Leaf Spring Upgrade

Went to local ORW, they said I should get ARB CS046RA(B). I do occasional offroading in the desert or Baja, but mainly taking my dirt bike to/from the track and also desert.

Want to get something all around that I can still offroad, and also put a load in my bed, or even pull a trailer. Thought I read somewhere that deavers, you can no longer put a heavy load in the back or something.

I also already have Billstein 5100 on the rear, and would like to use those shocks without having to buy all new shocks. I have Fox 2.0 coilovers in the front, stock arms, moog joints.

The truck handles great offroading, but does bottom a little bit on some fire roads. 225k miles on it, and the leaf springs must be the stockers.

Along with with leaf springs, what else should I replace? Bushings, u-bolts, and what about that fit-kit?

 

A lot of people on the forum run those OME Dakar leaf packs and Bilstein 5100s, you really can't go wrong with that recommendation. There's a huge thread on OME here:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/old-man-emu-setups-on-1st-gen.141055/

 

Wow, you're not kidding, 184 pages... for real?

Thanks. They quoted me $586 out the door, includes everything mentioned. I'll probably just get'em then. Oh, and the truck only seems to bottom in the rear when offroading sometimes.

I didn't know if there are different ride heights to consider, spring rates, etc.

 

Bilsteins are a little stiff for my liking but in combination with Chevy springs it's a good pairing. With OME springs you could look into some Doetsch Tech shocks. They are geared more toward baja/desert and feel less stiff.

 

I've got Deaver J-59's on my 2004 RC 4X4 and I love them. But I don't tow or have more than around 500 lbs plus the shell as far as weight is concerned. I did load about 750 lbs in the back for a long trip last year and never even felt it. So far, the only complaint about the Deavers I have so far is that they immediately rusted within a couple of months. That's fine as long as they don't rust in half. They are now two years old and have seen two winters. I'll see.

Deavers work fine unless your hauling real heavy off road. They are a very compliant, progressive spring. I wouldn't go over about 5 or 600 lbs regularly with them off road though. I don't so I love mine. Minus the immediate rust issue which hasnn't caused a problem yet.

 

I just got my J-59's in the mail and I am considering coating them with POR-15 or some other corrosion inhibitor before I install them. I'm not worried about rust damage in Arizona, just concerned about keeping them looking nice.

 

first question you need to answer. do you want lift or stock?

I did not see any mention as to a change so this is your first point of action. OME will lift ~2+" depending on load in the bed.