Brian's '96

bajascott · Post by **bajascott** » Thu May 17, 2012 8:38 pm

I used to cook vw cranlshaft gears I'm my oven and freeze crankshafts I'm my freezer...wife HATED coming home to cooked oil smell in the house....haha.

yikes · Post by **yikes** » Fri May 18, 2012 6:50 pm

Getting down to business with the backing plates. Working out the templates with Scott.

Silverslk · Post by **Silverslk** » Fri May 18, 2012 6:55 pm

NICE!! Is this something Scott will be offering? Is it a new version of the rings? Scott?

BajaF250 · Post by **BajaF250** » Fri May 18, 2012 9:37 pm

yikes wrote:Getting down to business with the backing plates. Working out the templates with Scott.

Hey B,
Will you weld the backing plate in or just use the bolts to hold it in place? In your experience, have you seen or had any cracking around the spindle mounting area on the knuckle? I'm curious on the requirement for the added strength.

I've been magnafluxing both the knuckle and the spindle on my truck mostly because it's so darn heavy and I have been known to run it a little harder than I imagine the Ford engineers envisioned it's design use. I've never found any cracks or signs of stress on either. I am pretty anal about replacing the spindle bolts regularly... I'm actually switching to ARP grade 12s, just for a little added security... plus I have 8 to mount the spindle vice 5 or 6.

yikes · Post by **yikes** » Sat May 19, 2012 5:23 am

Tom - I've had no issues to date, so no, there is no clear evidence of failure that justifies strengthening the knuckle; however, I've been considering 37's on 17" wheels. If I decide to make the jump in the future I want to be as prepared as possible. They're apart and I have to heat them up to weld the tabs/gussets, so I thought why not weld in some plates as well. I'm also considering adding two additional bolts to the bottom...the area that sees the most stress. Do you see any drawbacks to any of this? I certainly do not want to create problems.

BajaF250 · Post by **BajaF250** » Sun May 20, 2012 8:31 am

Hey B,
I really don't see much of a downside to the proposed structural upgrade other than adding a little extra unsprung weight to the front. But these darn 4x4 TTB axle setups are so darn heavy anyway, the added weight is pretty small in comparison, I would say negligable. You most likely won't run into any heat warping issues since you're going to preheat, although I'd check the spindle mounting surface for flatness once it's all welded and cooled just for extra insurance). So, I think this will be a nice little piece of added insurance.

yikes · Post by **yikes** » Sun May 20, 2012 2:50 pm

BajaF250 wrote:...although I'd check the spindle mounting surface for flatness once it's all welded and cooled just for extra insurance

Actually, I was planning to bolt the spindle to the knuckle Before I weld it.

Got a bit more done. Spent a lot more time on the swinger mount than anticipated. Ended up cutting the swinger to reposition it in-board to the mount. That way the mount could be moved forward 1/2" to clear a window in the frame, but still maintain a decent pivot location. Worked out great. The bend on the passenger side link will be at a minimum.

The center link before making in ugly with my welds. No trigger welds on this stuff and I'm not good at going in circles.

BajaF250 · Post by **BajaF250** » Sun May 20, 2012 4:26 pm

Sa-weet! B... that looks really nice! I've gotta do mine and I'm procrastinating! I'm going to wait till I redo my front end... the most opportune time! Yours looks really nice and I'm sure you will be amazed at how much difference your Bronco will drive and feel! I'm insanely jealous!

BDKW1 · Post by **BDKW1** » Sun May 20, 2012 10:28 pm

yikes wrote:

Now that looks more like it!

CITYRAT · Post by **CITYRAT** » Sun May 20, 2012 10:30 pm

Really enjoying your steering upgrade build. Definatly on my long list of things to do to my ride!..Question for you and Baja250. When he says amazing difference what excatly is he refering to?..What are your reasons for the upgrade?..Ive had problems with bending draglinks. Ever had any issues with that?

yikes · Post by **yikes** » Mon May 21, 2012 4:55 am

CITYRAT wrote:Really enjoying your steering upgrade build. Definatly on my long list of things to do to my ride!..Question for you and Baja250. When he says amazing difference what excatly is he refering to?..What are your reasons for the upgrade?..Ive had problems with bending draglinks. Ever had any issues with that?

