I finished mounting my new steering arms.
These are the type of arms that, Eric Ruhl designed. I got my set from Bob Roggy.
Eric had said the brake caliper assembly was tight to the arms, but there was clearance. Well, thats not the case, if you are running 8 lug rotors. The extra inch of rotor diameter puts the caliper housing right into the bottom of the arm, with no chance of grinding for clearance. So the easy solution is to simply clock the brake mounting bracket. I used an old spindle as a guide and clamped it to the brake mounting bracket, then drilled 6 new holes directly between the other existing 6 holes. This allowed me to clock the brake bracket rearward 30 degrees, which repositioned the brake caliper assembly to have plenty of room. I tried repositioning the bracket one full bolt rearward (60 degrees), but it positioned the caliper assembly to low(in my opinion).
Here are a couple of pics. I am using 1 1/2" solid rod, for my tie rod and and 1 3/8" for the drag link, both tapped for 7/8" thread tie rods ends. Grady should have them complete tomorrow so the entire set up should be finished. The hydraulic ram, will be attached behind the diff, and attached to the Tie rod.
In the pic, the attachment of the tie rod at the front of the steering arm, will actually be abandoned, and only the passenger side front hole will be used for the drag link.
More pics to follow.
http://bbs.off-road.com/wwwthreads_uploads/53-670849-MVC-001S.JPG
http://bbs.off-road.com/wwwthreads_uploads/53-670854-MVC-002S.JPG

nice looking set-up. Keep the pictures coming.

that's :massey: sick, sick, sick. I like it.

Dumb question: with rear-steer, how does one control the steering on the rear axle? I've seen this on a lot of competition rigs, but never seen the controls.

Originally posted by bluesman2a
that's :massey: sick, sick, sick. I like it.

Dumb question: with rear-steer, how does one control the steering on the rear axle? I've seen this on a lot of competition rigs, but never seen the controls.


They use a hydraulic ram and, a self centering orbital valve.

That Eric guy sure is handy to have around. Rumor has it he's good with a slide rule too... :flipoff2:

Didn't think of the 8 lug users, Did you have any caliper to knuckle issues? Probably not since the caliper is moved out farther from center.

And Bluesman just to clear this up for you, its a rear tie rod as in the tie rod is behind the axle housing, not rear steering.

Thanks Bob, that would be a DUH on my part! But couldn't tell from pics.

Originally posted by Bob Levenhagen
Didn't think of the 8 lug users, Did you have any caliper to knuckle issues? Probably not since the caliper is moved out farther from center.




No other clearance issues.
Once the brake caliper brackets were clocked 30 degrees, nothing is even close to being in the way of each other.
Its gonna be a very sweet steering set up when complete.
It solves all [well most] of the problems associated with moving the front axle 5 or 6 inches forward.

Damn, I've got to see this about a month from now at TDS.:D
Nice work Jeff.

Originally posted by H8monday



No other clearance issues.
Once the brake caliper brackets were clocked 30 degrees, nothing is even close to being in the way of each other.
Its gonna be a very sweet steering set up when complete.
It solves all [well most] of the problems associated with moving the front axle 5 or 6 inches forward.

Awesome setup H8! So I take it your planning on moving the front axle forward some more or are you talking about the problems associated with you already moving it? BTW: How much did you move it forward?

Ive already moved it about 4" forward, I plan to move it another 2".
I already had moved the steering box forward about 3", but I need to rotate the pinion up a few degrees, and that would have made the tie rod hit the springs in some conditions. I also had a fairly steep drag link angle, due to having to use such a straight pitman arm to keep the tie rod and drag link from binding or hitting, when the passenger side tire was at full stuff. Then with the hydraulic ram shoved into the equation, it was about the equivelant of trying to shove 10lbs of crap into a 5lb bag. The new set up solves all the problems, and greatly improves all aspects of my steering geometry. It also allows to set a very straight hydraulic ram, tie rod set up, with literaly no bind.
Im just waiting right now for the phone call saying my steering linkages are complete.

Originally posted by H8monday
Eric had said the brake caliper assembly was tight to the arms, but there was clearance. Well, thats not the case, if you are running 8 lug rotors. The extra inch of rotor diameter puts the caliper housing right into the bottom of the arm, with no chance of grinding for clearance.

:( Bummer, sorry to hear they interferred with the 8 lugger setup. I didn't have an 8 lugger to compare to when designing them so I just gave Bob what I needed to work for my 5 lug Waggy 44. On mine the caliper housing is under the arm (see pics in link below). Maybe Bob just needs to bend up the rear portion for use on 8 luggers? I really don't know, I left all future development up to Bob and Scott (of rockstomper.com).

Glad to hear you found a way around the interference though, and thanks for sharing the pics! Keep em coming :beer:

For anyone who is interested in this, here's the original thread which serves as a pretty decent FAQ on these arms. It also contains a link to pics of my own arms and a link to info on longer studs for use with the arms:
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=19580

Note that Bob Roggy and Rockstomper are the only shops that I released the design to, so they're the guys to talk to if you want them.

Eric,
There is almost no way to clearance them for the 8 lug. But the solution is so simple. And it has no down side, your not lowering the caliper so low that they would be in harm way. Just 6 holes in the bracket and your done.
Sweet design. Thanks!!! I owe ya many:beer: for your ingenuity, and generousity. Maybe Ill even take it easy on ya, when we can wheel together sometime:flipoff2: