Hi guys, newbie question re. suspension lift.

[RHON]

My first post on the truck side of the forum, so here is a quick low down , My '81 short bed that I've had since '91 and has been litteraly all over the calif. desert, has been on the side of my house now for almost four years ( a money issue involved), and I'm bringing it back to life. Currently I've got a knuckle rebuild kit , brake disks and pads , and a suspensiom package on the way, got some other issues to take care of but am starting with the front end..so my question here is- If I'm installing 5" of lift where would be the best place to purchase extended brake lines and a steeering arm?

Thanks in advance for any help or advice.

[2ndGenToyotaFan]

Welcome to the cheaper side of Mud! Here's the brake line info you need, it's on a link in the FAQ:

"The flexible rear brake line (goes from the hardline to the rear axle) is commonly used for extending the front and rear brakes lines since it has one male end and one female end. So when these lines are swapped inline with the stock lines, and you will have plenty of room for extra lift and flexy suspensions. The Napa #38256 is the stock length (19" long) rear flexible brake hose. Napa #36881 is 11" long if you need one a bit shorter."

As for the "steering arm" do you mean cross over steering? Cause that's what you're going to want with 5 inches of lift.... I'd go with Marlin Crawler for that, but there are a few other companys that sell a cross over kit.

[RHON]

Thanks for the input and valued info, let me look into the NAPA parts , the are usually good to deal with.

The "steering arm" is the arm that comes of the steering gear box and is connected to the arm that in turn is attached to the knuckle-some one called it the pitman arm-but I'm not sure,am I barking up the wrong tree?-I have a Hanes manual somewhere buried in the garage but havn't come across it yet.

[RHON]

Okay found the manual- the pitman arm mounts to the steering gear box wich in turn mounts to the "drag link", wich THEN mounts to the arm on the knuckle- the drag link is the part I'm trying to find.

[Bob_Garrett]

I think that what you're referring to is what's more commonly known as the "J" arm. If you're going to put in a 5" lift, I STRONGLY recommend that you consider installing crossover steering and replace the existing steering box with one from an IFS truck. The original j-arm push-pull steering doesn't hold up well to lifted trucks. It also requires that retain the torque rod, which severely limits front suspension travel.

[RHON]

Could you give me a brief discription of the cross over steering system or point me to a thread? Also would an IFS steering box connect to my original steering shaft ( from the steering wheel)?

All ideas at this point are well appriciated as my truck does not have power steering wich is also something being taken into consideration, eventualy I'll be running larger tires, been running 31." x 10.5" and it steers ok as long as the truck is moving, but I would like to do this steering project just once and get it rite.

Thanks again.