UBJ contact with Old Man Emu lift?

Video Guy · **Posted:** Thu Jun 28, 2007 10:20 am

Does the OME KJ lift cause upper ball joints to hit the coil springs at full suspension droop? I'm asking about an unmodified OME lift w/NS131 struts and OME926 or OME927 springs only.

I'm thinking of replacing my stock struts with OME NS131's in the next 10,000 miles or when the factory struts fail (whichever comes first). At that time, I plan to remove my front Daystar spacers and upgrade my front springs to medium-duty OME926's with the half-inch trim spacer for an even 2" lift all around. (I'll keep my stock rear springs and 2" Daystar spacers, but I would like to eventually go with OME shocks when the time comes.)

I appreciate the feedback!

HIKJ · **Posted:** Thu Jun 28, 2007 10:45 am

Video Guy wrote:

Does the OME KJ lift cause upper ball joints to hit the coil springs at full suspension droop? I'm asking about an unmodified OME lift w/NS131 struts and OME926 or OME927 springs only.

The answer is a definite NO.

ARBSeth · **Posted:** Thu Jun 28, 2007 10:47 am

When using the OME lift as perscribed, you should be fine. We don't make a trim packer for the KJ, so I'm not sure what you're working with there.
A 927 with no winch or bar will cause problems. A 926 with no bumper could have some contact at full droop. If you're not running heavy product on the nose, just use the 925's and you'll get the 1.5" we advertise.

Video Guy · **Posted:** Thu Jun 28, 2007 11:15 am

ARBSeth wrote:

When using the OME lift as perscribed, you should be fine. We don't make a trim packer for the KJ, so I'm not sure what you're working with there.
A 927 with no winch or bar will cause problems. A 926 with no bumper could have some contact at full droop. If you're not running heavy product on the nose, just use the 925's and you'll get the 1.5" we advertise.

Rocky Road Outfitters sells a 1/2-inch "trim spacer" for OME coils to make it an even 2" lift. They're $20 each.

Hmm. I never considered the 925's because I thought they'd be too soft and sag too soon. If Seth recommends 'em, that's good enough for me! No bull bar for me. Are the NS131 struts still my best bet?

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Thu Jun 28, 2007 12:32 pm

yup, those struts are great!

Yea, since that spacer can make the ride alittle rough(may or may not), it may be best that you go with the soft springs to help compensate for that.

PBrug · **Posted:** Thu Jun 28, 2007 2:42 pm

ARBSeth wrote:

When using the OME lift as perscribed, you should be fine. We don't make a trim packer for the KJ, so I'm not sure what you're working with there.
A 927 with no winch or bar will cause problems. A 926 with no bumper could have some contact at full droop. If you're not running heavy product on the nose, just use the 925's and you'll get the 1.5" we advertise.

Can you please expand on what type of problems this will cause?

Thanks

Eddo · **Joined:** Thu Jul 07, 2005 7:01 pm **Posts:** 1214

Upper ball joint/spring contact is cause by too much droop. Droop is effected by the lenght of the strut assembly. So it dosen't matter what spring you use, if you use the OME/stock/even rancho strut with the stock top plate, you will not have contact problem at all.

ARBSeth · **Posted:** Fri Jun 29, 2007 10:52 am

Back before the "Great Change"...
Back Before the Frankenlift...
I ran the OME925's with an N130 Strut. It was great. It didn't sag... I ran a 245 BFG Mud.
It's the perfect set up for you guys not interested in a Bull bar or a winch becaue it's TUNED to the front of the truck. It'll ride better than stock and you get some nice travel out of the OME Struts and shocks. And most importantly, it won't roast your ball joints.

QuestMan · **Posted:** Sat Jun 30, 2007 6:42 pm

Quote:

A 927 with no winch or bar will cause problems. A 926 with no bumper could have some contact at full droop. If you're not running heavy product on the nose, just use the 925's and you'll get the 1.5" we advertise

I've got the 927's but haven't installed a bull bar, yet. Since I also installed Al's upper arms, I shouldn't have any immediate worries, should I? :wink:

ARBSeth · **Posted:** Sat Jun 30, 2007 7:40 pm

With new arms that move the UBJ out of the way, you should be ok... but it probably rides like stupid.
Put the bumper on the properly preload the springs and you'll be much happier with the ride.

tommudd · **Posted:** Sat Jun 30, 2007 7:49 pm

I ran mine to Florida and back with the heavy Dutys before the bumper install and thought it rode pretty good cruising down the highway. I must be used to buckboards or something :lol:

QuestMan · **Posted:** Sat Jun 30, 2007 8:49 pm

Quote:

I ran mine to Florida and back with the heavy Dutys before the bumper install and thought it rode pretty good cruising down the highway. I must be used to buckboards or something

After Frankenlifting mine, I thought I was driving a low-rider gone wild. :lol:

AFter the alignment, I thought, "Gee. This isn't riding any worse than the stock struts". By the time I get the bull bar on, it ought to ride like a 'Caddy'.

Seriously: I don't think the heavy-duties are all that bad. Must be from those years of riding in my POSTAL jeep...........

HIKJ · **Posted:** Sun Jul 01, 2007 9:03 am

I do not understand why ARBseth is so worried about too harsh a ride. I have the OME struts and shocks, with the King Springs, giving about 45 mm of lift. The front spring is a Heavy Duty (450 lbs/inch). The ride is comfortable on the road, but in raid type use on tracks (no racing, just touring) the front suspension is still not capable to sufficiently absorb all bumps and holes. In other words, it bottoms out on the bump stops too often.

Maybe the springs are stiff enough, but the struts are not tough enough for this type of use. As far as I know, there are no raid type shocks/struts available for the KJ.

ARBSeth · **Posted:** Mon Jul 02, 2007 11:18 am

Harshness is a relative term. We engineer our suspensions to ride better than stock.
A lot of you guys run the heavies for the lift, not the ride... so in our opinion, it'll be harsh compared to what we designed it to ride like.
Make sense... and if you're bottoming out a strut, you're too tall. Keep in mind the NS130/131 are designed for 1.5" of lift... not 2 - 2.5". When you use a top spacer, you get around this and don't have problems. If you run a full 2.5" spring, you'll get the bottoming out feeling that you're describing.

Suspension is all about give something here to get something there... you've got too much flex in the spring, so your struts are too short... a Frankenlift'd rig or a Rusty's doesn't bottom out because the top plate spacer provides the lift without the added spring travel... so it stays in spec to the strut. You probably have CV boot issues, too if I had to guess because the front wheel moves too much and causes the boot to unseat. Watch out for that in the future.

UBJ contact with Old Man Emu lift?

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