Banana Question

[94lc80series]

just finished an arb front bumper install. I considered it a 1 banana install.

Given that, how would you rank an old man Emu suspension install? 2 bananas? 3 bananas? ...?

 

[LandCruisinMy93]

9....9 bananas, or maybe it's really 2-3 just depends on how much lift is installed to what all will be involved. 2" lift 2 banana 3-4" lift now you're adding castor correction 3 bananas probably...I'd still call it 2 though.

 

[94lc80series]

9....9 bananas, or maybe it's really 2-3 just depends on how much lift is installed to what all will be involved. 2" lift 2 banana 3-4" lift now you're adding castor correction 3 bananas probably...I'd still call it 2 though.

2 or 2.5 lift I'd say.

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Ya 2. Easy. Springs practically drop in and out, shocks are nothing. Only the brake lines need attention. But go for it. Nothing hard that isn't obvious.

 

[Berzerker76]

Remember to unbolt your sway bars at the frame side to achieve full droop and springs will pop right out and new ones will go in pretty easy. You may need a friend to stand on a hub to get that little bit of extra room to squeeze in the new, taller springs. Have a dremel or grinder with cutoff wheel handy in case the old shock nuts don't want to break free like mine did.

 

[rc51kid]

I think the hardest part is getting that big son of a b$?£h up on jack stands high enough to let the axle drop down low enough.

In other words its not hard. But you need tall jack and jack stands.

 

[Beej]

Here ya go!

Slee - OME Suspension Installation (Toyota 80 Series Land Cruiser)

 

[bajaphile]

Springs and shocks are very easy. The only thing that is a bit of a pain is the caster correction plates or bushings. MAF drop brackets are easy. Also you need to sometimes get creative to get the top DS nut off the front shock. (It is underneath the master cylinder).

 

[94lc80series]

Remember to unbolt your sway bars at the frame side to achieve full droop and springs will pop right out and new ones will go in pretty easy. You may need a friend to stand on a hub to get that little bit of extra room to squeeze in the new, taller springs. Have a dremel or grinder with cutoff wheel handy in case the old shock nuts don't want to break free like mine did.

Springs and shocks are very easy. The only thing that is a bit of a pain is the caster correction plates or bushings. MAF drop brackets are easy. Also you need to sometimes get creative to get the top DS nut off the front shock. (It is underneath the master cylinder).

Now I'm worried about shock nut removal... What I'm hearing is: suspension upgrade = 2 bananas. Shock nut removal = many more bananas...

 

[Beej]

To remove my shock but, I used a Dremel to cut the nut off. Slee (read the tutorial) recommends a nut splitter.

 

[DirtScaresMe]

A shop just charged me $600 in labor to put my emu 2.5 on, after I gave them all instructions, aerokroiled the bolts for two days, and put my FSM in the passenger seat.

Only thing I've ever asked a shop to do on this truck, possibly the last. Just didn't have the time and needed to get it done before a trip next week. Still have other stuff like radiator swap today.

If I had the time I would absolutely do it myself. I can't imagine the pocket depth of folks who don't do their own work.

 

[Hornd]

This really depends what tools you have.
You have Pneumatics and a lift or putting on jack stands and turning a wrench?
I would say 1-2 or 6 Job.

Give your self plenty of time and the stress goes way down.

Tell your Loved ones it's gonna take 3 days and $10,000 then when it's done in 1 day and much cheaper and you can justify a new tool.
You look like Rocky, when in reality you are only a Wrench Monkey.

 

[ajax1]

Loosen all your links so bushings will settle in new position, tighten back up when on the ground

 

[baldilocks]

You are in Texas so seized nuts/bolts should not be a problem. You definitely need 22,24,27mm sockets and wrenches.

 

[94lc80series]

Thanks, everyone, for the great advice. I do have access to a lift, but for one day only. I wonder if I should work on shock nuts the day before and just carefully go "shockless" for the few miles to the shop with lift?

 

[Bigdrewbowski]

Not trying to scare you, but after the bolts gave me a hard time I took mine to a local shop. It took them a 1 1/2 days because of the condition of the bolts. He said it was not something I could have done in my garage over the weekend.

 

[chap79]

How often do you wrench on vehicles? Ever done a brake job? The time it takes to lift the truck is directly connected to your level of experience, having the proper tools, and the number of SNAFUs. To install an OME 2" lift shouldn't take more than 6 hours at a garage/shop with all the appropriate tools with one guy performing all the work, and this includes pressing in the new caster bushings.

Caveat: If all your bolts are rusted and seized you can easily double the time trying to get them all out, re-tap holes, and find new hardware. I hope you don't have any rust.

 

[94lc80series]

No rust, and I'm already wd40ing the bolts in prep. I did the same for my arb bumper install and pre-loosed the bolts a few days prior to install.

I did a brake job on a '71 chevy pickup a few years ago... Made a complete mess all over the driveway and all over myself but it worked fine.

 

[Fj81]

2 to 3 banana. Just make sure you have proper jack stands to do it safely. Maybe 4 to 5 banana if your truck ever lived in a rust prone area.

 

[Fj81]

Here are the pics of my ordeal that was putting on a 850J/863J. I used no air tools.

I did the front first, then the back. I think it would be better the other way around but I don't know since this was my first time doing a lift. You can see how small the jack stand is and that is a 6 ton one.