Ome Dakar

I wouldn't buy ome's again, but they are better than stock (how sad is that?)

 

If you can get them at a good price they're better than stock by far but if you can wait then save up for Alcans though these are almost double the price. OME performs great but can make a knocking noise that annoys some.

 

Well the last thing I want is to drop $500 and not be happy. My X has just over 120,000 on it. I bought it about 7,000 ago and am guessing these are the original leafs. Maybe I'll put some helpers on for the meantime...

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Im with @jsexton on this one, I'm extremely disappointed with my set.

 

I have the HD OME packs. They work but dam do they make noise like a mofo. I have lube, played, dinked around with them from day one (sounds like a start to a great porn huh) but not so much with leaf packs. Watch this video... you can see that the first 3 leafs have no isolation pucks. So it metal on metal contact. The taped shape of the leaf gives them more ability to twist when turning increaseing the odds of getting the noise. I found that if I pressure wash them then lube them the sound will go away for a few weeks, but just like your firearms, lube and dirt= mess/ jams. With these leafs they mean more noise....

As bad as this sound I have been known to go to the carwash just to wash my leaf springs, imagine the look on everyones face when I just wash the leafs then jet?

I have been saying I was going to replace them for a year now, but never did (money in other areas) but I said screw it and bought Alcans. I actually just got them in the mail yesterday! I think next weekend will be install day depending on the weather as I work in my driveway since the X does not fit in the garage. The Alcans are 2.5" 550lb over stock. I have a set of new PRG shackles that will run on the lowest hole unless I need to raise the rear which I doubt I'll need to do. I like how hte X sits, and the leafs more than support heavy assed X, it was really the noises and constant dinking with them that pushed me over the edge.

My daily summer load out, the rear gets a work out.

 

So are your ome's gonna be available? Haha.

I drive 30 miles ones way to work, and live in the middle of Indiana so the trail riding is limited. Partner that with expecting our first baby in less than 2 weeks and that equals no money for alcans.... But I do want an improvement in the ride.

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I have described them before as "A pack of balloons getting freaky in the back"

 

I also have the HD's. They have been on for around 80k miles now.

With PRG extended shackles maxed out (2") lift and 285's, I'm only sitting at 37" to the fender. So the OME HD's are about -1/2" of "lift"

 

You could also just not buy them.

 

There is a lot of stuff all of us could just not buy.

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I guess this may not help your decision, but so far I'm very happy with mine. I have not had any issues with noises on the rear OME leafs. Not sure what setup others above have, but mine is just straight OME stuff, not a mix of OME and other components. MD leafs and shocks, with their bushings and shackles. No squeaking or any other problems.

Just did 120 miles of dirt / sand / rock in the desert this past weekend, as well as some freeway and highway to get there. We had 3 adults and a decent amount of camping gear loaded up FWIW.

I need to write up a 10K mile update now I suppose, but here is a link to my thoughts at 7500 miles.

 

No that doesn't help. Also the fact that Nisstec is doing 10% off doesn't help...

At this point I am back and forth between the OME and basically no other mods. Or getting the SAAL and a few other little things. But adding the SAAL to leafs that have 120,000 on them worries me a little. Feel like I would be simply putting a band aid on a failing part of the rear.

I wouldn't be full OME though as I won't be replacing the 5100's that are already on the rear. A lot of squeaking doesn't sound fun.

 

I too have full OME with Dakars, no mix-and-match.

No noise and work very well for my needs. (not a heavy loader).

 

I have the OME MD leaf packs. I had some bad creaking and popping. I made sure the U bolts are torqued and I also used some Fluid Film between the spring after a good cleaning. No problems or noise since. So, overall I think the OME are OK, but I will look at other options when the time comes.

 

It sounds like the regular OME medium duty pack would be a good replacement for your stock pack, since you drive mostly on the highway and don't do a ton of wheeling. I'm sure your 120,000 mile stock leafs are pretty much toast by now.

I installed a set of OME medium duty packs about 2000 miles ago when I swapped out my rear axle from a C200 to an M226. I wouldn't exactly say I'm disappointed with them, but they are very underrated for what I intend to do with them. For starters, they're advertised as providing 1 to 1.5" of lift, but I think I'm getting about 1/2" out of them. I have PRG adjustable rear shackles and I only have about 2 inches of lift in the rear with the shackles now maxed out. They ride great, but they're a tiny bit soft for the extra weight I carry in my rig at all times (I usually have a little bit of survival gear under the cargo area floor and a bunch of camera stuff in the back. Probably about 150 lbs of equipment at any given time). If I load up for a camping trip, they're very soft and I get about an inch of sag in the rear, but that could also be because I don't quite have the arch I should since the shackle is set to max height.

I actually just ordered the HD add-a-leaf. I noticed right away in the photos that it doesn't have the isolating plastic pucks on it, and wondered how bad that would sound. I'm not really looking forward to the noise in the video that spoolup posted. My pack currently doesn't make much noise at all. Even after a weekend of serious wheeling in the Southern California desert, it's barely squeaking enough to be noticed. So it does seem like the source of the noise on the HD packs is the metal on metal design. I'm wondering if I could epoxy a thin piece of plastic on the AAL before I install it to help.

