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Northwest Fab 60 highsteer arm

J

jagermiester

1/2 ton status
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Jan 3, 2006
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NV
Does anyone have any experience with this arm. Or an opinion on it.

100% CNC Machined From Billet Stock, NO Welded Caps.
- Will Clear A H1 / HMMWV Rim Mounted On Single Rear Wheel Hubs.
- Available In Double Reversed Arm Style For The Most In Adaptability And Axle Relocation.
- Kingpin Spring Caps Are Integrated Into The Billet Steering Arm Body.
- Grease Zerk Fitting On Cap Top For Ease Of Maintenance.
- Arm Geometry Adjusted For Steering and Kingpin Axis Inclination Angle.
- Tapered For Tie Rod Ends or Drilled For 3/4" Heims.
- 5th and 6th Hole for Aftermarket Dedenbear Knuckles.
- Available in 70,000PSI and 170,000PSI Tensile Strength Models

doublearm1.JPG
 
looks good to me. NWF has mad skillz, I wouldn't hesitate to run their arms if I didn't already have a set from WFO.

j
 
I emailed them b/c it looks like the arm bends in towards the center of the axle. And I was curious if this makes for a shorter draglink and when running hysteer the driver side arm does the same thing so this would make for a much shorter tierod right? I am still waiting for a response. I was looking at WFO but I want an arm that has the cap built in.
 
Also another question is which would be better to run the 3/4 heims or TRE's and why?
 
jagermiester said:
I emailed them b/c it looks like the arm bends in towards the center of the axle. And I was curious if this makes for a shorter draglink and when running hysteer the driver side arm does the same thing so this would make for a much shorter tierod right?
Click to expand...

I guess it depends on whether a couple of inches qualifies as "much shorter" to you. Why does it matter of the tie rod is shorter? With crossover/histeer, tierod length doesnt really matter. Drag link length isn't going to be much of a problem either unless you have crazy-tall lift or something. The arm is designed the way it is so it stays out of the way of hummer rims etc. If you want an arm that is "straighter" go with the WFO. I've never had a problem with a factory-style kingpin cap "breaking"... so I don't see the allure of an arm with a built in cap...

I was looking at WFO but I want an arm that has the cap built in.
Click to expand...

why?

Also another question is which would be better to run the 3/4 heims or TRE's and why?
Click to expand...

I would run heims on a trailer queen, but not a DD. Every time I see them on a rig in the steering parts they creak/groan every time the driver turns. Kinda annoying. Big GM TREs are plenty strong and available at parts stores if something breaks. Only reason I'd run heims is if I had a supa-bling steering arm (never seen one yet) that allowed the heim to be mounted double-shear. That'd be cool... but like i said, never seen one so the TREs are fine.

j
 
There is no real reason for a preference on the cap being built in I just like it better. As for the tierod length and draglink length I didnt say it was better or worse I was just wondering if maybe it was thwe way I was looking at it. I would have assumed the same that it wouldnt make a difference. Just curiosity. I figured that the TRE's would be better especially based on the fact that this would be a DD. what is the benifit to heims though? Thanks for all the info and opinions.
 
I have one of the NWF arms but I can't give any feedback on how it works yet as my project is still unfinished. I can say that the quality / workmanship / customer service is amazing. :wink1:
 
Where did you get your tie rod and draglink from? Them also? Are you doing hysteer also or just crossover. You wouldnt happen to have any more pics would you? Possibly some of it installed?
 
You say you want one with the cap built in... WFO has the arms that convert it to shims instead of the springs so in that sense it would have the cap built in. I run these and dont have a problem.
 
thats alot of maintianance to constantly keep it shimmed, ecpsecially with a dd. just not worth the hassle. If all part of the steering are in good shape there would be no death wobble.
 
79k20350 said:
thats alot of maintianance to constantly keep it shimmed, ecpsecially with a dd. just not worth the hassle. If all part of the steering are in good shape there would be no death wobble.
Click to expand...

One of our club members drives his daily, 30 miles each way. As far as I know he doesnt have to do a whole bunch.
 
