Dipodomys
Observer
I recently installed an Old Man Emu (OME) suspension on my 2008 Tacoma and I thought I'd share my experience with the installation process and my overall impressions of the products. I received a lot of advice here on the EXPO forum and I sure appreciate everyone's help. Now I hope to return the favor and provide some info for others who are considering similar upgrades.
Purchase and Shipping:
I purchased the suspension kit, an ARB front bumper, and some other stuff, from TRDParts4U.com and was pleased with the price and the service. The springs and suspension stuff arrived on a standard-sized shipping pallet and the bumper showed up in an enormous box about three-quarters the size of a VW Beetle (I am not exaggerating). Once I broke everything down it fit into the back of my shortbed crewcab with the tailgate down. Having a buddy on hand would be helpful, but I managed OK by myself.
Suspension:
After much deliberation I went with the OME 886 springs in front and the OME Dakar setup in the back with the extra leafs. TRDParts4U offers three different OME kits based on desired level of firmness and lift height: Basic, Firm and Heavy Duty. The kits are identical with the exception of spring ratings: The Basic provides 885 coils in front (fine if you're not going to add a bullbar/winch), 886's for the Firm and HD kit (necessary for bullbar/winch), and an extra leaf in the back for the Heavy Duty setup. I went with the Heavy Duty setup because I was going to install an ARB bullbar and winch on the front and I wanted extra load capacity in the back. Otherwise, the shocks, u-bolts, etc. are identical in all three kits. The price spread is only about $50. The TRDParts4U website lays it all out. What I liked about TRDParts4U was that everything was included in the kit (including the driveshaft spacer and spring bushings), so it was fairly idiot proof. Total price (not including shipping) was $1,032.39. You might be able to find it a bit cheaper elsewhere, but by the time you add up all of the various components I found that there really wasn't much savings to be had with other vendors, and the all-inclusive kit feature was convenient. Shipping can eat your lunch on these heavy items, so if you can find a place with free or reduced shipping, then that's your best bet if you are hoping to find some savings. One guy mentioned that 4Wheel Drive Parts will provide free shipping to local stores, and that would be something to look into if you have a store nearby. My local store in Riverside, CA was not real helpful in terms of ARB products (they can order them but they don't have much experience with them), and I was not confident in their ability to get it right so I didn't go with that option. Your local store might be better.
Rear Leaf Spring Installation:
Installation of the rear leaf springs and shocks was straightforward. If you go with the extra leaf you need to disassemble the spring packs and install the extra leaf. I was a little concerned that the leaves would shift around and be hard to align once it was disassembled, but it was real easy and only took about 20 minutes per spring. You also need to install the rear bushings, which was easy as well and I did it without the benefit of a press. I jacked up the whole rearend and installed each spring one by one and then installed the shocks. Make sure you have a couple of good jackstands with the widest bases you can find. A good rolling jack is a must as well. You should probably unbolt the brakehose hangers so you don't overstretch the hoses when the axle drops down. I did it all myself, and the rear springs were pretty heavy to get into position but it wasn't undoable. Standard tools were all that was required. As with any job of this type, you need to whack things with a hammer and/or apply some creative leverage to get it all lined up. The wide-based jack stands are important for safety for this reason because the whole truck might rock a bit while you are applying the laws of physics. Having the whole enchilada come down on top of you would be a real bummer. My wife would have been very displeased to come out into the garage to find my legs sticking out from under the collapsed truck.
I purchased the rear angle shims, which are intended to reduce driveshaft angles and thus reduce vibration and wear on the u-joints. I found that the spring centerpin was not of sufficient length to hold the shims in place, so after messing with it for a while I decided to leave out the shims. There is now a very slight vibration from the rear when I start from a standing stop. The shims might eliminate the vibration, but it is very minor and definitely not worth taking it all apart again. Based on other postings on this forum, the level of vibration experienced varies from truck to truck. Mine is definitely within my tolerance range, and I am pretty picky. My wife hasn't noticed it either so that's good enough for me.
