stonecrusher steering= bad bumpsteer??

[michowski]

I wonder if you can add a spacer block to each side to raise up both ends. There's enough room to add at least an inch there and on top of a drop arm, it should easily fix the problem.

 

[el burro]

Ya im gonna have to save up for one of those swingset style steering setups.. Does anyone have any other designs or angles of picures of their steering setups so maybe i can copy it... lol..I put two inches of washers to act as spacers under my pitman arm to lower the angle of the steering linkages like junkie said to do, but as you can see it looks stupid and im gonna have some major clearance issues between the pass. and driver side linkage. And on top of that it didnt help the bump steer to much. Im still not happy with the steering setup. Any input guys?? It would be much appriciated!!

 

[4x4junkie]

I think that looks pretty good (at least as far as the angle itself goes... All those washers ain't helping that bolt any though That ain't safe).

If it's still not driving decent, I would say it's down to getting a K-link setup or a crossover (swingset) setup. The K-link is going to be less complex to build (or you could modify a Superlift kit), though a crossover will have less bumpsteer when you get to your extremes of travel.

I'm starting to become more curious about this Stonecrusher setup. Seems there are more complaints about it that I would've thought there'd be

 

[el burro]

Ya the washers are a temporary thing, just to experimenent with the angles. I have a extreme drop pitman arm but i would hate to drill it out and ruin it just to experiment with the angles because it cost soooo much! For now i mounted the driver side linkage under the knuckle instead of on top to try to improve the clearance between the driver side and passenger side linkage... I think the angles are about as good as I can get them.. Bumpsteer is better but its still there. Its not so much of a safety concern anymore but it definatly is annoying! The stonecrusher setup is very strong and simple and would work really well with a little bit stiffer coils. Im debating on either the k link style or swing set... Im getting tired of putting money into the steering! I would rather put that money in 5.13s. So i want to find something I can settle on once and for all and be happy with it! So what do you guys think? Swing set? Or K link? Lets see your votes!

 

[4x4junkie]

I'm completely happy with my K-link (outside of the tierods being rather flimsy... Mine's a modded Superlift, I want to get beefier DOM tierods on it eventually). I don't really do the Baja thing at all though (jumping, etc.), but just driving it around on the street, and running trails/crawling, I haven't really noticed any bumpsteer with it since I put the centerlink where it's supposed to be.

If you're into jumping/high-speed running, then the crossover/swingset setup would probably have more noticeable benefits (though I have to wonder if your BII's short wheelbase could become an issue at speed before a properly-executed K-link will).

If you build one, I'd probably do the idler arm a bit different than Superlift did (mount the upper end up on the frame itself rather than on the face of the crossmember, and use a longer tube for the upper pivot bushings to give some better distance between them so it can't flex as much).

What are you running for shocks? Something good & stiff? (KYB?) Duals? Maybe some more damping could help some too, depending on what you're running now.

 

[el burro]

Im running bilstien 5150s with medium valving with one on each corner. Im not much into the high speed dunes stuff either, more rocks and trails. But I want the best street steering i can get. Because this truck is still my dd. Im thinking i want to try a k link style. (Wouldnt the idler arm absorb most of the bumpsteer before it transmits to the pitman arm?) What do you think about a k link style with each steering arm being equal length to the axle beams?

 

[4x4junkie]

That's called a crossover setup (the tierods cross each other in the middle).

If you can get it all packaged up so that everything clears properly, it should work quite well (though I'd again do the centerlink different lol, It needs a solid 'hinge' type support at the idler arm end so it can't rotate around at all on it's joints).

FWIW, ideally you want the tierods to be longer than your beams in order to have them be inline with the pivoting axis of the suspension.
See this diagram:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/sfr4x4/ttbsymetry.jpg
Red lines represent the suspension's pivot axis for each side. Your tierod's inner joints should be mounted along those lines.

As for your shocks, if there's something stiffer available, I'd switch to that (or go to duals).
I have single 5125s on mine with the stiffer valving (250/70 or whatever it was) and it's OK, though a little stiffer would still be better. One of these days I should get off my butt and build a dual mount and put a 2nd set on there.

 

[dirtcowboy]

It may be an optical illusion but it looks like your coil spring mounts are at different heights. In racecars this type of setup is used for jacking the weights on each corner of the car. I wonder if that is causing some of your problems.

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/707/stonecrusher2a.jpg/

My steering looks just like yours and I have no bumpsteer nor any other issues with it.

 

[legoms013]

I still suggest a SuperRunner, then mod if down some if you need to lower the tie rods.

Then if you get real serious and need extra beefage, the SuperRunner is super easy to make beefy. Buy a M22x1.5 RH tap, one RBV passenger side TRE, one RH Chevy TRE, one LH Chevy TRE, one RH Chevy DRE, one LH Chevy TRE, Ream out the holes on the centerlink for the new chevy stuff, put the rod ends on, measure for tie rodes (center to center) call up WFO and they will mill out some heavy duty DOM tie rods for you and when you are done you have:

a 3/4 ton/1 ton SuperRunner setup
almost no bumpsteer
and a replaceable TRE on the centerlink (the one to the pitman arm)



This is what I did, and I couldn't be happier. If you wanna do this and have questions, I have it all documented with pictures, part numbers and dimensions. Beefy, and great for commuting. Best of both worlds: