hey guys, i’ve been gone from here for a while, but it’s good to be back! life got busy with a new career, buying a house etc. SO...i picked up an ‘86 k10 to build up with my old 1-tonned blazers axles etc. My main concern right now is what company to go with for leafs. I like ORD as a company but want to know if anyone has experience dealing with ORD for custom springs? i’ve heard horror stories of people receiving 1 short spring, bad customer service, or other issues with Atlas, Alcan. How does ORD compare?
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.
anyone have experience with ORD leaf springs?
- Thread starter shock88
- Start date
I have 52” ord springs all the way around on my k5.
Probably been about a year I guess. I love them. They showed up exactly how I ordered them(lift, axle offset,ect...) They are VERY flexible. I push them way past flat in compression, so I don’t know how long they’ll last, but I hope I can wear them out so I have an excuse to four link it! Haha!
Probably been about a year I guess. I love them. They showed up exactly how I ordered them(lift, axle offset,ect...) They are VERY flexible. I push them way past flat in compression, so I don’t know how long they’ll last, but I hope I can wear them out so I have an excuse to four link it! Haha!
H20 Toie
1/2 ton status
Customer service has been fantastic, i bought a full set of 4" custom springs for friends 91 k5 and they ride fantastic, as Eddie said they are flexible,
I then went and ordered a set of coil overs for my 91 k5 and again everything came as ordered, i just got cross over steering kit for my 3/4 ton suburban with same results, at the same time i ordered a set of sway bar disconnects and they called to make sure i needed them since you can't use a sway bar with cross over steering.
I then went and ordered a set of coil overs for my 91 k5 and again everything came as ordered, i just got cross over steering kit for my 3/4 ton suburban with same results, at the same time i ordered a set of sway bar disconnects and they called to make sure i needed them since you can't use a sway bar with cross over steering.
I would think that you wouldn't have to look very much to find lots if folks pleased with ORD. They have great customer service and deliver a quality product. If you ever were to have a problem, then merely call, discuss it and I know that they will work towards a solution.
I have 2 trucks with ORD springs in the front. They both ride much better than before. The flex is very good as well.
BE WARNED!!! They spec out springs, which Alcan builds for them, which are so soft that the rear springs will become dominant and can make the truck lean since the front springs won't fight them. I have a truck that I proved this on. It was leaning to the left, swapped rear springs side to side and the lean moved with the swap. So don't immediately blame the new springs if it leans.
There can also be some difference in on road manners. But I am not scared of bumps beating me to crap now!
I honestly don't know how one would have anything bad to say about ORD or Alcan, but someone could be blind to reality. These trucks will have variances, and one may have to work a little to help find any problems.
And a pic for good measure.
I have 2 trucks with ORD springs in the front. They both ride much better than before. The flex is very good as well.
BE WARNED!!! They spec out springs, which Alcan builds for them, which are so soft that the rear springs will become dominant and can make the truck lean since the front springs won't fight them. I have a truck that I proved this on. It was leaning to the left, swapped rear springs side to side and the lean moved with the swap. So don't immediately blame the new springs if it leans.
There can also be some difference in on road manners. But I am not scared of bumps beating me to crap now!
I honestly don't know how one would have anything bad to say about ORD or Alcan, but someone could be blind to reality. These trucks will have variances, and one may have to work a little to help find any problems.
And a pic for good measure.
Last edited:
thanks a lot for the info guys. i had a feeling another company made the springs just because ORD is a smaller fab shop. but i really like ORD from past experiences. so as long as they trust them, i think i’ll go that route this time around. I no i’m going to pay for them but i’m sure it will be worth it. I am doing all 4 springs, shackle flip rear with 2” springs, and the usual 6” front springs. i’ll give them a call sometime this week and see what details they have for me. thanks again guys.
T
tenderfoot
Guest
You know those movie scenes where someone asks for a lighter or pencil? And fourteen of em pop out at you at the same time from all directions? When I saw this thread title I felt like that's what was gonna happen if I clicked on it. So when I clicked on it I actually ducked.
If you read enough on this site you will know ORD is the only place to go for springs.
I have their spring I’m sure it’s mentioned but they are made by Alcan I love them !
Since you people like pictures this is the Arizona rust free truck he is building btw... im shock88s brother.
wasted wages
1 ton status
When I was building my truggy, Steve worked with me on the weight distribution
to get the spring rates correct...it turned out that he had a set of take off springs from one of his projects, that Alcan had built for him.
the front springs have Teflon sliders between the leaves. I wasn't sure if I was going to like them, but Steve told me to try them out and if not he would replace them.
The springs work great.... I wheeled with Steve and his dad at Blazer bash,,and had a good time.. I have purchased a lot of ORD products, never once been disappointed with the products or service.
Springs,crossover,BBC crossmember, doubler, anti- wrap, shackle flip, tube doors
plus tons of other stuff I can't think of right now..all purchased from ORD..
to get the spring rates correct...it turned out that he had a set of take off springs from one of his projects, that Alcan had built for him.
the front springs have Teflon sliders between the leaves. I wasn't sure if I was going to like them, but Steve told me to try them out and if not he would replace them.
The springs work great.... I wheeled with Steve and his dad at Blazer bash,,and had a good time.. I have purchased a lot of ORD products, never once been disappointed with the products or service.
