Ironman 4x4 Suspension

Were those bowed coils installed by Ironman?

 

Wish I would have seen this thread before I placed my order.

My FCP kit will be here Sunday. If the coils are bowed at all I'm not going to even bother installing them. I'll be on the phone with IM and telling them to send me some non-bowed coil overs.

 

Ya... don't know wtf is going on with them, but this needs to be fixed. A little bow won't hurt, but you should absolutely not bother installing the front shocks unless you have a minimum of ~.2" of clearance between the spring and shock body.

If they get that fixed, they seem like great shocks. Even though I had to swap springs I'm still not disappointed, because I love the ride. Firm but not harsh, planted and secure on bumpy turns, don't miss the swaybar a bit.

 

Well, hopefully I'll get lucky and my coils will be fine. But knowing my luck, probably not.

Which sucks, because this really does seem like a great kit, especially for the price. The ideas and technology behind the kit is what really attracted me. It is all very smart and follows the "function over form" mindset, which I like. But if the execution of the ideas didn't follow through, that's a different story.

 

Have not checked this thread in a LONG while....and those bowed coils I remember from my last look around....still an issue they have not fixed, that is not normal. Their coils are too long it seems to me.

 

They are long, but I don't think that is the problem. Rather it's either the coil being improperly built or the lower perch not to spec for the coil, or a combo of the two. Plenty of people have no issues, including me on my 2nd set. A fat shock body and long coil mean the tolerances need to be tighter than most designs in this price range.

 

Have them on my GX for 2 years with no issues.

 

Just got the kit delivered. Not only is it missing the rear leaf springs, but both of the front coils are severely bowed to the point where the clearance between the shock body and the spring is about a quarter inch on one side, and almost an inch on the opposite side. As you can see.

Oh, and it's Saturday so their customer service isn't even open..

 

Will probably center up when you put the weight of the truck on it.

 

I really doubt that. It's much more likely to bow even more and start making contact between the shock body and the spring, just like others have experienced in this thread.

 

Holler at Wags, see what he thinks.

 

It's hard to tell for sure if that is going to rub. Is the bottom of the photo really the closest spot? How is the bow oriented relative to the installation in the truck?

On every one I've seen so far the contact/close spot is on the inner side of the shock, whenever the spring is installed the way IM does it... with the pigtail facing outside (towards the wheel). Spinning the spring around so high point of the ramp is on the inside and also installing the spring as far inward as possible (there is some lateral slop on both perches) will help.

But ya, if you wanted to screw around with that you wouldn't have paid IM to install them...

 

I have no idea who that is.

 

Exactly. I paid them $200 extra to set it up themselves, figuring at the time they would know what they were doing.

 

Chris Wagner. He’s the guy who does all their install videos (very well, I might add). https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-wagner-4b39a6187

 

Ah yes. I like that guy. I tried the link you supplied but it appears he isn't active there and I can't message him without a premium account anyway. I'll try to find some other way to contact him.

 

So i got in contact with their customer service. The agent is adamant that the coils won't rub and wants me to install them anyway.

So i offered a deal. I'll install the kit and if/when the coils rub, i want ironman4x4 to immediately send me new struts that are verified to have straight coils before being shipped. Then i want a $200 refund for the time spent replacing parts i already know to be defective. And i don't want to spend any money on return shipping.

Either they stand behind their product or they don't. I took a $3k risk on their product. The least they can do is take a $200 risk on it as well.

As of now I'm waiting for a phone call from a manager to approve my terms. Until that call, I'm not installing a darn thing.

 

How crooked/slanted is the top mount, as it sits not installed?

 

As far as I can tell, it isn't crooked at all.

I think the bowing is the result of either the end of the coil being made at the wrong angle, or the bottom coil mount is made at the wrong angle. It could also be some issue with the way the worker installed the coil on the shock.

In any event, there is some issue with the quality control going on. The bow in my coils is so severe that it would be impossible not to notice. Meaning somebody saw that bow, then made the conscious decision to wrap it up and ship it out anyway.

 

Any idea on this noise? Didn’t start until a few weeks after install.

https://youtu.be/H-vvT6Ja4Co

 

1. Needs grease.

2. Did you have the truck on the ground resting the weight on the suspension before you tightened the bolts?

3. If neither of those are the problem, call Ironman4x4.

 

The install video didn’t show them grease anything. And yea I had it on the ground when I tightened it up. I tried calling them but they are closed today.

 

They are definitely open today. I talked to them. Try calling again, or use the chat function on their website.

 

I just called and had to leave a message. I was trying to call them around 12pm eastern, and it was telling me their office was closed. We will wait and see.

Odd that it just started a few weeks after I put it on. Almost sounds like metal on metal.

 

Told you it’ll straighten up under load.

 

I sincerely hope you're right. But from my own experience and the from the other posts in this thread, I'm not so sure. Guess we'll find out when I install them... If this manager ever gets around to calling me..

 

Mine definitely went the other way. There was clearance before they went on; about as much as you are seeing. Whether that gets better or worse depends on how the spring is oriented relative to the shock. I didn't even replace my spring on the passenger side; reorienting the spring fixed it. I mentioned this earlier; the way they like to install them with the pigtail and high spot on the lower ramp facing outward tends to maker the spring bow outward. Just having a lift tends to make the spring bow outward as well; the angle on the upper mount of the truck is made for stock height (obviously), and on a lifted truck the shock is a little more vertical (due to the lower mount on the LCA moving inward a bit). There is also some lateral play at the upper and lower perch that you can use to give you more clearance.

Are the tophats really perpendicular to the shock? It would be odd if they were. You can measure from the tophat to bottom perch all around to see.

 

Sure does. I doubt your UCAs are making that noise; I'd look elsewhere... and soon. Something important might be coming loose.

Maybe I'm not seeing it right, but it kinda looks like the top of your tire is moving laterally...?

 

None of that is my problem. It's theirs. I paid them an extra $200 to professionally install my coils on my shocks. If they didn't do it right, then THEY are going to fix it. Not me. They should have had all of that worked out before they ever released the kit.

 

Totally understand! That's why I gave a on your post. For $200 it better be done right; hell that seems like a pretty good rate for maybe 1/3 hr and a machine that isn't that expensive.

For anybody who is contemplating these shocks though, I'd recommend installing the springs yourself, until IM figures it out. Orient the spring ~180 degrees from how IM does it and also position the spring as far inward as possible. I supported my shock by the tophat bolts and lower body (with the outer side facing up) so the spring could hang down, while I released the spring compression.

If everything is perfectly centered, there is only 9mm (or .35") between the spring and shock body. Not a lot of room for error.