Front Coil Spring Installation:
Installation of the front springs is a bit more involved, and the stiffer and longer 886 springs make it a bit challenging. Regardless of which springs you install you need to separate the front tie rod ends so you will need a pickle fork or other appropriate specialty tool for that purpose. For the springs you need to reuse the factory top plate so you need to disassemble the coil/strut assembly. You can rent a benchtop spring compressor for this. Disassembly was fairly easy. Make sure you mark the position of the strut's bottom mounting hole relative to the top plate because if it isn't aligned right when you go to reinstall it won't line up properly and you'll be screwed. The instructions in the factory manual (available on the EXPO forum) provides good instructions on this and the entire disassembly/reassembly process.
While disassembly was fairly easy, reassembly was another matter. The 886 springs are substantially longer and thicker than the stock springs. Even though I had a heavy duty coil spring compressor set, I had a heck of a time recompressing the springs and getting everything lined up correctly. I also had the impression that the whole thing could explode in my face the tighter it all got. The benchtop compressors are really made for passenger car struts and have a hard time safely compressing a really beefy spring like the 886. In the end I threw in the towel and took the whole lot to a local tire shop that also installs springs and struts. Using a wall-mounted hydraulic spring compressor they had both assemblies together in only 15 minutes. It only cost me $30 and nobody got killed. For this reason, I would suggest forgoing the do-it-yourself disassembly/reassembly and simply take the fully assembled stock spring strut assemblies down to a local shop along with the new springs and struts and have them do it. Don't bother taking apart the stock assemblies because it is easier for them to do it all and that way everything will line up correctly (this is very important). If you happen to have your very own wall-mounted hydraulic coil spring compressor (not likely) then this bit of advice would of course not apply. If you do decide to try the DIY approach, make absolutely sure you use a quality spring compressor set. A Chinese-made set made from recycled beer cans from Harbor Freight could definitely have a negative impact on your life expectancy. If one of those babies were to pop while under compression I can assure you it would not be pretty.
Once the coil/strut assembly drama was resolved it was on to installation on the truck. Since the new springs are a lot longer than the stock setup it can be challenging to stuff it all into place. More creative leveraging on the lower control arms is required to allow the coil/strut assembly to slip into place. Again, make sure your jackstands are fully secure. An extra set of hands would be helpful here (one guy to apply leverage and another guy to position the coil/strut assembly) but I was able to do it by myself. The typical scrapped knuckles inherent in a job of this nature are to be expected.
It was at this point that I realized I had made an error. Since the heavy duty rear leaf spring setup tends to make the rear of the truck ride a little higher than the front, I had planned to install some 5/8" spacers on the front coils to level out the ride height. The problem is that the factory studs on the coil/strut assembly top plate are not long enough to accomodate the spacers and still bolt into place. That's why a set of longer studs are included when you buy the spacers. Well, the factory studs can only be removed and the longer studs installed when the coil/strut assembly is fully disassembled and the top plate is free of everything else. The old studs need to be pressed out and the new studs pressed in. Unfortunately I didn't think this through beforehand and now my coil/strut assemblies were already assembled and I was in no mood to take the whole lot back to the tire shop for a repeat performance. I wasn't entirely sold on the spacers anyway, so I decided to leave them out. The rear end now does ride a hair higher than the front when empty. When loaded with 200 or 300 pounds of gear in the bed it is perfectly level. I'm perfectly fine with it as is, but just remember that if you want to install spacers, you need to press the studs in before you put it all back together. Another thing to consider is that if you use spacers that means that your entire coil/strut assembly will be that much longer, and stuffing it into place between your lower control arms and top mounting brackets will be that much more difficult.
