steering help please!!

[buyinatoy]

I have a 84 runner and have a 7" lift with the 4" drop draglink from skyjacker.

It was fine until I decided to lift the front another 2" via shackles

now the draglink hits the U-bolt.

Has anyone modified that curved arm that comes off the knuckle and attatches to the link.

I can either flip the ball to the topside or cut the arm and flip it and weld with a sleeve.

not sure what to do.

[KToy]

alright man i could flame on this one but then again this is not pirate.


for starters you cannot run that big of lift and that type of steering.

you need hysteer no if and or butts.

http://www.marlincrawler.com/steering.html

http://www.allprooffroad.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=17

www.aor4x4.com

marlins is the best.

buy that kit and your done FORVER.


also can i ask what you use your truck for.


rockcrawling, mud, daily driver ??????????

[ZUK]

Flipping the nipple would work for you.....I had trouble when I attempted to flip my own nipple and said "screw it, I'm gonna chopsaw/reweld/brace". It worked....use good judgement welded the brace.

Now Ktoy also has a good point.....probably is a good idea to get an IFS box from maybe Marlin for 135 and some other cheap items.....do a hi-steer or maybe even a basic cross-over. The basic cross-over with the tie-rod under the leaf pack and the draglink above allows more flexibility in locating the tires more forward for rub issues.
In any event, you will notice the steering is easier with either type of cross-over. ZUK

[ZUK]

oh ya...1 more thing....I have noticed a tendency for highly lifted J arm trucks to break the J-arm down at where the 4 bolts/cone washers are(when the top half has been braced). Basically, the weak spot transfers to a new spot. I have heard of 2 trucks that did this.

[buyinatoy]

Ya I plan on doing hy-steer in the spring but for now I needed a quick fix because it is my daily driver.

I flipped the ball. used heat and a press. then re welded the underside of it to lock it in place.

My plan b was to cut and weld the arm itself like you did.

[Jon Sullivan]

I hope it works well for you, but i tried the same thing, and ended up just spending about as much as a I did for my crossover. Also that setup can be very dangerous, as someone mentioned earlier, the j-arm is much more likely to break, I broke one on the trail, and another at 5mph pulling into a parking lot. Both broke only after I flipped the ball. For some reason it adds a lot more stress to the arm. With a 7 inch lift If you break one at any kind of speed It won't be good, and no amount of money is worth your life. If it was only a trail truck, I probably wouldn't even bother writing this, because you would never be going fast enough to do much damage when it breaks, but since you said this is your daily driver I just felt the need to a least tell you of the danger. If you can find a cheap IFS box, and a second passenger side arm, there is a way to make cheap crossover, that would be at least a little safer that what you are attempting. There is a breakdown of how to do it somewhere on this site, although i don't have to time to find it now. Just look in the tech articles, I think it is there. Anyway that is just my 2 cents, and you can do what you like, but please be careful, because the j-arm will break, it will just be a matter of time.

Jon