Finally got my OME springs in still waiting on the Bilstein shocks. The store told me to order the yellow ones even though they where for stock height. They said the silvers would ride way worse. Then they tried to sub in Procomps but I had p;aid for Bilsteins so I am waiting on them to show Monday. I was going to do a BJ spacer but read about all the problems it causes so started looking at other options. Looks a little funny with 2" rear lift and stock front. I was told to just crank the torsion bars some but not all the way. Then I found OME had their own torsion bars to handle the 2" lift. Am I going to be better off with those or just adjusting my stock ones? Do they offer more lift or is it just a larger torsion but still cranked to level? I have spent the past 3 weeks wrenching on this thing and am worn out so sorry if this is vague. I need to start a new position in SC where I will be commuting to every week from Raleigh so I am going through my 4Runner to make sure it will get me there.
Torsion bars ? leveling OME springs
- Thread starter Gremcat
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RAD4Runner
Senior Member
Good choice on the OME's. However...
You chose OME because it is properly-engineered, properly built, tested and proven. Don't ruin all that with wrong shocks.
Using stock travel shocks with 2-inch OME lift will limit your travel and will keep tension (pull) on shocks; OME springs will try to lift your truck, while the stock shocks will try to hold it down. . Not good. DO it right. Get shocks made for travel that OME gives you.
KidVermicious
New member
You're getting a couple things wrong, Gremcat.
a) Changing out the torsion bars will not net you more lift. Thicker torsion bars like the OME or SAW bars will let you carry more load in the front, but the only way to get lift from the torsion bars is to adjust the preload (crank them), and you can do that to stock bars or aftermarket. The only time you would need aftermarket bars is if the stock bars don't hold the weight of your front end at the height you want it, and unless you're rocking several hundred pounds extra up front, the stock bars will work fine. Don't waste your money.
b) There's nothing wrong with ball joint spacers, they're perfectly safe. I suspect that all this hoorah about them being unsafe can be traced back to Blazeland Nate (who hates them), and despite all his predictions of doom I'm not aware of anybody that's actually suffered upper control arm failure (or any other trouble) due to installation of ball joint spacers. The only part they might wear out faster is your CV boots, and that's going to happen no matter HOW you lift the front. Don't like it, get manual hubs. If you already have manual hubs, don't sweat it.
c) I ran stock length shocks with a 1.5 ball joint spacer for a couple years with no trouble, the bump stops still limited my droop before the shocks ran out of travel. If you want to keep your stock shocks for now, get your height set the way you want it, then jack up the front and let the suspension droop and see if your bumpstop fully compresses before the shock runs out of travel. If it does, you're good. If it doesn't, then you'll want to shim your bumpstops so they do, or get longer travel shocks. For what it's worth, the OME Nitrochargers are great shocks, so if you don't wanna go through all that hassle and you have the coin just pull the trigger already. There's no bumpstop in the rear, so if you want to keep those stock length Bilsteins you might want to think about some limit straps.
So - ball joint spacers in the front, then wait for the rear springs to settle some and adjust your front bars until you're happy with the stance. Then check your travel in front, and shim the stops and/or get the OME shocks as necessary.
a) Changing out the torsion bars will not net you more lift. Thicker torsion bars like the OME or SAW bars will let you carry more load in the front, but the only way to get lift from the torsion bars is to adjust the preload (crank them), and you can do that to stock bars or aftermarket. The only time you would need aftermarket bars is if the stock bars don't hold the weight of your front end at the height you want it, and unless you're rocking several hundred pounds extra up front, the stock bars will work fine. Don't waste your money.
b) There's nothing wrong with ball joint spacers, they're perfectly safe. I suspect that all this hoorah about them being unsafe can be traced back to Blazeland Nate (who hates them), and despite all his predictions of doom I'm not aware of anybody that's actually suffered upper control arm failure (or any other trouble) due to installation of ball joint spacers. The only part they might wear out faster is your CV boots, and that's going to happen no matter HOW you lift the front. Don't like it, get manual hubs. If you already have manual hubs, don't sweat it.
c) I ran stock length shocks with a 1.5 ball joint spacer for a couple years with no trouble, the bump stops still limited my droop before the shocks ran out of travel. If you want to keep your stock shocks for now, get your height set the way you want it, then jack up the front and let the suspension droop and see if your bumpstop fully compresses before the shock runs out of travel. If it does, you're good. If it doesn't, then you'll want to shim your bumpstops so they do, or get longer travel shocks. For what it's worth, the OME Nitrochargers are great shocks, so if you don't wanna go through all that hassle and you have the coin just pull the trigger already. There's no bumpstop in the rear, so if you want to keep those stock length Bilsteins you might want to think about some limit straps.
So - ball joint spacers in the front, then wait for the rear springs to settle some and adjust your front bars until you're happy with the stance. Then check your travel in front, and shim the stops and/or get the OME shocks as necessary.
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KV,
I paid for everything leaf and shock wise and the shop told me I needed the Bilstein shocks that where yellow. They said 2" lift would be fine with the stock height shocks. I paid for them and they weren't cheap. Maybe I should try and swap them for different height shocks now before I pick them up?
I paid for everything leaf and shock wise and the shop told me I needed the Bilstein shocks that where yellow. They said 2" lift would be fine with the stock height shocks. I paid for them and they weren't cheap. Maybe I should try and swap them for different height shocks now before I pick them up?
