What is the maximum lift that i can run while still having the stock push- pull power assist on my truck?

 

Obvioisly I am not a fan of any push pull design, but you can get away with a fairly large lift if you make some corrections.
Two pitman arms were offered from the factory, one was 4 inches long, and one was 6 inches long, so naturally the longer one is better.
Next would be to obtain a block that bolts under the steering arm. Since the hydro ram does the majority of the turning, the longer studs, and added leverage by using a cheesey block is minimized.
I have set trucks on 8 inch springs and still had a decent radius, and kept angle to a minimum.
Now, this will still cost time and money, and the real answer is a true crossover. Seems to me that spending time and money on an antique push / pull system is sort of a waste.
If you are going to raise that truck, you may just consider upgrading the steering now. You can perform the upgrade for reasonably cheap.

 

I agree with the obove but this is what I did. My rig came with Skyjacker 4" lift springs and a droped push/pull tie bar. Not sure of the name for that short tie bar. My deal was I wanted max articulation and less lift so I removed a leaf to get it at about 3". When I cycled the suspension or even just with the arm disconected on one end it bound up. It runs out of working room and the tie rod ends bind. Real carfully I used a grinder to clearance all of the tie rod ends and did a little clearancing on the pitman arm and steering arm also. I have max movment of all the linkage now so It will flex without binding. Binding wll lead to breaking. So I think that you can lift it as high as you want but the push/pull tie bar needs to be a drop unit or as straight as posible to avoid having the tie rod ends bind when suspension cycles. Bumpstops and limiting straps will be your freind if travel exceeds the working range of these components. I had a heim joint losen and fall off on my other off road rig last weekend. Driving 30 on a dirt road. Total loss of steering is no fun. I crossed the road and got it stoped OK. I may not get a lucky break the next time steering fails so my advise is to look at what you wind up with very carfully and corect any binding by grinding and use of straps or bumpstops if needed. Here is a link to a Nissan site that showed our steering woes. I'm in the white Jeep Cherokee. Break'n stuff - RONIN Wheelers

 

Have you any pics of the steering system that you have? I understood that you were working with a "Power-assist" system, and it appears that the dropped drag link that you have is only used on a later 77.5 to 79 power steering system.
You original post would have implied an early power assist system.
Now that being said, regardless of which system you have, you have to look at one thing, and this is the arch that the axle moves at (during suspension cycles) is different than the arch that the drag link will allow. The short drag link will always prevent proper steering, and wil always bind way before the suspension will max out. Limiting straps and bumpstops only prevent max articulation, and adding them to limit steering bind is counter productive.
That truck can have pretty good potential for flex, but is really limited by the steering geometry.
The next thing to consider is the limited turning radius when the the suspension is compressed. It is entirely possible to have the steering whell turned all the way, and have the wheels pointing perfrctly straight. Not good when trying to navigate a tight trail in a fullsize rig.
Since you have had spherical rod end failures already, there are a couple of things to consider. Failsafe devices for rod ends such as a spacer and large washer to prevent the end from popping off of the ball, or even considering a larger rod end. Quality is key here, and failures can be kept to a minimum.
Large trucks can utilize a chebby 1 ton tie rod end ES2026, and ES2027 with a custom made drag link if spherical ends are not desireable. Now TRE's take up more space, so keep an eye on how much room you have, but again the answer here is crossover, or even some form of inverted "t" at a minimum. Inverted "t" will be a little more difficult because of the pass side leaf spring, but can easilly be converted.
If you have a later 77.5 to 79 truck, you can use the same stock steering box, but if you really have a truck with power assist, then the box will have to be removed.
Here is a couple of poser pics of my junk, Image of Poser flex pics - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting and you will notice that even with one front tire over 40 inches in the air, I have zero steering problems, and not a thought of binding. Still have to work out some issues with my springs, but the steering is right on the money, and this thing drives real well even at highway speeds.
Turning radius is vastly improved also.

 

I'm in high school so I dont really have the money to do a crossover setup and would like to keep it as simple as possible with a slight lift. The truck is a 75 with the bendix style power assist. It works pretty good and all I really want to get is about 2 or so inches of lift out of it. I'm stuck between a set of add-a-leaves or brand new springs. Maybe you guys can steer me in the right direction.

 

I have a 75 f250 4x4 to get it leveled out I put new springs and an add-a-leaf on it with the longer pitman arm from a 76. 36.5x14.5x16.5 fit without rubbing and the steering works fine.

 

Alright I'll look into that then. Thanks

 

Ditch the power assist, its a pain. I have a full power push-pull setup that drives perfectly, doesn't bump steer, and turns sharp with 1 finger. Check out my gallery for pics of another option put together from slavage parts.

 

I think I would go with springs that are dessigned to give you the lift you want. Ithink it would be better then the add a leaf on the factory blocks.
67-77 @ NTW

 

FordWorth did you have that steering box bracket custom made? If not, what type of truck did you get it off of?

 

If you use that same box and not the bracket, you can modify the frame, and bolt the box right to it. By using a 2wd saginaw truck box with a dodge pitman arm, you can run either a crossover, or push pull system. The pitman arm can be indexed and mounted ever 90 degrees, so you can make the arm sweep from left to right, or front to rear.
This will allow you to perform the upgrade component at a time, and still maintain a budget. These boxes are cheap, and easy to re-build, and even easier to upgrade later down the road if hydro assist is needed along with your power steering upgrade.
Image of saginaw power steering conversion - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

So close to having a complete crossover.

 

The box, bracket, and pitman arm are factory stuff from an 80's Dodge fullsize 4X4. The draglink is custom and because I mounted the box forward of the original position it's longer than stock. The steering shaft is original at the top with a later Ford telescoping section at bottom and an aftermarket u joint welded at the box end. I used my factory pump and had my local parts house make the hoses.

 

can i change my power assist box? what does that run. my lady drives my truck everyday and i would like her to lose those bicepts... i have a highboy 73 with 36" tires... i hate when the belt goes its hell.

 

FordWorth, you are a very smart man. I have been searching and searching for a conversion to do on my 76 HighBoy. And yours tops my list. It is the simplest and logical to go with. All the other I have seen went with a pitman arm threw the frame/lift spring opening. Which is fine, but the first time I stuff the tire the arm is shot.

If you have anymore Ideas on this system that you have not posted or ideas to make it better please let me know.

And thank you man.

 

Thanks Damstr8. It's pretty straight forward and I think the pics give a good idea of how to attack it. I set it up 12 years ago and don't have a single regret. A lot of guys don't dig it because it's so far from stock but it works excellent with a good amount of lift and that's what matters to me. My justification for using a Dodge box is that it's a saginaw unit that Ford used in many apps too. The bracket however is Dodge specific but could of course be fabbed. The box is pretty basic but is considered a reverse rotation unit and not as common as the standard ones. I believe some cars used it but note that car, Ramcharger and 1/2 ton p/u units have a smaller input shaft than the 3/4 and 1 ton p/u's. Happy steering.