Old Man Emu setups on 1st gens

Intro

Alright! After all the research, consideration, and labor, the Tacoma is riding proud with Nitrocharger Plus shocks on all four corners and Dakar springs in the rear. With information gained from Cruiser Outfitters, I believe my first gen is one of the first installs of the new generation of the Nitrochargers (Nitrocharger Sport -> Nitrocharger Plus; [880, 881, 882, 883 coils] -> single coil option with adjustable coil seat)

I decided to tackle the job in my garage to save some $$$ ... While I did save the money, I sure as hell lost a lot of time because this job took me and two of my buddies about 25 hours of labor... LOL - and then an additional 6 or 7 for me to replace the tie rods and LBJs. Admittedly, I am a novice mechanic at best, so this project taught me boat loads of skills and ultimately boosted my confidence for future projects.

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The Front End

I was able to complete the front end in one evening's worth of work. Pretty much everything was smooth sailing, and I was stoked to have 0 seized bolts in the front end. Only hiccup for me was getting the lower shock mount to align with the shock. I ended up using a bottle jack to push the UCA down... pretty ghetto, I know

22 year old Shock vs. New Nitrocharger Plus




Bottle Jack Method




Shock Mounted




The Rear End

The rear of the truck was easily the most difficult portion of this project. The commonly seized bolt on the front leaf mount was seized on my truck (of course), so it took an angle grinder and some high quality Sawzall blades to cut those hardened steel bolts out. Again, I'm a novice mechanic so it was pretty much my first time using these tools... Would've been faster if I had more skill like you guys!

The next challenge was the fact that my stock shackles were seized. I ended up using a blow torch to essentially melt the rubber bushings on the stock shackles so that I could pull them off the mount. They were replaced by OME Greasable Shackles which should hopefully never seize.

Lastly, to fit the massive Dakars in the back, the axle had to be dropped pretty far. I ended up unbolting the brake hardlines from the axle so that I could get it to fall far enough downward. I was really thankful to have my buddies in the garage with me to help me lift the springs into place... they're huge and awkward to maneuver, so this was essential IMO. I am shocked that people do this solo.

Angle grinder go brrrr




Dakars are mounted!




The Results

Okay, first off, I was super nervous of the notoriously stiff ride that OME tends to provide us First Gen guys. To my surprise, however, the truck feels GREAT. It drives on road a lot better than my stock suspension, and it feels so much more stable off road. Keep in mind, however, I have quite the load in the rear that is helping with the softness. All this to say, it drives like a truck still, but a truck that doesn't have blown out 22 year old suspension

Visually speaking, I was nervous about the size of my tires (265-70-16) looking too small with the lift... However, I think my truck actually looks far more proportional now overall. I'm obviously biased, but to me, this is a huge improvement over how it used to look. The ride height has settled about an inch on all four corners since these pics have been taken

Once I use up all the tread on my tires, I will most likely add a leaf in the rear and upgrade my tires to 285s!

[sorry about the dark lighting - we had to make an In-n-Out run at like 12:00 am on the last night of the job, and these are the best pics I have right now]

Before the lift...



After the lift...



My truck next to my buddy's sweet first gen




Had to flex it out in a parking lot right away lol



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Thanks for readin!

 

Brave muddersucka using the bottle jack method. Props to you though. I finally bought a macpherson style compressor and it’s never been easier.


Truck looks good, BTW.

 

Do you know if the front coils in this new kit are progressive spring rate? And if I'm reading it right this has an adjustable coil spring seat on the collar that allows adjustment similar to the Bilstein 5100s. Is that correct?

https://store.arbusa.com/nitro-plus...r=2004&Make=Toyota&Model=Tacoma&Submodel=Base

Good write up.

 

Yes, you are correct about the coil spring seat. They simplified their inventory by ditching the various coils and decided to just make one coil with an adjustable spring seat (5 mm, 10mm, 15mm, and 20mm adjustments).

I could absolutely be wrong, but I believe the coils are progressive. I tried googling it to backup my answer, but mainly found stuff about the old Nitrocharger coils. Not the new ones.

ARB or any decent supplier (Cruiser Outfitters is my recommendation) could give you a straight answer over the phone if you want to be certain.

 

Thanks. More stupid than brave lol. I should’ve bought a compressor like yours for sure.

 

If you disconnect the sway bar it’ll let it droop without being forced

 

Yeah, I knew this would also be a lot better on the control arm bushings. I was gonna do this but decided to attempt the bottle jack in a pinch.

 

Hey folks so I am a newbie with regards to lifts. Heres my story.

Purchased 2004 3.4 TRD extra cab Tacoma which came with a cap. I installed brand new OEM Toyota Bilsteins (4600?). Sold cap and found stock springs to be frowning without any load, tons of axle wrap, and audible clinking.