Performance Impressions:
My primary purpose for installing the suspension was to improve the ride and to increase load carrying capacity. The OME setup has more than met my expectations. The stock suspension bottomed out going over speed bumps, and with a load in the back it was absolutely hopeless. When loaded, the stock rear leafs offered about a half-inch of travel before bottoming out. That is totally unacceptable, especially offroad. Now I've got a full four and-a-half inches of space between the springs and the bump stops when empty. With a full load, it drops about three-quarters of an inch. I am VERY happy I went with the heavy duty setup with the extra leafs in the back. I can now carry 40 gallons of water and a week's worth of camping gear (about 500 pounds total) in the back and never bottom out. How great is that? When empty, the ride is firm but not stiff. When loaded the ride is superb, with minimal sway at highway speeds. In fact, the truck feels more stable than the stock setup, even though it is now at least three inches higher. Remember, I installed the complete kit, with the "matched" OME shocks and struts. I'm not sure if the "matched components" advertising is just OME propoganda to get you to buy their shocks, but I am very pleased with the results. The OME shocks and struts make the stock Bilstein units look very wimpy. It stands to reason that a higher-rated spring would require a higher-rated shock, so if you are thinking about trying to reuse your stock shocks I would advise against it. They probably aren't long enough anyway for the longer OME springs and the greater ride height. Wheel travel would almost certainly be compromised.
I installed the 886 coils in front and then drove the truck for a week before installing the ARB bumber and Warn winch. The ride during that week was a bit brutal, so I would not recommend installing the 886's unless you are planning on adding a bumper/winch setup almost immediately thereafter. Once the bumper and winch were in place things settled down nicely. Firm but not stiff, with a great ride and much improved control on the highway. Offroad the front end soaks up the bumps and rides like a dream. Not exactly Cadillac dreamy, but darn good for a truck. The front dropped maybe a half-inch when I added the bumper/winch, but hasn't budged since. Like I said earlier, the rear end now rides a hair higher than the front when empty, but that's fine with me because it levels out nicely when loaded.
I'm still running the factory BF Goodrich 265/70/16 Rugged Trail tires that came with the TRD Offroad Package. They are a bit small with the lift and look a little dorky, especially with the white lettering out (why does Toyota do that?). They still have at least 15,000 miles of good tread left on them, so I'll run them until they are worn out. I'll replace them with something a little larger when the time comes.
Overall, I think the OME setup is a great value for the money. Installation was straightforward and the results are outstanding. We'll see how it goes long term, and I'll be sure to report my impressions as the system ages. I had investigated other setups (coil overs, Deavers, etc.) but in the end I decided those setups were more high-tech then I needed. For a little over $1,000, the OME setup is hard to beat. If anyone has any questions about my experience ordering, installing, and using the setup, I'd be happy to share my experiences further. Thanks for all the help during my diliberations, and I hope this short story (haha) is helpful to others.
Purchase and Shipping:
I purchased the suspension kit, an ARB front bumper, and some other stuff, from TRDParts4U.com and was pleased with the price and the service. The springs and suspension stuff arrived on a standard-sized shipping pallet and the bumper showed up in an enormous box about three-quarters the size of a VW Beetle (I am not exaggerating). Once I broke everything down it fit into the back of my shortbed crewcab with the tailgate down. Having a buddy on hand would be helpful, but I managed OK by myself.
Suspension:
After much deliberation I went with the OME 886 springs in front and the OME Dakar setup in the back with the extra leafs. TRDParts4U offers three different OME kits based on desired level of firmness and lift height: Basic, Firm and Heavy Duty. The kits are identical with the exception of spring ratings: The Basic provides 885 coils in front (fine if you're not going to add a bullbar/winch), 886's for the Firm and HD kit (necessary for bullbar/winch), and an extra leaf in the back for the Heavy Duty setup. I went with the Heavy Duty setup because I was going to install an ARB bullbar and winch on the front and I wanted extra load capacity in the back. Otherwise, the shocks, u-bolts, etc. are identical in all three kits. The price spread is only about $50. The TRDParts4U website lays it all out. What I liked about TRDParts4U was that everything was included in the kit (including the driveshaft spacer and spring bushings), so it was fairly idiot proof. Total price (not including shipping) was $1,032.39. You might be able to find it a bit cheaper elsewhere, but by the time you add up all of the various components I found that there really wasn't much savings to be had with other vendors, and the all-inclusive kit feature was convenient. Shipping can eat your lunch on these heavy items, so if you can find a place with free or reduced shipping, then that's your best bet if you are hoping to find some savings. One guy mentioned that 4Wheel Drive Parts will provide free shipping to local stores, and that would be something to look into if you have a store nearby. My local store in Riverside, CA was not real helpful in terms of ARB products (they can order them but they don't have much experience with them), and I was not confident in their ability to get it right so I didn't go with that option. Your local store might be better.
