Old Man Emu Taiwan junk warning.

[Shorty]

My OME Dakar springs were made in Australia, I bought them in Feb 06'. Great springs, I've beat them severly, over flexed, towed way too much on them, and carry too much junk in my rig with absolutely NO SAG!

I hate to hear their quality has gone down hill, they may want to reconsider going off-shore for their springs.

:doh:Australia isn't off-shore?:doh: just funnin'

 

[Stumpalump]

i got the 3" HD packs and i dk if i am right but mine look tweaked... :smsoap:

ill have to look into this tomarrow morning in the light.

What can i do if it really is bent? had the kit on since thanksgiving...

That sucks! I pulled my leaves apart and beat them into shape. I then added a stiff leaf to the bottom to lessen wrap. The nice thing on mine was that the main spring was OK so all I had to do was drop u-bolts and center pin to get at the leafs. I left the main spring bolted to the jeep. Old Man Emu is ARB in the USA. They have the worlds best customer service from my experiance. http://www.arbusa.com/contact_us.php

 

[Beej]

Stumpy, not that I'm disputing that the spring quality may actually be poor, but your testing method of being able to bang them into or out of shape with a 5lb sledge isn't very telling. Its easy to shape even 3/8 1ton truck leaves by hand with a 5lb sledge and an anvil.

Spring steel responds like that and its how leaves have been modified for years. Back in the 60's and 70's my dad worked for a spring manufacturer and he taught me how to "cold form" springs with a 5-7lb sledge and an anvil. The process actually works pretty well.

I'm not saying those springs aren't crap, I'm just saying it would take me more than a test with a hammer to rule out other factors...

 

[Stumpalump]

Stumpy, not that I'm disputing that the spring quality may actually be poor, but your testing method of being able to bang them into or out of shape with a 5lb sledge isn't very telling. Its easy to shape even 3/8 1ton truck leaves by hand with a 5lb sledge and an anvil.

Spring steel responds like that and its how leaves have been modified for years. Back in the 60's and 70's my dad worked for a spring manufacturer and he taught me how to "cold form" springs with a 5-7lb sledge and an anvil. The process actually works pretty well.

I'm not saying those springs aren't crap, I'm just saying it would take me more than a test with a hammer to rule out other factors...

I knew a guy that hammered a 2" lift into a old military Jeep. It's just sad that their spring with two of their full lenght add a leafs bent so easy. It's not a tall lift and it has proper bumpstops so the springs should have held up better. The hammer method I used was typical yes but it was super easy to beat those springs. I could have used my 3lb ball pein with hard wacks. This is really a good point because it is easy to hammer springs into a shape you want. Just because they are bent a little dosn't mean you cant beat them into a nice shape again. It works well and thats why I just fixed mine. I added another leaf to help it last but leafs do take a beating on a spring over and they will bend again.

 

[xjtrailrider]

:doh:Australia isn't off-shore?:doh: just funnin'

To us Australia is off-shore! But if the springs were made by an Austrailian company in Australia, and then farmed out to Tiawan, then they are being produced "off-shore" to the country of origin.

Back to topic, I just wanted to see thier response. I have always had good CS from ARB. I hope that is not slipping as well.

 

[WaXJ_Skier]

I haven't had any issues with my OME leafs, they are as flexy as ever and I got them second hand.

 

[Dan Fredrickson]

I have never had an issue with OME springs but I am sorry to hear about this, I have always felt confident with them. However, I was under the impression they were still made in Australia.

We make it a point to not only make all of our parts in the US but to also know where the steel originated. The part dosen't need to be expensive to be made in the US or have high quality, I think we have proven that.

 

[Maz]

wow, I was doing my homework on OME, getting ready to order a 2" complete lift kit, and then came across this thread. Now I am having second thoughts. That's a bummer since as far as I know, OME was the only place I could get a complete/quality 2" lift for a DD. But with quality being questionable now, I am not dropping big money on it.

This sucks big time. Back to drawing board.

 

[JNickel101]

I would contact ARB USA and find out where exactly they are made. I talked with Dirk at DPGOffroad a while back regarding this - he said they're not made in Taiwan, but did say that they're no longer made in Australia - he wouldnt divulge to me where they ARE made (then again, he may not know). He sells a LOT of OME springs (I think he said more than any other jeep parts retailer in the US) and said he's never heard of anything like what the O.P. did to his leaf pack.

 

[nates94xj]

I think they are made in Malaysia now.

 

[xjblue]

Ok, I would've posted this in the Off-Topic forum but I have insufficient something or others. Anyhoo, after reading the thread on junk Emu stuff from Taiwan I emailed ARB in Australia because I plan on buying their suspension kit for my XJ. Evidently ARB has company owned plants in Australia and Thailand, not Taiwan. But they do 'source products and components from the finest plants around the world.' But not from Taiwan, or China, they said. Air lockers, however, are manufactured exclusively in Kilsyth, Vic, Australia. There is not one single plant for all Old Man Emu Components. They said all their OME design development and testing is done in Kilsyth. They said that since releasing the Dakar line of springs there has been no increase in quality related claims or problems. They said their already low warranty rate has further reduced. And that most spring problems people usually encounter result from incorrect selection, poor installation, or lack of maintenance, and that anybody having problems with their stuff should contact them. I'm just selling this to you like I bought it. I for one will purchase OME suspension parts for my Jeep.

I'm pretty sure Monroe makes their shocks. But take that with a grain of salt, I simply heard it a few times on the interweb.

This reflects what I remember being told by a regional sales rep at ARB-USA some years ago as the Dakar springs first came out. Ditto on the shocks, Monroe is one of few actual shock manufacturers and make a vierity of brands of shocks at different specs for different customers incuding brands like Doetsch Tech and several other well known lift kit companies from what I understand.

After another two recent trips to Southern Utah with my typical camping load up, including running the Hole in the Rock Trail, Arch Canyon (twice), and Hotel Rock among others within the last month. My one year old OME leafs (CS034RB's and AAl's) and 4+ year old OME shocks are still doing fine on ride hight and comfort on and off road.