Switching mine out next week and trying to decide which to go with. Looks like there's about four to choose from, based on what I've seen offered by the online retailers.

- Old Man Emu
- Terrafirma
- Two plain black versions without manufacturer noted. One is $130 and the other is $52.

Which one should I get? No lift or any off-roading - other than snowy / bad weather when necessary.

 

My $.02, I say save yo $$ . Not a lot of hurky jerky, if your not hitting trails. I had oem, ome,now running bilstein no can tell difference. Except for the ugly blue and yellow

 

It definitely needs replaced along with some tie rod ends cause I'm getting that "swim" when driving. But my knee jerk was I probably didn't need a heavy duty or high-end one with my driving habits/needs. If the factory lasted 100k...

So Dusty, are you agreeing that the lower-end, black version what suffice? I think it's supposed to be the generic version of the factory installed one.

 

I would say so. They are made to perform in the urban jungle. They can surely handle the occasional road turtle, curb hop, pot hole, etc. without issue. You are not running the risk of snapping your wrist if you save $ on hd off road performance, that you don't need.

 

Thanks man, I appreciate the help!

 

So I have the new steering stabilizer and tie rod end installed, and it seems to have solved about 2/3 of the "slop" in the steering. There is still some play in the steering though, so what do you all recommend at this point? I believe I read somewhere about there being a bolt somewhere that can be slightly tightened up to help. Is that accurate or have I made it up in my mind?

 

On top of the Steering box is a nut and a torx .Loosen that nut and tighten the torx about 1/8- 1/4 inch and see how it feels. You can adjust it in small turns untill it feels better. Make sure the wheel turns freely both ways.

 

Thank you. I will give that a try for sure!

 

I recently bought the TerraFirma damper ($52). In hindsight, I should have gotten the Old Man Emu for an extra $30. The TerraFirma version works fine except for the blue PLASTIC outer protection tube. They should have used a rubber telescoping ENCLOSED cover. Their plastic tube is open ended and dirt will get into the shaft and cylinder seal.

 

IMO the OME isn't worth the extra money, it's still just a steering stabiliser.

The OME is the same design, but uses metal(that rusts) as a sleeve instead of plastic, nobody really uses rubber boots over the stabiliser anymore.