Rear Leaf Spring Installation:
Installation of the rear leaf springs and shocks was straightforward. If you go with the extra leaf you need to disassemble the spring packs and install the extra leaf. I was a little concerned that the leaves would shift around and be hard to align once it was disassembled, but it was real easy and only took about 20 minutes per spring. You also need to install the rear bushings, which was easy as well and I did it without the benefit of a press. I jacked up the whole rearend and installed each spring one by one and then installed the shocks. Make sure you have a couple of good jackstands with the widest bases you can find. A good rolling jack is a must as well. You should probably unbolt the brakehose hangers so you don't overstretch the hoses when the axle drops down. I did it all myself, and the rear springs were pretty heavy to get into position but it wasn't undoable. Standard tools were all that was required. As with any job of this type, you need to whack things with a hammer and/or apply some creative leverage to get it all lined up. The wide-based jack stands are important for safety for this reason because the whole truck might rock a bit while you are applying the laws of physics. Having the whole enchilada come down on top of you would be a real bummer. My wife would have been very displeased to come out into the garage to find my legs sticking out from under the collapsed truck.
I purchased the rear angle shims, which are intended to reduce driveshaft angles and thus reduce vibration and wear on the u-joints. I found that the spring centerpin was not of sufficient length to hold the shims in place, so after messing with it for a while I decided to leave out the shims. There is now a very slight vibration from the rear when I start from a standing stop. The shims might eliminate the vibration, but it is very minor and definitely not worth taking it all apart again. Based on other postings on this forum, the level of vibration experienced varies from truck to truck. Mine is definitely within my tolerance range, and I am pretty picky. My wife hasn't noticed it either so that's good enough for me.
Front Coil Spring Installation:
Installation of the front springs is a bit more involved, and the stiffer and longer 886 springs make it a bit challenging. Regardless of which springs you install you need to separate the front tie rod ends so you will need a pickle fork or other appropriate specialty tool for that purpose. For the springs you need to reuse the factory top plate so you need to disassemble the coil/strut assembly. You can rent a benchtop spring compressor for this. Disassembly was fairly easy. Make sure you mark the position of the strut's bottom mounting hole relative to the top plate because if it isn't aligned right when you go to reinstall it won't line up properly and you'll be screwed. The instructions in the factory manual (available on the EXPO forum) provides good instructions on this and the entire disassembly/reassembly process.
While disassembly was fairly easy, reassembly was another matter. The 886 springs are substantially longer and thicker than the stock springs. Even though I had a heavy duty coil spring compressor set, I had a heck of a time recompressing the springs and getting everything lined up correctly. I also had the impression that the whole thing could explode in my face the tighter it all got. The benchtop compressors are really made for passenger car struts and have a hard time safely compressing a really beefy spring like the 886. In the end I threw in the towel and took the whole lot to a local tire shop that also installs springs and struts. Using a wall-mounted hydraulic spring compressor they had both assemblies together in only 15 minutes. It only cost me $30 and nobody got killed. For this reason, I would suggest forgoing the do-it-yourself disassembly/reassembly and simply take the fully assembled stock spring strut assemblies down to a local shop along with the new springs and struts and have them do it. Don't bother taking apart the stock assemblies because it is easier for them to do it all and that way everything will line up correctly (this is very important). If you happen to have your very own wall-mounted hydraulic coil spring compressor (not likely) then this bit of advice would of course not apply. If you do decide to try the DIY approach, make absolutely sure you use a quality spring compressor set. A Chinese-made set made from recycled beer cans from Harbor Freight could definitely have a negative impact on your life expectancy. If one of those babies were to pop while under compression I can assure you it would not be pretty.
Once the coil/strut assembly drama was resolved it was on to installation on the truck. Since the new springs are a lot longer than the stock setup it can be challenging to stuff it all into place. More creative leveraging on the lower control arms is required to allow the coil/strut assembly to slip into place. Again, make sure your jackstands are fully secure. An extra set of hands would be helpful here (one guy to apply leverage and another guy to position the coil/strut assembly) but I was able to do it by myself. The typical scrapped knuckles inherent in a job of this nature are to be expected.
