Old Man Emu: Questions, Answers & Pictures

Thanks for the quick replies, I guess I won't worry about it and I'll get it done after the holiday weekend.

 

Same experience here. Except I did the UCAs at the time and they were a bitch.

 

Firestone here won't align lifted trucks. Pretty lame.

 

That sucks. They didn't even ask if my truck was lifted. Only mentioned the alignment numbers were all over the place and asked if I hit a huge hole in the road. That's when I mentioned I worked on the truck. They didn't seem to mind.

I know NTB has 1, 3, and 5 year alignment options. Maybe they'll align your truck?

 

I found a shop that does it, was just pointing out that Firestone here in San Antonio won't do it. We have several locations and none of them will do it. They claim they can't guarantee it, some legal crap. I think they just know they're more likely to do multiple alignments on lifted trucks and don't want to lose money.

 

exactly what they said to me here in Jax, FL. But then I went to tires plus and got the lifetime allignment, they did it and guess what? You can use your lifetime allignment from tires plus at any firestone location. Doesn't make sense ha

 

This section was a huge help for me when working on my lift. I went with OME 885s in front (assembled), with OME shocks and an AAL (toytec) in the back. I decided to keep the stock UCAs since I'm more of a weekend warrior. While I was working in the back, I decided to swap the rear brake lines. It was my first time doing it, so it took a bit longer. I did the sway bar relocate kit as well. All in all, it was a fairly easy process. And I'm more than pleased with the results.

Before
Front driver 20 1/4
Front passenger 20 1/2
Rear driver 21 1/2
Rear passenger 21 1/2

After (I'll check the numbers again in 2 weeks after the suspension settles a bit)
Front driver 23
Front passenger 23
Rear driver 23
Rear passenger 23

Before


After


Increase of 2.5" all around.

Pics of work:








After thoughts:
I wish I had more knowledge on how to do brake lines and what to expect. Had a tough time trying to loosen the connections without stripping the nut.

Make sure to double check the parts you loosened. When I first drove it to the alignment shop, I heard a thunking noise at time coming from the driver side wheel well. A day later I was able to check it and saw the sway bar link was a little loose. After tightening it, all was good.

 

This happened to me on my 04 Tacoma after I installed Bilstein 5100's in the front. haha It took me a while to figure out what that clunking sound was...

 

What you want is a flare nut wrench



I bought a set a long time ago but I only use it when working on brake/hydraulic lines so its probably better to rent/borrow one in the future. Replacing the flare nuts is not fun if you round them off

 

This was brought to my attention after I had swapped the lines and was tightening the nuts. One of the guys who came over to help had them in his bag, but was busy working on the front end and forgot to mention it. Oh well. Lesson learned.

 

Been lurking here absorbing all the info that I can. I pulled the trigger on the full OME setup (885x coils w/ top plate spacer 1/2" I believe (assembled), dakars in the rear). I made sure to get centere pin collars on the Dakars, got the CB drop, bushings for the Dakars already installed, LR UCA's, trim packer for taco lean, skipping the diff drop. I'm looking to add SS extended rear brake lines and probably a sway bar relocate as well. I'm an '06 Access Cab with topper and fair about of weight regularly in bed ~300-400lbs regularly. Minimal off-roading and daily driver, but only average ~ 8,000 miles per year and want the rig to be capable off-road if needed. I was looking for right at 3" of lift and a level look. No immediate plans for armor as of yet, but prob sliders in the near future. About to install in 2 weeks, so digging for info to make my first-time lift install as seamless as possible. I have a helper, most tools, and 3 days timeframe to get everything done. My question: what have I not thought of? Where should I search for good info/installation help? I have bjmoose's install thread and little else as of yet.

Also, after lift install, I'm looking to go with 285/70/17 duratracs on method double standard 17"x8.5" with 4.72" backspacing and 0mm offset. Yes, I am expecting some trimming, but was hoping to get away without a CMC if possible? From all that I've read, CMC is hit or miss. Anything I've overlooked or something else I should consider? OZ, I've read nearly every post of yours and consider your opinions/experience very helpful. Thank you in advance, any/all advice is very helpful!

 

You've done your homework my friend. I truly believe all the points are checked out. I strongly recommend the SS brake lines for the peace of mind. Do the sway bar relocate as well if you plan to keep it on. Again, you're just buying peace of mind here.

For wheels, I am running a set of 17x8.5, 4.8in backspacing with LT285/70-17 KM2s. The only trim I have done so far is on the plastic fender flair. No evidence of rubbing on the cab mount, I keep knocking on wood.

With the same setup on a Double Cab Long Bed, I am having a little bit of a rake, but with your weight in the bed it should not be that bad. Good thing with the Dakars, if you need it, Old Man Emu got you covered with the

$77 D29XL Leaf Spring

D29XL Add A Leaf option to handle the extra weight.

And... Welcome to TW !!!

 

Thanks! I'm a little nervous about the install, but excited to have the satisfaction of doing it myself. So, I'll pick up some SS rear brake lines (any good suggestions where to get them? OCTaco's I've read are good), a sway bar relocate from Toytec, and need for a U-bolt flip kit? what's the benefit of it? Should I consider new bumpstops? Axel shims?

When setting the LR UCAs, set to neutral and try to get 0 camber, 0 toe, 3.0 caster ideally? Would any adjustments here help to avoid a CMC with 285/70/17's? My main concern with a CMC is the tendency for rust afterward? (I live in the mtns in Colorado)

Any good install threads besides bjmoose that I should also reference? Where can I find torque specs? I read that I should spray the Dakars and coils with Fluid Film or a Rust Cure Formula to prevent rust? Any bad reviews on Method Double Standard wheels? That might be all the noob questions for the night....thanks guys!

 

Somebody that does their own homework , how very refreshing

 

Ah, the stamp of approval...thank you. I've been doing alot of reading, hope I get it all right.

 

I got my lines from OCTaco, good price and very fast shipping, despite the fact I am living across the border. The guy is very reliable.

My alignment specs are also exactly as you mentioned... well at least when I got it out of the shop. Now since my last offroad trip... I am a little bit off again lol.

 

I have a 1st gen...

Are there specific torque specs for a full OME (881s, Dakars+AAL) kit? U-Bolts? Shock mounting bolts, etc?

And after driving post-install, do I need to retighten bolts, etc after the suspension settles?

 

Torque to factory specs.

Here's the rear setup: http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/1s...ld-man-emu-setups-1st-gen-62.html#post8718539

I'm pretty sure somebody has posted the front. Otherwise, I'd have to dig through the FSM later tonight.

 

I used these, got them from TW, I think.

OME uses the stock suspension torque specs.

Front shocks/struts lower bolts 101 ft*lbf
Front shocks/struts upper 3 nuts 47 ft*lbf
(If your re-using your stock top plate: top center nut 22ft*lbf)
Upper ball joint 80 ft*lbf (align up to 60 degrees further for cotter pin)
Upper control arm bolt 87 ft*lbf
Rear shock lower bolt 53 ft*lbf
Leaf spring front hanger pin bolt 116 ft*lbf
Shackle pin mounting bolts (top and bottom) 67 ft*lbf
OME U bolts 93 ft*lbf
Stock U bolts 90 ft*lbf

 

Thank you gentlemen.