OME 861 install

[fourfive]

Was wondering for those that have installed the OME 861s, did you put the factory bump stops/cones back into the coil? I realize the cones won't be very effective at this point but was just curious who decided to keep them in the coil.

Any tips on trying to install the taller 861s? I have the OME 890s right now and they definitely required some work trying to get those in place by myself so I can only imagine that the 861s, being a taller coil, will be a bit more challenging. Hopefully I'll have some help from a friend, but in the event I'm doing the install solo, any tips would be greatly appreciated..

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Edit: Finally got some time to post pictures. Install of superflex happened May 2015.

Couldn't decide between the superflex & 861s but knew I wanted a little more lift then the 890s. Initially got the 861s but not too long after I bought the superflex also b/c I couldn't make up my mind. My plan was to install both to compare & sell the one I didn't use. Installed the superflex first but ended up liking the ride height so never installed the 861s to compare....still deciding if i want to put the 861s on just to see how it looks but time is not letting that happen right now.

Here's a comparison of the driver side coils: 861 (left), Superflex (middle), 890 (right)


The recommendations of how to install taller coils made this process much easier. Here's the steps I took with the driver side:

1. Chalked front wheels, unbolted parking brake/brake lines off rear diff, lifted rear on jack stands & removed rear driver side wheel.
2. Lifted rear axle high enough to take pressure off rear sway bar end links to unbolt both driver & passenger side links to allow the rear axle to droop further.
3. Lowered the rear axle just enough to unbolt the lower shock bolt.
4. Lowered the rear axle the rest of the way
5. Moved my floor jack to the passenger side axle & jacked up passenger side axle until I had enough space to remove my 890s (which was what I had on at the time).
6. Removed my 890s but needed another ~1-1.5" to get my superflex in.
7. Continued jacking up my passenger side axle until I had enough room to easily slide my superflex into place

Hear's a pic:


This is probably a known method to many but I didn't go this route when I installed my 890s. The first time I installed my 890s (which was the first time I ever installed a suspension...actually, I was assisting a friend that offered to do the install), I didn't unbolt my panhard & only unbolted the sway bar end link on the side I was working on. This created enough room to push the 890 into place with some force with 2 people. The second time I removed my rear coils (by myself this time), I unbolted the panhard bar, along with the sway bar link on the side I was working on, which easily made enough room to uninstall/install the 890s. HOWEVER, if you've ever unbolted the panhard with the back end lifted on jack stands, you may have run into the same issue I did which was not being able to get the panhard bolt holes to line back up. Getting the panhard bolted back on took me about 3hours when I installed my 890s. My goal when switching to the superflex was to avoid unbolting the rear panhard if at all possible. Never had issues unbolting/rebolting my panhard when it was on level ground but was a different story when the back end was lifted on jack stands.

 

[Konkordmusk]

I disconnected my rear panhard, and loosened all four control arm links.
After installing the springs, I had to have 4 people sit in the trunk to get the truck to squat enough to reconnect the panhard bar.
When I removed the springs to replace with 9 wraps, I grabbed an engine with a forklift and set it in the back to do the same

 

[fourfive]

Yea, I was concerned that trying to reconnect my panhard bar might take some creativity. I'm assuming you bolted everything else back up (shocks, control arm links, etc), lowered the truck back to the ground then had your friends/engine weigh down the back end to reconnect the panhard?

 

[Konkordmusk]

Yea, I was concerned that trying to reconnect my panhard bar might take some creativity. I'm assuming you bolted everything else back up (shocks, control arm links, etc), lowered the truck back to the ground then had your friends/engine weigh down the back end to reconnect the panhard?

The only things that I actually unbolted were the panhard bar and the shocks. The control arm links, I merely loosened their bolts to allow the bushings to rotate around. Then, the shocks got bolted on, and then everyone sat in the truck and the panhard got the bolt put back through and tightened, and then the control arm bolts got re-tightened.
I have heard varying stories of success with using a ratcheting strap around the axle and frame to get the panhard back on. That might be your best bet!

 

[fourfive]

Ok cool thanks, just wanted to plan ahead the best I could to avoid getting stuck on any one particular issue for too long.

 

[4x4runner2002]

i didnt even have to loosen the pan hard bar. i just put the rear frame on jack stands and let the rear axle droop all the way. then jack up the opposite wheel you want to put the spring in and the old one drops out and put the new one in. do it with tires off and the frame bumpstops off to get more flex.

