Need help now with OME suspension/steering

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WarDamnEagle

WarDamnEagle

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Just installed an OME 2" suspension lift on my 1985 4Runner. Lift looks great but one major problem. The draglink is hitting the rear (driver's side of course) u-bolt so you can only turn the steering wheel in one direction. I don't think my knuckle arm is bent but it looks like the only solution is to buy a knuckle arm which gives more clearance over the spring. According to ARB, if you put their flattened u-bolts in on that side (part number SU52) it is supposed to be very tight but work.

Anybody seen this problem on a straight front axle truck or 4Runner?

Anyone know where I can buy a different knuckle arm?

Thanks!!!
 
Well geez, that's not very good news man, I'm going to be putting that very same lift on my truck here very soon. What is probably happening is the thickness of the leaf pack (my only guess) is too much for the steering to clear. One thing you can do to help is take off the J-arm (steering arm on driver side), grind off the weld holding in the ball, press it out (or beat it out), re-install it the opposite way (ball sticking up) and weld the piss out of the backside, and put a few good tacks on the ball side. You will need an adjustable draglink to do this, either that or you will need to cut/sleeve/rotate/weld the stock draglink. Pics man, I want to see how much this lift gave you over stock.
 
Thanks for the quick reply but you were supposed to say, "Just buy such and such from so and so and it will fix your problem." ;p

The lift is fantastic if I can just get this one little problem solved. I'm thinking about heating and bending the knuckle arm up about 1/2". I don't want that as the permanent solution but at least it will allow me to turn the wheel.

I had overloaded this 4Runner so many times it isn't even funny. I pulled a Ski Nautique all over the place and loaded it down with lumber until I thought the front tires were going to come off the ground. In other words, it was really sagging! Therefore, I can't really say what it did over stock. I'm guessing that it has added 3" to the front and 4" to the rear of where the old springs were. If you search posts under my name you can see the before look. I will post pics of the after (and before) but it will be the middle of next week - sorry about that.
 
I had the same problem when I installed my OME suspension on my old '84 pickup. Yeah, the stock push/pull draglink hits the U-bolt. Your choices are to either buy the special OME low profile U-bolt (which I did at first), or get a drop draglink (which is what I finally did).

Here's what the U-bolt looks like:

http://www.yankeetoys.org/KLF/ForSale/ItemDetail.cfm?FS_ID=55

Honestly, I'm not sure if I still have it, but if I do it's still for sale.

My advice: start saving money and collecting parts, get rid of that horrible stock push/pull steering setup. Go cross-over with hi-steer. I WOULD NOT bend the steering arm, it may break on the highway if you hit a hard bump.
 
I wouldn't bend it, the J-arms have a history of breaking when stock, when lifted more stress is put on them, bending will only weaken it.:eek:

The best option is going crossover high steer. If that's not in the cards flipping the ball and rotating the link is an inexpensive option. But the J-arm, push-pull steering is the weak link in the front end, if your doing to wheel the truck getting rid of it asap is probably a good plan.:D

http://board.marlincrawler.com/index.php?topic=33240.0
 
Thanks for that information. I do have the low profile (U52) OME u-bolts on the driver side. In fact, I bought all new OME u-bolts, greasable shackles, etc. with the kit.

I assume the drop draglink connects to the top of the knuckle arm and not the bottom? Do you know where I can source one?

I might go with the cross-over sometime in the future. It isn't so much cost but time as I just don't have much time to work on this vehicle as we only use it a few weeks a year when we're in the country.

Any sourcing/additional info on the draglink would be most appreciated.
 
I bought my dropped draglink off ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/3-Dr...013QQitemZ230137352122QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWD1V, I havent put it on with this lift yet but just from the looks of it the draglink end itself is a lot smaller in diameter than the stock one and might solve what you are talking about, and as far as that fancy australian OME ubolt goes, my grinder can achieve the same thing with any old ubolt in the world. Im actually installing that lift this weekend so I'll let you know how it goes.
 
Be careful with grinding the u-bolt. The OME one is flattened on the one corner but it still has all the metal. If you grind it you will weaken it quite a bit. They only cost $10.00.

I still haven't solved this issue but I have until next Wednesday to come up with something as everything else will be finished (new DOA Racing engine, etc.). I will take a look at the draglink and see if maybe that would help.

What I would really like is a steering arm (J-arm) which has the draglink ball connector on top. I haven't been able to find one and I'm a bit afraid to grind mine out and weld it in on the top as I will be lettting my children drive this 4Runner. If I could buy one of those then I would cut the factory draglink, rotate one end 180 degrees and weld it back together with a sleeve. That wouldn't bother me as much as welding on the cast material that the steering arm is made out of.

Has anybody seen an aftermarket steering arm made to connect the draglink on top?

I guess everybody is going to cross over steering which eliminates this issue entirely. I will do the same but don't have the time right now.
 
