5100s but nothing to go with them....HELP

If you check out my welcome message in the "welcome" forum, you can see the photos of my rust bucket I am working on for my son. We got some 5100s to replace the rusted, blown-out ones, but we need the spring that fits on the 5100s. I am having sooooo much trouble finding these. Any help with a replacement recommendation will be greatly appreciated.

 

@memario1214

 

Looks like a bracket lift, those shocks probably need to be longer than regular 5100’s unless you add a shock spacer.

probably need a rebuild kit for those UCA uni-balls

 

Really should replace the uniball and misalignment spacers too. These things need some very routine maintenance, but they'll reward you will a ton of life. Do not lubricate with WD40

https://www.chaosfab.com/lifestyle/...uo3vV_J67RfN7qLl1eToUCWnB0QV3G9HdLF2UM7UhCcCB

 

WOW - Great information. We will be using this.

 

5100s are designed to be used with your oem springs. That’s why they don’t come with any.

 

That's what I am hearing. Any ideas where I can buy the OEM springs like the ones we have?

 

Toyota is where you buy OEM parts....


I used OME (Old Man Emu/ARB) coils with my Bilstein 4600s. Read the "so you bought a first gen tundra" sticky. It has all the suspension info you should need.

 

ABC in Pearl City might have them. Alternatively Discount Auto Parts on Olai street on Campbell industrial park may have them.

Servco will Rake you over the coals for them.

you might also be able to swap them with someone else’s stockers if they are doing a lift.

 

I think folks need to be more careful about giving advice, especially if @Hawaii Rust Bucket has a bracket lift installed. You may end up spending money unnecessarily.

@Hawaii Rust Bucket can you get us more pictures from under the front bumper, and pics of the knuckle/spindle so we know what you’re dealing with here? @Sirfive may be correct on both points he brought up.

 

Here we go….

I was able to see the part number on the rusty shocks. I got the same ones.

Here are a few photos.

 

The truck is lifted already. I do believe it’s a 3” lift with a 3” body lift. There is lots to do. Like I said, taking all the advice here, and reading all about it. Hopefully we can track down some springs and start on the project next weekend.

 

that is a 4.5" or 6" suspension lift and a 3" body lift.
I cant measure the distance between the two bolts on the frame, but that "APPEARS" to be a 6" lift. If you can measure the distance between those two big bolt heads you can see if you have a 4.5" or 6" lift kit. Those shock bodies are longer than an OEM standard shock because the lower A-arm is now moved down with those big lower brackets. Also the spindle is longer.

The part number by the thumb in the pic is the part number for RCD 4.5-6" lift shocks.

How is the frame so clean when the springs are so crusty? so many questions.

 

Yes sir - 6” lift! We have not touched the suspension, that’s why those springs are so crusty. We have detailed the frame, cleaned, sanded, some heavy duty arm strength, pressure wash, some more sanding, a goooood solid clean and repainted.

We have taken this bad boy off-roading and it’s a BEAST! Our goal is to get the front suspension all cleaned up, including bushings, rear suspension installed and hopefully it will stop squeaking.

My son is loving it.

 

You also should get replacement upper control arm bushings now that I can see the rest of the truck.
Shop local to you that could probably help you out with parts or guidance. Definitely your island built trucks, but they definitely seem to know what they're doing.
https://www.instagram.com/the_notch_/

 

I think your CVs are in need of a lot of help.

 

Actually you need to re-boot your CV axles ASAP. If they're still OEM Toyota (which are freaking bomb proof) and still functioning, get a reboot kit, re-boot, and pack with grease.

I don't recognize the bracket lift. At this point, not knowing what's on there currently, and seeing you already have new Billy 5100s, I'd give @memario1214 a holler and get him to sell you some OME 2883, which are about as close as you can get to OEM (maybe half inch of lift), and the correct isolators and tophats. I think you'll need these isolators and these tophats.

 

Jinx!

 

yeah the lower bushing on the shocks you have installed is blown out, you can see it cause the shock bolt is no longer centered in the lower eyelet. I suspect that is a fair bit of the squeak. The lower eyelet may even be rubbing the lower A-arm since the lower shock has "slumped" down lower than where its supposed to be due to the bushing being blown out.
I didnt say anything earlier about it cause i saw you had new shocks to go in, so, yeah get rid of those shocks when you can.

Also, most of the time people who off-road dont normally run a body lift. They are typically squeaky and creaky and they raise the center of gravity. Sure they allow you to clear a bigger tire but body lifts havent been a thing since like the mid 90s. I cant tell you to change it but i can say if you spray some good penetrating lube on the top and bottom of all those plastic spacers you might find that the squeaks disappear. The body lifts on old 80s and 90s toyota pickups made them squeak and creak like crazy. I suspect you probably got some squeaks in your spacers too.

 

We have brand new long travels sitting in the box ready to be installed.

 

Here are a couple more photos.

 

Can you tell me what the isolators are for?

 

Never mind…just watched the video….on their way.

 

Ditto…. I followed the advice there and am 100% satisfied. Having a regular cab V8 w/ no rear lift OME 2883s were the right choice for me.

 

Anatomy lesson on struts here...

"Tophat" is the metal plate that holds the spring down on top of the strut.

"Isolator" is the rubber shim/spacer of sorts that gets sandwiched between the spring and tophat, to isolate shock/vibration between the two metal parts.

Then of course, you have your spring, and the strut/shock body itself.

Why is the isolator and tophat important? Well, you need the correct diameter plate on top, and a lot of springs have different diameters at their top and bottom opening (a lot of springs taper off). Your isolator is molded to both (A) fit neatly on the tophat and (B) usually have a nub or molded round protruberance that fits into the exact diameter of your spring. I specifically linked those two above (which @memario1214 will be familiar with, I'm sure) because you need new springs, and that specific tophat happens to work with 5100s, and that isolator is also a dead-nuts perfect match for OME (Old an Emu) springs which have a TON of applications in our trucks and a TON of lift results info also.

But I'm also not a suspension expert. A good suspension guy can probably look up:

• The lengths of the 5100 model you show in your post (min/max extension measurements)
• The resting length of the OME 2883 spring (2883 is the model number)
• Compare the two to make sure they're compatible with each other (i.e. make sure the spring won't be too long/short for that 5100, if it's not the normal 5100 product most of us used on our Tundras, since yours may be longer!)
• Order the springs, tophats, and isolators for you if the two products will work together

Your only other option (in my opinion) is to:

• Disassemble one of your struts
• Measure the uncompressed height of the spring
• Get a caliper and measure the diameter of the bar they used on the spring
• Count the number of complete spring turns, total, from top to bottom
• Measure the diameter of the spring pockets, top and bottom
• Try to find a manufacturer who has a spring similar to that, and hope the tension is correct

Thanks for attending my Ted talk.

​

 

Freaking amazing!