Aluminum body lift pucks? Advantages???

6BangBronk

6BangBronk

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2005
Location
Durham
Anybody ever use aluminum lift pucks and see any advantages over the typical plastic? I am in the market for some body lift pucks and saw them for 1'st today. I need at least 1" if not 3" cut in half to 1 1/2". They are solid core compared to plastic and that seems better???
 
AL can warp, and crack if shocked too hard.
Agree that HDPE is the way to go. Honestly you can buy a 2' stick pretty cheaply and just cut it yourself...
 
RatLabGuy said:
AL can warp, and crack if shocked too hard.
Agree that HDPE is the way to go. Honestly you can buy a 2' stick pretty cheaply and just cut it yourself...
Click to expand...
If you hit an aluminum body puck hard enough to warp or crack it, you won't be concerned with the aluminum body puck... Yield strength is 40,000psi, and a 3" body puck with a 1" hole in the center has about 6" of surface area, so it would take 240,000 pounds of force to cause issues (unless you happen to shear it sideways, and then its only about 60,000 pounds of force). And that is per puck. So either you had a tank dropped on you, or got hit by something going fast enough to generate that much force.

With all that said, aluminum or plastic will work fine, but why even bother making them when you can get the complete kit for $90 for a 1" or $100 for a 2"?
http://www.tomsbroncoparts.com/category/66-77-bronco-body-mounts-lifts
You'll probably spend half of that in hardware if you make the pucks yourself.
 
jeepinmatt said:
With all that said, aluminum or plastic will work fine, but why even bother making them when you can get the complete kit for $90 for a 1" or $100 for a 2"?
http://www.tomsbroncoparts.com/category/66-77-bronco-body-mounts-lifts
You'll probably spend half of that in hardware if you make the pucks yourself.
Click to expand...

#1 reason is if you're a cheapskate.
I made a 1.5" BL for my Yota for a total of $23, including the grade 8 bolts... that was with 1 stick of UHMW plastic rod...
It helps if you have a plastic distribuor locally and don't have to pay to ship only 2' of product.
 
This^^^ just got my price down to $3 a puck. And solid at that. Found Aluminum for $6 and HDPE (with the counter sunk holes all around) for $7.

Thanks! Never knew such existed... Then again, you can find anything if you know what to look for.
 
Welp, the hockey puck idea just took the lead at $1.20 each when you buy 24 of them. Can't particularly find exactly 14 of them. So reality, $2.07 each for 14 (and have 10 spares) for the 24 route I found on ebay.
 
6BangBronk said:
Welp, the hockey puck idea just took the lead at $1.20 each when you buy 24 of them. Can't particularly find exactly 14 of them. So reality, $2.07 each for 14 (and have 10 spares) for the 24 route I found on ebay.
Click to expand...

Really? You're still considering the hockey pucks when doing it w/ the right material only costs < $1 per puck more?
 
I made a body lift years ago using pipe cut to length with a washer welded to each end. Cut mud flaps up keep down the squeaks. Bet I had $10 in it including a six pack.
 
I used pressure treated plywood to raise the front clip of my ole Blue '76 F100 so the doors would clear the fenders when twisted up. Noticed not long ago they looked like they did the day I put them in there... 19 years ago. :flipoff2: And worked absolutely to death. I also used 2x4's in a heavy yard trailer cart to lift it that's still there.
RatLabGuy, I searched pretty well and could not find any single instance where a hockey puck failed as a body lift? People used them to do other stupid stuff that failed, but not as body lift. Who says there's a "correct" material anyways??? We're talking 1,000 pounds at every bit with 3 people riding. Then leveled out among 4 points for the cab. I think pucks are slammed at massive amounts of force to zing 200+ mph. Heck, if the ole rubber bushings can withstand the pressure, SURELY a hockey puck can too???

I considered the pipe / washer. This is going to be more of a show truck so I stuck with pre-perfection in size (NHL standard). They even have a pre-drill dimple in the exact center. That too is advantage over all other cheap ideas so far.

I read to not have any bolt thread touching, otherwise using correct hardware will outlast.

Sticking with hockey pucks. LOL Notice too many threads (google) of others doing the same.
 
added benefit to the hockey pucks....if you have one leftover you can drill an appropriate sized hole in the center and use it as a snubber on your winch cable !!
 
^^^ Awesome idea ^^^

I cut an extra HDPE puck down once and used it to space out my shower doors when I bought them new. They were not meant for my shower wall enclosure. Was excellent material to fab with. Had to form them into a complicated shape. Looks professional.

Maybe we need a thread of what else a lift puck can be used for. :-)
 
So true come to think of it. Aluminum actually rusts and wears out when it rubs something. Got a lawn business and noticed one of the fiberglass hoods was touching the valve cover and almost rubbed it through. So fiberglass vs aluminum fiberglass wins. I imagine metal would too.
 
Hockey pucks are virtually indestructible, I know 4 Canadians I grew up with whose skulls lost the fight against a puck and Canadians are notoriously hard-headed !! LoL
 
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