I want to buy a small trailer and haul small loads (tractors, mowers, etc.) and figured I need a spring upgrade.

Considering General Spring HD rear leafs and shackles (says it lifts 2") but don't want a raked stance.

Someone local is selling OME Nitrocharged 90004 struts with OME 2881 coils. Would these be a good option to lift the front even to the rear?

What about just adding a leaf?

 

OME 881's will land you in the neighborhood of 1.75-2.25 inches of lift over stock height. 2.25 inches being when the springs havent had a chance to break in yet (881's have a reputation for becoming quite soft after break in).Remember that your truck is most likely sitting lower than stock height with the roached springs so you WILL see an excess of 2 inches gained when all said and done front and rear regardless. A little bit of rake never hurt anybody, but squat has lol. I think that set up would work out just fine as long as you dont intend on adding weight to the front. good luck

 

Hello. Wondering if I could tap into your expertise to help me figure out if I'm missing anything from my planned suspension updates. Mostly I need to know what kind of ride height change I'm going to end up with and if that will necessitate UCAs. Here's the build:

2001 PreRunner V6 double cab 2wd auto

New parts:
Front:
- OME 2883 springs
- Billy 5100 shocks
- New upper and lower ball joints and hardware, oem
- New control arm bushings, whiteside poly
- New OEM strut cushions
- Poly 1/4" top spacer for leveling

Rear:
- Wheeler All Pro expedition leaf spring lift kit with 5125 shocks
- Flip u bolt kit
- Silverado yellow bumps
- Extended exhaust hanger bracket

Mods:
- Wheels and tires, will choose after lift. My preference is: 255/85/16 > 255/80/17 > 265/70/17 > 285/70/17
- Light aluminum rack
- Relatively light Smitty Built RTT
- Hidden front winch mount with badlands apex 12,000 winch

Future plans:
- 4x4 conversion, maybe manual conversion if I can find a donor for both
- Tundra brake upgrade
- 4x innovations WIY rear bumper with swing out tire carrier
- 4x innovations rock sliders
- Possibly more overlanding stuff like a compressor, second battery, lighting
- Possibly a front locker, possibly front and rear air lockers
- Possibly a re-gear
- Possibly a supercharger
- Probably front seat swaps

Before I get an alignment I need to choose wheels and tires and figure out if I need to do upper control arms. What are you guys think?

I was thinking about potentially just trying to align it myself so I could drive it with the old wheels and tires while the spring settle in. This way when I get fresh wheels and tires and a professional alignment everything will be closer to its true long term state.

 

your list looks about right. UCA's are a good investment especially since youll be looking at over 2.5" of lift with 883's and no extra weight and no 4x4. It is pretty well known that 2.5" is the max without creating alignment issues. JBA UCA's is the more budget option that i bought. theyre fully greasable and rebuildable with a sealed ball joint and built in high caster, but a set of spc's are more finely adjustable for a perfect alignment. I think its worth the time and money especially if youre replacing so many parts to make sure you so your setup right and make it drive straight. I would also personally recommend you go out and get an 2 year alignment package so that you can take your truck in several times to get professionally aligned as your suspension breaks in and settles. Sounds like you got a great build planned. good luck

 

2002 TRDOR, 5 speed manual, 80k miles OME suspension. Not happy about the rake, but i’ll see what it looks like after I put a cap on there.

 

It's a shade tree go to!

 

I don't know very much about suspension, but I need new coilovers. I've got blown Fabtech FT2300s in front and a mystery "Northwest Offroad" leafpack with Fabtech shocks in the rear.

It's an ext cab with the V6 and a tube bumper. No extra battery and no winch in the near future. I'd guess the bumper weighs 60 lbs, but I haven't removed it to weigh it.

I measured hub to fender height:
Front Driver 22"
Front passenger 22.75"
Rear Driver 23.75"
Rear Passenger 25"

I've got more rake (1 3/4") and more lean (1") than I'd like.

I talked to 1st Gen Offroad and he recommended 883s to level it out, but they seem overly stiff for the weight I have in front. I think 882s and having a slight rake would be a better choice, but I wanted to ask you guys.

I'm not dead set on OME, but I think I want a linear spring and I can't rationalize Kings or Fox or ADS.

I plan on leaving the rear end alone until the leafs get tired or the shocks blow.

 

Has anyone tried OME's new Nitrocharger Plus coilovers? If so, what additional weight do you have, what perch are you on, what's your ride height, and how does it ride?

I called Slee and they hadn't sold any for a first gen so they didn't know.

 

The guy a few posts above has them installed.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/old-man-emu-setups-on-1st-gens.141055/page-270#post-30173214

 

Aw shoot, shoulda read the thread lol. Thank you
@JoeyIV can I ask what perch you're on for the front coilovers and what your new ride height is?