New OMEs -- Complete with Crack. (1 Viewer)

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Spike Strip

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Well, received my NEW OME's today ....

Found this in one of the front packs (CS005F) -- Lower leaf only.

Glad I paid for OME's quality control. I mean the thing was bloody obvious. :mad:

Grrrrrr .....

Called Kurt at CO and sent pix -- He was very helpful and I suppose fix is on the way...
springbig0001.jpg
spring0001_1.jpg
springmud0001.jpg
 
So where are these things being manufactured nowadays?
 
Wonder if that's how this started. At least ARB is good about making things right.
 
Wonder if that's how this started. At least ARB is good about making things right.

Damn.... Now I gotta go out and check every inch of 'em....
 
Well that sucks! Now I gotta go check mine too...
 
We never had a problem with cracks in the hundreds of Belton (where Dakar is made) leafs we sold. Shackles and shock problems but not leafs. I wonder if they've pushed the demand past the quality. If so, it's too bad. OME quality at Belton pricing was a nice match.

Can anybody confirm that you can't get Australian made OME leafs anymore?
 
ARB (thru Kurt) is replacing the spring pack.

I've got to give their Customer Service (and Kurt) credit for replacing the part quickly...

But I've got to say, it really undermines my confidence in the quality of the product.... I guess time will tell.

S.
 
So what other option are out there?

So, OME is no longer made in Australia at all?

Hmm....


I don't know about any one else, but I'd rather pay a little more to have a quality product. I'm just saying...
 
im sure youll be fine now. sometimes s*** just gets by
 
i'd never buy them again after dramas with that stupid steel sleeve they put in them,mine are ok now but im running two different size bushings,i think there are better quality leaf springs around.
cheers goldchaser
 
Well, back to shopping for me. I had made my mind up that OME was the way to go, not so much now.
 
We never had a problem with cracks in the hundreds of Belton (where Dakar is made) leafs we sold. Shackles and shock problems but not leafs. I wonder if they've pushed the demand past the quality. If so, it's too bad. OME quality at Belton pricing was a nice match.

I would chalk it up as a completely isolated incident. It is the FIRST time I or ARB's tech guy (Mark) had ever seen one with a crack as such. I surveyed all of the 50+ springs I have in stock here, not a single issue as expected. Monroe spring (which I beleive is the maker of the Dakar under contract and spec of OME) makes millions of suspension parts each year... even with the best of products there is going to be a defect that makes its way down the line... sucks, but true. Hell, usually its on stuff I order for my personal rigs :D

Can anybody confirm that you can't get Australian made OME leafs anymore?

That is very correct.



As we didn't have the spring in stock (CS005F) I called ARB to have them ship one out, it left yesterday and they have issued a call tag for the other spring... they really want to get their hands on that spring and figure out how it slipped through the crack (lame pun intended). While Alf might disagree, I think its amazing he caught it (though extremely glad he did). Seeing as I've never had an issue with a cracked spring, I would have never though to look closely for one. I'd like to say I would have seen it while installing it, but man thats pretty hidden. Definitely something I will look for in the future just in case.
 
I've got to clarify something: I still believe OME (ARB) to be a quality Engineerd product, but what I, and others, seem to be concerned with is the QUALITY CONTROL of the product.

I don't care what any company says, when production is moved to 3rd world countries, quality has always suffered... Even with Toyota made in USA (becoming 3rd world - Los Angeles, at least). But companies seem to be willing to trade the quality loss for production costs.

But what really suffers, and many companies dismiss this, is their reputation.

If the defect rate goes from .01 % to say, even .05% on half a million units a year, that's an additional 200 defective units floating around. That may be a small enough number, but now with the power of the internet, and focused users, well... Just look at this thread. Ya hearin' this ARB ??

With no exaggeration, I spotted the crack from 6 feet away, the first time I looked at the springs (I'm 6'-2" , and while the springs were on the ground, my eye went right to the crack). So how was it able to get through so many production hands? Easy when the hands-on workers no longer give a damn about the item they're making.

I'm just glad I bought the stuff through Kurt... I would've hated to deal with this had I bought at 4wheel parts or maybe even MAF.

S.
 
OMEs

I have to beleive this is an isolated incident. I bought a set of OMEs back in 1996 and I have put 175K miles on them. That's right, 175,000 miles of torture and abuse. I've completely worn out the bushings but the springs live on.
 
I have to beleive this is an isolated incident. I bought a set of OMEs back in 1996 and I have put 175K miles on them. That's right, 175,000 miles of torture and abuse. I've completely worn out the bushings but the springs live on.

I think that is the point. ;) 1996 vs 2008 ....
 
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for the doubters, my .02 the OME's i have are prob. the nicest springs i have baught and installed. this is my 9th lifted truck and of all i think these packs are the best. No product is without fault. in mass production stuff happens. QC did not neccesarily miss this. Initial Hairline cracks can widen based on temperature, compression stress, shipping stress etc. Its awesome that you caught it, but i would not denounce the company because of one craked spring, third world production or not. If you have ever paid attention to how stuff shipps it is no wonder why stuff shows up broken from time to time. The purpose of good customer service is to fix the problems and it appears that happened. good times
 
for the doubters, my .02 the OME's i have are prob. the nicest springs i have baught and installed. this is my 9th lifted truck and of all i think these packs are the best. No product is without fault. in mass production stuff happens. QC did not neccesarily miss this. Initial Hairline cracks can widen based on temperature, compression stress, shipping stress etc. Its awesome that you caught it, but i would not denounce the company because of one craked spring, third world production or not. If you have ever paid attention to how stuff shipps it is no wonder why stuff shows up broken from time to time. The purpose of good customer service is to fix the problems and it appears that happened. good times

Well said and I agree with you. And I would buy OME again, based on how they back the product. Plus, I love yellow... :D

As for 3rd world production, my back yard, with FJ60 parts everywhere, is beginning to look like Mayanmar... :eek:
 

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