Aluminum Link Questions

the_white_shadow · Feb 7, 2017

Looking at shedding my current heavy ass DOM links and have started to check out AL links and had a few questions for everyone:

1. 7075 or 6061? Everything i have read is that 7075 is the way to go here. 6061 is apparently too soft.
2. Where is the best/cheapest place to have them made? Id like them to have a flat spot machined for tightening the heims. WOD has them listed on their site, but im sure there are others for comparison.
3. Diameter? Im thinking 2.25" lowers and 2" uppers? Im guessing i will weigh in around 4-4500lbs in my truck. Running 1.25" heims all the way around.

Current setup is 2.25"x3/8" DOM lowers about 40" long and uppers are 2"x.025 square in the rear and 2"x0.25" DOM for the front. They are heavy and in the couple years i have been using them have already started to bend.

Thoughts?

--Alex

LightBnDr · Feb 7, 2017

I personally don't think they are worth the coin in a trail rig but to each his own.

I'm surprised you're bending 3/8" lowers.

I'm sure I can't convince you any different but you could toss that 1/4" wall uppers front and rear. Go with .120 wall DOM. Should shave 30lbs at least.

I run .120" uppers, stinkin great. Zero probs 6 years

Beerj · Feb 7, 2017

I don't know a whole lot on the subject but I'll chime in anyway. Between 6061 or 7075, you'll want the latter. 6061 is pretty soft and doesn't have the memory properties of 7075.

I was originally going to go 2" uppers and lowers but Adam at WOD talked me into going with 2.25" lowers. Said he would feel better about it. I doubt it was just a ploy to get me to spend more since it only upped the cost by like $35 each end.

As far as cheaper options, I know you can get solid round on ebay fairly cheap. Depending on how much you get banged for machine work you may come out ahead. Beware though, with ebay, you may be hard pressed to get proof of alloy.

One other option that I considered was running .25" DOM with 7075 inside. That way I could buy cheaper aluminum on ebay and not have to deal with having it machined. Just cram it in the DOM and weld your threaded ends on.

That's all I have to say about that...

Rokcrler · Feb 7, 2017

Re:

2.25" gives more meat around the thread shank if you are running 1.25" heims.

6061 will hold up on lowers (at least on ole whitey) but 7075 lowers and 6061 uppers is the norm.

rpf500 · Feb 7, 2017

As mentioned, 7075 is what you want.

I got mine on ebay, from Industrial Metal sales. We buy steel and aluminum every day at work, and none of my vendors could get it at the prices shown on ebay. I was lucky to find an auction for the exact length I needed. They will give you the mill specs if you ask for it also. I ended up buying stuff for work from them as well, and they've been real good to deal with and have great prices. This came up at the GMP Hardline ride last year and there were a few other guys on here who use this company also. I lucked out and had mine done at work so I only have the material cost and a steak dinner in mine. Call around and see who can machine them for you. The kicker is the left handed tap that you have to buy unless they own one.You will have to spend some time making them shiny and nice if that is what you want to end up with. They have some print on them when they arrive, just an FYI. They look like **** in 3 hours of riding so beware of the time you spend. I won't polish them again put it that way.

Here is a link to a 48" piece from the company but it's not the diameter you want. Find what you need in an auction and make an offer. They will combine items or they might make a buy it now for your specific order.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/7075-T651-Aluminum-Round-Bar-2-Dia-x-48-Long-/150464782156?hash=item2308665f4c:m:mLBNAi1xEFrXnoMlL0AyODQ

Last comment: WOD prices were pretty good when I looked at them last. Had I not had access to the free labor, I would have purchased from them.

wizzo · Feb 7, 2017

7075 PERIOD

WOD has pretty good pricing and you'll get legit 7075 links. I've seen 6061 sold as 7075 before.

hokie_yj · Feb 7, 2017

My WOD 7075 links have held up great so far on the jack stands in my shop. laughing1 I'm fully confident that they will do great if I ever get this damn buggy done though. Unless you have a good reputable source for the 7075 and the ability/access to the equipment and free/cheap labor WOD is definitely the way to go IMO. I went with 2" lowers, but I'm only running 7/8" heims. My uppers are 1-3/4" with 3/4" heims.

bjeep · Feb 7, 2017

rpf500 said:
As mentioned, 7075 is what you want.

I got mine on ebay, from Industrial Metal sales. We buy steel and aluminum every day at work, and none of my vendors could get it at the prices shown on ebay. I was lucky to find an auction for the exact length I needed. They will give you the mill specs if you ask for it also. I ended up buying stuff for work from them as well, and they've been real good to deal with and have great prices. This came up at the GMP Hardline ride last year and there were a few other guys on here who use this company also. I lucked out and had mine done at work so I only have the material cost and a steak dinner in mine. Call around and see who can machine them for you. The kicker is the left handed tap that you have to buy unless they own one.You will have to spend some time making them shiny and nice if that is what you want to end up with. They have some print on them when they arrive, just an FYI. They look like **** in 3 hours of riding so beware of the time you spend. I won't polish them again put it that way.

Here is a link to a 48" piece from the company but it's not the diameter you want. Find what you need in an auction and make an offer. They will combine items or they might make a buy it now for your specific order.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/7075-T651-Aluminum-Round-Bar-2-Dia-x-48-Long-/150464782156?hash=item2308665f4c:m:mLBNAi1xEFrXnoMlL0AyODQ

Last comment: WOD prices were pretty good when I looked at them last. Had I not had access to the free labor, I would have purchased from them.

