kling-on
Kool Arrow
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2003
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- 254
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- 5,502
- Location
- Pimpin part in SanAntonio TX
- Website
- www.texas4x4.org
Another 60 SOA
- Thread starter traviszesty201
- Start date
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kerville aint that far away....
wonder if i can have my rig ready by then....
wonder if i can have my rig ready by then....
zuluzeugma
SILVER Star
People who keep saying, "You should have spent money here and there, etc, etc..." can say what they want. I'm pretty sure Travis is the ONLY person who has sprung over for 18 bucks in the 6 years I've been on MUD. This is absolutely the poor, college-kid's way to lift.
Chicago,
Are you saying that 88 FJ62's don't need to notch the crossmember? I haven't ran accross any posts telling me there was a difference. Nice to know there is one less thing to worry about. Thanks for the clarification.
traviszesty201,
Can you elaborate on the extensions in post #15? Why did you do it and what was the effort required?
Thanks for all the answers. Trying to learn as much as possible before diving into my SOA.
Cruiserdrew
On the way there
I do not agree with this. There is a reason the DOT and other transportation safety folks do not allow bends in steering members, or welds within the steering system. Just because it may work for a while, does not mean it is safe or desirable. SOA is a major modification to a truck and produces a very high and potentially unstable truck (I know, I have one) if something goes wrong. Steering and brakes you want to get exactly right.
The poster here has cut a significant corner, and my guess is, it will never get corrected. If you think it's OK to modify trucks in a way that is known to be unsafe, then I don't want to be anywhere near you on the road. But since Travis saved a few coins on his spring over (which otherwise looks good), he can drop a few hundred on real steering for this beast. There is that guy in Oregon who will bend OEM steering arms into usable highsteer arms, and last I heard it was under $100.
Anyway, stock steering links bend easily enough when straight. Starting pre-bent just cant be good. I am offering this as advice, not just to be critical.
There is a great and funny website called "scary steering" that illustrates all sorts of madness. This Cruiser has a variant of the "Z" link.
Check it out: Scary Steering!
Butt Ugly Chuck
Fish Biologist
Holy crap!
Agree need to get high steer! And many people brag about doing a SOA cheap, but to do it right you have to spend the $. At a min get the stock bent up arms. And now you have to pull the axle back apart anyways. Could have done it once and correctly the first time. Other than that it looks good.
Cruiserdrew mentioned "that guy in Oregon" so I believe he is talking about Overthehill4x4 Welcome
I talked to them a number of times when doing my V8/700R4 conversion and when doing the SOA. They are very helpful. They recommended 4x4Labs Hi-Steer when I asked them about steering options. 4x4labs steering has worked great on my truck. Steers much better than when it was stock.
I talked to them a number of times when doing my V8/700R4 conversion and when doing the SOA. They are very helpful. They recommended 4x4Labs Hi-Steer when I asked them about steering options. 4x4labs steering has worked great on my truck. Steers much better than when it was stock.
Cruiserdrew
On the way there
Those are the guys!
I agree about 4x4 Labs, great stuff, just pricy, I have 2 sets. I was tring to save Travis a few hundred $$. If you want the 4x4 Labs steering arms and DOM links, its $550.
inkpot
SILVER Star
Howdy! I noticed the squared OEM Ubolts are flipped and welded onto the original spring perches on the front axle. That's the first time I have noticed that being done that way. Is that normal/common? My SOA uses rounded Ubolts going around the whole axle housing. My SOA was done over 20 years ago when there were very few aftermarket suspension parts. The shop fabbed up a double steering arm with a lot of bracing welded in. It lasted for quite a while, but it DID fail, which really scarred me. You don't want a steering/suspenion failure at 75mph with you family on board. John
- Thread starter
- #31
well its the way you do it to reuse the square front ubolts that you have. but i will get new semi-circular bolts to replace those and cut off the bottom spring perch.
Im sorry you wouldnt want to drive near my awesome truck on the road because you think my steering might explode or something. i suppose on a trail with my tires up against a rock, with me pushing as hard as i can on the wheel the drag link would bend, but are you serious? driving down the road? and do you think some person in oregon has magically discovered the proper way to heat and cool a 1" piece of hollow metal so that it is still strong? I did a fantastic job of being uniform and using the proper amout of heat. And is there really not something to be said for a cheap job that still lives up to standards that i feel are safe and acceptable? thanks for the advice though
Im sorry you wouldnt want to drive near my awesome truck on the road because you think my steering might explode or something. i suppose on a trail with my tires up against a rock, with me pushing as hard as i can on the wheel the drag link would bend, but are you serious? driving down the road? and do you think some person in oregon has magically discovered the proper way to heat and cool a 1" piece of hollow metal so that it is still strong? I did a fantastic job of being uniform and using the proper amout of heat. And is there really not something to be said for a cheap job that still lives up to standards that i feel are safe and acceptable? thanks for the advice though
- Thread starter
- #32
and why again will i have to take my axle apart? (89s rule)
zuluzeugma
SILVER Star
I think Hes referring to the 10 minutes it takes to take off the steering arm...
