fyi you don't have to use the cross over steering arm on the new to you d44. you can bolt your current steering arm to the driver side knuckle and keep using the steering linkage you have
CK5
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Crossover steering K5
- Thread starter Chris Ziemer
- Start date
Thanks everyone, appreciate all of your feedback on this. After much thought and some regret (I have all the parts) I asked him to just put in the axle and hook my stock steering back up.
If everything works well with the four-wheel-drive and gears, maybe we can talk about crossover steering at a later date. Or as a couple of you mentioned, it really may not even be worth it for a daily driver.
Appreciate you all.
If everything works well with the four-wheel-drive and gears, maybe we can talk about crossover steering at a later date. Or as a couple of you mentioned, it really may not even be worth it for a daily driver.
Appreciate you all.
Is he doing new u-bolts to hold the axle to the springs ?
U-bolts are ment to be 1 time use item .
U-bolts are ment to be 1 time use item .
We used the same ones. Only a couple thousand easy miles on them. But good to know!
Ubolts stretch when torqued to spec (typically 150ft lb). Some folks reuse them but they really should be replaced. You should routinely check to make sure they are still torqued to spec. If they start to work loose it can be very dangerous, especially on front axle.
I reuse ubolts like underwear.
‘Till they get shitty!
‘Till they get shitty!
Thanks guys, I’ll be sure to recheck to torque in a couple weeks to make sure they didn’t stretch out.
couple of days at most . .
i had a set come loose even after hammering them back down with the impact . almost lost my 3/4 ton front on 38" swampers at highway speed . only way i knew was the steering wheel wouldn't re-center to the same spot after turns .
Damn, that’s scary. Okay, I’m ordering a new set of U bolts!
The key is to torque them properly. You can over tighten them like any fastener and damage them so they dont stay in tension and become loose.
It's a conspiracy from "big U-bolt" to make us spend $50 every time we change anything.
My U-bolts loosened up and my rear axle basically fell out. Not a good day. New ones too. The issue was that I used anti-seize and the nuts were not nylocks or anything.
My U-bolts loosened up and my rear axle basically fell out. Not a good day. New ones too. The issue was that I used anti-seize and the nuts were not nylocks or anything.
yeah no lubricant on new u bolts. Maybe a little machine oil on used ones to help nut turn on used threads. A good wire brushing is the preferred method.
Deep nut with more threads over nylocks. Prevailing torque lock nuts would be better than nylocks.
Deep nut with more threads over nylocks. Prevailing torque lock nuts would be better than nylocks.
And always 5/8" or bigger rod for more clamping .
Agreed ! True U-bolt nuts, couple drops of oil between nut and washer and proper torque spec for OILED versus DRY, re-torque at least once and on first torque whack the U side with a 5 pound hammer like you mean it and torque again, overkill perhaps but you'll never have an issue, oh and never re-use period, pry the wallet open they are cheap as shit....
Need links showing actual price/lb. comparisons.
I have seen guys with nylocks on their ubolts. I have never seen them sold this way so I assume they are added after the fact. True ubolt nuts are quite tall (lots of thread). You can't just change hardware or mix and match stuff. If you think you need nylocks you arent properly torqueing them to begin with. There are literally millions of vehicles with ubolts that are never modified or retorqued or have nylock nuts, because they were Installed properly to begin with. Also adding oil or other lubricant will drastically change the actual applied torque. So you need to torque them as the manufacturer states. (Dry or specific lubricant) as the lubricant will change the torque factor from one lube to the other.
Interestingly, the last two lift kits I installed on square body's last year included nylocks for the ubolts. They were kits from Skyjacker and Rough Country.
Cheep lift kit u-bolts tend to come with them .
I prefer quality brand u-bolts like L&H brand rod used for custom made u-bolts .
I prefer quality brand u-bolts like L&H brand rod used for custom made u-bolts .
Wow I guess I stand corrected. The last several lifts I have done haven't been those brands and are parted together. (Not kits) I buy my ubolts separately. Last set from ORD.
