OME BP-51 - Who's Installed? Looking for advice on rear lower mount

[Wompom]

All -

In the process of installing my rear BP-51s. Front was easy and took a few hrs, mostly due to bracket fiddling and such.
On the rear the instructions have you install a weird order of washers on the lower shock post.
There are three washer sizes they send you:
-small, x3 per shock
-medium, thicker than others, x1 per shock
-large fender washers, very thin.
Per the instructions they go in this order, on the post:

This seems weird to me. Is it for clearance? This makes part of the shock body sit off the post and the three small washers go IN the bushing, to almost create a post extension/spacer.
This also seems to make the OEM bolt, as called out, seem too short to effectively have bite.

Photo of stack up:

Looking into bushing w/o small washers:

With 3x small washers inserted (bolt can't even grab threads). Going to grab a tap and new bolts and try again:

I contacted ARB who's response was "i'm not sure, call cruiser outfitters." Called Cruiser Outfitters (felt guilty even asking since i ordered through ARB direct), they weren't sure either since their installer was out. Still they were more helpful than ARB and nice as hell even when I told them right off the bat I didn't purchase from them (sorry/thanks @cruiseroutfit )
Just wanted to see if anyone had installed rears themselves, or can look at theirs to see if this is how it is installed.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

I guess my first question, how did you purchase from ARB direct, they dont sell to the public only dealers with accounts, are you a dealer?

Our sales guys are pretty good about 'filtering' tech questions. If it's about parts purchased or soon to be purchased from us, you'll plugged into the right person pretty quickly if not immediately. However there is no viable business model for us to provide tech support for products purchased elsewhere so we just have to say sorry if it's outside their scope of expertise or just taking them from sales calls.

The spacers on the back side clearance the shock body throughout the range of travel. The spacers inside the shock bushing "extend" the length of the post so your not crushing the bushing when you torque the stock bolt. Length is fine with the spacers on and longer bolt setups are available and should be used.

 

[Workhorse]

@Wompom

I purchased a full set front and rear BP-51's from @cruiseroutfit and installed them in my 80. The rears were as you describe but went together well. These shocks are larger in diameter and take some finagling to line up properly including the reservoir but once complete they look and seem fine. The driver's shock body and reservoir seemed rather close to the sway bar set up so that took some tweaking but worked out ok in the end. Hope this helps.

(I do NOT have a review of them yet as my injection pump is out being rebuilt and I haven't been able to drive it since the install of the BP51's.)

On another note, Bryce and Chris at Cruiser Outfitters are a couple of really nice fellows to work with and were very helpful. I'd order again from Kurt and his crew without hesitation.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

@Wompom Cool you finally pull the trigger on the BP-51 I know you have been looking for a while.
What was it that pushed you over the edge?
Looking forward to a full review with lots of pictures, videos, and interviews.
Im excited as I get to do a side by side comparison of the L's and the BP-51's on J's later today. This could be some costly testing.

 

[SNLC]

I am not really seeing the problem other than you need to push it on the shock mount post all the way.

I have not installed them on an 80 yet but I have on a 70.

They go on like any other shock.

Cheers

 

[Wompom]

I guess my first question, how did you purchase from ARB direct, they dont sell to the public only dealers with accounts, are you a dealer?

Our sales guys are pretty good about 'filtering' tech questions. If it's about parts purchased or soon to be purchased from us, you'll plugged into the right person pretty quickly if not immediately. However there is no viable business model for us to provide tech support for products purchased elsewhere so we just have to say sorry if it's outside their scope of expertise or just taking them from sales calls.

The spacers on the back side clearance the shock body throughout the range of travel. The spacers inside the shock bushing "extend" the length of the post so your not crushing the bushing when you torque the stock bolt. Length is fine with the spacers on and longer bolt setups are available and should be used.

Hey Kurt -

Long story on the purchase - nothing sketchy.
I also wanted to make it clear that i was more so thanking your guys/you for even taking a minute to talk to me. I was honest about the fact that i did not purchase from you and was desperate for any info i could scrounge up. I felt rude asking for help on a product from someone i didn't order from but was in a frenzy of frustration. But shows how awesome you guys are and why I will continue to order stuff from you next time I need it! Also tell ARB to not direct people to you for tech support of their own products!!!

The issue turned out to be my mounting stud. The PO had a shop put some cheapo shocks on and they mangled the first few threads in the post. Their way of fixing it was to fully remove them vs retap and when i tried to use new OE hardware it couldn't grab the threads further back to pull the shock all the way onto the stud.
I grabbed a m12x1.25 x40mm bolt from ACE and it grabbed the threads after a clean tap and pulled the lower eyes on.
Now i'm just concerned about bolt grade since its only an 8.8 (all they had in the right threading) and wondering if i need to order a 10.9.

