OME Lift Install on 05+ Tacoma

[barlowrs]

After much research, the lift I chose was a OME lift. All in all, the parts I used were as follows:

Thanks to Wil from Sierra Expedition:victory::

OME front coils (886 due to winch and bumper)
OME 90000 Nitrocharger Shocks
OME 182 Rear Shocks
OME Dakar Spring set (CSO47R no extra leaf set)
OME Driveshaft Packer Kit (FK29)
New U-bolts (supplied by Sierra Expedition)

Toyota Bushings
Toyotec 3 degree axel shims

10mm lift enhancer kit from wheelers (http://www.wheelersoffroad.com/05upometaco.htm)

I opted to not go for a diff drop as I have heard they are pretty useless on the 05+ Tacomas.

As you can see below, the OME components are CONSIDERABLY larger and more robust than the stock bilsteins.

Lessons Learned/Advice from Install
I will not get into the details of how to install the lift, its is pretty strait forward, a few bolts come out, new parts go in, and the bolts go back in. I think instead, I will discuss some unforeseen issues/lessons learned for people that are planning on doing the lift themselves. Hopefully you find this useful:

General:
First thing is first, there is no way you are going to be able to do this alone, this is at least a 2 person job. My friend has an auto shop so I was able to use a FULL lift, and it still took two people. I would HATE to have tried this with a small jack and some jack stands! So, besides the obvious tools, you will need a friend and of course a pack of your favorite beverage:

As far as the install goes, I HIGHLY recommend you get access to a press, you will need it for the bushings for sure. If you are like me and you purchased the 10mm lift enhancer, you will also use it for that, as you must press the stock bolts out of the spline and install longer ones:

Front:
As far as actually installing the front, the sway bar must be removed (I left mine off…review of this further down) and I also found it easier to remove the tie rod as the OME shocks are considerable longer than the OEM ones and they are hard to jockey into position.

Once they are in position and you get the top loosely bolted into place, you must use a LOT of brute force (2 people with pry bars in my case) to force the lower A-arm down enough to seat the shock.

 

[barlowrs]

Lift Install Part 2

Rear:
As for the rear, with the exception of the DAKAR springs being quite hefty, the install is very strait forward, remember though, on the rear of the springs, you must take the whole shackle off, as you will not be able to get an impact in to get just the leaf pack out.

One thing I did discover though, that you will need to remember, is when reassembling, the center pin on the leaf pack sticks up higher than the original. This causes a clearance issue when you go to put the bump stop back on. It is very easy to drill the bumpstop hole deeper though.

And here she is standing VERY tall with her new shoes (255/85) :wings:…. (It should settle a bit, but it defiantly seems a LOT more than the advertised lift height..haha).

Post Lift Findings:

After having the lift on for a few days, here are my findings, and thoughts on it.

With the sway bar removed, there is not much body roll at all (maybe due to the stiff 886), though the susp does feel “squishy”. I am not sure how to describe it. If you have ever driven a jeep wrangler, you know how the susp just seems to squish, that’s how she feels, though she handles well, even at So Cal highway speeds.

At highway speeds, my speedo now reads about 10 mph off (I am going 70 mph when I see 60mph on the speed). Just something for people to keep in mind after this install.

As far as vibrations go, I know a lot of ppl complain about “post lift vibrations” however for me, it seems to be opposite. Prior to lifting her, I had some vibrations as I just started taking off, however, after the lift, the vibrations have seemed to stop..haha (Remember I did install axel shims)

I have not been able to check gas mileage, and I am sure its gone down, however, one thing I do notice, is that at cruising speeds, my RPM are MUCH lower now (result of the larger diameter tire).

The only significant change I feel I MUST mention is the BRAKING. PLEASE NOTE that with the 255/85 I have added a LOT of rolling mass, and the braking ability of the stock brakes HAS decreased. Not saying she wont stop, but it does take a bit more, so if you are installing this please keep that in mind, no tailgating!

Haven’t had a chance to take her wheeling yet, will report on that at a later date.

 

[HMR]

Looks great! Nice job. Good choice of suspension.

First thing is first, there is no way you are going to be able to do this alone, this is at least a 2 person job. My friend has an auto shop so I was able to use a FULL lift, and it still took two people. I would HATE to have tried this with a small jack and some jack stands!

What did you have the most difficulty with? I have a standard 2-car garage, normal tools, small floor jack and jack stands. I've had no problems installing front and rear suspension, by myself, on my 2005 Taco. I paid a local tire shop $25 to install the 886 springs on my Nitorcharger Sports.

Once they are in position and you get the top loosely bolted into place, you must use a LOT of brute force (2 people with pry bars in my case) to force the lower A-arm down enough to seat the shock.

It shouldn't take "a LOT of brute force". Did you try wedging your OEM jack between the top of your fender well and the upper control arm? It takes some thought and finesse but it's a one man job.

Edit: I just realized you have a thread for your truck showing all your mods and then it looks like you have separate threads for each mod?

 

[barlowrs]

Looks great! Nice job. Good choice of suspension.

What did you have the most difficulty with? I have a standard 2-car garage, normal tools, small floor jack and jack stands. I've had no problems installing front and rear suspension, by myself, on my 2005 Taco. I paid a local tire shop $25 to install the 886 springs on my Nitorcharger Sports.

It shouldn't take "a LOT of brute force". Did you try wedging your OEM jack between the top of your fender well and the upper control arm? It takes some thought and finesse but it's a one man job.

