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OME or Fox shocks

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15K views 38 replies 22 participants last post by  Red90  
#1 ·
Paired with ome springs (HD front, medium rears) I'm really in the fence as I redo my suspension. Right now I'm not looking at other options I have TF, and on other cars/trucks I have never been happy with bilstein.
 
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#4 ·
I think you should remember that OME are generic gas-charged emulsion shocks, and Fox shocks come in a variety of shocks, including a whole bunch of low-cost models, and the lowest-level rebuildable shocks in emulsion and monotube style.

I ran into this issue. You need to really understand what line of Fox shocks within the huge range of Fox shocks you're willing to pay for. Below a certain level, you might as well go with cheap-o gas charged shocks.
 
#9 ·
Hey Rob,

The HD front OME's may be too stiff for your truck. Zack at RN talked me into going with the Standard OME's front and back with Fox 2.0 non-res shocks. The new springs leveled my truck out perfectly even with the RockWare bumper and Warn 9000 winch. The ride on and off road is 100% better than it was with my old Britpart +2" yellow springs and Cellular Dynamic shocks.
 
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#10 ·
Bo, possibly... I'm going to give the HD springs a try now that I ditched the anti-roll bars front and rear.
Sounds like I'm going to stick with OME right now, I like the idea of the fox shock, but I'm going to go with a system. And the customer service I get from them on my other products.

Also I'm going to do the front shock towers and add cones to the rear.
 
#11 ·
i ordered some of the low end bolt in Fox shocks from Rovers North and one was built upside down. Rovers North has still not addressed this so shame on them. Eshocks is cheap. i wanted a "longer" shock, i did not want to deal with changing out mounts and valving etc. I bought these to replace a set of OME's that are blown out and leaking.

Ive been running OME 751/764's and the OME HD shocks on my 90 for many years with not issues.. im tempted to a set of KONI raids
 
#12 ·
Who have you been dealing with about it at RN? Seems odd that we wouldn't have supplied a replacement.

Fix flipped their design after people had issues with the mount shearing.


IMO I'd never run standard fitment shocks on my truck.

Yes it's more expensive and time consuming, but converting to 1/2" eye-eye shocks on both vehicles was the best thing I've done. I hate pin style shocks.
 
#13 ·
ive only ever seen one lower pin break on a shock. i dont spend as much time offroad as some folks and the OME have served me well for the most part.

my shock saga is going on to week 2. seems like a pretty simple solution to me i shouldve caught the construction issues before installation but it slipped by.
 
#14 ·
I run Fox 2.0's resevoir in both my CT 110 and my Disco 2. The CT see's a lot of overlanding up in Alberta, Canada with lots of washboard roads (that,as it turns out, you don't notice you are driving on with these shocks). The Disco is almost exclusively a Moab trail rig and I really like the lack of fade when I'm running all day down in the heat of Moab. They're a solid choice if you decide to go that way.
 
#15 ·
I had an OME break in Moab years ago, but I think it a fluke. I run Fox's now, and feel they are a step better IMHO.
So much depends on the use and expectation of the vehicle, not to mention driver preferences, so difficult to give one correct recommendation.
In the end, both OME and Fox are good products that can and will have an occasional glitch. Best to look at an overview than one or two specific instances...
 
#16 ·
I have broken the upper eye off three ome shocks. I bought the "hd" kit from rovers north and after my first trail run I found the rear shocks were too short for the small amount of lift they provided. I then bought the terrafirma drop mounts to solve that problem. When the first shock failed I contacted ARB direct and they replaced it. Later that year both rears failed on a run in 8degree weather. When contacting arb this time they refused to replace and blamed the failures on my terrafirma drop mounts. I ended up welding the eye back on on all three shocks and now I carry one as a spare. I have been on runs with other people who have had the same failure with their ome. At this point I haven't had further issue and It has been two years since the last failure. Cant say that I would run the nitro chargers again at this point although they are matched well with the springs I have.
 
#23 · (Edited)
Reviving an old thread. I snapped a OME shock at the top mount over the weekend. After looking at the break, it appears to be a bad weld from the manufacturer. There was rust around where it sheared off. I over extended them since I didnt have any spring retainers.

Im thinking the next go around will be 2.0 Performance Series IFP. And I probably need to retain the spring as well.

Also a big thanks to Brewie for getting me a shock the next day. I sent a text after midnight and i woke up to a message of a shock was on its way to get me through the weekend.
 

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#24 · (Edited)
waveridin1959 said:
Reviving an old thread. I snapped a OME shock at the top mount over the weekend. After looking at the break, it appears to be a bad weld from the manufacturer. There was rust around where it sheared off. I over extended them since I didnt have any spring retainers.

Im thinking the next go around will be 2.0 Performance Series IFP. And I probably need to retain the spring as well.
Click to expand...
I had this same failure on both rear nitro OME heavy duty ones in one hard day. The welds are just so small. I was at stock height and heard after those (heavy, or medium?) are really meant for a vehicle with a greater than stock height. The old OME nitros (metal body mid 2000s ones) I had on the car were fine for many years and were a bit worn but otherwise workable. Don't much like these new ones, but still have mediums on front axle and those have been abused.

Went to fox 2.0 standard height ones (on rear axle), had one weird manufacture defect (shock just collapsed internally) and warrantied a replacement, have beat up on them with lots of weight and bad roads, hot/cold they have been good. I like the eyelet orientation to the shock body is the opposite of OME (body at top fused to eye, rod is bottom).

All this said I saw another newer OME set that had same failure as yours and mine and all the guy did was take them off the car and reweld the eyelets better and they have been fine since. YMMV
 
#27 ·
You can’t overextend the shocks. They are intended to be the extension travel limit. Normally pins breaking are from the bushing binding and not allowing enough angular movement.
 
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#37 ·
If they keep breaking maybe you should buy whatever is cheapest and keep a couple spares with. Jeep guys seem to like Rancho. Blistein B4 or Sachs/Boge (ZF) are probably fine for stock height. Genuine LR & Sachs/Boge are probably the softest, Bilstein B4 are a little firmer, and B6 a little more firm. Rancho are a little firmer than stock too. Looks like OME, Rancho, and Monroe shocks are made by Tenneco Automotive.
 
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