Hi, just bought a 79 f-250 with a 4 inch lift on it. The steering is loose and its bc someone made a homeade steering part. But, I'm not sure what I need to order. From the pitman arm to the tierod end is a homeade piece. Sorry for the lack of info the truck is not in posession but, guy is driving it over as we speak and I'd like to get it road worthy soon. From what I said does that help anyone? I was told that skyjacker has what I need if I knew what it is.

Thanks,

Kyle

 

"homemade steering part" that's a scary thought, pics would help but it sounds as though you need a 4" dropped pitman arm.

 

Probably so. What piece connects the pitman arm to the axle? Maybe pics would help.

 

I am thinking I may need more than one piece. I just saw somewhere say the drop pitman arm will cause it to hit the front leaf springs. Is that the case?

Kyle

 

Without a visual on your current setup that's virtually impossible to tell online, we'd need to see it.

 

No that is not the case. A few mfgrs make drop pitman arms just for them.

 

Sounds like you need a "s-link steering bar" ? This is a 79 F250 getting a 6" skyjacker, its the new adj link inbetween the drop pitman bar and the steering arm on top of the knuckle.

I got this with my lift kit in a package deal, not to bad price wise. Had a little bit of contact with the front u-bolt, but once I put weight back on it, it cleared.

Some people use a steering block in place of this. It goes between the top of the knuckle and steering are. Do not like them IMO.

Should be able to google it on the skyjacker site and get you one if needed? Hope this helps. And yes there is a axle under all that grease, LOL, it's a mudder.

 

Its a "drag link" Skyjacker part # SDL250

 

Its called a "drag link". The drag link connects the pitman arm the steering arm in any steering design.

Those angles in that Push / Pull system are scary. Imagine what those poor TRE.s are going through when the suspension cycles. Wow.
That is another reason why crossover should always be considered.

 

That looks like what I need. Do you need a drop pitman arm with that or just the factory pitman arm? Is it just the "s" bar I need or is there a different piece I need to connect "s" bar to the knuckle?

Thanks,

Kyle

 

What would it take to go to crossover steering? I plan to dd this truck and it may see some highway so I'd like to go with the best option. Is there a kit?

 

Does anyone have that adjustable drag link I need for sale? $200 bucks for that parts seems awful high.

Kyle

 

You have almost everything that you need for a crossover upgrade and yes there are several kits available. Unfortunately with a 4" kit things get kind of tight, so clearances can get interesting. You can search in this forum or cruise down to the off road forum and serach. YOu will find that the splined section of your steering box will allow you to re-index the steering arm so it sweeps from left to right instead of front to rear. Then you may consider an inverted "T" style sterring design so that you dont have to machine the dana 44 knuckle. This can get real expensive. With some small parts you can have a very function steering system and wont have to worry about the angles similar to those in the pic above.
Highway driving? Yet another reason to eliminate the push / pull design.
Imagine how the axle moves during the normal suspension cycle, and then consider that the drag link in a push / pull system cant move on the same arch, and you will see how the stock design cant work with a lifted truck. With a flat leaf spring, the angles are similar, but add some arch to the spring, and you bind the rod ends, and kill any chance of a decent drive. Anyone that says "mine drives fine" has never driven the same truck with a crossover. The difference is night and day. Sure the original design works, but has so many flaws that it is very unfortunate that any lifted truck even has this system.
Its not worth the effort or the expense to try to make this style system even work, it just cant.
Want proof? How many current trucks do we see with this style steering?
Yup, it went away in 1979. Gotta wonder why it was never used again in 30 years. Its because it was a poor design.

 

Is there a exact parts list somewhere for someone that has a hd dana 44 up front?

Also, is there any way to determine how much lift is on the truck? The guy I got it from wasn't sure if it was 6 inch or 4 inch lift kit.

Kyle

 

What kind of kit?
Just for reference, Dana never identified the 78 D44 as an "HD".

Post a detailed pic of the front springs and we can usually tell just by the pack or the amount of arch.