Aluminum lift blocks

[grand_wag_85]

The other day I threw a u joint and had some severe driveline vibes afterwards. I was running 3" part store special aluminum blocks which had turned wedge shaped and shifted the pinion at the floorboard. Got it all fixed tho.Anyone else have any horror stories with aluminum blocks?

[68_Gladiator]

i don't run lift blocks but when it comes to suspension wouldn't you want a harder metal for such things?

[pineymike]

I ran a set of aluminum blocks for years then one side split,I don't have a problem with blocks I replaced my hollow aluminum blocks with ford cast steel with built in bumpstops.Good luck have fun!

[addicted]

I've never run blocks but I had some aluminum spring wedges in my YJ that split after a week or so of dd use. I won't use aluminum in a high stress area like that again.

[jaber]

My new to me J-20 had 3"ers on the back and I just removed them. Wont use them after all the horror stories I've heard.;)

[j20brett]

The other day I threw a u joint and had some severe driveline vibes afterwards. I was running 3" part store special aluminum blocks which had turned wedge shaped and shifted the pinion at the floorboard. Got it all fixed tho.Anyone else have any horror stories with aluminum blocks?

You should write a book. Seriously. :thumbsup:

[J10_Jimbo]

Guess I'll be the odd man out, been aluminum running lift blocks on the rear for years with no problems. The three inch blocks on my son's truck have been on there for over 15 years, he was three when I built that one. Like everything else the proper maintenance will save you improper heart ache. When ever I grease the u-joints I check the u-bolt nuts, rotate the tires check the u-bolts. Of course this might only happen once a year, but no problems yet. It will give you what you put into it.

Jimbo
P.S Lift blocks come wedge shaped to keep the drive line angle correct.

[Gambler68]

Dude..those are DROP blocks. For lift go to napa and get steel ones. The aluminum ones just have a small aluminum peg for the spring centering hole, no way it's good enough for a FSJ. That prolly snapped and led to it crushing.

[freeincolorado]

Glad to hear you got it fixed.

[Serious Johnson]

I've never run blocks but I had some aluminum spring wedges in my YJ that split after a week or so of dd use. I won't use aluminum in a high stress area like that again.

I recently had an aluminum spring wedge (came with my BDS springs) pound out and get loose. Rather than replace it I just took the other one out and bolted the springs flat. So far so good.

S.J.

[turtlejoe]

The other day I threw a u joint and had some severe driveline vibes afterwards. I was running 3" part store special aluminum blocks which had turned wedge shaped and shifted the pinion at the floorboard. Got it all fixed tho.Anyone else have any horror stories with aluminum blocks?

Been working with aluminum on everything from missiles to the space station to fighter jets for 25 years now. "Aluminum" is such a broad category and there are so many types and alloys and heat treat options available, that I'd hesitate to say that aluminum can't work for this case. You/we however, are mostly stuck with whatever suppliers choose to make available to us unless we go the custom route.

All that being said, and since they're "part store specials", they're most likely the cheapest material available with a questionable materials pedigree and god knows what kind (if any) of heat treatment they've seen. Steel is an easy choice here, even if it's the cheapest available material. It always makes me chuckle when I read/hear ads that claim "aerospace grade" aluminum. Really? Care to show me the reams of paper tracing the material back to actual mine where the ore came from? That my friends is true "aerospace grade" material and one of the leading causes behind expensive military programs.

Wow, sorry - that got to be too long. Comes down to you get what you pay for and selecting the right tool for the job.

<soap box now vacant>:thumbsup:

[Gambler68]

I think the common problem is mixing up lift vs drop blocks and using them in a 4wd situation.

[Headhoncho]

Happened last weekend at Rausch Creek on a mild built Blazer. I ran 3" aluminum blocks for years but that was with a 258 and 3.31 gears. Not enough to spit them out like this.


JR

[Dan Stewart]

You can get steel degree wedges from rubicon express. I have used them on a few jeeps.

[Eric Flewelling]

Guys in the Northeast may have problems running them, when dissimilar metals are placed next to one another (such as steel and aluminum) some corrosion occurs, this is called galvanic corrosion. However, this galvanic corrosion is accelerated by a better electrolyte (essentially a conductor), such as the salt, or calcium water that we recieve in the wintertime up here. Due to the nature of aluminum and steel the aluminum will be attacked much more severely, resulting in possible failure (it would probably pretty much dissolve upon a sudden impact).

