i have my 55 f100 dropped severly, between the leafs removed, and the drop axle, and now i am putting a steering box in out of a schoolbus/dumptruck frame that drops the big hole a 1/2 inch or so. needless to say my angle from the pitman to the swing arm is drastic. i have a couple of ideas on how to fix this. i could remove the ball from the swing arm and put it on the bottom of the arm. i would just cut the drag link and turn it around and insert each end into a steel pipe. can the ball be removed?
another idea i have is getting the drag link bent in a s- shape up about a inch or so. any shops do this? i know on stuff like the 77-80's chev 4x4's they did this on the drastically lifted trucks.
finally, i am not a metal worker, but if i could have that swing arm bent down, i might have enough clearance.
if i could not get the drag link that goes from the pitman arm to the swing arm stretched n s- shaped, i thought about taking a piece of rectangular tubing and off setting the severed drag link a inch or two, but this seems like a stupid n ugly way to do it. i know a lot of ya old jalopy builders have to know a shop or old timer that still does the s- bend stuff. i thought about taking it to the local metal shop to see what they could do, or does some place like so-cal do it?
thanks in advance for any ideas

 

There are a thousand ways to do it... but unless you move the steering box up to keep the pitman arm "ball" and the steering arm "ball" (Ball, sometimes there will be a spherical rod end or "tie rod" end used) on a level plane, you will experience "Bump Steer".


Bump steer happens when the front suspension cycles upward and either causes you to feel a jar in the steering wheel or the vehicle to turn slightly. The reason for this is that drag link is moving in an arc as the suspension cycles up and down. At a stock, or level, position... the arc is not much. If you lower the vehicle, this moves the drag link through it's arc about the pitman arm (or steering arm, depending on your perspective). As it moves through the arc, the two points get closer to each other, so lowering it causes a more severe movement... which in turn causes severe "unwanted steering input".

Grab a pencil, hold one end on one hand (still) and move the other up and down. As you move it up and down, you will notice that your finger tips get closer together on a verticle plane.

As far as making a new link is concerned... that's easy. Just call up Lefthander Chassis or log on to lefthanderchassis.com (I think) and check into their "tap tube". Tap tube is DOM tubing that has a wall thickness that allows you to run a tap down the end. You can then screw in sperical rod ends (use a left hand and a right hand) with jam nuts and make a drag link or tie rod any length you desire.

To move the pitman arm up... you can either get a steering box that is "reversed" and have the pitman arm point upward... or make a mount to mount your existing box ABOVE the frame.
Here's one a friend did:

 

In addition... the pitman arm should point straight down when the wheels are facing forward. This minimizes the amount of bump steer to some extent.
Sam.

 

i really like how the box is mounted above the frame on your example, its a direction i hadnt thought of going and am going to try. it would tuck the 79 steering column up a lot nicer too into my 79 f15o booster n pedal. i might have clearance issues doing that though with my exhaust manifold. right now i kinda tuck behind it into the curve. i will play with it some more.
the problem i am running into is that the rod wont point down any more off the swing arm. the angle is too great. i see what you are saying about that tap tube, when i lifted chev 4x4, i had to run the raised pitman arm, and extend the drak link by screwing it out, not only to extend my steering radius, but to stop from changing lanes when i steer. running stiffer suspension also helped this, but it rides like a truck.
the school bus steering box i got has mounts a bit wider, and is a bit wider all around. i thought it would just be easier and have better integrity to mount it in the frame in the existing location, you turned me on to another whole idea that will give me a better result, by moving the column up under the dash more. i kinda thought about slicing the top of the frame n bending it up then boxing in the area, i just have to make sure i do it in a way to keep integrity.
in your pic, what type of drag link is pictured there, is it a pitman arm reworked, or a aftermarket/boneyard part?

 

I'm not sure what he used... but it sould not be too hard to scrounge something up.

I would also check into alternative steering boxes before raising your column. I'm thinking a Mustang of Falcon box would be a good swap... it would point the pitman arm up instead of down... and give you an angle that is a little more correct.

Sam.

 

i was thinking about the gm box swaps, but i really like the schoolbus one because it should steer like a dream with out having the pump, i got a couple of them for nothing out at my fathers farm so the price was right one was ti.ts and one has a cracked side cap. i saw the pitman arms on the chassis website, pretty pricy. i know there was a artical in custom classic trucks a year back on them doing something like this to a chev, and they reworked the swingarm. i heard about the falcon setup, and heard about a guy who used a 69 or 70 something fairlane or galaxie i think. probaly a lot like the gm conversion, i even thought that a drag link out of a yota or chev 4x4 could be worked, easiest thing now i think i can do besides have the original drag link s-bent, is if it all clears, is to fix the frame to move the box upward, i can use original parts and tuck my column up n have more feet room.

 

thanks for the help, your awesome!

 

Your truck would steer like a dream... but it would ba so slooooooow... making it not that safe to drive.
Sam.

 

Never thought of doing it like that pic above. Is that by any chance OGNC's(hamb) old 1960? Thanks for the info, I'll tuck this thread away till later. -4speed

 

Yea, this truck has been turned more than a door ****... among 4 HAMB people that I know of.

Sam.

 

i have a smaller steering wheel, about 12 inches or so that should help, i will get a old 50's style steering **** also, i plan on cruzin more than road racing it. thats the beauty of spare parts, i can always go back and i might be ready for one of them yota boxs' by then.