Front Suspension Install - a few questions

[blwngsket]

You mentioned a drop pitman arm earlier. Not a huge fan of them myself. I run 39.5 tires and a 5.5" Wild Horses lift. I chose to use a Trac Bar Riser on the axle. With the Wild Horses riser on the axle for the trac bar instead of a drop bracket on the frame, you get better steering geometry IMO. Drop brackets on the frame put way too much pressure on the frame and can tear away from the frame ( rolled a rig on the Rubicon because of that one). Drop pitman arms put a lot of pressure on the shaft of the steering box. Using the riser on the axle for the trac bar and the stock pitman arm for the draglink, my trac bar and drag link are almost at an identicle angle (paralell). Zero bumpsteer.

My .02

 

[NM_outdoors]

Thanks for bringing it back up NM. I forgot to update the next day, but our cups are definitely a tad wider in diameter as well, so don't seem to really cause any misalignment issues on either side that I can see.
Checked a couple out that were installed on rigs at the shop and couldn't detect anything amiss.

Good guaranteed cure on your part. How far off did you have to drill the holes? Did they end up as separate holes? Or did you basically just widen the existing holes?

Paul

Separate 15/32" holes. The hole pattern I drilled was (facing forward, looking down from the top with center of driver-side cup @ x=0,y=0):
Aftermarket = hole #1 @(0,0) and hole #2 @(0,1")
Stock = hole #1 @(.5,.5) and hole #2 @(.5,-.5)
I also mirrored both hole patterns, about center in both directions, to allow for a few other location options (and for mucho-drainage!). Not quite looking like Swiss cheese,… but close? I made the bottom of the cups 5/16 thick so they should still be plenty stout with all the extra holes.

 

[PaveBronco]

Think my coil cup is laughing at me, next stop Jeff's.

 

[Fireball05]

Time to put it all back together!

Guys - finally got this thing and all associated parts ready to put back in. Started assembly yesterday, and have a few questions.

1. I install the c-bushings and radius arms and slowly shot the bolts on with an impact. Had to do a little back and forth, but as it sits now, arms are perfectly parallel and touch floor as same time. I didn't put anti-sieze on the bolts, and I shot them on with the impact. So two questions. Do I need anti-sieze, and should I back them off and torque them properly? I believe proper spec is 90-110ft-lbs. They are currently at least 110

2. FYI, I waited to install the brake lines mounting braccketsonto the axle after putting the c-bushings and arms in. Now there wasn't space to put the bolt in so I had to cut it. So for those playing along at home, put the brake brackets in first.

3. I've got the axle assembled with the wheels on. How do I put it all together?! Was planning to install the radius arms into the frame mounts, then install the springs. Then install the trac bar to the frame first, then the axle. Then drop it back down and install shocks. Then adjust toe,tighten the tie rod, then install drag link to pitman arm. What am I missing?!

4. Sway bar.... I have the OEM swaybar. I assembled it onto the axle but didn't tighten any of the brackets down. Am I correct in waiting until everything is in before locking this down? Seems like locking it down now could cause some unwanted preload on things.

Thanks guys!

 

[xcntrk]

I would get the radius arms and trackbar all installed loose onto the frame before messing with the springs. You may even have to relax the swaybar to get those parts mounted up. You may never get the track bar on if you have everything under tension with the springs on.

PS: Steering looks great!

 

[JSmall]

Outstanding attention to detail. Everything looks great

 

[Fireball05]

So.... order of events:

1. radius arms to frame mounts
2. trac bar to axle
3. then springs

Does this sound correct? When connecting the track bar and trying to center the axle, what's the easiest way to do it? I've marked a center point on the frame, and was assuming I could jack up the pumpkin slightly to get the wheels off the ground with the jack sideways which would allow for some left to right movement to center.

Also, any important torque specs I need to know?

Thanks guys!

 

[asinor]

Do the Track bar before the springs then take it off to adjust it at the end after you put it back on the ground. The WH adjustable track bar instructions have a good tip of using the steering to move the frame/body around to get it centered (with the trackbar disconnected the body will slide side to side over the axles instead of turning the wheels), then adjust the track bar and reattach.

 

[savage]

LOOKING GOOD !!!!FirerBall have you installed your trackbar?If so how did it line up with the bracket and axle.I like your tie rods and draglink where did you get them from?Here is some torques from the ford book I notice some torque and some just tightten the bolts tight, I like to use the book for how tight to get things.

 

[Fireball05]

Savage, thanks for the torque specs. I have not installed the track bar yet. That last picture posted above was everything tucked back under the car at the end of the day yesterday. In the interest of hopefully receiving another paycheck at the end of the month, I needed to turn my attentions to my real job....

That is the BBC Broncos tie rod set up.
They build it based off of my measurements, so hopefully I measured correctly and they built it properly!

By the way, those front hard brake lines needed tons of tweaking to fit properly. Same story with the rear lines and the fuel line kit that I ordered. Might of been better off just starting from scratch instead of the terribly inaccurate bends that they came with!

 

[DirtDonk]

And regarding the anti-seize on the cap bolts. I wouldn't bother at this point.
Yes, I'm a fan and usually tell people to use it, but yours are zinc plated bolts on painted surfaces, so should remain at least a low-rust area for many years to come. Even without anti-seize as a sealant/lubricant/release agent.

