CherryK5
1/2 ton status
ohhhhhhhh. Gotcha.
CK5
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Should i go to 42's?
- Thread starter CherryK5
- Start date
ohhhhhhhh. Gotcha.
mrdrinksalil
1/2 ton status
You might as well plan on putting that D60 in before you even think about those tires. And crossover steering is just the start. If you plan on being offroad with those tires other than dirt roads and the occasional mud hole you're gonna REALLY want hydro assist.
look at it this way
$50 tires and $2000 getting them to work "well" in your truck.
look at it this way
$50 tires and $2000 getting them to work "well" in your truck.
CherryK5
1/2 ton status
the most expensive part would be the lift. I have a rack of DOM at my disposal and just about everything I need. I even have some hydraulic rams. Just have to tap the steering box. Everything except lift springs.
it would just take time. And time without a vehicle can't happen. It's my DD. =/
mrdrinksalil
1/2 ton status
like others have already said. 52" front springs.
CherryK5
1/2 ton status
Both stock 52 and 56's will give you around 4" of lift. 56's are a little easier swap as you don't have to move the shackle hangar, but the 52's are generally easier to find IMO and there is no added benefit of the 56's over the 52's performance wise.
My 52's without bumpstops or limit straps will exceed the capability of my 15" shocks, ext brake lines, and driveshaft angles. I can't imagine any added flex of the 56's is really useful.
In a nutshell if you are going to run either of them use whichever you have on hand.
My 52's without bumpstops or limit straps will exceed the capability of my 15" shocks, ext brake lines, and driveshaft angles. I can't imagine any added flex of the 56's is really useful.
In a nutshell if you are going to run either of them use whichever you have on hand.
CherryK5
1/2 ton status
Why would you not have to move the hanger?
It's longer so wouldn't you have to? im confused
With the 52 swap most people have to move the shackle hangar forward to get a good shackle angle. With the 56's the added length gives you a good angle with the shackle hangar in the stock position. If you moved it forward with 56's the shackle would lay flat, or not reach at all.
CherryK5
1/2 ton status
Yep that moves the same either way with B52's or by swapping the factory brackets.
CherryK5
1/2 ton status
Could i use a crossover like this? i could make a double sheared mount pretty easily, weld it straight to the tie rod. (i have the little sleeve on my drivers side so i dont twist the tie rod to adjust it.)
obviously i would move the location of the drag link so that at full steer to the right i wouldnt hit the spring.
obviously i would move the location of the drag link so that at full steer to the right i wouldnt hit the spring.
The whole point of cross over is to make steering geometry better. Since the drag link is angled down to the tie rod (assuming you are lifting the truck) this does not help much.
If you aren't lifting the truck much like 4" or so yes that would work just fine, just need a dropped pitman arm that will get the drag link at a better angle.
That type of steering will never be as good as a true crossover, unless you run a panhard bar at the same angle as the drag link.
Steering is all about getting the angles on the drag link as parallel to the ground as possible. It also helps to have the drag link as long as possible.
If you ran that setup with highsteer arms then yes it would work dandy
If you aren't lifting the truck much like 4" or so yes that would work just fine, just need a dropped pitman arm that will get the drag link at a better angle.
That type of steering will never be as good as a true crossover, unless you run a panhard bar at the same angle as the drag link.
Steering is all about getting the angles on the drag link as parallel to the ground as possible. It also helps to have the drag link as long as possible.
If you ran that setup with highsteer arms then yes it would work dandy
CherryK5
1/2 ton status
I just don't have the money for a legit crossover. This would be free other than a drop pitman. And that would be used in the future after I save up. And I would raise the mounting up about 3 inches from the tie rod. I knew the keep it as flat as possible part.
This whole idea sounds like you just took the offramp from happiness highway, but are about to take a LONG drive down misery lane.
EVERYTHING about your current truck is going to be wrong once you add those tires. This sounds like one of those stories where the "free" parts end up costing you a TON of real, actual money over the next few years.
Caveat emptor!
EVERYTHING about your current truck is going to be wrong once you add those tires. This sounds like one of those stories where the "free" parts end up costing you a TON of real, actual money over the next few years.
Caveat emptor!
CherryK5
1/2 ton status
This whole idea sounds like you just took the offramp from happiness highway, but are about to take a LONG drive down misery lane.
EVERYTHING about your current truck is going to be wrong once you add those tires. This sounds like one of those stories where the "free" parts end up costing you a TON of real, actual money over the next few years.
Caveat emptor!
actually I'm skipping the tires. Someone else who wants them more can get em. I started realizing how useless my truck would become since I don't NEED the tires to do what I do.
I'm just going to put 52's on my truck and ditch the body lift. Or at least knock it down to a 1 inch body lift. Which reminds me...
Who has the cheapest b52 kit? Diyx4's was like 190 which I guess sisnt too bad but someone always knows where to find a cheaper one of equal quality.
Just my advice at this point. Spend the money on at least crossover. You daily drive your rig right? My favorite mod on any daily driven lifted rig has when I could finally fix the steering correctly, so much nicer to drive.
If you did the crossover like you suggested and get a drop pitman arm for like a 4-6" lift it will work.
You have to go crossover with the 52s or 56s
I am not sure there is a cheaper kit then Kerts other than making it yourself, but if you are going to order just get it from him great guy, great company.
If you did the crossover like you suggested and get a drop pitman arm for like a 4-6" lift it will work.
