Well after about 80 hours of overtime over the past three weeks, I finally received a big, fat paycheck. What did I do? I ran out and ordered an OME heavy suspension kit. It should be sitting on my front porch sometime Wednesday afternoon. I would like to do the install myself, but I'm a little short on confidence. Have any of you installed an OME kit before? If so, how difficult was the install? I have a tool set and a couple of jack stands, but no floor jack. I'm gonna take the front springs and struts to a local shop to have them assembled. Anything special I need to be aware of before I tear into this?

I plan to do the install this Saturday. I'll have pizza and beer (or other beverage of choice) on hand if anyone wants to stop by and help out.

Ernie

I believe it's a pretty straightforward install Ernie. I have a floor jack, but I believe it needs a repair on a wheel. I'll check tonight for sure. My Dad bought it for me at Sam's Club fifteen years ago and it has served me well. If it's broken I think I'll buy another. It's surprising how much you can use one. They make things so much easier. You'll probably want a couple of set of jackstands as well.

I am not sure how much help I could be as I can't climb around or work a wrench. If you can't get the right tools let me know. I do have a compressor and such that can be helpful if needed. I did a similar setup on my Trooper a few years ago and it took me about 2 hours and was pretty easy, but those are really easy vehicles to work on. The only problem I ran into was when I put a compressed shock in the front and had my finger in the way of where the top end popped up. It came up and completely smashed my finger. YIKES. That was painful.

I had mine assembled and compressed and then wired down into position so that all I had to do was line it up and clip the wires with wire cutters and then they shot up into place for bolting straight in. The hardest part was getting old ones out. Just make sure the finger is out of the way! I busted the entire tip. I'm lucky I didn't lose it. I am not sure if compressing them in advance and wiring them up is a wise idea on this type of setup though as they generate a lot of power and could go off like a rifle.

So they are not coilovers correct? They are just bigger shocks with upgraded springs or do you use your original springs? Does it lift it? Is it adjustable? I'm interested to see what setup you're putting in. The only FJ lift setups I've seen up close and personal are another guy who lived down here in Utah County that took me out on a cruise and he had just s spacer lift. Then I checked out Moose's setup and he has the adjustable coilovers.

I'd love to come down and help, but unfortunately I am already booked up the whole day. If you have them assemble the springs and struts it should be a pretty easy job. You will need a floor jack. Also air tools are awesome to have, not required, but it makes the job a lot easier and faster. I've done a few lifts on FJ's and they are pretty easy. If you have any questions hit me up.

All, I did a lot of research on the blue room and found a couple of good threads for the install. I think it will be pretty easy. I'll take the fronts down to Les Schwab, or someplace, to have the springs installed on the struts so I won't worry about that. I compared some pictures on the blue room with my truck and think I have a good plan of attack.

I'm gonna buy a floor jack. I had one many years ago, but it stopped working and I threw it out. I do a lot of routine maintenance on my other cars, so it will come in handy.

I have a compressor, but no air tools. I may make a run by Lowe's and check the prices. Never had a need for air tools before, so I never gave them much thought.

This job is the confidence booster I need. I work on airplanes for a living, but they seem so much simpler and easy to work on. I always get a little nervous when I start tinkering on my vehicles, for some reason.

Jon, I don't believe these are coil-overs. I think these are simply stiffer springs with better quality shocks. They are not adjustable and the lift is supposed to be 2.5 to 3 inches.

Thanks for your advice! I'll put it to use Saturday!

Hey Ernie, if you decide not to buy air tools, then you can usually rent an impact wrench for like $25 for a 4 hour block from most tool rental places. Harbor Freight has some decent prices, but their tools are usually crappy, but get the job done a time or two. Plus they will give you that cheap warranty that offers extended replacement so you can keep swapping them out for new ones!

Somebody in another thread (sorry I forgot who!) mentioned that he had gotten the Lowe's brand air tools when I asked about them and he said they were really good. So that's worth a look for sure. I have been saving to get some nice ones at Lowes that he recommended. I've just rented in the past and it adds up if you use them more than a little bit. But for big jobs then it is worth it to me to rent a super high powered impact wrench (I'm talking the type that would cost me $300 or so if I bought it).

Lowes has a great air tool set for about $100. If you want to borrow mine to try before you buy you are more than welcome to. Kind of wish I was free saturday. Suspension installs are fun! Let me know if you want to borrow some air tools.

I'm trying to arrange my schedule Saturday, but have resisted chiming in because I don't want to get your hopes up. I did my own OME lift (help from my bro-in-law). The most important things to know is how the cups go on (up or down) and how to clock the springs. The rest is cake.

Call around on the spring compression. Les Schwab was a rip. I used to be a fan right up until they charged me $100 for 15 min of work.

I was going to keep my mouth shut about Schwab when it was mentioned earlier. Having grown up in Seattle... Schwab was THE place to get tires. They are a local company there and were always known for great customer service. Well... unfortunately when they expanded it didn't seem to follow them. After the guy tried to rip my elderly mother off on a set of tires then I've not been back and never will go back. I can't remember if I posted that story here. It was pretty bad and I have not been there since and will not ever go again and encourage others not to go there.

Try a small time operation and call first and get the name of the guy who says it's cool to do the work. There are probably 5 family owned tire shops right here on State Street near me in Orem that would be way cool about doing this type of thing and I'm sure it's the same up in Clinton where you are Ernie. I'd just make sure to call first and make sure that they know exactly what you're talking about over the phone. Chain stores love to do the whole hour of labor charging thing and it is BS.

Best of luck man. If you get in a jam and need help then send me a message and I'll do what I can. I just am really needing to get a ton done. I haven't set my classroom up and I'll be in big trouble if I'm not prepared to start the year!

I did my own and it was pretty easy. I too took mine to Schwab and they did the coils for me which I would highly suggest. I unfortunatly will be skiing on Saturday so I am no help but I do have air tools if you want to use them and a floor jack. I am in Denver until Friday night but if you wnat to borrow any of it let me know. One trick to remember is when you are installing the new front coilovers take and use your bottle jack to lower the control arm more and it is much easier to get them in. The rear could be done by a monkey they are so easy. Let me know and I can give you my cell or Brett has it and you can give me call if you need any tools. I have a couple of impacts and an air ratchet.

I know Sandy is a haul from Clinton but I have a press setup that makes strut/coil assemblies a cinch, its literally done hundreds of assemblies on Taco's, 4Runners, FJC's and Land Cruisers, 15-20 minutes is the standard. LMK