Possible Suspension Pickle

Hey all, first time wrencher here. I seem to have possibly messed up buying suspension upgrade parts individually. I'm not looking for much of a lift because this truck is a daily driver that I use for weekend camping trips. There is usually a hefty bed toolbox mounted and I sometimes use the truck for hauling.

I bought pre-assembled Bilstein 4600 coilovers and rear shocks from SuspensionLifts and a pair of OME EL122R leaf springs from ARB. From ARB's website it wasn't immediately clear to me that the leaf spring packs provided a 2" lift, I rather wanted them for the comfort and longevity they advertise along with the greasable shackle option.

So, do you think I can use the 4600s with those springs? Or do I need to look at returning them?

 

I don’t know the specific but I would probably say no. The shock you purchased is probably for a stock ride height and travel, more likely, OME leaf pack will have more droop than factory. Will it work, yes but your limiting factor will be your shock. Depending on how often you flex/droop, your shock will dictate how long they last unless you limit strap the rear to prevent damage to the shock.

I would install the leaf springs and let it hang and measure eye to eye for the shock mount than compress the leaf spring and measure again. With those numbers, you can find a shock that will work. I preferred the spring being the limiting factor or limit strap the travel.
Limit strap as in limiting the travel to prevent over extending the shock in your case.

 

Agree with what @02hilux said. Since you mention the truck being a daily driver, I would suggest trying to just return the 4600s entirely before mounting them and just going with Bilstein 5100s (there's a specific 5100 model for our trucks that can be used with 0-3" of rear lift). I say that because I assume you can't just leave the truck parked and I'd assume once you start driving on the 4600s, they probably won't let you return them.

And you may want to opt for 5100s with a slight amount of lift (~1-1.5") up front, unless you're okay with significant rake or have a couple hundred pounds in/on the bed constantly.

 

If it's possible that it won't fit I agree that it's a bad idea to try installing and I don't think I want to go with a workaround like limit straps. The way I see it, I've got three options.

Full Lift Option: It looks like Bilstein 5100 1.33" Front Lift Coilovers and 5100 0-2.5" Rear Lift Shocks might work. Then again it's a $94 restocking fee plus $191-245 on top of what I paid for the 4600s. With the 1.33" front lift and 1.5" rear lift after settling I probably won't have to think about major modifications, maybe just an exhaust hanger relocation. From what I've been reading online the OME springs tend to settle down to a ~1.5" lift with a constant load in the rear like a toolbox.

Rear Shock Swap Option: I suppose another option could be to return or sell the rear 4600 shocks and only get some rear 5100s that will accommodate that 1.5" lift. That would cost about $88.49 total and I'm guessing it would result in a 1.5" rake.

Leaf Spring Return Option: Simply returning the OME leaf springs will probably cost around $200 shipping. And I don't want to deal with wrapping those things in cardboard and taping them up, frankly.

 

To be clear it won't be a problem of not fitting (when it comes to the rear shocks), but rather them being too short and you wearing them out quickly from overextending them (and limiting your travel in the rear as well).

All that said $285 for the full upgrade to 5100s seems reasonable and is probably the option that'll have the best outcome