modify steering with lift ?

[jacksh002]

What do you have to do to adjust the steering when lifting a solid axle rig?

it makes sense obiously, that the solid axle has the steering attatched to it and as the body goes up the steering wheel needs to stay attatched to the steering mechanismz. but what are the remedies, any rule of thumb of how much lift b4 you need to do this, is it adjustible (where if i buy a kit or however you tweak it, and lift my rig 3" and then i lift it another 4" later down the road will i be able to adjust the steering w/out getting a new kit, or completely re-doing whatever needs to be done?)

i looked through the 85 & earlier threads to make sure im not asking a question already asked a bunch, and the only topic was asking more in depth questions about it, so i figured if i just asked for the intro as well as in depth here in FAQ's to make it easier for me and any other newb's to find. thanks for the help,- BeN² 82 p/u

[DeadlyPeace]

It all depends on what kind of wheeling you do and what kind of lift you do (s/l or b/l).

FOR STANDARD DRIVING to MEDIUM FLEX WHEELING:
You can do up to a 4" S/L with the stock steering. It would be good to put a 4" drop link ($80) on it to help with the stress on the u-arm. Another mod that can be done to help the stress is to flip the ball joint on the end of the u-arm from the bottom to the top. To do this all you need to do is (with u-arm removed) grind the weld on top that holds the ball joint and pound it out (some heating may be needed to remove easier). Then press it back in from the top and weld it at the bottom.

FOR ANYTHING WHERE FLEXING IS NEEDED:
Although I’ve seen some people get away with the mods mentioned above (for how long I done know) while rock crawling, and one with the ball joint mod and still had the stock drag link. I would suggest you get a Hy-Steer (X-over)($350and up) set-up if you go above 4” in S/L. But truthfully I would suggest getting the Hy-Steer with any S/L. It works better then the stock steering on and off road.

FOR A B/L:
To start with, I wouldn’t go any more then a 3” B/L. It will throw your COG up too high and starts putting stress on the frame. For any B/L you will need to change the length of the steering column rod. Most B/L kits come with the extension for this and is fairly easy to do. As far as being adjustable if you go higher later I don’t know. I modified my steering column and will not mention how. Reason is cuz the column is designed to collapse during a forward collision and mine won’t do that now. I would say if you plan to do a B/L then determine how much you want and do it only once.

[bentmetal]

now that is a killer tip i have not heard before that would solve my bent u-arm problem......bottom to the top ....... so simple yet so unthought of.awsome

[fourwd1]

bentmetal said:

now that is a killer tip i have not heard before that would solve my bent u-arm problem......bottom to the top ....... so simple yet so unthought of.awsome

Flipping the ball on the J-arm is an old trick, but a band-aid at best. Make sure the weld is top-notch - it'd be a biatch for it to break and loose steering while going down the road at 60 mph, or down a steep hill offroad, etc.

[Dobi]

I just put in a 3" perf acces body lift.

Their directions were to mark the spline on both sides, take the shaft out by sliding it towards the cab. Till its out of the area by the radiator.

Drill out the holes with the pins in them. May be hard to see at first, mine were grinded(ground) down and re-painted but there was a little indention and after some scraping I could tell those were them. (these are the pieces that are meant to collapse during impact)

After drilling them out(1/8" drill bit), pull the extension arms 1-1/8" farthere out. Drill new holes in original lower holes then up about 1.5" from there and stick pins (have to buy new ones, I think they we're called '1/8" rollout pins) back in. I remember using these pins on gas/high powered remote controls for holding motors and other pieces in place.

[fourwd1]

In addition to flipping the ball on the J-arm, here's a link to more steering modifications.

128.83.80.200/taco/scarysteering.html



Dobi, he wasn't talking about lengthening the steering column, but somone else may be able to use that info.

BTW, the stock column uses plastic pins which will shear under impact for safety. I don't know how easily steel roll pins shear.