I must say I have not ever seen an aftermarket J-arm replacement for a Toyota, plenty for Chevy and others though. If I was you I might just go to a junkyard and find another j-arm in case yours is in fact bent.
 
beatdown83fj60 said:
I bought my dropped draglink off ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/3-Dropped-Adjustable-Drag-Link-79-85-Toyota-Pickup-4wd_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33585QQihZ013QQitemZ230137352122QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWD1V, I havent put it on with this lift yet but just from the looks of it the draglink end itself is a lot smaller in diameter than the stock one and might solve what you are talking about, and as far as that fancy australian OME ubolt goes, my grinder can achieve the same thing with any old ubolt in the world. Im actually installing that lift this weekend so I'll let you know how it goes.
Click to expand...

Did you get your lift installed? Any steering problems? By the way, I went with the Heavy front springs CS009FA. They have one extra leaf (6 total) versus the medium springs.

I'm probably headed toward some cutting and welding on my Steering arm and my drag link to connect the drag link to the top.

I would still like to hear from anyone else that has modified the steering arm to put the drag link on top.
 
WarDamnEagle said:
I'm probably headed toward some cutting and welding on my Steering arm and my drag link to connect the drag link to the top.
Click to expand...

I seriously would not do this. Unless you want to be heading for the ditch or guardrail at high speed.

It's your steering, it's kinda important. Do it right.
 
KLF said:
I seriously would not do this. Unless you want to be heading for the ditch or guardrail at high speed.

It's your steering, it's kinda important. Do it right.
Click to expand...

I want to do it right but I'm out of ideas short of modifiying the steering arm. Other than putting the original springs back on, what would you suggest?
 
I guess I'm confused... are you saying that you installed the OME low-profile U-bolt, and the stock draglink still hits the top of the U-bolt?

If you don't have the time or $$$ to do the crossover converion now, then I would get a drop draglink, that fixed it for me. The Z bend of the draglink puts the connector end at the steering arm end more parallel to the top of the spring, so it just barely clears the U-bolt. Plus, it's adjustable in length, so you can get the pitman arm of the steering box centered when the wheels are straight.
 
Crap, this things got so many post, I'm not about to read them all. This is the problem when the spring pack is too thick. You run into this real quick when installing an AAL on the front. Problem is also compounded by steering arm getting bent down as it passes under the frame during bottoming in a turn. You've been given alot of suggestions here, most somewhat pricey or labor intense. Here's my two cents. Bend the arm back up (while on vehicle), then weld on a stiffening gusset.
 
KLF said:
I guess I'm confused... are you saying that you installed the OME low-profile U-bolt, and the stock draglink still hits the top of the U-bolt?

Yes, I installed two OME low-profile U-bolts on the driver's side and the stock draglink still hits the top of the rear U-bolt. In fact, it looks like it would just miss the spring if there was no U-bolt on the back side.

If you don't have the time or $$$ to do the crossover converion now, then I would get a drop draglink, that fixed it for me. The Z bend of the draglink puts the connector end at the steering arm end more parallel to the top of the spring, so it just barely clears the U-bolt. Plus, it's adjustable in length, so you can get the pitman arm of the steering box centered when the wheels are straight.
Click to expand...

That might work and I'm willing to give it a try. I haven't found one for under a 4" lift. What brand did you go with? It sounds like you had the same issue. Was it with an OME kit?

It's not $'s, it's just time. If I could find someone local that would do a turn-key crossover conversion then I would have it towed in tomorrow. I'm only in the country for a couple of more weeks and I wanted to all the modifications done while I'm here so that it can be driven by my son or daughter whenever we're back.

I do appreciate the advice. Thanks! :)
 
beatdown83fj60 said:
Don't cut the arm itself, the ball is pressed into the J-arm and smashed at the top like a rivet, grind it down, press it out, then press it back in the other way. If you are confident in your welding skills then go for it but if not, I'd find a professional.

http://pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=227149&highlight=flipped+ball
http://pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4093
Click to expand...

Thanks. I had found the second thread on Pirate but not the first one. BTW, I'll be using the professional if I go this route!

Did you put your OME suspension on yet?
 
WarDamnEagle said:
That might work and I'm willing to give it a try. I haven't found one for under a 4" lift. What brand did you go with? It sounds like you had the same issue. Was it with an OME kit?
Click to expand...

Yeah, I have OME springs (won't use anything else), I don't remember the model numbers but they are the heavies in the front, since I also have a heavy bumper and a winch. I'm not 100% sure, but I believe the draglink I had was a ProComp. Here's a picture of what it looked like:

DDraglink1.jpg
 
I ordered a Procomp adjustable draglink. I'm fairly sure that will solve the issue. We disconnected the draglink from the pitman arm and lowered that end about 4". This makes the draglink more level and allows the end connected to the steering arm to just clear the U-bolts. I also understand that the Procomp ends are a bit smaller than the stock Toyota which will give me a bit more clearance.

Thanks for all the help everyone!
 
Just for the sake of completeness. The Procomp drag link did the trick. I think this OME suspension might be over 2 inches. I'll post some overall views of the 4Runner in another thread.
 
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