I bought TOM'S 3.5 inch rear leaves with military wrap on one end. Has anyone installed these? I'm asking because it looks really tight where it attaches up front. I email Tom's and they said they will work. What's weird is the wrap is not round over the eye of the leave ,it's kind of oblong. IF SOMEONE HAS INSTALLED THEM PICTURES WOULD BE GREAT. Here are some pics of the new leaves and the old one's. I'm not installing them till spring time.
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rear leaves with military wrap
- Thread starter savage
- Start date
That's what they show on line, I emailed them pics of the ones I got from them and the said it will work, I hope so.It doesn’t look right, here’s the Tom’s 2-1/2” spring I put on a year-and-a-half ago...
~Rick
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garberz
Bronco Influencer
That's what is scaring me ,the way its shaped it looks like it will hit the hanger when the spring flattens out. That's why I'm asking for pic of other Tom's 3.5 inch leaves ,to see if anyone else has the same thing I have.
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It will work, it's just not as good as it could be, it's only a backup piece really, but does not look good. Bad enough to pay for another round of shipping? Probably not.
My wife and I actually drove down to Tom's last week and pick them up, then went to WH. Do you think they will hit the spring hanger when the springs flex? If they hit ,could it damage anything? If the wrap was not done Wright, I would think TOM'S would fix the problem.
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The shape of the eye is actually fairly common. Take a look at springs made in Austrailia for Toyota Land Cruisers, and many aftermarket brands made for Toyota pickups. Not all companies make them that way, but I've seen them for many years and don't think it's an issue either.
There are issues with them fitting the spring hangers sometimes however. It's also not a big problem, and does not effect the function of the spring, but in a perfect world you do not want the metal of the leaf hitting the metal of the hanger. You might hear bumping, you might hear squeaking, or you might not hear anything.
Unfortunately on Broncos that pocket is extremely small, and the double-wrap extremely large compared to the original. But it's felt that it's a worthwhile upgrade to have the double-wrap eye style anyway.
Another thing that makes it even worse on Broncos (any old American truck too, but I've seen it more often on Broncos than just about any other type) is that over time the bolt hole gets worn through and wallowed out. This extra space is almost always moving the hole upward, which in turn makes the spring fitment even tighter.
I'm personally going to re-drill the holes further down (by about half a bolt diameter) and then use weld-nuts to recreate the proper hole size and reinforce the area at the same time. Kills two birds, so to speak.
My '71 had the ovalized holes back in the early eighties, but because the springs I used then were single wrap eyes, the loss of space up top did not become an issue for me. Just did not like the compromised holes, so was going to fix them anyway. Now though I'm going to add the additional space by lowering the hole.
Paul
There are issues with them fitting the spring hangers sometimes however. It's also not a big problem, and does not effect the function of the spring, but in a perfect world you do not want the metal of the leaf hitting the metal of the hanger. You might hear bumping, you might hear squeaking, or you might not hear anything.
Unfortunately on Broncos that pocket is extremely small, and the double-wrap extremely large compared to the original. But it's felt that it's a worthwhile upgrade to have the double-wrap eye style anyway.
Another thing that makes it even worse on Broncos (any old American truck too, but I've seen it more often on Broncos than just about any other type) is that over time the bolt hole gets worn through and wallowed out. This extra space is almost always moving the hole upward, which in turn makes the spring fitment even tighter.
I'm personally going to re-drill the holes further down (by about half a bolt diameter) and then use weld-nuts to recreate the proper hole size and reinforce the area at the same time. Kills two birds, so to speak.
My '71 had the ovalized holes back in the early eighties, but because the springs I used then were single wrap eyes, the loss of space up top did not become an issue for me. Just did not like the compromised holes, so was going to fix them anyway. Now though I'm going to add the additional space by lowering the hole.
Paul
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Which leads to an only slightly related question that probably deserves it's own thread.
Just how would you go about aligning your drill to the spring hanger in order to drill a properly sized, properly located, and properly aligned pair of holes?
Or would you just grind it out in the direction you want it, then fill in the unused portion?
Once you've drilled, you can "fix" the old hole by welding thick washers to the outside, or drilling it out even further and using weld-washers such as those offered by Ruff Stuff.
Paul
Just how would you go about aligning your drill to the spring hanger in order to drill a properly sized, properly located, and properly aligned pair of holes?
Or would you just grind it out in the direction you want it, then fill in the unused portion?
Once you've drilled, you can "fix" the old hole by welding thick washers to the outside, or drilling it out even further and using weld-washers such as those offered by Ruff Stuff.
Paul
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As others have noted, that's sloppy manufacturing. I have the same problem with my WH springs - although to a lesser degree. I had a local spring shop tighten up the wrap a bit for me on my springs but they still rub the hanger. Big problem - probably not. Annoyance that bugs OCD engineers like myself? Definitely.
Todd Z.
Todd Z.
I know the military wrap is for safety if the spring breaks, but could you cut the wrap or will it affect it at all ? I've seen other springs with the wrap only part way up the eye. The original springs had no wrap, I not going to cut it, just thinking out loud;D I'm a little OCD and how close it is might drive me crazy;D
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Rustytruck
Bronco Guru
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if it was mine I would put a rod in the eye and press the outer wrap back in proper place. its just a back up wrap may save your but or may never be needed. either way it will get the job done.
