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Billet Aluminum front spring crossmember and steering arm

Chaddy said:
Blazr77400 said:
When I add the Hydraulic assist it will take all the stress off the arm anyways.
If you say so....

X2, how do you figure?:confused: :confused:
just by simple physics, adding a hydraulic ram to your steering will put much more force on your steering arms.
less force on your pitman arm, but much more force on your steering arms.
 
Avery4jc said:
pretty cool stuff...

so do you run a cnc machine for work?
I Run a 3 axis Daewoo, Anilam, and we have Mori lathe with dual spindles with milling capabilities.
 
surpip said:
X2, how do you figure?:confused: :confused:
just by simple physics, adding a hydraulic ram to your steering will put much more force on your steering arms.
less force on your pitman arm, but much more force on your steering arms.
So you are saying what takes pressure off the pitman arm, doesnt take stress off the steering arm? If you say so....

If you connect a hydraulic cylinder to your tierod (or with a double ended cylinder, to the stock tierod mounts) it will take all the stress off the steering box, pitman arm, draglink, steering arm, and studs.


Here is a set that are Guaranteed for life.......
http://www.offroadoverstock.com/store.cfm?Product_ID=dana60highsteerarms&page=details.cfm&cartaction=none&thisrow=5&action=list&criteria=159&startrow=1&mystartrow=1&maxrows=10&cat=46&man=&stay=&afid=&searchcat_id=&itemprice=&searchfield=&searchman_id=&boolean=OR&var1=&var2=&var3=&return_product_id=&makeid=&modelid=&modelyear=

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=525349&highlight=aluminum+steering
 
Blazr77400 said:
So you are saying what takes pressure off the pitman arm, doesnt take stress off the steering arm? If you say so....

If you connect a hydraulic cylinder to your tierod (or with a double ended cylinder, to the stock tierod mounts) it will take all the stress off the steering box, pitman arm, draglink, steering arm, and studs.
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=525349&highlight=aluminum+steering

I totally agree with you. Adding hydro assist take significant pressure off of the frame, steering box, pitman arm, drag link and steering arm and transfers it to the axle tube and tie rod.



As for the ATOR arms and the trailer hitches, I'm sure both of those companies have had engineers run calculations to ensure they will hold up ok. All I said before is that the arms may last a really long time and they may not. Obviously those two companies think they will last.

I was trying to make you (and anyone else that considers fabbing up something like this) think about what material they choose. Aluminum can be dangerous if not used in the right places.


And finally, engineers really only "over design" things that could cause injury to people (i.e steering, etc.)
 
Smart engineers maybe.........
But its the dumb ones that do it on everything.........

What Kind of cad system do you use to test stuff out?
Do you use Cosmos express much? I thought about putting it there and seeing what kind of safety factor it has.
 
Blazr77400 said:
Smart engineers maybe.........
But its the dumb ones that do it on everything.........

What Kind of cad system do you use to test stuff out?
Do you use Cosmos express much? I thought about putting it there and seeing what kind of safety factor it has.

Well I'm technically still a student about to graduate but we use Solidworks/Cosmosworks
 
38377k5 said:
Well I'm technically still a student about to graduate but we use Solidworks/Cosmosworks

Well enough with the Machinist said....Engineer said.....
Throw it in there and see what it shows. Make a WMV of it.
 
Blazr77400 said:
Well enough with the Machinist said....Engineer said.....
Throw it in there and see what it shows. Make a WMV of it.
What force would you use?

It (steering arms), like many things built on our trucks, is built based on previous experience. Who knows how much impulse force a steering arm sees :dunno:?
 
To test the variables/forces I would use a FEA program.

The big question is what type of Al did you use and what type of annealing process did it go through.

Like all metals one varietal is not the same as the next, depending on the alloys and the annealing process'.

Keep up the GREAT work and don't let the HATERS keep you down, but please listen to those that give you reason behind their friction.
 
54inches said:
To test the variables/forces I would use a FEA program.

