steering & suspension

[texan79&96]

i think i have decided on 4" superflex springs and cage arms. i will cut the fenders and run 35s. with a drop pitman and tracbar drop the steering geometry be stock again right ? will the steering box and pump work with 35s ok or should i try to find the saginaw pump&bracket out of a van? ive got a 400. has anyone ever put bigger tubing over the draglink to reinforce it? im cuttin the fenders anyway due to rust on the rear quarters and i figured it would be better to stay low so i dont tip on sidehills im just gonna make sliders and skidplate everything. also it seems steering would be cheaper with a 4" instead of 6" lift so i dont need adjustable steering links right? im probably gonna drive it everyday and dont want it so tall i cant take it on sidehills. does this sound like my best bet for somethin to climb around in and drive daily with a tcase doubler, truck avenger, and good axlesshafts/lockers? what do yall think?

 

[Broncoholics]

4" sounds good to me. The drop pitman arm and drop trac bar will keep it close to stock at 4" for no bump steer. I decided to do the tie-rod over conversion and spend the cash on the tapered reamer instead of a drop drac bar bracket and drop pitman arm. I was able to run the stock pitman arm with the steering raised up and the trac bar was left in the stock location.

I had to make a new adjustable trac bar using solid bar stock threaded the ends to fit 3/4" female heim joints. The poly joints in a stock trac bar will fail quick if you have lots of flex in the front end. If you use the Cage arms then you will gets lots of movement. Going to heim joints will also take the bind out of the trac bar and allow the suspension to drop further. It will need to be adjustable since you are lifting the truck otherwise the axle will not align with the body. You might even need an adjustable drag link to center the steering perfectly. Otherwise you wil have uneven steering. The trac bar can also be made out of DOM thick wall tube and have the inside tapped for 3/4" threads and use male heim joints.

 

[texan79&96]

if i keep the tie rods where they are for now the drop pitman/trac bracket will correct the steering without adjustable links right? i want to wait to do the tie rod over until i can afford some trail proof steering. ill also do the heim tracbar then too. thanks for the reply

 

[texan79&96]

also on the tracbar its just one hiem at the frame mount right or do you run them at both ends?

 

[Broncoholics]

You run a heim joint of each end of the trac bar. You can see a good set on http://performanceunlimited.com but its a spendy setup and can be made for half the price yourself.

Yes, the drop trac/ pitman arm will correct everything close enough.

 

[texan79&96]

cool ill have to look into that also do the drop trac brackets cause any problems or do they hold up alright? on the tie rod over not running a drop pitman do you keep the trac bar bracket stock and adjust it up? how would you keep the 2 parallel?