2.5 OME Heavy Installed

[edgextreme]

Yesterday the 2.5 heavy OME suspension was installed on my 95FZJ80 by a local shop for a very reasonable price. The 45 minute ride home on the interstate in the rain at night was a white knuckle drive. The steering is now light and the vehichle is prone to overreact to changes in the road. Apparently the OME caster correction bushings were improperly installed or I need a little more, possibly the slee 3 degree bushings or totally new arms.

Today I had another shop look at the angle on the driveshafts to get an opinion on the long term survivability of the setup at highway speeds since I've noticed some vibrations. The mechanic said the front driveshaft is not at an ideal angle and is angled in the wrong direction and that it wouldn't hurt to flatten out the angle on the rear.

I passed on the front end alignment after the suspension install because I didn't believe it was neccisary. Was I wrong to assume this? I'd like to know if anyone can tell if the caster correction was installed improperly and I'm welcome to any advice on correcting these problems. $$ is getting tight at the moment but I want to do things right to avoid serious issues that could really put a dent in my wallet.

 

[Tools R Us]

It looks like your bushings are installed wrong. The bushing at the front of the arm should have the hole offset up, the rear bushing offset down.

 

[edgextreme]

Just got off the phone with the helpful fellows of Slee Off-Road and yes, the caster bushings are installed wrong. Thanks to whoever it was that I talked to at Slee and I look forward to putting the Heavy springs to good use by purchasing one of your rear bumpers.

 

[retrofive]

Yikes, that sucks. Is the shop going to fix it? That had to put your caster way in the wrong direction. No wonder you were white knuckled.

 

[edgextreme]

Just got off the phone with the shop that did the install and they want me to come in and they'll press out the caster bushings and reinstall them correctly but i was advised by Slee that new bushings would need to be ordered. Is this because they are pressed in and will be loose if repositioned? Also they are blaming the whole deal on me declining the alignment which I think is total crap.

 

[retrofive]

That is total BS! Make them buy you some Slee Blues

 

[landtank]

those yellow bushings have a serrated outer ring so reusing them shouldn't be a problem, I'd do it.

I wouldn't get all up in the shops face, getting these right can be tough. I did my first set twice.

 

[sleeoffroad]

The bushing outer sleeve compresses when you press them in. Once that is done, they are no longer the same size. Re-using them may or may not work. They will loosen up over time if you re-use them. If you gave them the instructions, they should have done it correct. They are an ARB dealer and either should know better, or have found out how to do it from ARB if they did not know how to install them.

Alignment would just have told them they screwed up. Ask them how an alignment would have prevented this?

 

[toyman317]

Thanks for posting. I just had to go out and check mine to make sure they were installed correctly. They were and I still get some squirly steering and drive vibes. Perhaps once you get your bushings correct and add an ARB, things should even out for you. That is what I am hoping for.

 

[edgextreme]

Thursday the shop agreed to install new bushings and do an alignment for free after. I'll let you know how it turns out as new vibrations while turning have developed and I'm worried that driving it the way it is now is damaging the drivetrain.

 

[sleeoffroad]

Glad they are taking care of you. As an ARB dealer they should know better, or if they don't they should educate themselves, however that is the risk of buying from the low price chain shops where the "expertise" in the shop and front desk rotate monthly.

As for the alignment, it will at least confirm that the bushings are pressed in correct, and allow them to set the toe.

 

[edgextreme]

After talking with the store manager and the mechanic who did the install it boils down to human error. They had the instructions I had printed off from the slee website and the OME intructions that were provided with the bushings so it wasn't a matter of not knowing how to install them correctly. I whole heartly agree with you that on the large scale these chain stores opperate they leave something to be desired when it comes to experience and quality of service; the bushings and F/R diff breathers never being reconnected is proof of this. If I were not 4000+ miles away from home and my shop that I dearly miss, I would be making my own mistakes rather than paying someone to make them for me. This is the first time I've EVER taken any vehicle of mine somewhere to be worked on, so with that said I can at least be thankful for the experience and hopefully what I've learned will help me in the future.

 

[grizzlygibbs]

who did it for you, 4wheelparts?

 

[edgextreme]

I'm not going to name names, let's just say it was a large chain store. Yesterday they pressed in the new caster bushings correctly and now the problem is resolved. On the ride home it handled much like before the lift and I'm now satisfied that any change in the road won't send me darting into traffic. If I remember right from the alignment sheet the caster is now +0.8 degrees. I can't tell you what is was before since the alignment was only done after the bushings were installed correctly.