 

I have OME mediums and while they are nice packs for my needs, the popping/clunking of the shifting leaf packs is annoying as ****

I would have rather gotten the Alcans. On my next vehicle they will be Alcans, to me its worth the extra money to not have my truck pop around every turn i take.

 

If you don't want a lift, you should consider firestone air bags. That would be a better fit for what you describe anyway, just adjust them as needed.

 

So I'll comment a bit on this...

I've had my OME packs for over 70k miles now (Frontier mind you so some small differences). I've gone through 2 sets of bushings (only like $30 to replace), one set of anti friction pucks, many types of lube, and many pack re configs. I've learned some things over this time. Found that you can eliminate any squeaking with some slight mods to the packs.

For squeaking:
Disassemble the pack and place one of these between each leaf (not overloads). You'll need to drill the center hole of them slightly larger to go around the center pin. These make it so that each leaf only touches the ones around it at the center and at the anti friction pucks. No need for any lube between each leaf anymore after this. Also makes the packs more active due to less internal friction. Also if you are missing/ have worn anti friction pucks, the OME ones suck. These are the ones I used to replace the original ones.
On the retainers, most of my plastic things have broken at this point and the side of each leaf rubbing here is where most of my noise squeaks come from. To fix this, get some 1" or so heat shrink tubing and put it on each retainer. It will last a year or so before it rubs thru.
These get rid of all squeaks assuming your u bolts are tight enough. All of the stuff mentioned above is borrowed from Chevy 1500 packs which are said to be some of the best made.

For popping/ balloon noises:
These come from the bushings nearly 100% of the time. The best way to solve is to disassemble and re lube with quality grease. This will last about 6 months before the noises come back. The best spray lube to use to shut them up for a few months is a wax motorcycle chain lube. This will quiet them down for a month or so. I'm still working on a long term fix for this but will be trying some things in a few months (greasable bolts, shackles, different/ rubber bushings).

 

Interesting. I'll try this on mine. How long do those strong ties hold up?

 

My OMEs are poppy and noisy as all hell. You can feel the clunk when it pops. Gonna put my gopro under it soon and see what's up but I imagine it's just the leaves sliding against each other.


I'm disappointed I didn't just fork out a couple hundred more for the Alcan.

 

Well I think I am going to pass on the OME's. Just too much negative out there for a 400+ price point. Think I will probably do a saal to revive the stock pack for a few years.

Can always save up over that period and then get alcans if I feel like it.

Is there any difference between the prg and the nisstec add a leaf?

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Well this sucks.
I was literally about to order a full OME MD kit this morning, and just saw this thread.

I wouldn't be able to handle popping and squeaking from new suspension setup... so I guess I'll hold off dang it.

What's the solution here? OME up front with Alcans and OME shocks in the back?

 

Alcans are the best but are a waste if you aren't going to get a 3" plus version imo. Their are cheaper options like General Springs.

You need to ask yourself what is your price range?

If you want the best on an non-Titerra then that would argubly be SPC UCA, Radflo extended travels with Radflo rear shocks and Alcans with option 1" on coil spacer and PNG/Nisstec shackles

 

^ Well nearly anything that has poly bushings (Alcans included) will make noise eventually. The squeaking can easily be removed from any leaf pack, but if you want quiet, there is a reason that all OEMs use rubber bushings. Rubber has lower NVH all around, in my experience poly bushing are nothing but trouble.

 

Well, based and this thread and a couple of others, the squeaking isn't so easily removed from the Dakars? Looks like quite a few people have been chasing the squeaking and popping for a long time. I'm not interested in spending $1500 on suspension only to have to listen to "popping balloons" in my rear end.

Are there rubber bushings people are using with the Dakar packs? Do OEM ones work?

 

If you've got the money you could go Alcan.

I've got OME right now and they're noisy, so are their bushings. I also like carrying a lot of weight and the ability to get 600lb+ springs is nice.


That said they aren't Bad by any means.


Also, don't get the aluminum shims if you go with NissTec, because they suck. (they might be zinc or zinc coated). Get steel.

 

Most of my pop and clunk have come from ****ty shims. The OMEs are still noisy though, and pop on occasion.

Extended travel is amazing for mild/moderate wheeling. I'd say titan-swapping is for hard wheeling. Amazing how a couple of inches of extra travel does for your ride comfort. You don't even have to lift it, you can get extended travel w/ it at stock height, and actually have More travel than if it were lifted.

 

Those with OME HD Dakar's installed, should the rear "overload" leaf basically be touching the rest of the spring pack even with the X unloaded? I got my Dakar's installed and everything seems to be fine, but the overload leaf seems like it is basically part of the spring pack. Just curious if that is normal for these springs. I'm used to seeing more space there, more like the factory springs (as crappy as they are).

 

Mine are touching, but the springs are also completely worn out.

 

Mine are definitely closer than that. I took a good look today and the passenger side is touching with the drivers side having about 1/4" or less before touching.

Anyone know if this is something out of the norm and to worry about or just how it is?