@Wompom Cool you finally pull the trigger on the BP-51 I know you have been looking for a while.
What was it that pushed you over the edge?
Looking forward to a full review with lots of pictures, videos, and interviews.
Im excited as I get to do a side by side comparison of the L's and the BP-51's on J's later today. This could be some costly testing.

I'll definitely get a better write up together eventually.
I wanted something nicer than a monotube/nitrocharger style shock with some adjustment as my load can vary greatly from around town to loaded up with a RTT and enough stuff for a week or two trip.
Slinky seemed like people were still waiting on stuff.
Dobs MRR isn't really out yet
BP51s have good reviews from my buddies who have them on tundras/other rigs. Adjustable, rebuildable, and good warranty.
I was driving on blown out suspension and old springs and bottoming out on the highway so i said enough and pulled the trigger on the Bp51s and heavy front/med rear.
I'll definitely post a review after more use.
So far just trying to jump the thing and hitting every pothole in my neighborhood and it handles like a trophy truck. I floored it off a couple flat spots on downhills and could the compression damping working super well as it ramped up through its stroke. Overall more body roll than i thought there would be initially in turns, but i'm still at the preset compression and rebound settings.
@LandCruiserPhil interested on your take on the BP51s as well as the longer J version. I'm on the shorter type since i was hoping for a lower COG truck on 35s.
Maybe shoulda gone for Js and 37s

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Hey Kurt -

Long story on the purchase - nothing sketchy.
I also wanted to make it clear that i was more so thanking your guys/you for even taking a minute to talk to me. I was honest about the fact that i did not purchase from you and was desperate for any info i could scrounge up. I felt rude asking for help on a product from someone i didn't order from but was in a frenzy of frustration. But shows how awesome you guys are and why I will continue to order stuff from you next time I need it! Also tell ARB to not direct people to you for tech support of their own products!!!

Right on, glad it worked out. I'm hope you enjoy the BP51's, I'm sure you will... they are a near shock.

 

[NorCalFJ100]

@Wompom, I am having the same issue. It has been very difficult to get these first few threads to catch. Did you end up sourcing some more appropriate mounting hardware?

 

[Wompom]

@Wompom, I am having the same issue. It has been very difficult to get these first few threads to catch. Did you end up sourcing some more appropriate mounting hardware?

I cant recall at this point. I believe that I used a longer bolt to pull the shock eye on and compress it the first time, then put the proper hardware in. Have not had any issues since I installed them in 2020.

 

[NorCalFJ100]

I cant recall at this point. I believe that I used a longer bolt to pull the shock eye on and compress it the first time, then put the proper hardware in. Have not had any issues since I installed them in 2020.

Good call. I'll give that a whirl. Thanks!!

How have you been enjoying these shocks?

 

[Wompom]

Good call. I'll give that a whirl. Thanks!!

How have you been enjoying these shocks?

So far so good. i've put quite a bit of miles on them and am considering a rebuild soon.
They've wheeled well and handle loads well. I'm running them with heavies/front and rear on the shorter variant. No issues with 35's and only minimal rubbing at full stuff in the rear.

 

[NorCalFJ100]

So far so good. i've put quite a bit of miles on them and am considering a rebuild soon.
They've wheeled well and handle loads well. I'm running them with heavies/front and rear on the shorter variant. No issues with 35's and only minimal rubbing at full stuff in the rear.

Nice. I'm looking forward to getting mine dialed in. Thanks again for responding.

 

[NorCalFJ100]

I cant recall at this point. I believe that I used a longer bolt to pull the shock eye on and compress it the first time, then put the proper hardware in. Have not had any issues since I installed them in 2020.

This worked like a charm and I also opted for some brand new OEM bolts. Took the longer temporary ones out and new ones bolted right in. Hopefully this helps someone else!

 

[Squeegee]

So far so good. i've put quite a bit of miles on them and am considering a rebuild soon.
They've wheeled well and handle loads well. I'm running them with heavies/front and rear on the shorter variant. No issues with 35's and only minimal rubbing at full stuff in the rear.

Are they leaking?

 

[Wompom]

Are they leaking?

No but are seemingly getting bouncier for lack of a better term. They have a recommended maintenance period. Fresh oil helps a lot.

 

[NorCalFJ100]

No but are seemingly getting bouncier for lack of a better term. They have a recommended maintenance period. Fresh oil helps a lot.

How many miles do you think you've ran these?

 

[Wompom]

More than 20k and less than 40 I think about 35k. They’re not dead by any means. Think it’s partially that I’ve been running light recently now that I think about it more.

 

[NorCalFJ100]

Glad we talked this through! Save you some dough! Haha. I just wrapped up the installation of mine last night. I still have to tune them a bit, but the 2nd round of adjustments brought me a lot of joy. Very smooth on the road and over neighborhood bumps!!!

 

[Squeegee]

No but are seemingly getting bouncier for lack of a better term. They have a recommended maintenance period. Fresh oil helps a lot.

Totally time for a rebuild then