Stainless Lift Shackle Strength??

[ecw23able]

I have had some lift shackles made from a cousin. They are 10mm thick stainless steel. Will they be strong enough. People are saying they arnt and they'll crack. I'm not 100% sure of the grade but for the meantime will assume they are 304 Stainless. That gives it a yeild strength of approx 30,000 PSI before they start to permanantely deform.

This should be strong enough right. They 200mm long 40km wide and 10mm thick.ill try upload a pic.

[ecw23able]

Here's a pic. And I have confirmed it is 304 Stainless steel

[geeves]

Stainless is more prone to stress cracking than mild steel but it is a strong material. However the issue the wof guy is going to have is the welded brace. Mild steel if a weld looks good it probably is but this isnt the case with most alloy steels including stainless. A perfect looking weld can be cracked inside from heat stress during cooling and the only way to tell is either cut the weld in half or xray it. Neither option is available to your mechanic.
It may be perfect and may last forever but your mechanic cant verify that so will have to fail it.
Of course if you paint it he will think its mild steel

[turnturn]

If your WOF guy realises that they are longer than standard he should also have an issue with them (on the assumption that you don't have a LVVC for your vehicle).

[ecw23able]

I had my cousin weld them. He's a welder fabricator for an engineering firm so I trust the weld completely. He is certified to I beleive. I was planning on painting them black anyway to avoid potential issues.

My issue is everyone is saying it's going to just crack completely. I understand ss is more prone to fractures but when I briefly done the maths for the forces and things it should be stong enough even though less than normal has been allowed for a safety margin. The thing I've also kept in mind is the shock and spring themselves will absorb alot of energy. The brace in the center is solely to stop buckeling of the brackets.

Also correct me if I'm wrong but I was of the understanding you can do a 2" lift before you needed certification.

[geeves]

Currently there is no actual height specified for a lift but you are only allowed to lift using springs designed for that vehicle ie longer springs ok if designed as a lift for that vehicle. Spacers shackles etc are only allowed with cert. Same goes for body lifts. This may all change in the future and not for the better from our point of view. Most garages do accept a 50mm lift if done safely but if you crash your insurance co will still look at you sideways

[ecw23able]

Fair Enough.

Oh any chance of getting the service manual for the 4JG2. Just found a small deisel leak coming from the pump somewhere.

Also what do these torsion bars people speak of look like. Had a look under this morning and couldn't find anything.

[geeves]

every manual you could imagine can be found here
viewtopic.php?f=12&t=4123
The torsion bar is a round bar about a meter long One end attached to the bottom control arm the other to the chassis under the drivers seat

[ecw23able]

I there one on the passanger side to or just the drivers side. Sorry for the silly question never played with the suspension before.

[geeves]

each front side. The torsion bar is really an uncoiled coil spring