This. We order lots of material. But I buy it off eBay cheaper. The material is marked from the mill with 7075.

clemsonjeep · Feb 7, 2017

Might want to look into the weights per foot of material for each material...DOM vs 7075. You'll find that the weight savings really aren't that great...especially for the price you pay. I guess if I was building something like an Ultra4 where saving weight everywhere possible allows for adding weight where I need it I could justify it.

Of the options listed above I would lean towards building a set of DOM lowers with 6061 or whatever inside them...with the intention to be preventing bending lowers.

Just my .02

1tfrot · Feb 7, 2017

7075

I've bent just about every kind of steel setup when I had my truggy. switched to AL and zero issues. same 7075 on the buggy too

the_white_shadow · Feb 8, 2017

Thanks for the replies. After comparing weight savings, as mentioned, i wont be saving a lot of weight. Im not turning my lowers into an L, but they are are slightly tweaked. Looks like a set of 8 from WOD would run around $1150 shipped. The EBAY link above would be more than that just in material (2.25" and 2"), then add machining on top of that.

I think im going to stay where im at and wait until i bend the **** out of one.

redneckengineered · Feb 8, 2017

LightBnDr said:
I personally don't think they are worth the coin in a trail rig but to each his own.

I'm surprised you're bending 3/8" lowers.

I'm sure I can't convince you any different but you could toss that 1/4" wall uppers front and rear. Go with .120 wall DOM. Should shave 30lbs at least.

I run .120" uppers, stinkin great. Zero probs 6 years

I used to bend 2" 1/2" wall DOM lowers with ease and that was with 250hp and 42s. I bent one after one ride as a matter of fact :****:

I run 2" 7075 uppers and lowers now with 1.25" heims. Lowers are bent slightly after 5 years of riding, uppers are perfectly straight. I'd probably go back with 2.25 lowers when I replace them because why not.

onetoncrawler · Feb 8, 2017

This seems to be brought up a lot still so I figured I would throw some numbers in to help - these are generic T6 properties. The grade of 7075 or 6061 can affect the outcome of how the links survive. Most people aren't going to age their links to get the desired properties so that isn't realistic. typical T6 off the shelf is what most folks run. The Ultimate tensile strength affects the strength of the threads and the overall strength of the links, but the Young's modulus and yield properties affect the elasticity which is what most people have trouble with. 6061 will bend and not return back to the original shape because the material has been yielded. For those that don't know the UTS and the hardness somewhat go hand in hand. So, the increased hardness of 7075 will also prevent scarring from rocks on lowers.

As Mo said, if you are looking to save money you can use 6061 uppers as they (should) only see compression and tension loads. You could potentially still rip out a rod end due to the lack of strength in the 6061.
On all links you should calculate the wall thickness to ensure you aren't reducing that strength from the original material properties. Each material is a little different, but a good rule of thumb is D/4.

as you can see below, 7075 wins on paper.

6061
UTS - 45k
Yield - 40k
fatigue - 14k
shear - 30k

7075
UTS - 75k
Yield - 65k
fatigue - 23k
shear - 48k

take this info as you will, I'm sure there are much smarter people on here that can explain this better than I can. Just trying to provide at least a little tech instead of just saying hell no it will never work

the_white_shadow · Feb 8, 2017

I appreciate the info. been a while since i had to deal with youngs modulus. Brings back good memories.

I think if i needed new links, i would defintely be using AL. But since i have a set already done and they are just tweaked, ill stay with them until i see a reason to upgrade. Ill just flip the link over when i re-install it to bring it straight again. lol

LightBnDr · Feb 8, 2017

Well at least one guy gave a realistic real life investment into aluminum versus DOM when it comes to what advantages you would gain.

When I used to run 2" 1/4" wall lowers, I would slide them into the trailer hitch on my truck and jack the ass of my truck up and down to straighten my links.

Almost 2 years ago I built my own crazy high clearance lowers in the rear. They are my original 2" 1/4wall lowers that I straightened in my trailer hitch then sleeved them with 1/4wall square then made them into a 90deg at the axle mount location. Then a 1/4wall tube gusset at the 90. It made 100% of the lowers 1/2" and I gained 7 inches of approach angle ground clearance at my rear tire. It added about 70lbs to my rig. No joke

Lol I say all that to say you can bend those lowers str8 pretty easy.

I think your 2.25" will fit into the duramax OEM trailer hitch the same way.

It's hard to imagine someone bending 1/2" wall thickness lowers!!! Unless you're a running tank of a Rockwell rig

the_white_shadow · Feb 8, 2017

Length of the lowers has a lot to do with them bending. Mine are right at 40" bolt hole to hole. I just ordered another set of Ruffstuff heims to make a spare lower if/when the time comes.

TBItoy · Feb 8, 2017

I used to bend 2" 3/8" wall lowers on my old Toyota truggy, they were ~42" long.

They'd kinda develop a long arc over the course of a year (riding 2x a month).

redneckengineered · Feb 8, 2017

LightBnDr said:
It's hard to imagine someone bending 1/2" wall thickness lowers!!! Unless you're a running tank of a Rockwell rig

Nope it was just a little buggy on tons but I like to party so...

onepieceatatime · Feb 8, 2017

Re: Re: Aluminum Link Questions

redneckengineered said:
Nope it was just a little buggy on tons but I like to party so...

I'd say so! Pretty sure mine are 1/2" and I couldn't imagine them bending.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

AEH · Feb 9, 2017

Stock car steel has the best prices I found for 7075. Plus you buy it by the inch, so no waste. I called them and it was actually cheaper than their website. They don't have 2-1/4" listed but they sell it. I ended up a little less than $600 in mine shipped. A local machine shop drilled and tapped them for $10/hole. Ask around as prices ranged from $10 to over $20 per hole. I'll mill the flats when I get my mill set up, but that was gonna be another $10/link.