Lets point out, this IS NOT a DD by the way. Trav drives a Ford Ranger daily.
FLAME AWAY SOME MORE!
The gentleman in Oregon that Cruiserdrew recommended, will bend the STEER arms to accomidate the STRAIGHT links and move them above the spring packs. Thus you would not have to bend the x link to make it work.
Personally, Im impressed that you only spent 18 bucks on the conversion, but there are places where money SHOULD be spent.
Im looking forward to hearing how it holds up the way it is when wheeling.
I wouldnt let that slide on my rig. Aside from assessing the ride it does seem like something you would want to address sooner than later, but to each their own.
All in all, Id say it looks great. If you do choose to keep it that way and wheel it....please post up how it does.
Chicago
Chicago has it right,
W will heat up and bend the stock steering arms (the parts that are bolted to the knuckle) and then let them cool slowly so they do nto become brittle. As creepy as that sounds to me, I have never even heard of one failure over a lot of years.
Your drag link will finish the bend you started at about the most inconvient time possible. That may be on the trail, or it may be going from one place to another on the road. It can fail on the road. And do so very quickly. The constant stress that you will put on the Draglink will weaken it till it dies.. I bent a straight 1" bar stock steering link on my 40. This is considerably weaker.
Your front U bolts are another thing that is creepy. You seem to be a fairly adept welder. But I would still not feel comfortable with that arrangement at all. Even more so with the bashing on rocks that it will potentially get.
Are the shock pins just butt welded to the housing and x member? There is an easier way to do it with the pins that come with any rancho shock and about 6" of reciever hitch tubing.
For less than $100 you can have your steering straightened out and get new U bolts. You'll spend more on gas for a wheeling weekend and be a heck of a lot safer and kinder to those that will be with you when your rig breaks on the trail.
The SO for $18.00 is interesting. Did you extend your brake lines?? Did you do any driveshaft mods? Knuckle rebuild kit? I would be willing to bet that there is a lot that went into that conversion that either needs to be addressed or you are not counting in the tally.
Good work on the CNT and SO. The fab work looks awesome, just take care of a couple of things and GO WHEELIN!!!
W will heat up and bend the stock steering arms (the parts that are bolted to the knuckle) and then let them cool slowly so they do nto become brittle. As creepy as that sounds to me, I have never even heard of one failure over a lot of years.
Your drag link will finish the bend you started at about the most inconvient time possible. That may be on the trail, or it may be going from one place to another on the road. It can fail on the road. And do so very quickly. The constant stress that you will put on the Draglink will weaken it till it dies.. I bent a straight 1" bar stock steering link on my 40. This is considerably weaker.
Your front U bolts are another thing that is creepy. You seem to be a fairly adept welder. But I would still not feel comfortable with that arrangement at all. Even more so with the bashing on rocks that it will potentially get.
Are the shock pins just butt welded to the housing and x member? There is an easier way to do it with the pins that come with any rancho shock and about 6" of reciever hitch tubing.
For less than $100 you can have your steering straightened out and get new U bolts. You'll spend more on gas for a wheeling weekend and be a heck of a lot safer and kinder to those that will be with you when your rig breaks on the trail.
The SO for $18.00 is interesting. Did you extend your brake lines?? Did you do any driveshaft mods? Knuckle rebuild kit? I would be willing to bet that there is a lot that went into that conversion that either needs to be addressed or you are not counting in the tally.
Good work on the CNT and SO. The fab work looks awesome, just take care of a couple of things and GO WHEELIN!!!
- Joined
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I'm am running a set of W's hysteer steering arms... no complaints from me. Works great.
- Thread starter
- #37
Well thank you for the critique Mace, i love reading anything you post on this forum. and believe me, all of those issues will be addressed soon, this is very much an ongoing project.
I rebuilt the axle 3 months ago with the kit from Marlin, everything replaced. I then replaced the axle seals when i cut and turn with a set of extra marlin seals a friend had. The rear driveshaft didnt need any extension and the front i already replaced when i went from 3.73 to 4.11. A DC is in the works to address the issues of pinion angle misalignment with the output at the transfercase. I used extended brake lines that a friend had laying around. Tires and shocks were already mine. So yes i agree there were more things that went into the build but i PERSONALLY spent $18 to go from no lift to SO, im sorry i realize i was slightly misleading in suggesting that any person could do it for that price. but thanks again for your input on my truck mace
Well you made it through your shake down run, now post up some pics. 
zuluzeugma
SILVER Star
TTIWWOP
Seriously though, Trav did really well and despite what everone said, the drag-link did not have catastrophic faliure... yet
Seriously though, Trav did really well and despite what everone said, the drag-link did not have catastrophic faliure... yet
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