Check the vendor sections on pirate 4x4, you can usually get them for a pretty good price. I got mine from S&W Racecars, but I think their prices may have gone up recently.

 

Pardon my ignorance but been researching for last hour. Are you buying tubing then threading the heim joints into it? Or welding a threaded insert into the tubing? And by the discussion on here, 3/4 x 3/4 is what is suggested for all 6 joints?

 

also it says u used 1" x .250 tube. is 1" the ID or OD?

 

We used 1" OD tubing and Karl (kjett) had 3/4" LH and RH taps so we tapped the tubbing. You can buy a larger diameter tubing and get the inserts as well, either way will work.

3/4 (shank)x5/8 (hole) is what is on the bronco right now. I have a box full of 3/4x3/4 I think I'm going to upgrade to at some point because there is a SLIGHT bit of play on the knuckles (because they are angled for the tie rod stuff)

 

Ok great, thanks for the info. I think if you can just tap the tube that is great. Now I just need to find a local supllier for the tubing. I'll be on the phone tomorrow! I am excited now. I pieced the steering pieces together when I built mine (i was 17 at the time) with a bunch of random stuff which is worn out now. I am excited for the new look and added stregnth.

 

Yeah, the tie rod on my D44 was U-shaped from stumps/rocks/etc and I haven't been able to bend this new one yet.

 

A good source for tube is S&W Racecars out of PA. Give them the id and od of what you need and they will even cut them to length for you. As for the rod ends, less than 1", look at Rod End Supply for their XM joints. It's what I've been ruinning on my F-150 for the last few years and also have them on my ranger.

 

A customer of mine just came in and said he can get it easy enough for wholesale (he owns a large machine shop) anyone know the rough measurements of the 3 pieces of tube? So I know how much I need to tell him? He is here for the next couple hours and then I don't know when I will see him next and my truck isn't here or I would measure myself. I assume the longest is around seven feet and the two shorter are around 3 or 4 feet each.

 

If I remember right the we used 3 pieces that were around 4' and cut them to the needed length when we tapped them.

 

I bought 3 5' pieces, but we didn't end up using the ones I bought, so I'm not sure which size the chromo pieces were...

 

Chromo is cromoly right? I told him to price me out 12' and 16' however it comes. I told him I need a 6k piece and probably 2 4' pieces. I will measure my factory stuff tonight and post what I find. I also will post any price I get. Anybody know what they paid for theirs?

 

lets back up a minute...

Paul is using 1" .250wall chromemoly (chromo) which is flexable yet extremely strong.

I would not suggest using 1" .250wall DOM in the same application. Its much more rigid but not as strong.


Im using 1.5" .250 DOM with weld in inserts for my steering.
the good- cheaper and plenty strong
the bad- heavier and not flexable

 

YOu sure that chromoly is more flexeble than steel?

 

Yep, and lighter too. Paul originally bought DOM that was the wrong size. I had the chomoly tube there that I was going to use for my ladder bars for my ranger. I traded him the 3 pieces to get him finished and re-orderd the right stuff for me.

Anyway, back when I 1st did the setup for my F-150, I bought DOM because it was cheaper. Playing around offroad, I was climbing out of a creek bed and bent one of the tubes on a rock, and grenaded the steering box in the process. Later when I got the truck home, we tried to straighten the tube back out but it never was right, so I replaced it with chromoly, saving half the weight over the DOM and haven't had a problem since. The chomoly has some give to it which will allow it to flex and return back to it's original shape. There is also a reason racecars use chromoly tube over DOM in most cases, and it's not just for the weight savings.

 

I disagree. The yield strength of chromoly is higher then mild steel which means it will come back to its original shape after a bigger hit then mild steal but the yield strength really isn't that much more. The mild steal will keep bending where chromoly wont because of its hardness with chromium and higher carbon content. It will not flex more then mild steal. Possibly if your using thinner chromoly to acheive the same strength.

Isn't the weight saving only because you can use thinner material to acheive the same strength, or is it actually lighter? I thought they were about the same.