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radius drop brackets question

Thunder Chicken

Sr. Member
Joined
May 5, 2008
Messages
518
im getting ready to order drop brackets to correct caster after lifting my 77 3.5" susp and 2" bl.....no i dont have exact nnumbers from alignment shop yet but need some more caster , I've got wander steer

Anyway .......which of these two brackets do you guys recomend? pros/cons

Thanks

ooOh btw BEFORE I FORGET ...power steering , stock y linkage, all new bushings , 6.25 C bushings,
 

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bmc69

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Jun 11, 2004
Messages
11,851
My son's '76 has a WH 3.5" lift, no drop brackets and steers wonderfully. But it does not have this mess:

stock y linkage
 

zeeman1

Bronco Guru
Joined
Apr 27, 2008
Messages
1,268
Loc.
Seattle
seems like it would be cheaper and easier to get the bushings that do the correction for you. That being said, I did have a set of the ones in your second pic on my last bronco and they seemed to work pretty good. If you are taking it off-road either one will hang up on stumps/rocks, but the first set looks like it would slide over the obstacles easier.
 

bmc69

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Jun 11, 2004
Messages
11,851
seems like it would be cheaper and easier to get the bushings that do the correction for you. .

Good point. I used the 7.5 degree bushings in the '76. TC, what bushings are you running now?
 

OX1

Bronco Guru
Joined
Aug 26, 2003
Messages
3,458
I have 7 degree bushings with a 3.5 lift and it wanders horribly.
Some day I'll get around to cutting/turning C's
 
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Thunder Chicken

Sr. Member
Joined
May 5, 2008
Messages
518
from what ive read on this site the drop brackets pretty much fix it , pick up about 4 degrees of caster
 

OX1

Bronco Guru
Joined
Aug 26, 2003
Messages
3,458
from what ive read on this site the drop brackets pretty much fix it , pick up about 4 degrees of caster

Yeah, I looked at them but it won't be much more work for me to rotate C's over putting in drops. And I can set caster to whatever I want. I also already have a riser, which will end up rotating back if I put in drops now.
 

bknbronco

Bronco Guru
Joined
Jan 17, 2011
Messages
4,378
Loc.
North Metro, MN
I have the ones in the middle pic and got them from JBG. I have a 5.5" lift, stock rubber C-bushings, and 1TON TRO steering and my truck handles better than i expected.

One thing i did notice is that with new shocks my truck drove 100% better! Not fancy shocks just cheep $35 doetsch shocks.

First thing id do is ditch your steering and go with the chebby 1 ton TRE's maybe even TRO. $250, but its probably the first thing you should have done.
 

bknbronco

Bronco Guru
Joined
Jan 17, 2011
Messages
4,378
Loc.
North Metro, MN
Start there. Seems that with your lift and them c-bushings you have that the drop brackets might send your caster off the chart? Or do the brackets and just be aware you might have to change c-bushings to something closer to stock.

Actually lets back up a bit and get a alignment and go from there. If your castor is still way off then the brackets are a must. If castor is close then we know we need to look else ware. And something so easy to fix like toe in (which can be checked on your own, or during the alignment) or tire pressure could be part of the problem. I hate to toss parts into a lifted truck hoping to fix a problem. Alignment near my house is $40!

But ya that steering is kinda the worst of the worse from what i have heard.
 
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Thunder Chicken

Sr. Member
Joined
May 5, 2008
Messages
518
toe is out by a little bit ......1/4 inch closer in rear than in the front ....so i need to fix that.....also...... steering is not quite centered although is close....think ill fix those two things first then get an alignment.......see where i need to go from there.

on a side note..........i also have a stock swaybar that i have not reinstalled....how would this help/hurt or be indifferent to my wandering issue?
 
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fungus

Bronco Guru
Joined
May 27, 2009
Messages
1,548
Loc.
Kaneohe Bay, Oahu
3.5" lift should NOT require radius arm drop brackets! I run a WH 3.5" lift, stock radius arms/ brackets (not sure what degree C bushings came in the kit) & HIEM steering linkage on top of knuckles with about 1/4" toe IN on the tires and I can drive straight without my hands on the wheels.

If your tires are toed out & your linkage is worn in any fashion you'll wander like an old drunken blind lady.
 