Now that they're all clamped tight, you should theoretically be able to remove one bolt at a time without effecting your radius arm alignment. After all, the caps are up tight and seated fully, so there's really nowhere for them to twist.
So at this point, it's up to you if you want to go to a little extra trouble, or just leave it knowing that it's not a huge issue.

See? Easy when you just throw the ball back into the other guy's court! ;D
Personally though, I would probably at least put the correct torque on them. Not that it would make a big difference either. I just like knowing things are both consistent, and where expected.

Paul

 

[Fireball05]

Paul,

Your comments above caused me to loose a little sleep last night. I tossed and I turned, I worried and I fretted, and today as soon as I got into the garage....


Then I pulled out the torque wrench, set it to 100ft-lbs (exactly in the middle of the recommended 90-110lb spec), posed for this pretty photo below, and one by one removed, lubed and torqued all the bolts:


By some happy coincidence or perhaps just the laws of physics at play, my radius arms were still perfectly aligned after this exercise.

 

[DirtDonk]

Hah! I hate to be the cause of any lost sleep about a Bronco!
But you should be ready and rested for a long Memorial Day weekend (if you get one that is?) and more Bronco stuff.

I know I'll sleep better knowing... ;D

Paul

 

[Fireball05]

The saga continues...

After spending no small amount of time patting myself on the back for my successes outlined in the above post, I continued with the assembly.

In case it isn't entirely obvious, I'm pretty new to this sort of thing, so thanks again to the kind folks who have helped direct me in the right direction. I rolled the axle under the car and put the radius arm ends up into the frame mounts. This was a little tricky doing by myself, but I got them through enough to get the bushings on and plates and nuts started.

Once that was done, I marked the center of the axle and installed the frame mount of the track bar first. Just to be clear, that "c" marks the center of the frame, and should not be confused with an advertisement that my Bronco is for sale for zero cents!



Savage, you had asked about the track bar. Well, here ya go! Wild Horses adjustable track bar, I marked the center of the frame, center of the axle and eyeballed the track bar adjustment out about an inch or so. Had to use only a small ratchet strap to pull the axle over and slide it into place. This picture taken immediately after the happy first meeting of the new track bar bushing to the axle mounting bolt.



Next I installed the springs. The Deaver superflex 2.5" coils are about 20.5" fully extended. Had to remove the wheel/tire and drop as low as it could go, then bend and push the top of the spring into place. Thanks for the tip on keeping the two lower coil mount cup bolts threaded loosely in place, then install the spring, then tighten the bolts with a speed wrench. Also used the vise grip trick to line up the upper spring retainer. Worked great!



With springs in place, jacked it back up, removed the jack stands and happily reunited the front end with the concrete floor! Tightened the radius arm to frame mount bolts with....wait for it....hold on you're never gonna guess.........a torque wrench!



With everything back on the ground, I jumped on the frame ends and bounced up and down, rocked back and forth and was happy to see everything settle into place and note a level Bronco with no rake and no infamous Bronco lean!



My brilliant plan of going with the BCB tie rod kit in hopes of not having to make any track bar mounting adjustments (riser or drop bracket) and being able to use the stock pitman arm turned out, well, pretty brilliant! Love it when a plan comes together.



Still need to ream the pitman arm for the tapered heim, adjust the track bar to center the axle, adjust the toe and tighten the jam nuts on the tie rod and install the shocks and fill the rear and hook up and bleed the brakes and so on and so forth, but we're getting pretty close to being back on the road!!!

 

[Fireball05]

A quick note on Bronco lean...

A quick note on Bronco lean. I followed the directions outlined on the Wild Horses website, and immediately after assembly have no lean.

http://www.wildhorses4x4.com/product/bronco_lean

I spoke to another person who noted that he has had better luck attaching the arms to the frame mounts, then rolling the axle into place and locking down the front cups.

Incidentally, another member just told me that he did it this same way, and once assembled had no lean, but after a few days worth of driving the lean appeared.

So, I say all that to say that I have no idea what the right way to do it is! It sits level right now, so I'll just cross my fingers for a nice dose of beginnings luck. To further tip the odds in my favor, I probably should've stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night...

 

[DirtDonk]

Yeah, but they tend to frown on such projects finishing up in their parking lots.
Silly people. Don't know what they're all worried about.

Looks great! Can't wait to see more progress and then out on the road.
Lovin' the torque wrench getting co-top billing in this segment too.

Paul

 

[savage]

So I asume the track bar lined up with know issues,the front runnig gear looks assume great job!!!!!!

 

[Fireball05]

Savage - no issues lining up the track bar. I had to loosen the threads out maybe an inch or so. I installed the track bar to the frame first, then to the axle. Worked out really well. As I showed in the photo above, took only a small ratchet strap to pull the axle into place.

Still haven't centered the axle and locked down the jam nut yet, but if you look at the photo above, I got it pretty darn close on the first guess.

 

[DirtDonk]

Might as well wait until it's all back together anyway.
Not that a couple of fenders and a bumper (unless a big one?) are going to make much difference in ride height, but you do want to make sure the suspension is all settled down when you finalize the side-to-side adjustment of the trackbar.

Here again though, if it's only off by 1/8", it's hardly worth pulling the trackbar to "fix" it.
Unless you start losing sleep over it that is... ;D

Paul