Yeah, I've bent two drag links. One landing on a rock on the Holcombe Creek trail and another from hitting a rock at speed when following in someone's dust, but that's not the reason for the upgrade. The driving force behind my decision to finally get it done is that the Bronco is killing very expensive passenger side front tires. The number one reason for swinger steering, however, is reducing bumpsteer. You ever feel like the Beverly Hillbillies, sawing the wheel back and forth when your flying down the trail, with every bump trying to send you a different direction? Haha! OK, well it's not quite that bad.

CITYRAT · Post by **CITYRAT** » Mon May 21, 2012 11:38 am

Ahhh.. I see..Ya that would suck...Those tires r way overpriced...Lol..Weird I guess im just used to it. Dont even think about all the sawing Im doing. But then again if I ever drive a truck with crossover steering Ill probably never go back!...

yikes · Post by **yikes** » Mon May 21, 2012 12:05 pm

If I notice a big difference,then I'll let you take it for a spin.

BajaF250 · Post by **BajaF250** » Mon May 21, 2012 1:09 pm

CITYRAT wrote:Really enjoying your steering upgrade build. Definatly on my long list of things to do to my ride!..Question for you and Baja250. When he says amazing difference what excatly is he refering to?..What are your reasons for the upgrade?..Ive had problems with bending draglinks. Ever had any issues with that?

Hey Mike,
Yeah, Brian is right... the problem with the Ford TTB front end when you put some travel numbers on it, the stock steering geometry goes way out of whack and you experience some very dramatic toe changes. And the amout of toe change between the left and right steering is quite different, the drivers side being the most exagerated. it is apparent with steering wheel movement and tire and front suspension load changes. So, as the driver, you automatically compensate for the steering and tend not to notice... but your front end does notice and you have unusual/accelerated wear and you will also experience additional steering knuckle, steering arm, ball joint, spindle and steering box stresses. So, by changing the steering geometry to more closely match the axle housing pivot points, the entire front end swings in much closer harmony and things tend to last longer and steer straighter with much less effort.

ChaseTruck754 · Post by **ChaseTruck754** » Mon May 21, 2012 2:03 pm

Looking good Brian!

bajascott wrote:I used to cook vw cranlshaft gears I'm my oven and freeze crankshafts I'm my freezer...wife HATED coming home to cooked oil smell in the house....haha.

I lucked out & Karen can't smell - at all...

So looks like if I'm sneaky about it I may be able to continue to bake parts in the oven as well...

Side note on the pre-heat - a BBQ can work well.

BDKW1 · Post by **BDKW1** » Mon May 21, 2012 9:08 pm

I have an old toaster oven in the garage for My VW timing gears......... Although when this motor goes I'm going Subi.......

bajascott · Post by **bajascott** » Mon May 21, 2012 9:11 pm

sell out...................ha

cs_drums · Post by **cs_drums** » Thu May 24, 2012 8:30 pm

yikes wrote:Finally finished up the burb and got started on the Bronco again. Opened up the holes in the pitman and swinger to .6250, then turned .027 off of the misalignment bushings for a nice snug fit. Progress will be slow as usual, but the Bronco has to be back online for a June family vacation, so...motivation!

I'm not critiquing you work but why does the swinger have the angle built into it instead of just straight down. All the holes are in line so whats the reasoning behind that? I've seen it built both ways but I just started my steering build and would rather not learn the hard way.

philofab · Post by **philofab** » Thu May 24, 2012 8:34 pm

Some people set up the steering to keep the wheels straight forward, other set it up to have some bump steer to make up for camber change.

Radius arm length also plays a part in the geometry. For as simple as I beams seem, they are actually more complicated geometry wise than a-arms.

*** EDIT *** Looks like I misunderstood what was being asked.

yikes · Post by **yikes** » Fri May 25, 2012 5:14 pm

cs_drums wrote:
yikes wrote:Finally finished up the burb and got started on the Bronco again. Opened up the holes in the pitman and swinger to .6250, then turned .027 off of the misalignment bushings for a nice snug fit. Progress will be slow as usual, but the Bronco has to be back online for a June family vacation, so...motivation!

I'm not critiquing you work but why does the swinger have the angle built into it instead of just straight down. All the holes are in line so whats the reasoning behind that? I've seen it built both ways but I just started my steering build and would rather not learn the hard way.

The center link is applying force between two points of resistance, so tje extra material prevents flex and ultimately failure of the swinger. Make sense?

Brian's '96

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