[firebox40dash5]

Wow, I come back to the board after a few months in Iraq... and you finally got rid of Delphi! Anyway, I'm coming home on leave in a week or so, and I just ordered a set of Burgs and OME leafs from wheeler's. I have an 01 X-cab TRD, which currently has All-pro upper arms and stock shocks up front, and stock leaves with Downey shackles in the rear. My question is, how much lift can I expect from the OMEs with the long shackles? I asked Wheelers, and was told that my 1.25" shackles with 1.5" leafs will add up to almost 5" in the rear unloaded. My truck is already stinkbugged with negative-arch stock springs and the sagging coilovers up front. Does anyone have experience with a similar setup, so I have an idea in advance if I should remove a leaf from my OMEs? I hate to ask such a noob question, but I have no intention of spending my 2 weeks of leave trying to level my Taco... Any help is greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Ben

 

[hytenor]

Wow, I come back to the board after a few months in Iraq... and you finally got rid of Delphi! Anyway, I'm coming home on leave in a week or so, and I just ordered a set of Burgs and OME leafs from wheeler's. I have an 01 X-cab TRD, which currently has All-pro upper arms and stock shocks up front, and stock leaves with Downey shackles in the rear. My question is, how much lift can I expect from the OMEs with the long shackles? I asked Wheelers, and was told that my 1.25" shackles with 1.5" leafs will add up to almost 5" in the rear unloaded. My truck is already stinkbugged with negative-arch stock springs and the sagging coilovers up front. Does anyone have experience with a similar setup, so I have an idea in advance if I should remove a leaf from my OMEs? I hate to ask such a noob question, but I have no intention of spending my 2 weeks of leave trying to level my Taco... Any help is greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Ben

well, the OMEs are a 2" lift spring so I don't see where Wheeler's comes up with 5" with just adding a 1.25" shackle. If you still have your stock shackles you might try that first if you are dead set on a "level" truck. Tacos have a natural rake though. Removing overload leaves on the OMEs will drop them a tad but you mainly lose load carrying cap by doing that and not so much in lift.

 

[firebox40dash5]

hmmm... I think I threw my stock shackles at a bum after I put the downey's on. While I don't care about perfectly level, I would like to get within about 1.5", I have a toolbox and floorjack that can take care of the rest... Sounds like I can make it work one way or another. now for the ORS shock hoop! :welder: Thanks hytenor!

Ben

 

[nhlbill]

Wow, I come back to the board after a few months in Iraq... and you finally got rid of Delphi! Anyway, I'm coming home on leave in a week or so, and I just ordered a set of Burgs and OME leafs from wheeler's. I have an 01 X-cab TRD, which currently has All-pro upper arms and stock shocks up front, and stock leaves with Downey shackles in the rear. My question is, how much lift can I expect from the OMEs with the long shackles? I asked Wheelers, and was told that my 1.25" shackles with 1.5" leafs will add up to almost 5" in the rear unloaded. My truck is already stinkbugged with negative-arch stock springs and the sagging coilovers up front. Does anyone have experience with a similar setup, so I have an idea in advance if I should remove a leaf from my OMEs? I hate to ask such a noob question, but I have no intention of spending my 2 weeks of leave trying to level my Taco... Any help is greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Ben

I ran the OME leafs on my D-Cab for a year. They started out at 2.75" and eventually settled at 2.5" after a year of abuse. I'm not sure how long you would have to run them before they would sag to only 2". Those springs with the camburgs would be a good combo if you had your stock shackles back. That is if your trying to achieve "level". You could order the OME greasable shackles from Wheelers if you threw out your old ones (the OME shackles are the same length as stock). With your 1.25" shackles you would be ass end high. IMO
Bill

 

[hytenor]

hmmm... I think I threw my stock shackles at a bum after I put the downey's on. While I don't care about perfectly level, I would like to get within about 1.5", I have a toolbox and floorjack that can take care of the rest... Sounds like I can make it work one way or another. now for the ORS shock hoop! :welder: Thanks hytenor!

Ben

I stand corrected on the lift amount I think the 2" was for rigs with caps.


Now, THAT's a serious off-road rig, LOL nice!
My sister lives in Oskosh but I doubt she's ever seen those monsters

 

[nhlbill]

I stand corrected on the lift amount I think the 2" was for rigs with caps.

I never loaded mine down, so I'm sure with a cap or heavy toolbox you'd be right.

A 16 x 16 ?????
Bill

 

[hytenor]

I never loaded mine down, so I'm sure with a cap or heavy toolbox you'd be right.

A 16 x 16 ?????
Bill

that's firebox's "other" truck
I just clicked on his link and thought the pic should be shared.

 

[nhlbill]

that's firebox's "other" truck
I just clicked on his link and thought the pic should be shared.

I'm just glad we live in the USA!!!!!!
Could you imagine what Iraqi's were thinking when we rolled in heavy stuff like that?
Bill :xusflag:

 

[hytenor]

I'm just glad we live in the USA!!!!!!
Could you imagine what Iraqi's were thinking when we rolled in heavy stuff like that?
Bill :xusflag:

I imagine the local cops might have a problem with a rig like that tooling down the street, LOL

 

[firebox40dash5]

I imagine the local cops might have a problem with a rig like that tooling down the street, LOL

Actually, we used to drive them around Bragg on missions almost every day, occasionally even off-post. They do get a lot of attention. And yes, the Iraqis are quite hasty to move out of the way when they see our trucks bearing down on them. Considering that GCWR on them is 130,000+ pounds, that would be the wrong one to step in front of! Thanks all for the advice, sounds like I better either get some stock length shackles to put on (but not stock shackles) or plan on pulling a leaf or 2. Damn, I'm gonna miss the soft ride without my Downey shackles... Anyone have a recommendation as to which idea is better? I would guess stock shackles, but that's just me.

Thanks,
Ben

 

[hytenor]

Actually, we used to drive them around Bragg on missions almost every day, occasionally even off-post. They do get a lot of attention. And yes, the Iraqis are quite hasty to move out of the way when they see our trucks bearing down on them. Considering that GCWR on them is 130,000+ pounds, that would be the wrong one to step in front of! Thanks all for the advice, sounds like I better either get some stock length shackles to put on (but not stock shackles) or plan on pulling a leaf or 2. Damn, I'm gonna miss the soft ride without my Downey shackles... Anyone have a recommendation as to which idea is better? I would guess stock shackles, but that's just me.

Thanks,
Ben

longer shackles give you more rear flex but the drawback is that the additional leverage produced tends to speed up the wear process on the leafpks and they sag at a quicker rate than with the shorter, OE shackles. How much and how fast they sag seems to depend on how much weight you carry on a regular basis and how crazy you get on trails/roads The pros outweigh the cons, IMO, I'll take the extra flex.

 

[firebox40dash5]

Thanks for the advice. Sounds like the best plan might be to shorten those downey shackles by an inch or so. I love how beefy they are, the greasable bolts, and the fact that I don't have to blow $100 on them. The added leverage of extended shackles combined with pulling a leaf out sounds like a quick way to make more negative-arched springs...

 

[hytenor]

Thanks for the advice. Sounds like the best plan might be to shorten those downey shackles by an inch or so. I love how beefy they are, the greasable bolts, and the fact that I don't have to blow $100 on them. The added leverage of extended shackles combined with pulling a leaf out sounds like a quick way to make more negative-arched springs...

you might be able to drill new holes in the Downeys and raise the lower bolt up a bit. I think the Daystars actually have two sets of holes to accommodate this. Downeys have the extra holes but they are covered by the cross brace.