn’t have gone with the HD kit....being a heavier dude (220lbs) and what I use it for. (Will be towing a boat around 2900lbs) this summer.

Anyway, what are my options for spacers to get the front back up without losing too much perforMance? Thinking 3/4-1” should do
Plan is to break the boat out of the garage and see if/how much the rear sags, and maybe add a leaf or timbrens/sumos if necessary.

Little sour at this point after doing my research, wanting to do it once and ending up like this after a couple weeks....

 

Hmmm, not what I like to hear. Did you do the full medium Dakar leaf pack replacements? Exactly what coils did you install?

 

i installed everything the medium kit comes with

• 2888 – Old Man Emu Coil Spring
• 2 x 90021 – Front Old Man Emu Nitrocharger Sport Struts
• 2 x EL095R – Rear Old Man Emu Leaf Springs
• 2 x 60091 – Rear Old Man Emu Nitrocharger Sport Shocks
• 4 x OMEU53A – Old Man Emu Leaf Spring U-Bolts
• FK29 – Old Man Emu Rear Drive Shaft Spacer Kit
• 2 x OMESB108 – Old Man Emu Leaf Spring Bushing Kit
• OME95PF5 – Old Man Emu Front Trim Packer

 

Yup, that's the kit I've selected . Thank you.
Hmmmmmm. WTF?!

 

I’m not an expert but from reading here the squeaking can be fixed pretty easily and avoided the first time you install if you follow afew different options.

I’ll try to post some pics of my set up. I think the trim packer is the only thing saving me from rubbing up front on the drivers side so probably a matter of time til it does.

Game plan is to hook up the boat , load the bed with gear and see how much sag I get on the rear. Then come up with a plan to bring up the front enough to stop rubbing, and level the back if/as needed.

Takes forever to sift through info on here so I’m not sure if I can even add a spacer to this set up. Prob just make some calls to reputable sources. Thing about being in Canada is to save $ you have to go through places that have less than knowledgeable staff to source parts.

 

Truck looks fantastic!!!!

 

Thanks man. It’s comig along

Not sure if you saw my other thread but it turns out my shop installed the collars on my struts upside down. Wtf, the things even came with instructions.... guess I’m half to blame for not double checking but when I got it back it was level and rode great so I never checked. He’s going to re do it at no cost and add spacers if I want them.

I’m still going through with my plan before that. Got the boat hooked up overnight and will take it for a drive tomorrow and see how she sits.

Someone mentioned headstrong 1/4” spacers will bring the front up a 1/2” more without sacrificing any performance, but I want to know what the rear is gonna do with that load on it and go from there. Headstrong also has the same 1/2 spacer with studs. I’d rather have the back higher when empty and level when towing if I’m going to sag at all.

So hopefully just a bit of tweaking and I’m sets

 

W - T - F !!!!!!!!!!!! How is that even possible. I thought they were fitted. Only made to go one way. Jeeze! Nice of him to fix the F Up for free! LOL

Cool, well at least you got it straightened out and are back on track. I like it when a plan comes together. LOL

Yea, i would much rather have some rake from added lift in the rear than be level and suffer under load. I haul a 16' landscape tandem axle trailer sometimes. My tractor with one implement weighs nearly 1600 lbs. When we go on vacation to the beach we take a lot of stuff to get through the week, and then there are times I use it around my property to haul things to the dump or loads of things back to the house. I need a truck with a proper suspension system designed to do what the OEM does but with a little lift. I also drive a little faster than most so I need less body roll.

Well, I'm really curious to see how your tests go.
Thanks.

 

Added shims to the rear end today based on my measurements and my 30-0 vibration is gone. I still have an issue up front that goes away when you put in 4wd, so from what I read, that would be the needle bearing. Going to take the carrier bearing drop out and see if it's still smooth without it.

 

will keep this updated and add some pics with the boat hooked up. this site's been very good to me so I'll try to contribute wherever I can. Cheers!

 

Nice! Great job! I dig success stories like this. Can't wait to hear the rest of the results.

 

ok so update after this morning.

I had the boat hooked up overnight and to make up for some weight that will normally be there but isn't right now (fuel, batteries, gear) I threw 6 tires and about 100lbs of random gear in the back of the truck and 6 more tires in the boat. This will probably be close to my typical towing weight but it will get heavier on the odd trip with firewood/extra batteries etc.

Here's roughly what I had loaded to tow:
Boat (hull): 1125lb
Motor: 359
Batteries: 1 @ 50lbs
Trailer:900lb
6 tires 1 wheel:roughly 180lbs
total: 2614lbs

plus in the bed of the truck:
6tires 120lbs
gear: 100lbs
total: 220lbs

This was my first time towing with the Taco. Took it for a 30min drive up and down some hills and I was very impressed! very happy with the manual transmission and 3.5 here. As far as suspension goes I was also very pleased with the ride quality of the Dakars. Roads are brutal right now with pot holes and it was comfortable. Right now the boat/trailer is sitting about 6" too high at the tongue so it should only get better when I pick up a drop hitch.

I also marked spots on the driveway then took some measurements and pics before/after the load was on. It is sagging exactly 2" when loaded.

So game plan is to have the front collars flipped right side up (shake my head) and go without the headstrong spacers for now because I don't want to end up with a bro lean being nose high.

I'm definitely going to be adding something to the rear to help with the sag. Any suggestions anyone?

I'm going to poke around there towing threads etc but all my research so far points to Timbrens or maybe sumo, as they offer a couple different kits and I don't want the maintenance of air bags.

Since the load in the rear isn't constant and I'm happy with the performance right now I also don't think another leaf is a good idea.

here's a couple pics

yesterday unloaded:


Today Loaded:

 

Basically I think it looks exactly like it should with a load like that. If you didn't feel it bottom out you're golden!

Yea, if it were me and I was towing that much and didn't want to do air bags, I would look at a Load Distribution Bar Kit. They are relatively cheap (good ones are under $250) and if you don't already, if the trailer has brakes, go with a brake controller. That's all you need.

Something like this:

https://www.etrailer.com/p-PS49903.html?hhyear=2016&hhmake=Toyota&hhmodel=Tacoma

 

Could you please post a link for the shims you used? I installed my complete OME lift kit this past weekend and everything is gravy except for a really slight vibration from 19-24 mpg. Not enough to bother me but enough to want to figure it out. I preemptively replaced the needle bearing when I did the lift and the current vibes don't go away when on 4wd...so it's something else.

 

I understand why there are vibrations now thanks to this thread but I still have a hard time understanding why the shims don't come with these kits.

Also, I saw a video or read something, can't remember, and during the install they said something about the U Bolt flip kit. How big a deal is that and what is involved? Is it really going to provide that much more clearance under the axle? I get not wanting to have anything hanging but.......????????????