It was at this point that I realized I had made an error. Since the heavy duty rear leaf spring setup tends to make the rear of the truck ride a little higher than the front, I had planned to install some 5/8" spacers on the front coils to level out the ride height. The problem is that the factory studs on the coil/strut assembly top plate are not long enough to accomodate the spacers and still bolt into place. That's why a set of longer studs are included when you buy the spacers. Well, the factory studs can only be removed and the longer studs installed when the coil/strut assembly is fully disassembled and the top plate is free of everything else. The old studs need to be pressed out and the new studs pressed in. Unfortunately I didn't think this through beforehand and now my coil/strut assemblies were already assembled and I was in no mood to take the whole lot back to the tire shop for a repeat performance. I wasn't entirely sold on the spacers anyway, so I decided to leave them out. The rear end now does ride a hair higher than the front when empty. When loaded with 200 or 300 pounds of gear in the bed it is perfectly level. I'm perfectly fine with it as is, but just remember that if you want to install spacers, you need to press the studs in before you put it all back together. Another thing to consider is that if you use spacers that means that your entire coil/strut assembly will be that much longer, and stuffing it into place between your lower control arms and top mounting brackets will be that much more difficult.
Performance Impressions:
My primary purpose for installing the suspension was to improve the ride and to increase load carrying capacity. The OME setup has more than met my expectations. The stock suspension bottomed out going over speed bumps, and with a load in the back it was absolutely hopeless. When loaded, the stock rear leafs offered about a half-inch of travel before bottoming out. That is totally unacceptable, especially offroad. Now I've got a full four and-a-half inches of space between the springs and the bump stops when empty. With a full load, it drops about three-quarters of an inch. I am VERY happy I went with the heavy duty setup with the extra leafs in the back. I can now carry 40 gallons of water and a week's worth of camping gear (about 500 pounds total) in the back and never bottom out. How great is that? When empty, the ride is firm but not stiff. When loaded the ride is superb, with minimal sway at highway speeds. In fact, the truck feels more stable than the stock setup, even though it is now at least three inches higher. Remember, I installed the complete kit, with the "matched" OME shocks and struts. I'm not sure if the "matched components" advertising is just OME propoganda to get you to buy their shocks, but I am very pleased with the results. The OME shocks and struts make the stock Bilstein units look very wimpy. It stands to reason that a higher-rated spring would require a higher-rated shock, so if you are thinking about trying to reuse your stock shocks I would advise against it. They probably aren't long enough anyway for the longer OME springs and the greater ride height. Wheel travel would almost certainly be compromised.
I installed the 886 coils in front and then drove the truck for a week before installing the ARB bumber and Warn winch. The ride during that week was a bit brutal, so I would not recommend installing the 886's unless you are planning on adding a bumper/winch setup almost immediately thereafter. Once the bumper and winch were in place things settled down nicely. Firm but not stiff, with a great ride and much improved control on the highway. Offroad the front end soaks up the bumps and rides like a dream. Not exactly Cadillac dreamy, but darn good for a truck. The front dropped maybe a half-inch when I added the bumper/winch, but hasn't budged since. Like I said earlier, the rear end now rides a hair higher than the front when empty, but that's fine with me because it levels out nicely when loaded.
I'm still running the factory BF Goodrich 265/70/16 Rugged Trail tires that came with the TRD Offroad Package. They are a bit small with the lift and look a little dorky, especially with the white lettering out (why does Toyota do that?). They still have at least 15,000 miles of good tread left on them, so I'll run them until they are worn out. I'll replace them with something a little larger when the time comes.
Overall, I think the OME setup is a great value for the money. Installation was straightforward and the results are outstanding. We'll see how it goes long term, and I'll be sure to report my impressions as the system ages. I had investigated other setups (coil overs, Deavers, etc.) but in the end I decided those setups were more high-tech then I needed. For a little over $1,000, the OME setup is hard to beat. If anyone has any questions about my experience ordering, installing, and using the setup, I'd be happy to share my experiences further. Thanks for all the help during my diliberations, and I hope this short story (haha) is helpful to others.