Between you guys here and and others on Instagram it looks to be the norm with some of the manufacturers military wrap. I'm just going to put it together and see how it works. People have been sending me pictures of their springs installed and they all touch the spring hanger and it's just not the brand I bought . Here's some other leaves that are touching, ones WH and the other is Tom's, and both Broncos had know issues with noise or binding,
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kaw550
Bronco Guru
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I know this is an older post but what was the end result?
Are people using them "as is"?
I have same issue with springs I bought a while back. The springs were installed with new poly bushing but I think they are rubbing now more then when they were initially installed.
I plan to bring the Bronco to a spring shop to see if they can tighten the wrap.
If that doesn't work, I was considering cutting the wrap or grinding down the leaf where it makes contact.
Are people using them "as is"?
I have same issue with springs I bought a while back. The springs were installed with new poly bushing but I think they are rubbing now more then when they were initially installed.
I plan to bring the Bronco to a spring shop to see if they can tighten the wrap.
If that doesn't work, I was considering cutting the wrap or grinding down the leaf where it makes contact.
Caution: soap box discussion, potential for hurt feelings, brutal honesty and maybe a chuckle or 2. So my apologies up front before climbing down the rabbit hole
The wrap is designed that way on purpose and has a purpose to its shape. The wrap is there as a safety if the main spring breaks, each leaf is a spring. Every leaf in a pack moves on a different arc, they slip on each other and why many OEM springs do not touch each other in the stack except for the tip and center were the ubolts are. It is a necessity to not have built in fatigue and a very stiff spring, the main leaf and the wrap leaf must move seperately through the travel cycle. If they were wrapped tightly you’d be complaining about the crappy ride due to those 2 leafs being bound together and fighting each other through suspension travel.
Bronco spring hangers were never designed for a military wrap, consequently they rub. The supplier should be supplying a corrected spring hanger. They made it because people were asking about it because the internet says you have to have it, you’ll kill a bus load of children and nuns by not having it. OEM’s didn’t have them so they didn’t design for them and to the best of my knowledge the potential to kill a bus load of children and nuns is less than falling off a cliff sitting at a keyboard at home.
Now that being said. Thin leafs like some of the renowned spring builders use are more prone to breaking over time using them as in tended Offroad. The military wrap is there so you can get back to the trailhead or pits, not to replace the main leaf in the event it breaks if it was wound tight, you now have 2 broken leafs instead of one.
It’s a military wrap because they militarily required it on some of their vehicles where lives depend on that vehicle moving after dodging artillery, completely different scenario and written by engineers with ideas that made people feel good.
Ok off my box, hopefully the military wrap understanding is more at ease.
The wrap is designed that way on purpose and has a purpose to its shape. The wrap is there as a safety if the main spring breaks, each leaf is a spring. Every leaf in a pack moves on a different arc, they slip on each other and why many OEM springs do not touch each other in the stack except for the tip and center were the ubolts are. It is a necessity to not have built in fatigue and a very stiff spring, the main leaf and the wrap leaf must move seperately through the travel cycle. If they were wrapped tightly you’d be complaining about the crappy ride due to those 2 leafs being bound together and fighting each other through suspension travel.
Bronco spring hangers were never designed for a military wrap, consequently they rub. The supplier should be supplying a corrected spring hanger. They made it because people were asking about it because the internet says you have to have it, you’ll kill a bus load of children and nuns by not having it. OEM’s didn’t have them so they didn’t design for them and to the best of my knowledge the potential to kill a bus load of children and nuns is less than falling off a cliff sitting at a keyboard at home.
Now that being said. Thin leafs like some of the renowned spring builders use are more prone to breaking over time using them as in tended Offroad. The military wrap is there so you can get back to the trailhead or pits, not to replace the main leaf in the event it breaks if it was wound tight, you now have 2 broken leafs instead of one.
It’s a military wrap because they militarily required it on some of their vehicles where lives depend on that vehicle moving after dodging artillery, completely different scenario and written by engineers with ideas that made people feel good.
Ok off my box, hopefully the military wrap understanding is more at ease.
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- 12,015
Bingo.Caution: soap box discussion, potential for hurt feelings, brutal honesty and maybe a chuckle or 2. So my apologies up front before climbing down the rabbit hole
The wrap is designed that way on purpose and has a purpose to its shape. The wrap is there as a safety if the main spring breaks, each leaf is a spring. Every leaf in a pack moves on a different arc, they slip on each other and why many OEM springs do not touch each other in the stack except for the tip and center were the ubolts are. It is a necessity to not have built in fatigue and a very stiff spring, the main leaf and the wrap leaf must move seperately through the travel cycle. If they were wrapped tightly you’d be complaining about the crappy ride due to those 2 leafs being bound together and fighting each other through suspension travel.
Bronco spring hangers were never designed for a military wrap, consequently they rub. The supplier should be supplying a corrected spring hanger. They made it because people were asking about it because the internet says you have to have it, you’ll kill a bus load of children and nuns by not having it. OEM’s didn’t have them so they didn’t design for them and to the best of my knowledge the potential to kill a bus load of children and nuns is less than falling off a cliff sitting at a keyboard at home.
Now that being said. Thin leafs like some of the renowned spring builders use are more prone to breaking over time using them as in tended Offroad. The military wrap is there so you can get back to the trailhead or pits, not to replace the main leaf in the event it breaks if it was wound tight, you now have 2 broken leafs instead of one.
It’s a military wrap because they militarily required it on some of their vehicles where lives depend on that vehicle moving after dodging artillery, completely different scenario and written by engineers with ideas that made people feel good.
Ok off my box, hopefully the military wrap understanding is more at ease.