Edit: I just realized you have a thread for your truck showing all your mods and then it looks like you have separate threads for each mod?

I think the main thing I needed a friend for was jockying the Dakars into place, they are pretty hefty.

I did start to use the bottle jack, but was afriad the inside fender would not be able to hold it, it started to bend up a lot, so I just used friends and force..haha

Yes I have a main thread and individual threads, as a noob searching, I alway found it VERY hard to sort through all the comments on 100 page build threads to get information, so I thought this might help. I have the main build thread that has everything in one thread with no comments on it....all the comments go into the individual threads. This way a person doesnt have to dig to find the information, its in teh main thread.

Not sure if it will work, but just thought I would try to make it easier for a noob looking for information if I could.

 

[maxama10]

Truck looks Amazing man!

 

[AlexJet]

Looks good.

 

[robert]

The OME suspension will sag some after it's been on there a few months; obviously the 886s shouldn't sag as much. I went with the 886s on my accesscab with ARB/winch and have been happy with them so far. I'm sure you know it, but be sure to check your CV angles, if your boots much are rubbing they will wear pretty quickly.

The prelift vibration you mention was actually probably some spring wrap on the rear leafs. Even the upgraded rear springs (four leaf) aren't particularly heavy duty- certainly nothing like the Dakars, Alcans, Deavers, etc.

Truck looks great with that stance.

 

[daverami]

Great job!

How much has the suspension settled? Any trouble balancing out the difference in height of the driver's side compared to the passenger?

 

[barlowrs]

Great job!

How much has the suspension settled? Any trouble balancing out the difference in height of the driver's side compared to the passenger?

The lift has settled slightly, but not as much as I thought it would. You can see the lift height here...I say it is still close to the 3" mark.

The "tacoma lean" is still here as I did not use the 5mm shim, however, it has never really bothered me much.

To counteract it in teh future, the rear bumper that I am having made right now will have teh spare tire mounted on teh passender side of the tire gate....this will help balance, but again, I never really minded, or noticed it much.

 

[tomesd]

What degree rear shims did you place? I have the same lift on my '06 (I have a TW drive shaft and Total Chaos UCA's as well) and have a slight vib around 70 mph and feel a 2 degree shim in the rear probably will take care of it.

Also, most add the 886's only if there is a heavy wench or bumper but I upgraded from 885's to 886's on my otherwise stock DC because the front sagged more than I wanted- very happy with the setup now.

The acceleration took a hit but the SC really pepped it up! I really like your rig BTW!

 

[barlowrs]

What degree rear shims did you place? I have the same lift on my '06 (I have a TW drive shaft and Total Chaos UCA's as well) and have a slight vib around 70 mph and feel a 2 degree shim in the rear probably will take care of it.

Also, most add the 886's only if there is a heavy wench or bumper but I upgraded from 885's to 886's on my otherwise stock DC because the front sagged more than I wanted- very happy with the setup now.

The acceleration took a hit but the SC really pepped it up! I really like your rig BTW!

Thanks a lot. I am running 3 deg shims. (I think that is all that is available for out truck unless you go custom). But a typical "rule of thumb" is 1 deg for 1" lift. I also installed the 1/2" spacers up front to counteract the sag. I have bo vibs at all anymore.

Huh thats strange how you are runnign the 886. Even WITH my winch bumper adn winch, they are still pretty stiff up front (my allpro is ligheter than an ARB, for now, I have plans for it though). I would imagine running them on a truck with no bumper would be very stiff? Well as long as it works for you and its what you want, thast all that matter..haha.

I really havent noticed the acceleration drop, but that is probably becuase I always drive like a grandpa. My truck has ALWAYS (from the day I took her off the lot) gotten HORRIBLE gas milage (15-16mpg stock), so I have always gotten in the habbit of short shifting, not acc fast, staying below 70, etc to try to save gas. The funny thing is, even after all the extra weight I have added to the truck and the lift and MUCH bigger tires (rolling mass), my gas milage is the same about 15 mpg..haha

 

[Ryber]

Nice write up, perfect timing to I have my kit on the way and was looking for some install threads with tips..
I went for the 885s with my reg cab, you said you put in the 1/2" inch spacer as well... did the spacer its self measure 1/2" or was it 1/4" , I didnt order one but I work at a fab shop and I was planning on just cutting and drilling my own out of a chunck of aluminium I just dont know the ratio of material thickness to lift height??

Hope my truck turns out as good!!!

 

[barlowrs]

Nice write up, perfect timing to I have my kit on the way and was looking for some install threads with tips..
I went for the 885s with my reg cab, you said you put in the 1/2" inch spacer as well... did the spacer its self measure 1/2" or was it 1/4" , I didnt order one but I work at a fab shop and I was planning on just cutting and drilling my own out of a chunck of aluminium I just dont know the ratio of material thickness to lift height??

Hope my truck turns out as good!!!

the spacer I got was actually a listed as a 10mm space on wheelers: http://www.wheelersoffroad.com/05upometaco.htm

the spacer itself would be easy to make, but with that thickness, you cannot use the stock studs, so you need extenstions, this kit comes with them, you just press them in with a press (in my writeup). If you are using the stock studs, you will probably need to just go out to your truck and see how much left over threads are there now to determine how thick you can go.

 

[SFSavages]

Great write up - I just purchased a similar set up.

It looks like you didn't upgrade the stock UCAs -
Could you please comment on how thats worked out for your ride and the alignment of the taco.

Thanks

 

[barlowrs]

It has worked great so far. I think its because the 255s are skinny, so they do not rub.