Going to have a track bar built that matches my drag link. I took the drag link off, traced a template, then pinned it to the upper bracket. Still need to fabricate a lower bracket but do you see anything wrong with matching the bend of the draglink?
as long as it clears at full bump you should be good. how are you going to mount it to the axle, make a tower that kicks the mount out by the knuckle? do you think you could off set the bar more towards the driver side without hitting the shock by changing your drivers mount?
personally i would consider a big offset tower for a mount weak in the same sense that adding to much separation to a link bar makes a link weak.
mock up for this sort of thing is better done with wood or scrap metal cause you can cycle it.
the bend only needs to "match" for clearance purposes (altho since your tie rod is a "prefab" bent one, its likely there is a better shape with less offset that could be custom fabbed to your truck at full bump) its actual shape has no relevance to the suspension other than the distance between the two rod ends. so as long as you use adaquate material, be it thick/heavy wall mild steel or cromo, you shouldnt have any problems. obviously try to keep the separation via the bends as minimal as possible but your going to have some cause the link will have to snake around stuff at full bump.
Not going to redo the drivers side mount. Probably going to do an axle mount that ties into the spring plate, but your right, it's going to be tight with the shock there.
the more i look at this the more i think that your shape wont work. it looks like it will hit the top of the diff and the crossmember at full compression. the link should look more like a S with two bends int it. or maby something kinda(strong emphasis on the KINDA cause i know one of you literal people will take that literally...) like a ? mark.
i would go get some truck style ratchet straps, compress your suspension all the way, throw some ply wood down there and trace a shape on it that clears everything and go from there.
because of the sideways movement of the axle during cornering. sometimes the springs allow the axle to move a small amount which disconcerts a driver and makes it inconvenient to steer it back multiple times to get the truck going straight again.
not having one in some cases makes it difficult to predict what the hell the truck is going to do in traffic.
Your going to have to redo the frame end. It needs to go more to the "outside" or Driver Side. So that the pass side will have a place to land.
That is IF you want it to work right (like having the drag link and track bar the same length and angle).
Check out my dodge build thread, I did do it like that. The pass side ends up way close to the high steer arm and the driver side stick out of the frame around 6-7" that's how I got mine to be the same angle and length.
And I think that it does help driveability.
Braced shackles and good poly. Bushings will do wonders. Hydro assist aswell as its not pushing/prying the axle/knuckle off the frame to turn, or even just hold the wheel straight
I am with you on the track bar if it is driven on the highway you need a track bar. Your design looks good the track bar can be bent like the drag ling. compress your suspension full cycle and see if it clears you might be surprised.
I ran ORD highsteer for a while and didn't like it. Caused a bunch of problems. Probably going to add hydro assist soon and it will be a lot easier. The Tie rod is .250 DOM, it should be fine for a while.
Yes your correct. High steer is a weaker than the tie rod in the stock location. But the high steer will get it out of harms way.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Pirate 4x4
18.7M posts
366.4K members
Since 2000
A forum community dedicated to custom off-road vehicle owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about trail reports, builds, performance, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, fabrication, drivetrain, and more!