I didnt want to have to deal w/ adding shims as the bushing wears. as stated by 79k20350 this could get annoying on a daily sriver. But I did look at them and was debating it.
 
jagermiester said:
Where did you get your tie rod and draglink from? Them also? Are you doing hysteer also or just crossover. You wouldnt happen to have any more pics would you? Possibly some of it installed?
Click to expand...

Sorry I can't give you any cool pics, it's still sitting on top of my tool box (but it is painted :D ). Once I get my axle back from having the r&p set up I'll be assembling it with the arm.

I haven't bought my cossover stuff yet (but I do have the ORD 1.5" tie rod). My plan is to buy an ORD crossover kit less their arm to use with the NWF piece. At the time I bought the arm NWF was not yet making crossover kits so I have the arm tapered for the ORD style TRE's. I figure I'll put the axle under in my frame and then measure for both lift and length before ordering the drag link (like you, I'm not sure if the turn in the arm will effect drag link length).

Also, my current plan is to run crossover with the tie rod in the stock position. I'm using 52's so if I decide to go with histeer I'll have to put the tie rod behind the axle (which seems like a huge waste of the 1.5" tie rod).
 
jekbrown said:
I guess it depends on whether a couple of inches qualifies as "much shorter" to you. Why does it matter of the tie rod is shorter? With crossover/histeer, tierod length doesnt really matter. Drag link length isn't going to be much of a problem either unless you have crazy-tall lift or something. The arm is designed the way it is so it stays out of the way of hummer rims etc. If you want an arm that is "straighter" go with the WFO. I've never had a problem with a factory-style kingpin cap "breaking"... so I don't see the allure of an arm with a built in cap...

j
Click to expand...

Tie rod lenth has a lot to do with ackerman angle. I think the behind-the-axle arms are set about right.
 
jagermiester said:
Also another question is which would be better to run the 3/4 heims or TRE's and why?
Click to expand...

Try to find a 3/4 heim at your local parts store. TRE's are everywhere (and you can share your spares with your friends). Unless, of course, you carry spare heims- then your friends are SOL unless they too run heims:doah: .
 
CyberSniper said:
Tie rod lenth has a lot to do with ackerman angle. I think the behind-the-axle arms are set about right.
Click to expand...

any1 have any diagrams or anything that can explain the above. CS knows his shizzle, so I assume he's correct, but I'm having a tough time figuring out how tie rod length changes anything... :confused: From what I remember of my WFO arm, it was machined so the TRE mounting surface is pretty much parrallel to the ground... seems like the tie rods length wouldn't mean much. :confused: do the people who narrow axles have messed up Ak angles?

j
 
We now have the whole hookup when it comes to steering kits, all types of arms (D60), single, double, highsteer front/rear, draglinks tie rods, HD tie rods, end etc - we're the one stop shop. We have stock on all the D60 gear, and we just recived 5,000lbs of steel for the D60 arms, and another lot for D44 and Toyota to come shortly.

I'll update the website shortly with the photos of each type of kit as well as drag link and tie rod pricing. It's been on the 'to do' list for a few weeks now :doah:

We have taken into account for ackerman angle as much as possible on all of our steering products. Stock vehicles from GM, Ford Dodge etc never had 100% ackerman (not to mention ackerman is also related to wheelbase, D60's were found in a broad range of vehicles with different wheelbase measurments), and the majoirty of the 'straight' arms out there do not take into account for ackerman angle at all. That said, the original ackerman measurments are developed for racecars with 100% traction on flat surfaces, so take the ackerman discussion with a grian of salt. I beleive there was a multi page thread on pirate4x4.com that went in depth into ackerman with some insightful diagrams of where it originated from.

-Kyle.
NWF.
 
Kyle, do you guys use a straight or bent drag link? I know it's not what you typically use but could you build a drag link using the (if I remember correctly) ES2234 type of TRE?

Thanks!
 
We generally build bent drag links out of 1-1/4"x.250 wall DOM for most fullsized applications, if for some reason you require a straight one we can do that too.

I have some 2234's on hand, it is no problem at all to incorperate them. I ususally use ES453L for the opposing end.

-Kyle.
 
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