76 Bronco lift kit steering problems

[jmms]

I just got finished lifting my 76 EB. I put on BC bronco's 3 1/2" front springs and the 1"lift spring plate shims, Also added their drop pitman arm and Duff's long travel dual shock hoops. Now the front wheels don't turn to the right or left fully. Can't even turn enough to get out of my driveway. What did I do wrong???

 

[ballistic64]

Did you reinstall/lengthen your trac bar?

 

[Broncobowsher]

OK, we need a little more info. tell us about....

Track bar. Stock? drop bracket? anything else.
Steering linkage. Stock inverted Y? converted to anything else (TRO, heim)?
Steering box. Manual, stock power steering, F150 conversion?
Any problems before the lift?
Have you tried setting the wheels straight ahead, remove the pitman arm, center the steering box (all the way to one side, count the turns of the wheel to the other side, then put it in the middle) and reinstall the pitman arm?
Are the tierod ends maxed out in there angle?

And if you can, attach a picture of the front of your truck looking straight at it. Don't need any close ups, just tire to tire and bumper to ground. Pictures tell us a lot.

 

[Gummi Bear]

I don't have a drop pitman arm, and it works fine. I don' t have a track bar drop bracket either, and still no bump steer.

Check your alignment first of all, as mentioned above, and where you have the pitman arm on the shaft.


BTW - mine's a 76 also, and they are slightly different from earlier models (track bar mount is lower from the factory, and inverted Y steering lines up a little differently)

 

[iwlbcnu]

You should have only lost turning to the right. Without a drop pitman arm the draglink isn't long enough to keep the steering centered. And without a drop track bar or an adjustable track bar the drivers side wheel will stick out further than the passenger side.

 

[76Broncofromhell]

I would recommend going to a Bullet-Proof, BC TRO or Stonecrusher system before even messing with the stock stuff. I would also invest in an adjustanble track bar.

 

[jmms]

I read all these emails last night. I have the stock inverted Y set-up. I added a adjustable trac-bar, and I do have a drop pitman arm on it. The Bronco steered fine before I lifted it. I haven't tried to adjust the tie rod yet. And no I haven't tried to reinstall the pitman arm yet. i will try that today. One other thing is that when I turn the wheel to the right or left I don't even come close to hitting the bump stops on the steering.

 

[chuck]

Almost always, when you have a drop pitman arm you also need a drop track bar bracket. Have you driven it since you added the lift? When you have the pitman arm off will the steering wheel turn as much as it should? do you have a lot of toe-in? With the pitman arm off will the wheels turn enough for the stops to hit? What is limiting the wheels from turning enough?

 

[iwlbcnu]

So is the dropped pitman arm installed? Or are you just trying to turn the wheels while on jack stands? If on jack stands and the pitman arm unhooked, the Y linkage is probaly spagetting before turning all the way.

 

[jmms]

Yes the pitman arm is installed, and so is the adjustable trac-bar.

I pulled the Bronco out of the garage today to get a better look at the front end. It seem to be towed in a lot. I will try to adjust the tie-rods tomorrow.