Tie rod / drag link price check. WTF?

6BangBronk

6BangBronk

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2005
Location
Durham
Just did my research for building my own tierod / drag link for high steer and I can't believe what I found? I have been checking prices the past couple of days from various sources for the cheapest way to do this and Parts Mike (along with a couple others that were priced not much more) has a kit that had me beat?:shaking: Not by alot but still had me beat not even counting my time and efforts.
To start with, has anybody priced a stick of 1 1/2" OD x 1/4" D.O.M. lately? The shit is gold right now! My best quote was right at $20 per foot if I buy a stick. The only way to come out ahead is to buy in MAJOR bulk. I mean 40 - 20' sticks or better. I was kinda knocking around the idea of putting high steer on 2 of my trucks if I could get it cheaper in bulk but there would be waste no matter how I cut 20' sticks up.
So, instead of running around everywhere and spending my day gathering materials, I can just pick up the phone and call Parts Mike (or the other competitors) with my measurements and the kits will come to my doorstep cut to order ready to weld and go for a tad amount cheaper...:rolleyes:

Just thought this info would be benificial for anyone else that's ready right now for high steer.

:beer:
 
When I did my high steer a few months ago, I ended up buying everything from partsmike b/c of the price, and yeah, around here DOM is through the roof.
 
Those guys are a bunch of clowns, I have several sticks of 1.5 .250 on the shelf. It goes for about $10-11 a foot and I will beat everyone's prices on high steer setups guaranteed, not to mention the cheaper shipping or pickup.
 
Well, well then... The chiming in of a local vendor wasn't even given thought due to the prices I found here around Raleigh Alex, but lemme get my pitman swapped out this weekend and I'll be calling first of next week with measurements. It's a custom power steering setup on a '76 F250 chassis so it'll be unique measurements. I just kinda drilled holes and went with it. Looks like I'll get a better angle with a dropped pitman? I'll stretch some strings and make sure.

:beer:
 
Yeah, unless you know where to get the tube for a good price or already have it laying around, its gonna be expensive. Alex has some good prices on the parts to do it yourself.
 
I bought some stuff from Carolina Truggies for my TJ build. Good guy to do business with. I also bought my 1.5" x .25" wall DOM from Metal Express on Sunset Road in Charlotte, 10' stick was around $10 per foot.
 
I was proud to announce to the suppliers that I got a quote from that their quotes were posted on several web sites to find out that they were about double on price. :) I lied just for response. Their response was that they were sorry but they either didn't supply it or had any on hand. They were factoring in alot of variences I'm sure. Like paying to go get it and such. Funny how 1 stick is alot to ask for from large suppliers.
I'll keep my quotes to myself for what they are worth for future persuasion where my buisness goes in the future. I'm sure anyone from Raleigh knows one of them and I tried 2 of their other offices. And got different quotes from each one.:lol:
 
I made one for a member here a week or so back, and I remember having $50 in a four foot stick, and about $40 in the hiems. Paint was included, and I have yet to find a better place to get tube from. I know several guys around here that own large fabrication shops but because they dont use dom that much it's a hassle to get it for me. I'm not sure if I can get it from O'Neil out of Greesnboro ,but I can pick it up from the mill on my trailer. If I can get a big enough order, I'll go get a few sticks, and the Durham guys can have a cheaper local stock.
 
Its like that here also with the metal suppliers. They just won't deal with a "hobbyist" if your not buying a 100 foot than, It best to get it at a fab shop (Carolina Truggys or RIDES) around here at least. I know I went thru the same thing as you six months ago looking for DOM.

If your in a pinch and can't get with a local vendor, I have ordered DOM from here

QS Components Inc

There prices are reasonable ($10.50 per foot for 1.5 .250) and shipping is $8 no matter what you order, The longest piece of DOM is 5 foot though. Ok for steering and suspension.
 
To be completely honest, I bought that tubing for about $7 a foot with a order of 300ft or more order about 6 months ago. Last time I bought a stick by it self it cost about 10.15 per foot about a month ago. The price of carbon steel is staying steady but the exotics like chromoly and such are going up pretty quick. Its all about quantity so I will be ordering about 3 or 4 sticks of the 1.5 .250 cause I seem to run out of it every week so if anyone needs some let me know.
On top of that we keep D44 and D60 arms and hardware on the shelf....even if you need spacers for the D44. We've been talking to several CNC shops within the last couple weeks and we'll probably have out own high steer out by the end of the year for D44 and D60 with just about every variation you could think of, including the D44 with built in 1" raise. Yes they will be cheaper than everyone else's with no compromise in strength or looks. Also I completely agree with the price of hardware, its ridiculous.
 
Okay thats about the best I've seen so far. It's getting impossible to compete with the larger suppliers. I dont have a water jet, or cnc plasma yet, so everything I do is handmade, and the only way I can make ends meet is by doing custom paint work, and graphics on the side. Thanks for the link. I just ordered DOM from WA state for a four link 8.8 swap I'm doing next week. The shipping ate up my Little Debbie snack fund for next month.
 
Dude, I have a buddy that runs a laser less than 3 miles away from my shop....and is the same guy I get all of my metal from. You don't need to buy from WA to get a deal.
 
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