Skyjacker Class 2 replacement

[RangerBoy94]

Thanks for the pics man!! I like to comparison pics. It really shows that the James Duff stuff is alot better.

 

[legoms013]

Thanks for the pics man!! I like to comparison pics. It really shows that the James Duff stuff is alot better.

Neither brand is better than the other. Both have their strengths and weaknesses.



aspevacek, looks great though, do you notice less bumpsteer with the slightly less overall amount of lift?

 

[aspevacek]

I drove it from my house to Lancaster today and on the highway the manorism of the truck was way different then what it had been with the skyjacker. Bump steer was near zero on the highway. The difference in spring rates gave for a smoother highway ride but no where near the ride I have in my impala. I am not saying a lifted truck should ride liek the impala. Over all I would say I did not loose any lift with the truck versus the Skyjacker set up.

I think I will only see a difference once I get the truck into the woods if there is one.

I am still waiting on my mother cousin to finish the cuttin gof the plate parts then I will start my par tof th esteering fab I had planned on. I still want to get my steering running level with the center line of the axle pivot point. I think that will set the truck at an absolute zero bumpsteer setting.

I was very happy with the aligment specs we were able to achieve on thursday morning with the truck.

Spec Left Right
Camber .1 0.0
Caster 2.4 1.9
Toe .15 .02

What we discovered is in 99 when I did the sky jacker set up the pitman arm was stuck on the gear box. I took it to Ford who was unable to remove it and destroyed the seal on the sector shaft trying to do so. Because of them destroying the seal they had given me a discount on a new box from Ford. Well the box I got is off center so I will have to rebuild the box and get it centered up as my steering wheel is leaning a little to the right while going straight down the raod. Or when I build my center link I can compensate for the box being off center slightly. Either that or we are missing somewhere that has enough adjustment to pull steering wheel back to dead center while going straight.

 

[legoms013]

I drove it from my house to Lancaster today and on the highway the manorism of the truck was way different then what it had been with the skyjacker. Bump steer was near zero on the highway. The difference in spring rates gave for a smoother highway ride but no where near the ride I have in my impala. I am not saying a lifted truck should ride liek the impala. Over all I would say I did not loose any lift with the truck versus the Skyjacker set up.

I think I will only see a difference once I get the truck into the woods if there is one.

I am still waiting on my mother cousin to finish the cuttin gof the plate parts then I will start my par tof th esteering fab I had planned on. I still want to get my steering running level with the center line of the axle pivot point. I think that will set the truck at an absolute zero bumpsteer setting.

I was very happy with the aligment specs we were able to achieve on thursday morning with the truck.

Spec Left Right
Camber .1 0.0
Caster 2.4 1.9
Toe .15 .02

What we discovered is in 99 when I did the sky jacker set up the pitman arm was stuck on the gear box. I took it to Ford who was unable to remove it and destroyed the seal on the sector shaft trying to do so. Because of them destroying the seal they had given me a discount on a new box from Ford. Well the box I got is off center so I will have to rebuild the box and get it centered up as my steering wheel is leaning a little to the right while going straight down the raod. Or when I build my center link I can compensate for the box being off center slightly. Either that or we are missing somewhere that has enough adjustment to pull steering wheel back to dead center while going straight.

Glad to hear about the less bumpsteer. Which JD kit is it, the 3.5" or the 5.5"?

Centering the steering wheel should be able to be accomplished just by adjustment of either the L or R adjustment sleeves on the tie rods (or both).

If not, do you know for sure that it turns more turns one direction as opposed to the other? I am thinking it is possible you might have a steering box without the 4 "keyways" on the sector shaft....meaning the pitman arm could be put on at any angle resulting in what you describe.

Or, if indeed the box is off center, I would suggest filing out the 4 keyways on the pitman arm, allowing you to put it at whatever angle you want, and the you could then compensate for the off centerness. This is what alot of guys do with jeep/ford pitman arms to work on the Cj-5 and Cj-7 steering boxes (they always have off center problems). Much easier than rebuilding the box!

 

[aspevacek]

the 5.5" stage 3

The tierods are at equal length adjustments. The left side rod ends have bottomed against each other inside the sleeve. I am not overly worried about that as I am building the K Link steering with in a week.

My box is one with 4 keyways on it.We had the pitman arm off durign the alignment thinking we could just rotate it 2 teeth and work from there. We went thru hell before we got them apart but each time we take it apart it takes less effort. Right now the truck runs down the road dead straight just the steering wheel is off a little in the cab.

I have a 4 inch drop pitman arm in my basement on my fab bench that is already drilled out for a 3/4 inch bolt. I will just need to drill out the knuckels when I am ready to install the K-Link as I am going with heim joints based on that is what all my measurments have been based off of.