Installing Old Man EMU (1 Viewer)

[Geezer Cruzzer]

We finally got the wife's 1982 FJ40 road worthy. Took it to Classic Cruisers in Salida, Colorado for Brandon to put his eyes on it. The only suggestion they had was that the front springs had flattened out leaving less than desirable suspension travel. They suggested Old Man EMU springs and shocks front and back.

That should be a pretty straight forward install. How hard is it to do and how long should it take?

 

[Tancruiser]

Pretty easy you need a good floor jack and a hammer ,you should be able do this at home in a day no problem . I would buy the whole kit that comes with new shackels and bushings . I have that kit on my 45 and love it I bought mine from Kurt at cruiser outfitters good luck and post some pics when your done.

 

[4Cruisers]

Most of your time will be spent on removing the old suspension, especially the bushings. Some may come out easily, others can be a real pain. A friend and I just installed OME components on the rear axle of my '86 FJ60 on Thursday afternoon. With all of the old suspension already removed, it took us an hour and a half to get most of the work done. I spent less than an hour yesterday to install and tighten the U-bolts. I still have to torque everything to spec, but I'll do that after installing the new Marlin Crawler heavy duty seals and re-installing the differential and axle shafts. I'll second Cruiser Outfitters as your best source.

Here's a photo I took last night of the partially completed installation:

 

[adistler1]

I just did this a few months ago. Get the kit from Kurt at Cruiser Outfitters. Reiterating that getting the old stuff out is the most time consuming part. I actually cut the nuts off the shackle bolts on the perches and drove them out with a drift. That cut a ton of time for me. I also used a torch to melt the old bushings. I put my truck on jack stands, removed u-bolts and dropped the axles onto jack stands, melted bushings, grab your BFH and a drift and go to work. I used a small metal pry bar to pop the pins out enough on the fixed in to help drive them out. When you're ready to put the new springs on, I used another jack to lift them into place. The hardest part about installing for me, was getting the fixed pins in. It was hard to line them up. I also had some screws break that had to be drilled out and retapped.

 

[456z]

Put old man emu springs on when I did my rebuild. Love the ride but had to put in wedges between the axles and springs. Not trying to nock old man as I might have needed to do the same with factory springs.On the back to get equal u joint angles (chasing a vibration) and on the front to bring the caster angle back to 1 degree( very nervous steering).

 

[B y r o n]

Also, be sure to check the fit of the spring pin to the plate. There should be a good fit between the pin and the hole and not sloppy. If the pin is too small make sure to get the proper bushing for the pin or your axle can cock which will cause alignment issues and tire wear issues.