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Thunder Chicken

Sr. Member
Joined
May 5, 2008
Messages
518
3.5" lift should NOT require radius arm drop brackets! I run a WH 3.5" lift, stock radius arms/ brackets (not sure what degree C bushings came in the kit) & HIEM steering linkage on top of knuckles with about 1/4" toe IN on the tires and I can drive straight without my hands on the wheels.

If your tires are toed out & your linkage is worn in any fashion you'll wander like an old drunken blind lady.

ok ill fix toe in morn ...all bushings are new.....ill report back
 
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Thunder Chicken

Sr. Member
Joined
May 5, 2008
Messages
518
Ok...i set the toe...i have 1/4 inch toe now......steering has def improved ! However
Still not perfect........ Plan on getting alignment numbers this week.....see where im at as far as caster
 

Crude dude

Jr. Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2012
Messages
136
I agree with these guys about the horrible Y steering. Change that first and I bet you see a ton of difference. I installed the Duff lowering brackets on my 70 and they did make a smoother ride but it didnt help with the wandering my Bronco did. Short wheelbase and big tires with manual steering was my issue. 3.5" should not need a drop bracket at all. I since went to a WH 5.5" with custom radius arms and power steering, these Duff brackets are sitting on the shelf. Where are you located?
 

jlylec

Sr. Member
Joined
Jul 5, 2012
Messages
891
Ok...i set the toe...i have 1/4 inch toe now......steering has def improved ! However
Still not perfect........ Plan on getting alignment numbers this week.....see where im at as far as caster

Did you ever get this fixed? I'm in a similar situation with my steering although I don't have that Y steering.
019b8d41.jpg

I have a Duff 5.5" suspension lift and 2" body lift.

My truck is drivable but can be scary at times with the wander and bump steer! I had the alignment done and the guy set the toe-in, tire pressure, and got everything where he thought it should be. The caster ended up at 3 degrees. I think I should be closer to 7 so am considering the same radius arm drop brackets you were asking about. I don't want to hinder my off road ability, but honestly road worthiness is more important.

My question to the experts out there is, "do these drop brackets make the angle on the drive shaft so bad that you eat up u joints?" A couple of the shops I've talked to around town said I couldn't roll the axle back anymore because of that. I'm at a loss!

Would my best bet be to swap the 5.5" lift with a 3.5" lift?
 

Justafordguy

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Sep 26, 2009
Messages
6,253
If you need that much lift the only way to get more caster without binding the u-joints is to rotate the ends of the axle and re-weld them. You need to get your track bar and drag link parallel to stop the bump steer. You must have a track bar drop and a drop pitman arm, you don't need both.
 

jlylec

Sr. Member
Joined
Jul 5, 2012
Messages
891
If you need that much lift the only way to get more caster without binding the u-joints is to rotate the ends of the axle and re-weld them. You need to get your track bar and drag link parallel to stop the bump steer. You must have a track bar drop and a drop pitman arm, you don't need both.

Thanks! This is the most and best feedback I've been able to get on all of this yet!

Did you mean to say "You must have a track bar drop OR a drop pitman arm, you don't need both."? The track bar drop came with the Duff kit. It looks like if I had a stock pitman arm they would be out of parallel the OTHER way though. Doesn't it?

I really think I should just go to 3.5" lift. I don't need 5.5". The only thing holding me back is the cost and waste since the 5.5" kit is literally brand new when I bought the truck and I've only put like 100miles on it.

Do you think if I went to 3.5" it would solve most (if not all) of my probs?

Thanks again!
 
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Thunder Chicken

Sr. Member
Joined
May 5, 2008
Messages
518
Did you ever get this fixed? I'm in a similar situation with my steering although I don't have that Y steering.

I have a Duff 5.5" suspension lift and 2" body lift.

My truck is drivable but can be scary at times with the wander and bump steer! I had the alignment done and the guy set the toe-in, tire pressure, and got everything where he thought it should be. The caster ended up at 3 degrees. I think I should be closer to 7 so am considering the same radius arm drop brackets you were asking about. I don't want to hinder my off road ability, but honestly road worthiness is more important.

My question to the experts out there is, "do these drop brackets make the angle on the drive shaft so bad that you eat up u joints?" A couple of the shops I've talked to around town said I couldn't roll the axle back anymore because of that. I'm at a loss!

Would my best bet be to swap the 5.5" lift with a 3.5" lift?


i have not changed out my y steering yet...but i do think i will try that before i do the drop brackets ...im not a fan of the way ther drop brackets look so if i can fix with new steering linkage like these guys say i will prob try that route...at least thats what im think ing now
 
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