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- #21
on puddle jumpers or rock hoppers?
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Slee/OME 6" Lift Installation 2026
- Thread starter MUDZLLA
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it'll happen most likely due to the fact that the inner sleeve is bonded to the nylon and this bond will break sooner than later.
This is still salvageable if you take the time to re-do the fasteners.
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- #23
The inner sleeve, bushing and linkage are designed to rotate together as an assembly. Torqueing the stationary bolt can be done in any position - it only sets the bolt head so that it does not move and prevents the nut from coming loose. It is inconceivable that tightening the bolt to spec would restrict in any way the bushing or inner sleeve (these parts are designed to rotate through the full range of motion as an assembly while the bolt remains torqued and stationary).it'll happen most likely due to the fact that the inner sleeve is bonded to the nylon and this bond will break sooner than later.
Think about it. If I let the weight of the truck down before bringing the bolt to the final torque valve, the linkage still will move and if the bushing or sleeve were somehow captured they would still be damaged. The only conceivable reason for Toyota to recommend torquing while weight is on the suspension is because the bolt diameter clearance in the frame is about 0.5 mm and it might shift that distance after operating the vehicle, or it may not, or it may shift 0.5mm and do no harm. I don't particularily care.
Also there was some weight on the axles due to them being held up by straps during the torque-up so the bolts would most likely have been in their final position. Appreciate the concern. I've decided the recheck the torques after running for a while based on comments but thats about it. Thanks again.
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If your theory was true you would have metal to metal movement and wear.
In practice the rubber should be allowing the movement and wear and is replaceable.
These bushings DO NOT rotate independently. Perhaps you put the poly junk two piece bushings elsewhere, but these bushings will live a very short life based on your installation.
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- #26
Those bushings do not rotate at all. None of the moving linkage bushings move either.
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- #27
The bolts are all lubricated with linkage lubricant prior to installation supplied with the slee kit. If the rubber, which is friction fit to the linkage and the bolt sleeve were to move torsionally to permit the movement (which must be what people are thinking here) the rubbers wouldn't last a day. FYI heres my personal site: "www.2-bears.ca"
What linkage, do you mean the control arms and panhard bars ?
Those bushings absolutely move sir !!
Every time you accelerate or hit the brakes, the rubber in those bushings move rotate !!
And if you take your rig Off Road every time the axle articulates meaning one wheel up one wheel down there is a ton of movement in those rubber bushings, and I’m not talking about rotating on the bolt through the axle mount.
As a consulting engineer, I would think you could figure that out for yourself.
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- #29
Yes of course the rubber bushings distort due to external force - what I meant was the control arm bushings do not rotate in the control arm and the linkage bushings do not necessarily rotate with respect to the linkage. And yes as a consulting engineer I am only trying help people understand: there is no need to torque all the bolts with the truck on the ground if the axles are suspended on the frame when putting in a lift. As long as there is some spring force pushing the axles downward when the linkage bolts are tightened that should satisfy Toyotas "HINT" in the FSM by placing the bolts in their more or less settled position when being tightened IMO.
You're absolutely incorrect in your assessment
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- #31
OK you're right the only reason the linkages rotate is because the rubber is pliable, and the bolts need to be torqued with weight so the rubbers don't twist as much. Happy?
In OEM Toyota rubber bushings the rubber isn’t friction fit, it’s bonded to the inner bolt sleeve and the outer shell. The outer shell is press fit into the control arm and the inner bolt sleeve is clamped to the mounting bracket by the bolt. All of the arm motion is absorbed through elastic torsional deformation of the bushing. That’s why they last so well, because there’s no friction and no need for lubrication. You do want to torque the bolts with the suspension at ride height so that the neutral position with no elastic deformation of the rubber is at ride height. Otherwise the bushings will wear out (tear the rubber) prematurely because they are designed for a maximum deformation +/- from ride height, and if you torque at full droop you double the total bushing deformation needed to get to full stuff.
Do what you want with your truck, but the experts here and the authors of the FSM are trying to teach you something.
Edit to link to this video, which does a better job demonstrating what I’m trying to say:
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Thank you for an excellent explanation!!
The OP is smarter then all the wisdom on Mud and the people that designed the system and your explanation is likely falling on deaf ears.
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- #34
Thanks for that explanation of "Torsional Bushings". Bit irrelevant in this case since we were talking about polyeurethane.
I purchased a space from McMaster but you might be able to find something locally at Ace Hardware.
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- #36
I admit it. I was wrong. Toyota arms use a torsional rubber bushing which incorporates a captured center sleeve which must be be torqued up with the truck resting on the springs and tires on the ground.
Polyurethane Bushings however slide around the captured center sleeve - thus there is no need to torque them while on the ground. What threw me off was the inclusion of lubricant in the slee kit. It made me assume the bolts needed to be lubricated therefore the arm (and sleeve) rotated around it. I don't think it occurred to anyone here that the PE bushing itself was designed to rotate on the metal surface of the captured center sleeve.
A couple questions remain:
- So why the small tubes of "bushing grease"? Should I have removed the center sleeve and lightly lubed the outer surfaces instead of the bolt?
- Do the center sleeves on Toyota arms actually rotate if articulated past their distortion limit? Hence why it is only a "HINT" in the FSM.
Apologize for any consternation this discussion may have caused anyone, but I think I was partially right (but mostly wrong). Hopefully this helps someone going forward.
On a side note on a previous truck with a 6" lift I seemed to have some pretty wild articulation in some precarious spots on the trail. Do poly bushings articulate better since there are basically no torsional dynamics at play?
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Yes, with polyurethane bushings you should keep the center bolt sleeve to polyurethane bushing interface lubricated since that is a rotating bearing surface.
I had a Jeep TJ with a long arm suspension kit that used polyurethane bushings on the frame side mounts. When I first installed the kit a smeared a little grease on the sleeves and slapped it together. The kit included zerk fittings on the control arm ends that would pump grease into the center bolt sleeve to PU bushing interface but I never bothered to pump them full and I went wheeling. After one season I had a bushing completely torn in half. I spoke to one of the sales reps at the suspension kit manufacturer and they blamed the premature bushing failure on lack of lubrication, so I bought new bushings, replaced the bushings that were torn, and made sure to pump the control arm ends full of a high quality black Moly/Graph grease per that manufacturer's recommendation. The second set of bushings lasted much longer, but they also eventually wore out and needed replacing again.
I'm a fan of the OEM rubber torsional bushings for their durability, low maintenance, and superior vibration dampening. They are designed for the OEM total travel range, so I would guess that running longer travel shocks with more total travel range could cause them to fail sooner.
Unfortunately after market suspension kits push the OEM bushings past their intended limitations.
Expect to replace them more often.
Common wisdom states that the OEM bushings are still the best option.
Because of this and the fact that lower lifts drive & handle better.
I now run a 2.5” lift on my rig.
Expect to replace them more often.
Common wisdom states that the OEM bushings are still the best option.
Because of this and the fact that lower lifts drive & handle better.
I now run a 2.5” lift on my rig.
omg this brings back memories.... i did the slee kit way way way back i think i was doing the first generation 6 in slee some time around 2006 or 2007. if i recall at the time it was just 2 in dom but boy did it ride nice when done. i could hit some serious bumps.... fun times. this kit has changed alot for sure.