Was curious to know hom many FTE'ers out there have dropped I-beam axles under their truck and what they did to adjust for the added bump-steer caused by the now harshly angled Drag link. No one that I know of makes or sells a modified steering arm to re-angle the draglink back to level as it should be. I had Sid Drop one of my stock front axles 3" and he did a superb job. Now I just need to figure out how to attack the bumpsteer issue as it didn't really have one with the stock axle but does now.

Only real thought I have is to heat and bend the existing arm until the drag link is flat when suspension is flat. Was hoping for other options. Thanks!

 

I have been wondering about this also. I also have a Dropped axle from Sid, and the drag does have a pretty severe angle now. I've only driven it about 10 miles, all on flat roads, so I haven't experienced the bump steer yet, but I know I will soon.

 

Just doing a quick internet search I found this place...Dropped Ford axles, Spindles and tie rods. Guthrie Oklahoma

 

That's the same Sid whom Dano and TD are speaking of.
Seems like there's a tie rod drop available out there...?
JML

 

I just heated up my steering arm and bent it down till it was more parallel to the ground. Let it cool SLOWLY! Then took it to a machine shop to be magnafluxed to check for cracks. Mounted it up and it works like a charm!
I don't see why everyone is all up in arms about bending that steering arm. You just heated and stretched the axel 3 inches! Lol!

 

Yeah he sells tie rod drops, but we're talking the drag link here. I'm actually using his tie rod drops and like them MUCH better than the machined-sphere style ones that mid-fifty sells. Much more user friendly.

I called Sid last Friday and it seems he returned my call today. Will have to try and hit him back tomarrow while at work and see what he may have for a solution.

Either way, I'm gonna figure this out.

Not that it matters too much, but I also installed leaf springs that moves the wheels into the center of the wheel wells, so right now I'm running Mid-Fifty's Extended Drag link too.

 

Nervous I guess. I, as well as TireDood, had our axles dropped by a third party. What you did, Daddyo is what I was nearing to do. Just want to be sure and do the right thing. Granted it's forged steel, but done wrong and i might have a dangerous situation in my hands. But hearing that you did it and had success, is some of the feedback I'm looking for. Thank you

 

Believe me ...I was a bit concerned. But after many days digging on the web, I found this answer. It said the arm is forged steel so as long as you get it red hot and bend it slowly and most important DO NOT QUENCH IT with air or water! Just let it cool as slowly as you can and it will be fine. I took mine and had it tested for cracks and it had none. Now it steers great! Just DON'T COOL IT TOO FAST OR IT CAN BECOME BRITTLE. I don't see why they don't sell you a dropped steering arm with the axle. You damn sure need one!

 

Were you able to do this on the truck or did you remove it?

Picked up a Rosebud head for my torch set the other day so i should be good to go.

Yeah blows me away too, that no one makes a replacement arm for those who don't or aren't able to do the heat and bend method. Weird...

 

[QUOTE=Dano78;14362663]Were you able to do this on the truck or did you remove it?

Picked up a Rosebud head for my torch set the other day so i should be good to go.

Yeah blows me away too, that no one makes a replacement arm for those who don't or aren't able to do the heat and bend method. Weird... [/Q

If you do it on the truck, you're going to burn the tie rod grease boot for sure. I would remove the tie rod and that will enable you to swing the arm around where you can get at it. Just be careful not to catch anything on fire! I bent an arm on a spare axle that wasn't mounted to a truck. Much easier! You will also need to twist the end a bit to get the pitman arm hole flat again. You'll see what I mean when you get the first bend done. BE SURE TO GET IT MAGNA FLUXED AT A MACHINE SHOP TO CHECK FOR CRACKS! Its worth the $20!

 

I think you will need it to be mounted to know where to stop bending! Would be a tough guess otherwise. Just sayin.

 

Awesome! Thanks for the advice! Just happened to have picked up another axle assembly that appears to be about a 3" drop (will check it) with a crazy cross-steer setup on it. Didn't need the axle assembly but was intrigued by the cross steer and custom steering arms. No steering box so i have no idea what one would use.
Anyhow, I can chuck this axle up in a vice, swap spindles, and use it as my guide if need be. Thanks again for the feedback!

 

I believe that setup is to use a GM PS box.

 

That's kinda what I was thinking too. But which GM boxes? Nova? Chevelle? Pickup? Interesting setup...

 

Got ahold of Sid this afternoon and talked to him for a bit. (Helluva nice guy) He's got a couple different options in mind. First off was that he's curious why I'm having these problems as he has a '56 aswell with a 292 and dropped I-beam. He says his drag link is pointed up a bit but doesn't have bump-steer issues. Also was saying that my castor should be set to 4 or 6 degrees. I think mine is only set to 2 degrees.... maybe 4. Have to go back and look at the spec sheet.

Anyways- to correct my issue he had a couple options.
1. Knock out the ***** on the steering and pitman arms and weld/drill/taper tap for '57-'64 drag link endlinks. Appearantly the '57-'64 Trucks had adjustable drag links?? He has end links that are dropped and when all assembled makes up for the difference between the pitman arm and the spindle arm also being adjustable. If I were to give him the measurement he'd build one for me for $90 that would have 2" worth of lateral adjustment.

2. Heat and bend the existing arm on the spindle. He added that even if I bent the arm, an adjustable drag link would be a good idea too. My alignment guy was saying the same thing- to ensure the steering box was 'centered'.

Sid said that on his personal '56 he removed the ball on each piece (steering and pitman arm) then taper tapped each (7 degree) for tie rod style end links used on the '57-'64 F100s along with an adjuster sleeve making the drag link adjustable.