However, like turtlejoe said, there are oodles of kinds of aluminum and aluminum alloys that apply to a huge variety of applications. This is, of course, all theoretical. I do not guarantee myself to be right in any manner ;) Nor do I guarantee that the metals DO behave this way, however, according to all metallurgical principles this is the logical thought process. Hmm.... that probably didnt make a whole lot of sense huh?

[grand_wag_85]

Ryan-
I still have the box is says lift & lowering blocks. Definately lowered my expectations.

J10 Jimbo-They were perfectly squared when I got them but now they look like a doorstop. The axle kind of bit one of them and chewed off the front of the other.

[deadironrat]

Ryan-
I still have the box is says lift & lowering blocks. Definately lowered my expectations.

J10 Jimbo-They were perfectly squared when I got them but now they look like a doorstop. The axle kind of bit one of them and chewed off the front of the other.


I've had the exact same experience as you, I put some 3" aluminum lift blocks on my J10 and within 20 minutes I had bent them beyond use. When I took them back to autozone they looked at me like I was crazy and asked what I had been using them on. They said lift/lowering blocks on the box but they clearly didn't stand up to a V8, T18, and an 18 year old driver.

[grand_wag_85]

HAHA! Mine have been on for about a year. I tried to take mine back.

I found some F*rd cast steel blocks with bumpstops. I doubt those will ever break.

[Gambler68]

HAHA! Mine have been on for about a year. I tried to take mine back.

I found some F*rd cast steel blocks with bumpstops. I doubt those will ever break.


Sweet that should work :thumbsup:

Did you check your ujoints real good? You could have fried them running them at that bad angle trying to creep it around.

[flatbackdragon]

if you are still in GJ, go to Spring Works next to Gene Taylors, they do lifts and all sorts of stuff, got my blocks there and they have or will get anything you need.
if in Moab, any of the jeep or spring shops there.
why fiddle around with parts stores when there is experienced people at the other places and their prices are ok IMO

[grand_wag_85]

Very true! I think the blocks are why the ujoint went out the other day. Thanks again for the help!:thumbsup:

I have the F*rd blocks in there now, when I put the aluminum blocks in there I didn't know the Spring Works place existed.

[green goat]

Well that should just about wrap up the 150th chapter of Sean's book, My Vehicle Experience. J/K Sean, glad you got it fixed.

[flatbackdragon]

Well that should just about wrap up the 150th chapter of Sean's book, My Vehicle Experience.

more to come, guaranteed.

[flatbackdragon]

I didn't know the Spring Works place existed.

going down there today to see if they can get my twin axle camper in and get spring over on it. Need the extra clearance for my sewer pipe.
All the newer ones are off the ground quite a bit.

[AlsChopShop]

i bought a suspension setup for the toyota that had 2" aluminum blocks along with the custom lift springs. one blck was mostly in tact, the other was completely mushroomed out.

i learned right there that i will never use aluminum on the suspension. its just too soft.

Al

[grand_wag_85]

Well that should just about wrap up the 150th chapter of Sean's book, My Vehicle Experience. J/K Sean, glad you got it fixed.

Yeah one of these days I will have to sit down and do that. I dunno tho I don't think my life is interesting enough for a book.

I ran into the guy's son who I got the Jeep from today and apparently the 30 some odd years they owned it there was only one breakdown other than vaporlock. I guess right around the time I started having issues with the Jeep his father passed away.

[Gambler68]

Yeah one of these days I will have to sit down and do that. I dunno tho I don't think my life is interesting enough for a book.

I ran into the guy's son who I got the Jeep from today and apparently the 30 some odd years they owned it there was only one breakdown other than vaporlock. I guess right around the time I started having issues with the Jeep his father passed away.


I KNEW IT WAS CURSED!

You need to call Ghostfacers :thumbsup:
http://ghostfacers.com/

[grand_wag_85]

I KNEW IT WAS CURSED!

You need to call Ghostfacers :thumbsup:
http://ghostfacers.com/

Maybe they could tell me why the alarm randomly goes off.