OME vs Ironman vs HFS vs...

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Ive had a set of the new dakars on for 4+ years,alot of outback use the last two years and they've held up well,the springs have held up ok but the way their put togethor is s bit ordinary.
Early on the "sleeve" was a problem,dumped them and went to 75 series rear ute bushes cause the sleeve just walked in the spring eye.
Pulled the box and tranny out the other day and noticed when under there the wrap or second leafs on the rear front spring mounts is sitting a fair way off centre of the bush spring,so much its rubbing the inside edge of the spring mount on the frame.
Would i buy them again,no thanks i"ll go something a bit better quality.
 
image-25348165.webp Heres a pic of where there rubbing.
Both sides the same on the front springs.

image-25348165.webp
 
I don't know s***e about the technical end of springs, but FWIW, I have OME Dakar's on my 89 FJ62. Been running them for about 12 years MOL, and they're perfect, except for the slight stinkbug angle in the front:( I'll probably get on the phone with Kurt and get that chit remedied sometime the next few months.


Understanding the desire for a same, reliable rig for the chillin's, I have a 7 year old granddaughter that want's to take our rig everywhere. The OME's have been fine for me.


Also, as mentioned, don't over look the Alcans. Seem to be a pretty nice set up as well.


Just my worthless $2.50 on the matter.


OD
 
goldchaser said:
View attachment 856894 Heres a pic of where there rubbing.
Both sides the same on the front springs.
Click to expand...

What springs are these? (part number?) I don't see any clip liners on the spring clamps, those plastic clip liners are 100% responsible (along with your u-bolts) to keep the springs from 'fanning' which is what has happened to your setup. Now, some non-US application springs don't get the clip liners and I'm honestly not sure why that is without a bit of research.
 
No idea what the part no is,all i know is they are the newer emu dakers. Bought em new and fitted them myself. So they wernt complete?????? They are the heavy Hj60-61. All i remember. Is a piece of plastic gonna stop this???? Got my doubts. Have you got pics of the plastic bits???

Oh ok reading that again yes they had the plastic bits on the clamps,they were twisting early on with them on their too. Seriously you cant expect plastic to stop that.
 
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goldchaser said:
... Oh ok reading that again yes they had the plastic bits on the clamps,they were twisting early on with them on their too. Seriously you cant expect plastic to stop that.
Click to expand...

Yes I can, and they do. Plastic reacts extremely well under the slight compression force they get from the fanning spring all while offering an excellent slip surface throughout the spring movement. Either OME builds the clamps tight against the springs (like an original Toyota spring) which turns into excess noise and or limited flex OR they allow for the gap and use the clip liners to keep the pack from fanning. Fanning isn't a manufacturing defect, it relates to the clamps and the u-bolts. Replace the clip liners once a season (or less if they are holding up) and your good to go. They are inexpensive and take less than 15 minute to do the entire truck. I happen to know the ARB stockists in Aus keep them around, I've seen them on the shelf ;)
 
Ok Kurt is it?
I have the rear ones left (worn through)and one left on the front.
In the end mate we are from different worlds,i want my truck to be able to hammer through the outback with as little maintenance as possible.
I have enough to do on it from our roads without having to worry about bits of plastic to replace on the springs. I don't need much flex,i need less repairs(cuts into my prospecting).
I still dont beleive the plastic thingo's will stop that,the ones left on mine where their not worn through are about 1mm thick.
In my case i'd prefer a 2inch lift spring just like the original toyotas,low maintenance,thats why we all drive cruzas over here,low maintenance.
Cheers goldchaser
 
Hi goldchaser,
I totally agree with you and this plastic is realy crab.
At least if this plastic wod be from teflon or somthing solid I would say it is good for some thing.
If ever I have to buy a suspension kit again I would go for some thing else then ome dakkar
 
I had the problem with the famous clonk https://vimeo.com/73066922 which was really unacceptable.I find the problem with installing a go pro under the car.Had to change the the rear + spring because she was way over arced witch causes a enormous lean to one side.
Now I have two - springs in the back and the truck is levelled and no more clonk.
A other problem is that before the ome lift my 33,12,5 x15 front tyres did no rub but with the lift they do :mad:

I got a lot of trouble with the ome dakkars and even the klonk noise is back and I hate it.
ARB service in france is crab and I wish we had some one like Kurt here.
 
Paul07 said:
Hi goldchaser, I totally agree with you and this plastic is realy crab. At least if this plastic wod be from teflon or somthing solid I would say it is good for some thing. If ever I have to buy a suspension kit again I would go for some thing else then ome dakkar
Click to expand...

I din't think teflon would be any better,these springs support the weight of the truck and do alot ir work.
At least ive learn't something thanks to kurt,i'll be chasing up springs with the clamps that wrap around.
 
goldchaser said:
Ok Kurt is it?
I have the rear ones left (worn through)and one left on the front.
In the end mate we are from different worlds,i want my truck to be able to hammer through the outback with as little maintenance as possible.
I have enough to do on it from our roads without having to worry about bits of plastic to replace on the springs. I don't need much flex,i need less repairs(cuts into my prospecting).
Click to expand...