Should I just ask them to swap out the 4600 series Bilstens for the 5100 series? They said the 5100 series would ride rougher but I am starting to doubt them. This is the local 4 Wheel Parts branch and I thought they would steer me right. They also screwed up the order and I paid for expedited shipping only to find out they forgot to order the shocks and then when I got there they told me I had only paid 300 dollars for a deposit. I checked my bank statement and they charged me 560 dollars down. I am very disappointed in their lack of service and lack of concern. Guess because I wasn't dumping 2K on a 6" lift I was a burden or something. Never mind the fact I will probably have spent more on my "little" lift and new seats than that by the time I am done.
KidVermicious
New member
Your call, do you trust the guys at the shop? I've never used Bilsteins, I don't know the numbers on them. I can tell you I ran stock length shocks on my '86 with about 2 inches of lift in the rear and didn't have any trouble with them, but that wasn't an OME lift and it wasn't Bilstein shocks. Every truck and every part is different.
The right way to pick a shock length is to get your lift on, then measure the distance from mount to mount at full stuff and full droop, then pick a shock that'll accomodate those numbers. OR, when buying a lift spring of a particular height, run with the shock sold by the lift manufacturer intended to be used with that specific lift. What you're doing is guessing and hoping it'll be ok, and honestly it probably will be, but I can't tell you I know for sure. So again, your call. If you trust the guys at your shop, then run with it. If you don't trust them, stop going there
.
And on edit, now that I've seen your last post, I wouldn't trust 4WP farther than I can kick an anvil barefooted. Those clowns are the Jiffylube of off-road vendors. If I were you, knowing what I know about OME, I'd have them take back the Bilsteins and I'd order a set of OME Nitrochargers from Toytec or Cruiser Outfitters or somebody who doesn't make most of their money selling body lifts and nerf bars to guys with brodozers.
The right way to pick a shock length is to get your lift on, then measure the distance from mount to mount at full stuff and full droop, then pick a shock that'll accomodate those numbers. OR, when buying a lift spring of a particular height, run with the shock sold by the lift manufacturer intended to be used with that specific lift. What you're doing is guessing and hoping it'll be ok, and honestly it probably will be, but I can't tell you I know for sure. So again, your call. If you trust the guys at your shop, then run with it. If you don't trust them, stop going there
.And on edit, now that I've seen your last post, I wouldn't trust 4WP farther than I can kick an anvil barefooted. Those clowns are the Jiffylube of off-road vendors. If I were you, knowing what I know about OME, I'd have them take back the Bilsteins and I'd order a set of OME Nitrochargers from Toytec or Cruiser Outfitters or somebody who doesn't make most of their money selling body lifts and nerf bars to guys with brodozers.
Thanks I might order the OME shocks. I went with 4 WP because they didn't charge me for shipping on the OME leaves. They tried to scalp me on installing so I did it myself. The big issue is that I need to commute with this starting a week from Monday so not sure I can get the OME shocks in time. I don't know a lot about lifts as this is my first time doing one. If I would have seen the OME package I would have probably just ordered everything from them but the front end lift is still torsion. I am going to ask a few Toyota guys that run small lifts and see what shocks they are using. I did think 4 WP was a reputable company until now.
89FourRunner
New member
Gremcat,
Don't forget that whether the lift comes from BJ spacers, or cranked stock or aftermarket torsion bars, you are still going to put more stress on the upper ball joints, lower ball joints, CV boots, and pretty much everything that needs to run a static height 2" lower (when the suspension is 2" higher). Any way you slice it, you are running the front end on its tip-toes with these sort of lifts. My opinion is get a good BJ spacer kit, manual hubs if you don't have them and inspect your front end regularly and you should be happy.
Consider a differential drop kit, they come with many of the ball joint spacer kits. And although it lowers the clearance of the diff, the bj spacers will still fix the ride height that you don't like, and the diff drop will correct the CV angles for longevity.
Don't forget that whether the lift comes from BJ spacers, or cranked stock or aftermarket torsion bars, you are still going to put more stress on the upper ball joints, lower ball joints, CV boots, and pretty much everything that needs to run a static height 2" lower (when the suspension is 2" higher). Any way you slice it, you are running the front end on its tip-toes with these sort of lifts. My opinion is get a good BJ spacer kit, manual hubs if you don't have them and inspect your front end regularly and you should be happy.
Consider a differential drop kit, they come with many of the ball joint spacer kits. And although it lowers the clearance of the diff, the bj spacers will still fix the ride height that you don't like, and the diff drop will correct the CV angles for longevity.
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KidVermicious
New member
Your stock rear shocks will be fine for a couple weeks of commuting. What you don't want to do is let the rear droop all the way out, but unless you're hucking big air on the way to work you'll be fine.
MountainBrew
New member
Not sure what year you are running, but on my 86 I put a 2" lift all around, bjs up front, and there were no compatible bilsteins for that lift. If I remember correctly the 4600 are for stock and the 5100 are for 4" or greater. I am very green so I may be wrong. What I ended up doing was getting the KYB monomax 565084/565085 and they have been working great. Ride killer on the highway with no body roll in the corners, and they handle some basic colorado rock crawling with no issue at all. Amazon has those shocks super cheap too. Again, I am a novice but I just did that lift and had a similar issue finding shocks. Hope that helps!
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