 

[fourfive]

i didnt even have to loosen the pan hard bar. i just put the rear frame on jack stands and let the rear axle droop all the way. then jack up the opposite wheel you want to put the spring in and the old one drops out and put the new one in. do it with tires off and the frame bumpstops off to get more flex.

Oh nice, that method sounds like it may work better for me since I will most likely be doing the install by myself. Did you unbolt the bottom of the shock (on the side the spring is going to be replaced) or unbolt anything else aside from removing the wheel and bumpstops, such as sway bar end links, etc? Did you unbolt anything on the side that you were jacking up?

 

[4x4runner2002]

Oh nice, that method sounds like it may work better for me since I will most likely be doing the install by myself. Did you unbolt the bottom of the shock (on the side the spring is going to be replaced) or unbolt anything else aside from removing the wheel and bumpstops, such as sway bar end links, etc? Did you unbolt anything on the side that you were jacking up?

i have no rear sway bar so yes and yes unbolt both of the bottom shock mounts.

 

[A.Wilson013]

i didnt even have to loosen the pan hard bar. i just put the rear frame on jack stands and let the rear axle droop all the way. then jack up the opposite wheel you want to put the spring in and the old one drops out and put the new one in. do it with tires off and the frame bumpstops off to get more flex.

:mullet:

This is what I did as well. Worked great.

 

[fourfive]

Great to know i dont have to unbolt the driverside part of the panhard bar bc that took me forever to try and line back up properly to reinstall the bolt when i was putting in my ome 890s.

Once the rear frame was supported by the jack stands, is that when you unbolted the bottoms of both shocks (while the rear axel was still supported by the pumkin, just before you let the axel droop all the way down)?

 

[criera]

was easy job, jack up and put frame on jack stands. used floor jack under diff to raise axle and release load. disconnect drivers side pan hard and both lower shock bolts. let axle droop and use bottle jack to raise opposite side. very little effort after that. maybe i was lucky but i did not need a come along or a gang of ballast people to reconnect pan hard, just a little tweaking of angles on the 2 jacks.

 

[fourfive]

Appreciate the suggestions. I think my plan 'A' will be lift the rear frame on jack stands, unbolt the lower shocks/sway bar end links/brake line, & lift the opposite wheel to see if that gives me enough room to insert the coil. but if that doesnt work ill just unbolt the driverside panhard and hope to get lucky reinstalling the panhard bolt (im sure my lack of mechanical experience has a bit to do with it).

Once i get my 4runner back from the bodyshop in the next couple weeks, and install my 861s that im waiting on, ill give an update with some pics incase anyone else was considering this set up

 

[Asaspades93]

Did this with sniv not long ago, we only removed the shocks, didnt touch the trac bar or link, but I don't have a rear sway bar so that helped. I didn't have a rear bumper at the time, we put stands on the frame, lifted from the diff and used the stock jack to push the axle down on the side we were installing but still needed a spring compressor.
Looks like the the pic posted above was a better plan
enjoy the rake :guitar3:

 

[fourfive]

Yea the rake will be interesting especially with my stock bumper set up. Not sure how easy it is to tell in my sig pic but with my boss coilovers set at the factory 2.5 settings im sitting an inch higher in the front (front 23.75 & rear 22.75 hub to fender after alignment w/ the rear completely empty). With the front sitting an inch higher it actually still rides very smooth for DD. I'd figure i'd just go with a taller spring in the rear, instead of turning the front coils down, so that l'd have a little more freedom with rear weight capacity & still having a rake.

Edit: sig pic is now different from the one I'm referring to in the post

 

[fourfive]

An update on the status of the OME 861 install. My 4runner is still in the shop but I did get my 861s in. Thought I'd post a couple pics of the coils and how the truck is currently looking as a thanks for all the help from the previous posts. Once I get a little more organized I'll put a build thread together to add to the rest of the 3rd gen builds.

Left coil is labeled "B" which seems to be about .5 inch taller then the coil on right that is labeled "A".

 

[fourfive]

Between the extra 3 months it took to get my car repainted & get caught up on some maintenance work, I finally had some time to post pics. I ended up putting in the superflex but still have the 861s & may try those out to satisfy my curiousity. Anyhow, I edited my original post with pics. Superflex went in May 2015 but just now got around to updating my post. Thanks to everyone that offered tips, it made this process MUCH easier.