Totally get that. Not only do I like to prospect but I'm also very familiar with your roads. :D My last visit had us driving from Canberra to Brisbane to (Outback Way) Alice Springs (Great Central?) to Canning Stock Route to Brooom to Alice via Tanami and the Strezleki? back to highway to Ghoulburn and then back to Melbourne. I was in the Expedition7 70 Series troopies and truck, all with OME components. The two troopies had ~60k at that point, zero suspension failures and they are driven hard, fast and heavy. I was primarily driving the E7 VDJ79, I spent a week at the ARB dealer in Brisbane (Coopers Plains) building it to match and then took it out to the Canning. Amazing country you have there. Can't wait to get back.

goldchaser said:
I din't think teflon would be any better,these springs support the weight of the truck and do alot ir work.
At least ive learn't something thanks to kurt,i'll be chasing up springs with the clamps that wrap around.
Click to expand...

You could likely modify the spring clamps on the current OME's by either heating/bending the clamps or perhaps welding a piece of flat strap between the clamp the and the spring pack (after straitening them). You would lose that slip surface but you wouldn't have any more fanning. Could be done without taking the springs off the truck in under an hour.

Fwiw I actually built a OME style clamp on my SOA FJ40 rear springs to eliminate the fanning I was getting out of my lower overload leaf (hybrid OME pack). I drilled the spring, built the clamp to accommodate the clip liners) and hot riveted the clamp to the spring. Fast forward 4 or 5 years and I've not dealt with any more fanning and my clip liners are holding up nicely after one replacement along the way.
 
Wow what a trip,i"ll be spendjng some time in the tanami this year,a mate thats coming said why dont we do the Canning on the way. I said no thanks! We just use the trucks to get their now. Then the quads do the hard work.
Thanks for the info,i"ll just replace them,coil conversion on the front keeps niggling away in my head,have to do something about it one day.
 
I think maybe softer springs would allow more axle flex than stiffer, but that can be debated a different day. I replaced the springs because at 282k our 88 FJ62 was starting to sag. I got soft springs as this 62 is my kid's DD (although there seem to be no end to reasons to use 4wd on the way home from school). I bought the Ironman soft springs (TOY006BDS front and TOY007ANS rear) through cruiserparts, and no fault of cruiserparts, they were several months late. I don't have any fondness for Ironman, and the price was low enough to think they won't last 200k, but my kid is having fun. And I do like the soft ride so far, it takes dips and bumps with a soft up and down instead of hard thump. I had to get longer shocks (pro-comp 9000), and new front axle u-bolts (Man-A Fre), but that wasn't too expensive.

You might consider the softer springs of whichever brand you settle on.
 
Paul07 said:
Hi Kurt,
do you think
welding a piece of flat strap between the clamp the and the spring pack would stop that clonk http://vimeo.com/73066922
Click to expand...

Very well could, but before you go through that trouble... try greasing your inter-leaf liners. Those are the yellow pads at the end of each leaf. There is a grease port from the bottom, simply pump grease until it is coming out the sides. Not guaranteed to fix your movement but it is totally worth a try.
 
red62 said:
I think maybe softer springs would allow more axle flex than stiffer, but that can be debated a different day. I replaced the springs because at 282k our 88 FJ62 was starting to sag. I got soft springs as this 62 is my kid's DD (although there seem to be no end to reasons to use 4wd on the way home from school). I bought the Ironman soft springs (TOY006BDS front and TOY007ANS rear) through cruiserparts, and no fault of cruiserparts, they were several months late. I don't have any fondness for Ironman, and the price was low enough to think they won't last 200k, but my kid is having fun. And I do like the soft ride so far, it takes dips and bumps with a soft up and down instead of hard thump. I had to get longer shocks (pro-comp 9000), and new front axle u-bolts (Man-A Fre), but that wasn't too expensive.

You might consider the softer springs of whichever brand you settle on.
Click to expand...

crap, I replied on the wrong thread, sorry. this was for someone thinking about new springs. past my bedtime.
 
goldchaser said:
Wow what a trip,i"ll be spendjng some time in the tanami this year,a mate thats coming said why dont we do the Canning on the way. I said no thanks! We just use the trucks to get their now. Then the quads do the hard work. Thanks for the info,i"ll just replace them,coil conversion on the front keeps niggling away in my head,have to do something about it one day.
Click to expand...

Way to much trouble chaser going coils you may as well buy the bubble cruiser if you want coils.

Have you thought about load assist bags or those rubber progressive things?

I'd expect as a prospector you'd have a fair bit of weight in the back.
This isn't the brand I was thinking of but you get the idea:
http://www.loadtek.com.au/progressive_springs.html
I haven't played too much with them so I can't really comment but it could potentially resolve some issues....
 
I dont know about too much trouble,ive seen a couple done on the net only but they came out ok. Yeah be off the road for a month?but thats ok. Got a troopy and bt50 too Leaves are ok,well not the fronts on it at the moment but its the steering also,they wander and to fix that its a set of arms with no drag link in them i think. Plus new leaves. Well i might as well go the hole hog. The other thing i dont like with leaves is the odd sharp edged bump,they dont like them and you know about it. And in WA there are lots,small washouts you know the ones. Id only coil the front,ive got alot invested in my 61 so id rather keep her. Ive been talking about this for years,next summer(off season prospectjng) i might do something about it. Lots of wrecked 78-79s? the late model utes over here from the mines so i might have a look at using parts off them if suitable.
Yep i have bags in the back,cheapo s*** ones.
Gotta get the good firestone ones i think.
Ill check ya link out
Cheers crikey
 
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