You have to go crossover with the 52s or 56s
I am not sure there is a cheaper kit then Kerts other than making it yourself, but if you are going to order just get it from him great guy, great company.
owenst7
1/2 ton status
Pretty sure that's kert's whole game. My understanding of his operation is such that I don't see his cost of operation getting any cheaper, and a guy's gotta feed his family.
If you want cheap, you can always cut up what's already on your frame and use that, or make it yourself. I only see it being possible to cut out the cost or kert's labor and shipping. I don't think he's charging for much else.
You don't HAVE to run crossover with longer springs, but I don't see any point. The stock steering can't handle the roll travel of the stock springs, so increasing that is just going to make things less reliable and more screwy.
I personally feel the most economical way to do all this is just get a 60 and piece together your steering on the side. Swap it in when it's ready and try to trade your stock half tons for beer or something. Otherwise, you'll just spend money on stuff you won't keep. That, and if your looking for travel, you'll probably want big tires, and a locker, which means broken shafts...you'll want a 60 some day, and steering on a 60 is a pair of knuckles cheaper than a 44, and used steering arms are easier to find.
Whatever you do, leave the swaybar on until you fix the steering. If you're really broke, it's not worth braking the knuckle, and it's really easy to do if you're twisting the truck up and that steering is cycling vertically on those studs. That steering arm system is only designed for parallel force and when they brake, you'll be shopping for a pair of knuckles anyway. Might as well give yourself time and get a setup like ORU sells on your own time.
CherryK5
1/2 ton status
I literally have 8 front 10 bolts laying around.
the 60 is definitely going in. But that takes time and money. And honestly I don't have either right now. I pretty much have every other weekend to do this stuff. And I have to drive an hour and a half down to our property. So I'm doing baby steps until I have some money to blow on the 60 it's getting hydro assist, a detroit and all the bells and whistles. It's getting done right and no excuses.
but until then I'm using what I've got and i'll be more than happy to replace a shaft or knuckle since it's on the free side. Not only that it's good practice for next time.
owenst7
1/2 ton status
Well you could always make a knuckle out of plate like welderboy does. Otherwise the cheapest steering I know of is the ORU knuckle, unless you can find some old flat tops and machine them yourself.
I really don't think there's any safe way to run a crossover-like system on these frames with leaf springs without a different passenger knuckle. I wouldn't trust a welded cast knuckle and that's the only other possibility I can think of.
I guess if the DOM is available to you, you might be able to get some zj coils or something at a junkyard that would work and you could link it. You'd have room to temporarily run an inverted-t system. Since a 60 is the same width, you could probably plan it out so that the swap would only require new mounts welded to the new axle. But that's a whole bag of worms to dive into just to avoid a simple steering issue.
I'd just wheel it like it is and keep it under 37"s till that 60 is ready. Put the 64"s out back when you can and that will make up for the lack of front suspension. If you need the lift springs cuz you're afraid of cutting the front, you could put rears up front now with the steering stock. Just leave the swaybar on and strap & bumpstop it carefully. I wouldn't spend money on 46" springs for the front, but there's probably 2 or 3 pairs of 4" lift springs in every junkyard around here. That might work for you.
It sounds like this truck is pretty nice. Maybe you should pick up a beat up, but mechanically sound rig to tear up. I got mine for $700, and since I don't have to drive it, I'm sure I've saved at least that much in balljoints, shafts, seals...etc that you'd have to fix pronto after they fail and you need to drive to work. Not to mention, driving on anything bigger than a 35" makes a guy start thinking about tire wear along with his mpg (my 40s were $355/piece, and they just went up another $100). I'm way happier this way and am able to build the truck a lot more functional this way for cheaper. On a side note, my insurance actually decreased over just one truck because I get a big dual vehicle discount, and I drop the trail rig to "in storage" when I'm out of town or it's broken.
I really don't think there's any safe way to run a crossover-like system on these frames with leaf springs without a different passenger knuckle. I wouldn't trust a welded cast knuckle and that's the only other possibility I can think of.
I guess if the DOM is available to you, you might be able to get some zj coils or something at a junkyard that would work and you could link it. You'd have room to temporarily run an inverted-t system. Since a 60 is the same width, you could probably plan it out so that the swap would only require new mounts welded to the new axle. But that's a whole bag of worms to dive into just to avoid a simple steering issue.
I'd just wheel it like it is and keep it under 37"s till that 60 is ready. Put the 64"s out back when you can and that will make up for the lack of front suspension. If you need the lift springs cuz you're afraid of cutting the front, you could put rears up front now with the steering stock. Just leave the swaybar on and strap & bumpstop it carefully. I wouldn't spend money on 46" springs for the front, but there's probably 2 or 3 pairs of 4" lift springs in every junkyard around here. That might work for you.
It sounds like this truck is pretty nice. Maybe you should pick up a beat up, but mechanically sound rig to tear up. I got mine for $700, and since I don't have to drive it, I'm sure I've saved at least that much in balljoints, shafts, seals...etc that you'd have to fix pronto after they fail and you need to drive to work. Not to mention, driving on anything bigger than a 35" makes a guy start thinking about tire wear along with his mpg (my 40s were $355/piece, and they just went up another $100). I'm way happier this way and am able to build the truck a lot more functional this way for cheaper. On a side note, my insurance actually decreased over just one truck because I get a big dual vehicle discount, and I drop the trail rig to "in storage" when I'm out of town or it's broken.
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