The big question is what type of Al did you use and what type of annealing process did it go through.


Keep up the GREAT work and don't let the HATERS keep you down, but please listen to those that give you reason behind their friction.
I used 6061-T6.

I am listening, I too dont believe aluminum is the best material to use, but I do beleive it to be strong enough, and its much easier to manipulate in the machine.
 
38377k5 said:
I totally agree with you. Adding hydro assist take significant pressure off of the frame, steering box, pitman arm, drag link and steering arm and transfers it to the axle tube and tie rod.

how in the crap do you figure?
Why is it after adding hydro assist, more people shear stearing arm bolts/studs?

why do you think deadenbear(now reid racing) offers thier knuckles with extra bolt hole in the front(dana 60's)

because the steering arms see all the load of the steering system, think about it, if your tire is wedged against a rock, and you use a hydraulic ram to help you steer, you are adding a ton of force to the steering arm, wich is really just a lever to aid you (your steering system) in turning your tires.
sure it transfers it to the tie rod, wich is connected to???? all together now, the steering arm
 
surpip said:
how in the crap do you figure?
Why is it after adding hydro assist, more people shear stearing arm bolts/studs?

why do you think deadenbear(now reid racing) offers thier knuckles with extra bolt hole in the front(dana 60's)

because the steering arms see all the load of the steering system, think about it, if your tire is wedged against a rock, and you use a hydraulic ram to help you steer, you are adding a ton of force to the steering arm, wich is really just a lever to aid you (your steering system) in turning your tires.
sure it transfers it to the tie rod, wich is connected to???? all together now, the steering arm

Yeah, I know whats attatched to what. The hydro ram (which has much greater steering force than the mechanical steering) only exerts its force between the axle tube and the tie rod. Period. The steering arm, draglink, etc. are just "along for the ride" so to speak. They cannot have any more force put on them than the mechanical steering could muster.

Aftermarket steering arms (and aftermarket knuckles) have that fifth bolt for two reasons. One, many steering bolt/stud failures are attributed to the bolts or nuts coming loose. The second is obviously because there's a fifth bolt to distribute the load to.

AFAIK, most people breaking steering arm studs are running full hydro/high steer. That puts all the stress onto the steering arm and studs.
 
surpip said:
how in the crap do you figure?
Why is it after adding hydro assist, more people shear stearing arm bolts/studs?

why do you think deadenbear(now reid racing) offers thier knuckles with extra bolt hole in the front(dana 60's)

because the steering arms see all the load of the steering system, think about it, if your tire is wedged against a rock, and you use a hydraulic ram to help you steer, you are adding a ton of force to the steering arm, wich is really just a lever to aid you (your steering system) in turning your tires.
sure it transfers it to the tie rod, wich is connected to???? all together now, the steering arm

This would be true if it were high steer.. Its not so it takes load OFF of the arm...

The pressure exterts from the ram is transfered to the knuckles, ram, tierod, and ram mounting point
 
38377k5 said:
Yeah, I know whats attatched to what. The hydro ram (which has much greater steering force than the mechanical steering) only exerts its force between the axle tube and the tie rod. Period. The steering arm, draglink, etc. are just "along for the ride" so to speak. They cannot have any more force put on them than the mechanical steering could muster.

wow, i cant belive you can't see this
the steering arm is a lever, with the stock steering, lets say there is maybe 500PSI aplied force to that lever
with hydro assist, there is at least 2500 psi pushing that arm, that lever that controls your steering

If the arm is just "along for the ride" why not make it out of cardboard, or sticks, or tinfoil?
the force of the ram just dosen't stop at the tie rod and magically dissapear. all that force is still applied to the arm


38377k5 said:
Aftermarket steering arms (and aftermarket knuckles) have that fifth bolt for two reasons. One, many steering bolt/stud failures are attributed to the bolts or nuts coming loose. The second is obviously because there's a fifth bolt to distribute the load to.
why do you need to distribute the load, if there isen't that much force being aplied to them?
 
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