Springs,crossover,BBC crossmember, doubler, anti- wrap, shackle flip, tube doors
plus tons of other stuff I can't think of right now..all purchased from ORD..
ya, as you can see the truck is basically bone stock with a little AZ type flair to it. this one is going to be a mild build, 1 tons, 37s, with a stout 700r4 (keeping the OD for the 5.13s in the axles) and i’m trying to keep the body lines on this one. it’s too damn clean to wreck. maybe build a woods beater in the future, but for now i want to make this one a little show and a little go, i have my KTM to pound around the trails and chance my brother (stockk5) in his blazer for now
I've responded to a number of threads like this. I got custom ORD springs all around, since my original rears were long gone and it seemed easier than finding stockish springs to do a shackle flip with. The springs are great and very soft. They ended up coming in more than an inch higher than the 4" I wanted though. This may be because they didn't realize I have 1-ton axles (though clearly stated in my email correspondence), or some misunderstanding about the truck weight, or who knows. Stephen was cool about it and I'm sure he would have made it right somehow if I had been motivated to uninstall everything and send it back. I've made my peace with it at this point. Softer springs are more sensitive to the exact setup in terms of ride height compared to off-the-shelf stiff ones that all sit the same.
You should be aware that it's unlikely to be a bolt on thing where you just put them on and go. In my case at least, there was so much more flex that I needed to upgrade my shock mounts and shocks and install crossover, and I should really also add some limit straps and open up the fenders too. I'm using all of a 14" shock up front. Due to the ride height change too, I ended up messing with shims and getting new driveshafts. This is all good stuff, but you should know what you are getting into.
You should be aware that it's unlikely to be a bolt on thing where you just put them on and go. In my case at least, there was so much more flex that I needed to upgrade my shock mounts and shocks and install crossover, and I should really also add some limit straps and open up the fenders too. I'm using all of a 14" shock up front. Due to the ride height change too, I ended up messing with shims and getting new driveshafts. This is all good stuff, but you should know what you are getting into.
ya, i know i’m getting into different territory for sure when putting these custom springs, i’m going to flex it out, measure etc as if i’m setting up a crawler to get a good bump and limit strap set up on there. I appreciate the heads up though, it will take some measuring to find the right shock length and travel i need. i already have hydro assist, high steer w/cross over on my old blazer. I am also doing a panhard bar up front and an anti wrap in the rear to keep the springs alive. but i called ORD yesterday (not sure who i talked to) and was told to go with a lift spring and not a shackle flip, he said one of the only benefits of a shackle flip is to retain the factory spring and save money. even with a higher arch, the lift spring will still have a much lower spring rate than a “flat” factory spring. Also, if anyone was wondering it is about a month turn around to get springs when you order them from ORD.
I believe you’ll get more droop with the stock shackle too.
Just as FYI, I found installing the rears to be a pain because without the weight on them they have too much arch to reach from eye to eye even with the shackle turned all the way. We ended up compressing the spring into a piece of wood with a ratchet strap to get things to reach.
Have fun, the flex you get is quite amazing, and the ride improvement is great too, especially if you are coming from typical lift springs.
ya, he also mentioned that, which i’m into
ya from being a poor high school kid with superlift springs back in the day, this will be a pleasant upgrade for sure
Just as a slight hijack of your thread, I always thought Superlift springs were stiff, and Skyjacker were supposed to be softer. I have 6" Superlift on my '85 K5 with dual shocks up front, and it rides better than my '90 K5 that has 2.5" Skyjacker springs with a single shock up front. Superlift shocks on the '85 and Skyjacker on the '90. I'm considering going with 4" ORD on my '90 with whatever shock they recommend for best ride. I was suprised though that the 6" lift Superlift actually ride better than the 2.5" Skyjacker.
When we have problems, this is what they generally are. Softer springs just naturally come with some different characteristics to deal with. Not a huge deal and we have a new instruction set to help work it all out from the very start. Most of the time they bolt on and go. There are a lot of reasons why normal "lift kit" springs are as stiff as they are and dealing with different weights on each corner without big changes in height is one of them. So your truck can be unbalanced and still sit level but you won't want to ride in it very far. We do it different.
And as always, the reminder that we do use Alcan to manufacture our springs but they are not Alcan specs at all. We spec each set out very specifically and they do a good job on the construction and that's the way it works.
Thanks for all the good words, we put a lot into this program and it's not easy so it is nice to hear that it's worth it!
It’s definitely worth it. My k5 rides so much better that my buddies JK. He just did a ls swap and we went out into the desert behind our neighborhood and I couldn’t believe it. About beat my kidneys out. Forgot how nice my rig rides.
P.S. @Stephen I’ll be calling you after the 15’th about a magnum and 205 stuff.
so i finally had to time to install my rear ORD springs into my k10, i did have to flatten them out about 3” to reach the shackle, but went smooth other than that, now the only concern/question i have is the shackle angle i’m left with, its tilted because the front still have to be lifted up but do you think the springs will break in and loose some of the angle i’m seeing on the shackles? they are 5” lift springs with the 6” (i believe) shackle from them. maybe once the bed/ gas tanks etc r in and give it a couple
months they will flatten out a touch
months they will flatten out a touch
