Are toms bronco parts springs trash? Has anyone installed theese lately???

[miikee73]

first off i am ashamed of them having the springs made in india of all places! at a time when our national deficit is as high as it is do right by your country and SUPPORT IT! (quote)
I saw an ad on CL this week,the SuperLift springs were stamped India. So if you want to buy American ,you better ask first.
Tom's is always stood behind what they sell and deserve to be contacted first. My problem with my disc conversion was fixed ,and they took my word that parts didn't fit and went through their inventory ,test fit the part and shipped it the same day.

 

[JimAndA72]

I've spent thousands with Tom's too. Not only are they the best parts house I've dealt with, they're the best retailer I've ever dealt with. I have no doubt that if it isn't right they will make it right. There have been times when I messed up a gasket or whatever during install and they shipped me a new one for free because it was part of a kit even though I was willing to pay for the new one. They've also spent a lot of time on the phone with me for tech support. The "made in India" part sucks but that's not always easy to avoid these days. Hopefully that will change for the better soon.

I'm attaching a pic of my progressive rate coils from them on my truck. They were installed about two years ago. New leaf springs from them too. The ass end is a little lower than the front by about an inch but I like the stance and it rides and handles great.

Let us know what Tom's does to resolve it.

Jim

 

[brewchief]

I'm not surprised that some of the venders have gone to parts made overseas, every week on here there seems to be a thread on where to buy what the cheapest. Some parts are going to be made overseas pretty much no matter what, stamped body parts for example.

Just because a part is made overseas does not make it junk and made in the USA does not automatically make it great, high or low quality materials can be used on both sides of the ocean.

Have the rear springs on the bronco in question been driven on yet? Shackle bolts tightened down with the truck in the air? What do the front and rear measure over stock height?

 

[delconick]

Does anyone know what the factory ride height measurements are? That would be helpful in me figuring what the lift actually is at this point. As for the coils touching these are way worse then the picture you have. None of them should touch, that pretty much defeats the purpose.


It is true that parts will be made overseas and In some cases that is not a bad thing, it is in fact a world economy and we do have to buy from other countries in order to sell to other countries. We are now on the loosing side of that deal though and if people continue to buy non USA made products just cause they are a little cheaper we will surly go bankrupt as a country. I have no problem paying a little more to assure the money stays in my country, after all I would like to keep working here. My friend did not realize that they were not made here, as springs typically are.

As for Chinese and Indian made goods they do in fact use cheaper grade steel, compare a Chinese wrench to a snap on and it is night and day, Chinese made aluminum wheels crack all of the time, look it up.

The moral of the story is spend a little more and buy local, you will keep your job a little longer.

 

[LTL4life]

I spent quite abit of money on parts fromTom's when working on my 71. Every thing i recieved from them was of Top quality. I dealt with Lonnie, Ernesto andJason on the phone many times and got great service and tech advise for free. If you havent installed your spings yet then how can you consider them inferior? As far as Steel from india being Crap, Unless you are a Metallurgist by trade then how did you come to that conclusion?

 

[73stallion]

factory height is 7.5" from axle tube to frame. i've installed their springs for years, never had a complaint from anybody. got their leafs on the rear of mine right now, love them. only reason i don't have their coils is i have a heavy winch and bumper, so i went with BC's winch coils. even with the winch coils i'm only sitting right at 2" over stock, but i'm pretty happy with it.

 

[rustbucket]

The Chinese and Indian's CAN make pretty much anything you want, to any quality level you want. They can send satellites into space, I think they can handle a spring, or two. It is true that there is a lot of junk that comes out of China and India, but it depends on how QC and suppliers are managed. Also, just because it's made there, doesn't mean it's designed there. What I do agree with, though, is that I wish the vendors would try to use U.S. made parts as much as possible. I would certainly pay a premium for QUALITY parts made here. Just because it's made here, does NOT mean the quality is better, but generally it is. The question is HOW MUCH of a premium I would have to cough up? I would probably allow an extra 20-30% on most items. 100-200% on some smaller items. Just depends on what it is, and what the quality level is.

The problem vendors have is that when you look at forums such as this, you find more people starting threads looking for "the best/cheapest", instead of just "the best". Cost is a factor to a lot of people out there. It may pi$$ you off that what you got was made in India, but would you have paid 20-30% more? I have no idea what the actual percentage would be, but considering you could pay a guy there for a weeks worth of work what it would cost for just 3 hours of a Union worker here, you do the math.

I DO, however, think that every vendor should put origin of all their parts on the websites and catalogs. That just gives us, as customers, better information to make a decision on. I hate surprises when unpacking new toys!

I am not an engineer, so I can't comment on the springs you received, but springs work not only in compression. There is an extension factor, as well. Spring design is actually pretty advanced, and there are a lot of factors to take into consideration. You might want to discuss with Tom's the design of the spring. They may be able to educate you a little on why it was designed that way. If it's wrong, I'm sure they will do right by you and take them back.

Sorry for the rant. Just got off the road from an 11 hour drive in the rain, and sipping a Gin and Tonic.

 

[delconick]

Very, very well said rust bucket.

 

[delconick]

Is the 7.5" in the front, back, or both?

I'm wondering if toms just switched suppliers? Does anyone else's say India?

 

[73stallion]

i stand corrected, front measurement is 7" stock.

 

[KyleQ]

My progressive coils look like they are all smashed together, but rides smooth as silk.

Static-


At rest-

 

[mnido]

My parents just picked up my 3 1/2'' coils front and 2 1/2 leafs, complete steering column, and front disc brakes from Tom's. There bringing them down to San Diego at Christmas. I hate to see a rant about a product I just purchased...

 

[garberz]

I've had the same situation with those coils. My buddy bought 3 1/2" coils from Toms and ran them for about a year, the front end never sagged and the upper part of the coils were always bound. He contacted Tom's, and they exchanged them for a store credit. I replaced the coils with some used WH's 5.5", and the ride height is the same.?:? Tom's really back their products, and are more than fair with issues like these. Here's a thread from me about this issue from last year.
Mark

http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=169327

 

[delconick]

called toms and they gave store credit. sounds like i would not use toms for springs. excellent customer service as always and i will continue to use them for lots of other parts but never again for springs. i will post a pic of the top 7 coils all touching! just not a good spring set at all.

 

[delconick]

and p.s. if a vendor sell something that turns out to be sub par or crap i have no problem letting others know. i would want to know.

 

[73stallion]

in my experience thats just the way progressive springs are. the tighter top windings make for better cornering (like these tall boxes need it), and they extend for more flex. it supposedly reduces body roll some, and as they compress more they get even tighter. i liked the way they rode better than my linear coils, but that's the way it goes. i didn't want to go with 3.5" coils and 2.5" leafs.

 

[BroncKrawler]

I'm currently using Tom's 3.5" coils and their rear 3.5" leafs and haven't had any problems. I do however feel like their rear leafs are still too stiff but I think I just need to wheel the piss out of my rig more to soften them up

 

[delconick]

that is true 73 but with all of them touching they do not do anything. you may as well have a non progressive rate coil and a big spacer!

 

[zombie66]

As someone else stated earlier I also thought the added coils that touch were'nt used for compression but for allowing the suspension to flex for offroad use.

 

[rmfreeze]

i will post a pic of the top 7 coils all touching! just not a good spring set at all.

I'm in for the pic!