Old Man Emu setups on 1st gens

Once it all settled, I think it was around an inch. It was noticeable. I'm running 882 + .5" spacers + 170 lb in the front and with no AAL, the truck is level.

Throwing in an AAL is easy after the pack install. Just have to loosen u-bolts and slip it in. I'd hold off on the AAL until you see how it sits.

 

I did this this week, and the aal was not going in easy on the truck, I ended up removing both packs to install.

 

Now that I'm thinking about it, we may have completely removed the u-bolt. The way we did it:

1. Jack up rear axle
2. Remove one tire
3. Unbolt u-bolts and leaf pack center pin
4. Lower jack until enough separation to remove center pin
5. Remove center pin
6. Slide in AAL
7. Install center pin
8. Jack up axle
9. Install ubolts
10. Install wheel
11. torque everything
12. repeat for other side.

If that don't work, then, yes, gotta take the whole leaf pack off.

 

I heard Dakars move your rear axle.. how did you guys center it back up?

 

Axle relocation plates. I didn't use them as mine seems perfectly centered.

 

So with an 04 xcab arb+winch what will yield less lift? 883 or 882. I just marathon'd 43 pages and didnt see anyone asking that question. Most asking what gives more.. I want 2 inches or less all said and done.

I would go coilovers but the winters up here in kanyada destroy them in one year...

Got a shell and going to build a sleeping platform as well as a tire swing and roof rack on the cap. Im also torn between dakar and aal or getting a custom deaver 8-10 pack... It seems that dakar+aal yields ridiculous rake when its just the cap on there, how much could i expect it to drop with the addition of a swingout tire carrier bumper?

Not looking for crazy articulation, but good peformance on two track and rutty trails (washboard, woops all that)

 

Can't speak for the rear aspect of your question, but if you are a v6 and since you mentioned the arb/winch combo, I recommend the 883 coils. They are shorter than the 882, but are rated to a higher spring rate so the ride will be better and they won't sag as much over time. I have 883 on my truck and am happy with them! Someone correct me if I am wrong with my statement above.

 

As for your 882 vs 883 question, I don't know. But here are the specs on them:

http://cruiseroutfitters.com/tech_OME_coils.html

882: spring rate = 88.0 and height = 395 mm
883: spring rate = 103.0 and height = 375 mm

 

Ya it is a v6 5 spd.

I have seen the Data and it leads me to believe the 883 will lift less being nearly an inch shorter but maybe that inch gets eaten up really quick with the softer spring (882) being loaded with arb and other crap? I really don't want to see 3" of lift. totally unnecessary for my application and cv longetivity and staying as close to the oem engineering is prudent i believe.

 

Got the new OMEs on the front. Gonna test drive it in a bit to how the new valving feels.

 

Gross approximation, you'd need an extra 500 lbs to bring the 882s down to the height of the 883. If you don't want a large lift,go with the 883s. They will have the close to the same ride height as the 881s but able to handle more weight.

Talk to Dan at Wheeler's. He's got good recommendations.

 

Your truck looks good. What rear springs do you have?

 

I thought it would be the opposite?

 

Now that's some RAKE! I'm sure It will settle though. Feel any vibes?
I want to go back to my stock shackles and get a the D6XL in there so I wont sag while adding more weight.

As for the install... How difficult was it? couple hours or more? My DAKARS are about 6 months old and I live in Texas so no rust and all the bolts shouldn't be to hard to separate. Is the center pin difficult to remove? Any kind of prep before removing the center pin? I'm afraid that if I remove the center pin the leafs will go flying and cause some damage to me and my truck

 

I know the feeling! on my last tacoma (a 2001) I drove with a buddy of mine from my home in winnipeg all the way to Cabo and back 15000 kms round trip.
The suspension on that truck was way tired already, and we had a strut puke its fluid in northern cali on the coast. Luck enough found a fellow TW member who let us use his garage to swap out the rear shocks. He also tipped us off to a mexican shop halfway down the Baja that could install an AAL for me on the cheap. Hit it up on the way down baja and got the AAL for basically 80$ installed! they even painted both the leaf packs! talk about a steal of price! It even inlcuded a ride back from the shop in their courtesy shuttle (which was an astro with no seats save the drivers ).

Now that i have my new truck, I'd rather fuck around with the suspension BEFORE leaving on a massive road trip . Thats why i would like to get this all figured out before hand. Althought 80 bucks for parts and labor cannot be beat in the first world

 

It took about 3 hours from pulling gout tools to puting them away. Use c clamps to hold the spring while you loosen the nut, then slowly let the c clamps loose. I recommend a real c clamp, not quick grips! Lots of potential energy stored in those leafs reverse process to put it back together, c clamps worked great to line up the pin and two top leafs.

 

So I plan on purchasing the OME complete lift, which is 3 inches. I dont really understand what the difference is between the 881 and 883 and why I have to buy top plate spacers for the 881 for another 60 bills.

Also is it a good idea to have them assembled at the store before they ship or is it easy to do yourself?

What size tires can I run after I install this?

 

883s and 881s are the same height. But the 883s have a heavier spring rate so they can handle a bumper/winch better than the 881s will. Adding a top plate spacer on the 881 will help gain back the height you lose from the extra weight of a bumper/winch.

I had mine preassembled from wheelers. I'd recommend it. Using a spring compressor scares the shit out of me so it was worth the extra cost to have it done.

Tire size depends on how much you want to trim/grind down. 33s will be doable but you'll still have to hammer the pinch weld up front and probably trim a little fender in the rear.

 

All of this x10000

Also you should be looking into longer shackles in the rear or d6xl aal. Otherwise you'll probably have saggy @ss

 

I plan to run 33 12.50s. How much trimming you think I'll have to do Mike? You got the same setup I ordered. Trying to decide between 12.50s or 10.50s. Really don't want skinneys though