ARB Europe | SAVE ON SERVICING – OME GREASABLE PINS

Did You Know

SAVE ON SERVICING – OME GREASABLE PINS

5th November, 2020

ARB ADDS AN ADDITIONAL RANGE OF SERVICEABLE COMPONENTS TO THEIR OLD MAN EMU SUSPENSION PACKAGES FOR LEAF SPRING VEHICLES.

Thought Starter

Your suspension is one of the hardest working components of your 4WD. Regardless of whether you are cruising down the freeway or traversing your favourite off road track, your suspension is always working. Due to their mechanical nature, suspension components require an additional level of servicing and maintenance to prolong their life and ensure the optimal level of performance.

Know Your Parts

Pins and shackles are used in all vehicles that utilise leaf spring suspension, most commonly found on the rear axle of modern tubes. Pins and shackles are the parts that affix the front and rear of the leaf springs to the chassis; swivelling and swinging, these components allow the springs to lengthen and contract.

The Sticky Problem

While some common moving parts like wheel hubs are kept operational with bearings, others (including many suspension components) are lubricated with greased polyurethane bushes (sleeves). Bushes are rarely sealed and during normal operation are prone to becoming dry or affected by dust and dirt ingress into the grease, reducing their performance and longevity. To maximise the life of these parts, regular servicing is required to keep the area clean and replenish old grease. In the case of a standard leaf spring, this is generally undertaken by completely detaching the spring from the chassis at both ends, a job that requires no less than a car jack, wheel stands, tools and time.

A Streamlined Solution

By using greaseable pins and shackles, servicing of your Old Man Emu leaf spring suspension becomes that much quicker and easier. With the simple use of a grease gun, Old Man Emu greaseable pins and shackles can be serviced on the vehicle without the removal of suspension parts or additional tools (other than the grease gun). So whether you’re looking at installing a new suspension package or looking for a way to reduce the cost associated with ongoing servicing of your current leaf spring set-up, it is worth considering upgrading to Old Man Emu greaseable pins and shackles.

New Kid on the Block

ARB has offered greaseable shackles for the most popular 4WDs for many years as well as a small number of greaseable pins for select vehicles. In late 2019, with our ongoing commitment to solution improvements, we released greaseable pins to suit a range of popular 4×4 tubes including current model Ranger, Hilux, D-MAX and Colorado.

The expanded range has been designed by OME engineers to fit applications where the original equipment manufacturer uses an M14 bolt as a fixed end for the leaf springs. This is a smaller diameter than any of our previous greaseable pins, so a rigorous design process was undertaken to ensure safety and functionality in this safety-critical component.

Finite element analysis was used to maximise strength and fatigue resistance and we conducted over 3.5 million cycles of physical durability testing to ensure consistency of strength and wear. Grease flow testing confirmed the new eight-port sleeve design to have superior grease distribution than typical four-port sleeve designs, making servicing of front eye leaf spring bushes much easier.

Am I Meant to Be Getting My Suspension Serviced?

Absolutely. ARB recommends having your suspension bushes lubricated no less than every 5,000 kilometres for normal on road use and as regularly as every 2,500 kilometres for off road use. Leaf springs (with ARB’s maintenance-free liners) should be serviced every 10,000 kilometres or 12 months for general on road use or every 5,000 kilometres or six months for off road use. Servicing is more than just greasing and includes checking wear on all components including bushes, shock absorbers, springs, spring seats and more.

Did You Know…?

It’s an unfortunate reality that some vehicle manufacturers’ workshops will not service aftermarket suspension. So while you might be getting your 4WD serviced as per the service book, it is worth checking with your service centre that your suspension is getting the attention it needs; as we’ve all just learned, it can be a simple and quick operation.

Application

OME Greaseable Pin kits are available for the following vehicles: