Builds "It's Huge" New SOA

[OGBeno]

Bump for Andy's rig.

This is what I want my rig to be like when it grows up in 7-8 years.



Hell, I even have an extra 80 series pitman arm. Maybe I will just put an 80 series gear box in with the upgraded 105 sector shaft.

 

[cruisermatt]

Sorry for the mega-bump, but... it's been about six years, have you changed anything suspension-wise or overall?

I'm planning the next year of Cruiser mods and trying to gather opinion from as many guys who know their chit as possible.

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Sorry for the mega-bump, but... it's been about six years, have you changed anything suspension-wise or overall?

I'm planning the next year of Cruiser mods and trying to gather opinion from as many guys who know their chit as possible.

Still basically the same truck. It has a few more dents, I did Rubicon and Dusy in it this year. Dusy is very hard on a wagon. The changes-

I made it wider with an 80 rear FF axle
Changed the rear locker to a Harrop from an ARB
Changed to stiffer shocks

Future plans:

Rough Stuff housing and wider front-front has spacers now to equal the rear. It works great, but I don't like spacers.


Things I wish I had done:

Sway bars, front and rear. Spring overs need these to be comfortable and safe(er)


I am considering downsizing to 35 inch tires.



Cool to see this thread back from the dead. I still have the truck and drive it maybe 14 days a year. It's a great wheeling truck. Really great. But it sucks around town as a driver. In my opinion, spring overs make for greatness off road and suckage everywhere else.

 

[FJ60Cam]

I re-stumbled across this yesterday while scrolling through the past ROTW list. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing it a couple of times. First, a few years ago at Rubithon and then again this summer. Huge is quite the understatement. My normal-sized 60 on 33s looked like a low rider in its presence.

 

[Raven361]

I know that this is an old thread, but I was wondering if you had any problems with bump steer or a wobble in the steering after hitting a bump while driving on the road (without having a steering stabilizer)?

 

[Cruiserdrew]

I know that this is an old thread, but I was wondering if you had any problems with bump steer or a wobble in the steering after hitting a bump while driving on the road (without having a steering stabilizer)?

It has a stabilizer, but no, never had any problems.

 

[Raven361]

Thanks for the response. Wish I could nail down this problem that I'm having... Out of curiosity, what is your castor angle? I set mine pretty close to 9º (+) but didn't think that it was too aggressive. Thank you again for any help you may be able to provide.

Cheers!

 

[too tall]

9 degrees caster is too much. I use 3 degrees for most SOA's I do in my shop. When you have high caster numbers like that you sometimes get death wobble because of it. Death wobble comes from a lot of different things but really high caster numbers can add to the problem. Why would you set it to 9 degrees? Was it a suggestion from a friend? Most cruisers from factory are much closer to 0 than 9 degrees.

 

[Cruiserdrew]

I was aiming for 4 degrees.

Are you asking about that or pinion angle?

 

[Raven361]

The castor. Don't know what my pinion turned out to be, I went a little high on both to compensate for the angle difference after a shackle reversal. I did a lot of trig to figure everything out do it would turn out (theoretically) good.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Wish I could nail down this problem that I'm having...

I set mine (caster) pretty close to 9º (+) ...

I did a lot of trig to figure everything out do it would turn out (theoretically) good.

uh, what? Trig to figure out what?

9* is way too aggressive. 2-4* caster is regarded as the sweet spot for SOA 60s. Change your caster to be in that range, then re-evaluate. Good chance that your steering issues can be attributed to that.

 

[Raven361]

GLTHFJ60, I used trig to figure out what my castor angle would be after the reversal. Thank you for the response though, this definitely points me in the right direction for sure. Looks like I have a bit of work to do with the welder!!!

 

[too tall]

GLTHFJ60, I used trig to figure out what my castor angle would be after the reversal. Thank you for the response though, this definitely points me in the right direction for sure. Looks like I have a bit of work to do with the welder!!!

When you build the front axle you should cut the welds on the balls and put the axles under the truck. Put them on jack stands at the same height front and back with the pinions pointed at the correct angle with the weight of the truck on the springs. Then adjust the caster after that. It is generally the last thing you set. Trying to do it out of the truck with trigonometry is the wrong approach. I have done more than a dozen Spring overs and I find it is always best to do that part under the truck with the weight on. I do understand the equations a person would need to use as well.

 

[Raven361]

too tall, I completely agree. Took the wrong approach and am now trying to problem solve the issue now. Thank you for your advise however, looks like I'll be cutting, rewelding, and doing a cut 'n' turn (with 2-4º). Sometimes my degree gets me into problems that I thought it would get me out of in the first place... i.e. overthinking the hell out of it.

 

[cruisermatt]

GLTHFJ60, I used trig to figure out what my castor angle would be after the reversal. Thank you for the response though, this definitely points me in the right direction for sure. Looks like I have a bit of work to do with the welder!!!

too tall, I completely agree. Took the wrong approach and am now trying to problem solve the issue now. Thank you for your advise however, looks like I'll be cutting, rewelding, and doing a cut 'n' turn (with 2-4º). Sometimes my degree gets me into problems that I thought it would get me out of in the first place... i.e. overthinking the hell out of it.

Engineers

 

[Raven361]

Mathematicians/physicists...