Two choicses for drag linkage

[savage]

I have to styles of drag linkage bars,trying to decide which would preform better,bent one WH & straight one is TOMS.

 

[Nobody]

Always opt for straight when possible.

If you want it to be strong and be able to drive down the road with one finger, get rid of the trac bar drop bracket and get a trac bar riser. Get rid of the drop pitman. Do the chevy tie rod/drag link and flip on top of the knuckles.... I'm not too crazy about those radius arm drop brackets either.

 

[savage]

Thanks for your opinion,[Nobody]everyone lifts their bronco different ways and I happen to choose this way.been using drop brackets for 15 plus years and so far no problems.Im not a hard core 4x4er, just use it for hunting and the dunes and it has always steered me straight down the road.

 

[bknbronco]

looks like some heep stuff??

I get rid of it all and do the GM 1 Ton steering. Its cheep and you wont regret it!

 

[DirtDonk]

Hah! See what you get when you ask for one thing savage?
For the draglinks, one looks like our type (the second one) and the first one looks like a modified stock one.

They'll both work fine, but personally I would use the modified stock one (see comments in Post #12). But only if it looks like a quality job was done with forming the threads. I don't "think" they should be deep enough to cause any issue with heat-treating, if there is even an issue with that.
And that one will be slightly easier to mount the steering stabilizer back up.

My opinion anyway. Either will work, but both would be even better if you still rotate the tie-rod centerlink up slightly to give a more angled mounting point for the lower end of the draglink.
Doing that would get the angles between the draglink and trackbar more close to parallel, and put the draglink in a better plane to reduce rotational forces when you're steering.

Otherwise, try 'em both to see if you can feel any differences.

Paul

 

[savage]

I NO!!!!! the one is wild horses and the straight one is toms,I got the draglinkend in from WH and it still doesnt fit the pitman arm so Im going with TOMS it fits perfix with the arm. Im think its because its from TOMS.I need to call WH and see if they will take the drag linkage back.THE TIE ROD BAR woks great I want to keep that.I bought it as a kit.

 

[broncodriver99]

I have the WH bar, but am getting ready to order the straight one from Tom's and replace it. I am not crazy about all of the bends in it and had a couple of issues when I installed it. Have probably only driven it 75 miles since I installed it, but just don't care for it. I like the fact that the Tom's one has the bracket for the factory steering stabilizer bracket as well.

BTW this is the only thing I have ever gotten from WH that I was disappointed in. Hey DirtDonk, you think you could get one of the guys to update the picture on the website? I have to say when I received it, it was not at all what I was expecting. I even called in to make sure I had gotten the right thing, since the website shows a straight bar like Tom's offers.

 

[ryansbronco]

I've been running toms and it lines right up and tracks well
my bronco was a DD now with gas and low hours I got a yota car....fml

 

[savage]

I ended up using toms drag-linkage bar and it fits.When I ordered the three way adjustable for my 74 I thought it had the straight bar to,on mine the drag-linkage that attaches to the pitman arm did not bolt up correctly they sent me another one and it doesn't work either.

 

[DirtDonk]

...I got the draglinkend in from WH and it still doesnt fit the pitman arm so Im going with TOMS it fits perfix with the arm. Im think its because its from TOMS.I need to call WH and see if they will take the drag linkage back.THE TIE ROD BAR woks great I want to keep that.I bought it as a kit.

I don't see it as being a problem savage. Even though you did get it as a kit, there should be separate values for each component.
Go ahead and give us a call to see what needs to be done.

Sorry the second one didn't fit. The only way I see that happening is that either the arm is something odd (which it shouldn't be?) or we sent you the wrong part (which shouldn't happen either, but of course still can).
We'll certainly look into it.

Glad you got one that works and you're happy with either way. Based on your last image, I would still recommend loosening up all the clamps and rotating the centerlink (main tie-rod bar) up a few more degrees. Doing this would give it a more natural angle and would put the draglink's angle more parallel to the trackbar's angle.

Paul

 

[DirtDonk]

I have the WH bar, but am getting ready to order the straight one from Tom's and replace it. I am not crazy about all of the bends in it and had a couple of issues when I installed it. Have probably only driven it 75 miles since I installed it, but just don't care for it. I like the fact that the Tom's one has the bracket for the factory steering stabilizer bracket as well.

Hey broncodriver, sorry you're not happy with the parts. Have you mentioned it here before that I can go take a look at (if I haven't already)? If not, let me know some more details about the issues you're having.
The bends themselves should not be an issue, but if yours is acting up, let us know.
Like the others recently too though, if your draglink's lower hole in the tie-rod is facing forward, you need to rotate it up to more of an angle. From 30 to 45 degrees should reduce or eliminate any excessive rotational movement. And will also help match trackbar angles if they're not parallel.

The stock stabilizer mount will still bolt up, but yeah, it's not quite as basic as the stock welded bar mount is.

Let me know what the issues are, or if you'd rather, just give us a call whenever you feel like it and we'll work something out.

BTW this is the only thing I have ever gotten from WH that I was disappointed in. Hey DirtDonk, you think you could get one of the guys to update the picture on the website? I have to say when I received it, it was not at all what I was expecting. I even called in to make sure I had gotten the right thing, since the website shows a straight bar like Tom's offers.

Absolutely. We've talked about it before, but the line-drawings we use are common, easy to use and nice looking. Unfortunately they've become more generic than we'd like, as some parts have likely changed over the years. If they were even perfect representations to begin with.
So it might be time to take some more actual photographs for these different kits.

Consider that department notified. We'll just have to wait and see what kind of changes, if any, are available to us.

Thanks for letting us know. It's important to know what you're spending your money on when you're ordering.

Paul

 

[DirtDonk]

Something to add to the above discussions, regarding the stabilizer shock.
Obviously, even the one with the "correct" mount is going to put the stabilizer mount much lower than was originally stock. The dropped pitman arm has taken care of that.
With ours, the way you attach the mount (one u-bolt through the hole, one above it) would naturally put the bracket higher and achieve a better angle on the shock.

That's not saying that what you have won't work. Just pointing out another difference that actually turns into a useful advantage.

Paul

 

[savage]

Dirtdonk,I called WH and they told me to go a head and return the drag linkage,and they will take care of it.Im going to wait to mess with the angle of the arm till I get all the running gear and engine in,Im thinking the springs are going to settle and change stuff.

 

[DirtDonk]

Not a bad plan. But I'm thinking that even though the springs will compress and the angles change, the "relationship" between the two bars should remain consistent.

No worries though. It's close enough for gov't work at this point anyway, and would probably drive very well. Just as long as you're aware of the difference, and will change it eventually, that should be fine.
You'll even be able to watch the angles converge as you rotate the link upwards to the more appropriate angle.

Have fun.

Paul