Old Man Emu

[JCook5003]

Hey Guys-

While not very hardcore I plan on using my 84 pickup for camping and light wheeling, I'm also going to try to get it up to DD duty as well. I was thinking as such I don't want a tremendous amount of lift. I was also thinking going through all the mods for RUF/63" upgrade wouldn't be inline with the budget nature of the project.

I was thinking with a set of OME springs with a set of 33-35" rubber and some gears with proper fender trimming I could meet my goals.

Problem is info on the OME springs is few and far between, I've searched and found all the appropriate part numbers, but now I'm looking for real life experience. Most people over in the cruiser section seem to like the springs. Are the truck springs of equal quality? Where's the best place to get them? How much lift should I expect am I looking at any other mods to run them than extended brake lines and potentially an adjustable drag link?

Thanks Guys,
Josh

 

[WarDamnEagle]

Lots of people here running OME springs on pickups and 4Runners. Take a look at the build thread in my signature line if you want one example.

 

[JCook5003]

War Eagle- Do you feel happy with the drop drag link or would you prefer to run Hy-Steer, you mentioned it in your thread but never said more. Is there room between the leaf and frame for a Hy-Steer arm?

 

[WarDamnEagle]

War Eagle- Do you feel happy with the drop drag link or would you prefer to run Hy-Steer, you mentioned it in your thread but never said more. Is there room between the leaf and frame for a Hy-Steer arm?

I think plenty of people have made hy-steer work with these OME springs. The stock steering arm is supposed to work but didn't and the quickest solution at the time was to go with the drop drag link. I haven't had any issue with it but I will say that the steering is a bit loose on the vehicle but then again it was a bit loose when it was all stock. I think you could go either way and perhaps hy-steer would be the better solution (but I don't know because I haven't tried it).

 

[aedavis]

I've run OME springs on my 85 4Runner for 15 years now. For the service you describe, they would be perfect. They are stable on the street, compliant, and still decent off road. You give up articulation to the custom springs, Alcans, All Pros, etc., and when you wheel with guys that have the extreme rockcrawler springs you'll think your OMEs are crummy, but . . .

However, for a true dual purpose rig the OMEs make sense. I like mine, and despite their weaknesses in big rocks, I ended up buying a second set when I wore the first set out. While I can't flex like the big boy springs, I still go the same places they do; I just lift tires a lot more often. I'm locked F&R so it isn't that big an issue.

The OMEs are only a 2.5" spring, so for the first few years I ran the stock draglink with no issues. I didn't wheel it hard with this setup, though. I have HiSteer now but did a lot of custom fabricating to make it work - it is definitely not simple with low lift springs like the OMEs.

 

[Racehoss]

I've run OME springs on my 85 4Runner for 15 years now. For the service you describe, they would be perfect. They are stable on the street, compliant, and still decent off road. You give up articulation to the custom springs, Alcans, All Pros, etc., and when you wheel with guys that have the extreme rockcrawler springs you'll think your OMEs are crummy, but . . .

However, for a true dual purpose rig the OMEs make sense. I like mine, and despite their weaknesses in big rocks, I ended up buying a second set when I wore the first set out. While I can't flex like the big boy springs, I still go the same places they do; I just lift tires a lot more often. I'm locked F&R so it isn't that big an issue.

The OMEs are only a 2.5" spring, so for the first few years I ran the stock draglink with no issues. I didn't wheel it hard with this setup, though. I have HiSteer now but did a lot of custom fabricating to make it work - it is definitely not simple with low lift springs like the OMEs.

What kind of mods did you make to get hy steer to work? I ordered the kit from all pro and ready to go but would like to know upcoming snags.

 

[aedavis]

What kind of mods did you make to get hy steer to work? I ordered the kit from all pro and ready to go but would like to know upcoming snags.

I had to build a flat pitman arm, though I think you can buy those now. Basically you have to have the tie rod running as close under the frame rails as possible, and the only way I could do that is to make a modified pitman arm. A stock IFS arm has too much drop to it with short springs.

I also had to limit my uptravel (with bumpstops) to keep the springs from hitting the tie rod when they're compressed.

 

[JCook5003]

So where is the best place buy the OME lift? Do any of the sponsors here offer the lift for pickups?