Old Man Emu setups on 1st gens

That's great, but I'm on a budget and would like to make sure I have the right tools for the job. I don't need a set of 8 ratcheting wrenches if I'll only use 2 sizes on the truck.

 

It would be best to have a 10mm, 12mm, 14mm, 17mm, & 19mm sockets. Probably a 19mm/.75" wrench too for the bottom bolt of the front coils. The only ratcheting wrench I would think you'd need is a 14mm for the 3 top bolts on the front coil assemblies. You should be able to swap out the front coils/struts and rear leafs/shocks with these things. Some things that may vary are if you are installing extended brake lines, if you are assembling the front coils yourself, are you installing a BPV bracket, UCA's?...these may require a few other tools/sizes.

 

I've taken apart a 1st and 2nd gen
if you have a 10,12,14,17,19 you can do just about anything to these trucks


EDIT: well shit @boostedka stealing my thunder

 

Awesome, thanks guys! I knew the ratcheting wrenches came into play somewhere, couldn't remember where though. I think I still need a 19mm socket and the 14mm ratcheting wrench, but should be set for everything else. Unless there's a need for deep sockets?

I'll be doing front coils/struts and rear leafs/shocks to start, probably will do a new rear brake line, and might make my own BPV bracket. Thanks again!

 

With the rear brake line, it is a 10mm bolt. Depending how tight yours is, you may need a flare nut wrench for it. I was able to get the rear one off with a open ended wrench, but the fronts I needed the flare wrench. You may need a deep socket for the coil spring bottom bolt. It depends if you're use a 3/8" or 1/2" ratchet. With a 1/2" ratchet, the 19mm socket should be deep enough. If you're using a 3/8" ratchet, then you'll need a 19mm deep socket.

 

if your on the cheap, harbor freight not so bad.

 

Iirc I don’t think 19mm was big enough for the new greasable shackles or for the new U bolts that came with my kit from wheelers

Edit: I guess you didn’t ask about those parts haha

 

OME heavy duty suspension kit

 

That's good to know, I'm planning on the wheeler's kit. Do you remember a size? I can probably get the info from wheeler's if not. Been saving for the suspension for so long, I want to have everything ready to go when I finally pull the trigger.

 

Checking with wheelers is definitely your best bet but, I’m pretty sure it was 22mm for the ubolts and shackles. Unfortunately, I don’t have a 22mm socket handy at the moment. I tried a 24mm and it was too big. I guess it’s possible they use sae sizes which would be like a 7/8” I think. Sorry I can’t be more precise.

Edit: On a side note, when I did mine, I found it helpful to have a couple of ratchet straps and also a couple of cam buckle straps. The cam buckles were helpful for supporting the rear axle while working under a lift. Made lifting and lowering the axle fairly easy. The ratchet straps came in handy for pulling the axle forward to line up with the centering pin on the leaf pack.

 

Thanks. I already have all but the 19mm deep socket (3/8 drive), 22mm socket for wheeler's shackle/ubolts, and any appropriate ratcheting wrench. I need a wrench set anyway, so I might go that route. Can't hurt anything but the wallet... Just gonna stick with the more common/smaller size sets.

I'll double check with Wheeler's on the sizes when closer to ordering my kit.

 

Going to be doing an OME kit soon. Am undecided on coil springs though. Truck is an ext cab 2.7 automatic with 4wd. I currently have an ARB bumper, eventually adding a winch. About to have skids and sliders installed as well. I want max lift and am undecided in the 882s or 883s.

 

I'm going to be re-doing my OME setup on my 97 and plan on doing the 883's since I have an ARB bumper with steel cable winch, and the V6. I'm planning to replace the factory skid plates with something a little more beefy soon too, so that'll add more weight. The Wheeler's kit seems to be a pretty decent value. A previous owner had moved the leaf mounts to accommodate the 98+ OME CS046RA/B leafs, so I'll get those with an add a leaf. I usually keep 200-300 pounds in the bed from camping gear, a rear bumper, campershell... Does anyone have any thoughts on doing more than one add-a-leaf for those rear leafs?

 

It would be a ridgid unforgiving ride imho

 

I'm about to pull the trigger on the OME setup from Wheelers. Should I get their SCS Upper Control Arm add-on? It's $400 that I'd rather put into other stuff on the truck...

OME 883 springs
The CS046 leafs with one add-a-leaf
Substituting these into their kit: U bolt flip kit and SuperBump bumpstops

I'm also debating if I want to do the diff drop or if I should reboot my CVs and do the mod to extend the boots out further so they don't rub. I currently have an old setup of OME all around and most of the ribs on the boots are touching as it is with the old worn OME stuff.

But does a 2" lift warrant getting an aftermarket UCA?

 

How are you liking the 883s? Are they overly stuff? Or do you have a fair amount of weight up there?
Thanks for that clarification though!

 

I cycled my leafs, im sure this will slightly change vehicle to vehicle, but figured this would be a good place for people to see what full droop and compressed will be for these leafs w stock bumps


Compressed
Dr 14.5”
Ps 14.75”


Full droop
Dr 25.5”
Ps 25”

This will help ya all get the correct shock lengths and make sure you're getting full droop and not blowing out the top of the shock. It made me realize how important shock relocation is. You can also take these numbers and call shock companies like ome etc and find out their travel and collapse lengths to get as close to these numbers as possible and either limit your uptravel to compensate or downtravel. Hope this helps someone cause taking apart leafs suck.

 

883s up front and aal in the back. Far superior to the stock TRD suspension. People on this site definitely overhype that the 883s are too stiff. Haha

 

No complaints with my 883's

They were recommended by wheelers offroad

 

Where did you relocate the shock positions to? I was going to pop in the ubolt flip kit and then when I add a frame strength plate, was going to cut off and relocate the shock mounts. I'd read that someone moved one so it were was angled back, mounted more towards the rear like the other side is. This was to provide better stability for the rear end to accommodate for a rear bumper rack with sore tire, Jerry jugs, hi Jack. Said they got much better stability.

I've also heard of them being angled inwards toward midline to provide better performance. I guess I don't really understand how the various positioning of the shocks changes the mechanics of support...