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Steering with 52's

73redblaze

73redblaze

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I moved my front hangers forward about 6" to accomadate some 52s, but now my steering arm is only about 8" away from the pitman arm. Will i be able to steer if i just shorten my draglink? (non crossover). I dont have the money to go to crossover so even if its not the best, will it work at all?
 
Unless you're moving it in and out of the garage, I would say definitely not.

You'd have to cut/weld the draglink ends into one piece to be that short and you'd have ridiculous bump steer, you'd only have a few inches of wheel travel before the joints bottom out, and you'll have no steering one direction as soon as the steering moves even a little bit.

The stock steering really doesn't work with 52's anyway, a shorter draglink will make that much worse.
 
it does work i have been driving for 8 years now with 52s with the steering linkage in the factory cofiguration running a raised arm on the knuckle to keep the linkage level to fix the bump steer and to fix the length issue there is 1 short and 1 long rod factory i am using 2 short ones
i havent had any problems but doing that does create an issue as it makes the 1 rod the wrong handed thread to screw in, i just used a new sleeve got the length i needed to having the steering wheel straight and cranked the clamp up tight..finally aquired a d60 now and will be doing cross over so that its not such a hack job..hate admitting i even did it that way but has worked fine for 8 years now at least
 
IMO - Crossover is an absolute must with 52's. Without crossover you can't take advantage of the flex the 52's provide. I much prefer the way quality aftermarket lift springs ride & behave on the street, so in my mind 52's are an offroad application only. Steering is not a part of my rig I am willing to scab together.

I am not making this statement to beat up on you. I just hate to see anyone do a mod to their rig that could cause anyone to get hurt.
 
please dont do it and then drive it on the road. if i pull up to a local k5 to get a closer look and find out its your hoopty steering and it takes me out. i'll be pissed.
 
Defiantly do the crossover!:waytogo:
 
+1. 52s are for flexing. Flexing means crossover steering. You can do crossover before you do the 52s if budget is a concern, and you need to do it in steps... Taking advantage of 52 flex also generally requires relocating your shocks, which takes even more time and money.

Not to be a dick, but it's your responsibility to make damn sure your setup is safe, for everyone else's sake.

Or just stick to the mud bogs- that's where all the booger-welded, scary steering redneck engineering jobs hang out.

:)
 
Spandex, just because it fits doesn't make it right. :deal:
 
When swapping 52s, does the shorter end of the spring go forward or the long end?maybe I have the springs backwards. I have short end forward
 
that makes me think you should remeasure your springs.

if you moved your hangars 6" for the 52s, you should be a lot closer than 8" to the pitman arm? i know when i put 56s on in a spot meant for 52s, it was like 6-8" away from being close. maybe you got a set of 56s.
 
i thought they were 56,s but when measureing from eye to eye i came up with 52, hmm time to double check. one side is longer than the other on these i know that for sure.
 
so i measured them, they are 54 eye to eye and 56 total, so i guess there 56's. with the short end forward i have 12 inches from hole on steering arm to hole on pitman arm, if i swap the springs i will have 15", but i think i did that before and it put my tire into the backside of the fender, so short side forward or longside.
 
Those are 56's. You measure the length of the spring not straight eye to eye.

They need to be short side in the front or axle wrap will be out of control.
 
Honestly I'd ditch em for a set of 52s. That's a whole lot if work to make those happy in there when 52s will give you all the flex you can handle
 
Wish you were closer, I'd happily take the 56s off your hands :) I'm vaguely trying to find a set of factory replacement burb 56s, not sure if they would be better than just restoring stockers though.
 
12" draglink seems to me like it should steer ok until i can get some money for crossover. i would run 52's but i have 56's and i already welded everything to fit the 56's. If im going to all the trouble of crossover i will just pick up a d60. Thanks for all the info guys.
 
The problem isn't so much that you won't be able to steer at a stand still.

The problem, in my eyes, is bump steer and brake steer. The factory system has the draglink relatively close to the same length as the front half of the spring and they're at virtually the same angle. That's the idea to minimize bump steer in a push/pull application, for the draglink to be the same length as the front half of the spring and at the same angle.

By going to 52's and a shorter draglink, you make the front half of the spring longer and the draglink shorter which means lots of bump steer. Not only does that mean lots of bump steer but also brake steer, when you hit the brakes and the front of the truck dives, it will steer itself to the right.

Steering that doesn't work when you're twisted up offroad is annoying but not dangerous. Soft springs (the point of the 52's, right?) plus a steering system with lots of bump steer is not safe in my opinion. My .02
 
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