Old Man Emu add-a-leaf?

Anybody have any experience with the OME add-a-leaf for the HD leafs? My 3" lift becomes about a 1" lift when I load up camping and recovery gear. I'm thinking the Malaysian steel might not be as good as the old Australian steel. I'm wondering if it increases the unloaded lift much, the ride, ease of installation, etc.

Installation is a breeze, it'll lift the unloaded height by about 20mm and the ride will stay perfect, albeit a little more firm. Are you running the CS034RA leafs at the moment?

Aha! So its Malaysia where they outsourced.....hmmm...

and x2 on what gorman said. I also believe someone on here (or multiple people) has run 2 OME AALs per pack with no negative effects....

When I was running my OME lift paired with a budget boost shackle and spacer I wanted to firm up the rear by adding an OME extra leaf. After flexing the rear too much a couple of times without proper bumpstops it started to sag and I thought an extra leaf would solve my problem. The bottom most spring of the OME pack actually have bent away a little from the rest of the pack from being inverted one too many times.

The local suppliers were out of stock on the OME extra leafs and I got impatient, so I removed the packs and took it to a local place that make up new spring packs. They said the bottom OME leaf is not supported well enough hence it bending away, so the made me a short support leaf at the very bottom of the pack and they matched the curve of the main OME leafs and made me an extra leaf as well. While they were busy I recall someone fitting two OME extra leafs before, so I asked them to make me another one in case I needed it in the future.

Well, currently I'm running all those leafs in the rear (an extra 2nd and 3rd and a short support one at the bottom). While still maintaining the longer shackle in the rear, it now netts me 6.5" of lift with a nice firm ride (but not harsh) and it still flexes well due to the inherently flat nature of the OME springs.

Here's a pic from the last time when I added back my 2nd extra leaf (going into the 3rd position from top)


And here's everything bolted together

So you guys think OME really is not as good as it used to be?

I have no complaints about the quality of OME - still think it is an excellent, good quality syspension system. I've abused mine a little and should have installed proper bumpstops in the rear. The extra leafs I had made was just to fix my problem (not OME's problem).

Saying that, I would advise anyone who's thinking of installing OME to install the extra leaf from the beginning - for me it just works better that way.

winkosmosis said:

So you guys think OME really is not as good as it used to be?

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I havent had any problems with my springs. I thought my OME 930 coils were WAY too soft (gave me less than 1" of lift) but other than that....no issues.

Gorman, what did you use between the individual leafs for "pads"? I cant seem to find those anywhere!!!

JNickel, the company that made the extra leafs installed those, so I'm not sure where to buy them loose.

JNickel101 said:

I havent had any problems with my springs. I thought my OME 930 coils were WAY too soft (gave me less than 1" of lift) but other than that....no issues.

Gorman, what did you use between the individual leafs for "pads"? I cant seem to find those anywhere!!!

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Which ones are 930? Is that the light duty?

Yes, the OME 930 coils are the light duty ones specified for the XJ in the OME catalogue. The heavier duty ones are the OME 934 springs that were designed for the ZJ V8. As installed in a friend's XJ two weekends ago, the OME 934 coils together with an additional OE coil spring spacer gave about 3 3/4" lift.

gorman said:

Installation is a breeze, it'll lift the unloaded height by about 20mm and the ride will stay perfect, albeit a little more firm. Are you running the CS034RA leafs at the moment?

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The company I got my lift kit from is sending me a pair of the Add-a-leafs because they sent me the wrong leaf packs. Is there anything else that I need to install these?

No, if your u-bolts are long enough you won't need anything else.

Cool thanks

Holy crap Gorman, an 8 leaf pack? Starting to look like a Deaver spring pack....

So your very bottom leaf is the one they made for you, as a "support" leaf? I was thinking of doing that as well, for my pack.

How do you like the ride with the long, straight shackle? Right now, I'm running the JKS boomerang (1" lift over stock shackle length) and it isn't bad, but I might need a bit more....

Also, do you know of the next taller/stiffer OME coil above the 934? Something that would give an XJ 4" of lift? I seem to remember Dirk from DPG saying that the TJ coils would give you 4" on an XJ....

JNickel, yes the bottom spring is the support spring the made and no's 2 and 3 from the top as well. At the moment I'm running one 7 leafs! The shorter one of the top two I've removed, but I think I'll add it back the day I fit a new rear bumper with sparewheel carrier just to assist carrying the weight that far back.

Regarding shackle - can't see it in the pick but I'm running the RE boomerang shackle which give 1.5" of lift.

In the front - I don't know of anything from OME that will give more lift than the OME 934. Any of the TJ coils are shorter with less spring rate. The OME calatog lists an OME931 spring that is the same length as the 934 (which is the longest of the bunch), but with the same spring rate as the other TJ springs so it won't lift an XJ any more, but it will be a nice option for a TJ person to gain additional lift via OME. BTW, the OME 931 is listed for the 6 cylinder ZJ.

Rocky Road used to list a 4" and a 5" OME lift. Their 4" was the OME 930 coils combined with a 2" spacer while the 5" was the OME 934 with the same spacer. In the rear it was the CS034RA's with longer shackle for 4" and the 5" had the OME extra leaf added. Oh, if not mistaken they also use small little blocks underneath the spring, but I can't remember if this was part of the OME lift "kit" or not.

I swear I remember Dirk telling me that the OME 939 was 4" for an XJ. Maybe I'll give him a call today to see if I'm remembering correctly. Either way, I need a 4" coil I think...

I have a printed OME catalog from July 2006 and it doesn't list an OME 939 - up to a 938 and then from 940 onwards again. It could be that my catalog is too old, or that there was a 939 that has been discontinued?

http://www.oldmanemu.com/item.html?pid=2021

http://www.jeepinoutfitters.com/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=1194

Some sites have it listed as a "heavy load" spring - (90-200lbs).....

I run two old man emu aal's with old man emu's 2" hd leaf springs and also 2" shackles. I got 5" in the rear and it rides so nice. People think it would ride like crap with two but nope.

muddeprived said:

I run two old man emu aal's with old man emu's 2" hd leaf springs and also 2" shackles. I got 5" in the rear and it rides so nice. People think it would ride like crap with two but nope.

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Totally agree, and what is even better - it flexes much better than a heavily arched spring.

In the pic below I only have one extra leaf, but the result would be the same with the other one added as well.