Mean Green
- Thread starter VOLT
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Unless you are getting a killer deal, is there any particular reason you are going with kings? For the price of a pair of emulsion kings with springs and tripe rate hardware you can get a pair of ORI STXs, which don't require an external bumpstop and also control for body roll without having to use a sway bar. If you were ordering either of those options new you'll more than likely have a delay as ORIs are always in demand and the guy I got my RRDs from was told by king that he would have a two week build delay which ended up being a month before they shipped. Anyway, just my two cents.
Also you'll want to gut all of the rear tub and tailgate supports in the rear fender wells before you install the poly rear coilover mounts, if you haven't already. This will allow for either a longer travel coilover and/or allow you to run more than 3"s of up travel if you plan on running 14" travel coilovers while staying low.
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Also you'll want to gut all of the rear tub and tailgate supports in the rear fender wells before you install the poly rear coilover mounts, if you haven't already. This will allow for either a longer travel coilover and/or allow you to run more than 3"s of up travel if you plan on running 14" travel coilovers while staying low.
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Here's a thread from pirate on ORIs versus coilovers. Sadly I don't own a pair of ORIs (yet) as i already had 3 pairs of fox coilovers by the time ORI started kicking up the production of the STX struts so you didn't have to wait for 6 months to get a pair.
ORIs have an internal hydraulic bumpstop, so no need to spend between 160-220 a piece for air bumps and then the lovely issue of finding where to put them. Adjustments on the ORIs also don't require you to disassemble them, like coilovers do to revalve them. All you need is a bottle of nitrogen and regulator, a fill valve, and a bottle of shock oil; which you would need anyway if you we're working on coilovers.
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ORIs have an internal hydraulic bumpstop, so no need to spend between 160-220 a piece for air bumps and then the lovely issue of finding where to put them. Adjustments on the ORIs also don't require you to disassemble them, like coilovers do to revalve them. All you need is a bottle of nitrogen and regulator, a fill valve, and a bottle of shock oil; which you would need anyway if you we're working on coilovers.
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I have been working on my steering and I have three steering studs on one of my kingpin caps that will not budge. I am replacing them because they were never installed fully and wont work with my new arms unless they are fully set. I was going to weld a nut on the threads to see if I can then break them loose. Is this the only option for removal? I tried the two nuts on each other deal and it didn't work. I tried huge channel locks and vise grips and they just slip. I'm sure once I get them out I will find that the original ones are broken off in there and thats what was keepin these from seating properly. Its always something. Also, do I need to put a gasket in between the high steer arm and the upper kingpin on knuckle? I had some on my prvious setup and the grease still looked good but I have also read that it should possibly be bare metal on bare metal? Any dice?
Here is the current setup that I'm changing. One of the knuckle tapers was so bad that I just decieded to go with heims over the knuckle. I'm also moving the drag link down a bit right above the tie rod in double sheer so that I can lower the front of the Jeep down an inch. This Tie Rod with the offset rod ends is for sale along with the drag link if anyone is looking. The offset rod ends have 3 hours on them and the drag link TRE has one!
The PSC arm will also be for sale. This is the new setup and a pic of the passenger side mocked up. I have to clean the threads on one of the stud holes and decide whether that gasket is needed or not. Does anyone know if the springless stud on these arms is supposed to be torqued to a certain spec on the upper kingpin bushing?
The PSC arm will also be for sale. This is the new setup and a pic of the passenger side mocked up. I have to clean the threads on one of the stud holes and decide whether that gasket is needed or not. Does anyone know if the springless stud on these arms is supposed to be torqued to a certain spec on the upper kingpin bushing?
Looking good Nick. The center bolt for the springless set up does not have a specific torque spec. You basically snug it down until it takes a little force to to move the knuckle. They're fully tweakable to your liking, but the tighter you run them the quicker the bushings will wear out. As for the gasket, I ran one. The gasket makes up for any imperfections in the mating surfaces. In regards to extracting the seized studs, use PB and/or heat and a big *** pipe wrench (just don't plan on reusing them). I always install the new studs using the double nut method and use red thread locker in the knuckle holes. I'm surprised that artec didn't send you shorter bolts with that set up, those look to be the same length as the ones I have with my reids.
Thx Will. Yea I meant to mention that bolt length to you. I was surprised too. I was just going to have to run some of the leftover spacer on top of the arm to make up for the extra length of the bolt because it will not work as is. I'm a little concerned because one of the knuckle tapers was so bad that I barely had to touch it with a 3/4 drill bit to go through. I hope its enough to remain solid. I bet they sent me the wrong bolt. I'm gonna check out their site again because I do remember selecting stock Ford knuckle.
I doubt it is the ballistic arms as the only thickness difference is that the artec arms are the same 1/2" thickness all the way around where the ballistics taper down to go to the outer knuckle hole piece. So the only real length differences are between the ford knuckles and the chevy/reid knuckles, which it appears that they sent you the correct length sleeves for the ford knuckles. They might be expecting you to cut the extra 1-2 inches of threaded portion off, but it kind of looks like there isn't enough thread to tighten the bolt all of the way down. I would give Nate or Artie a call in the am and let them know your concerns. They have sent me different brackets than the ones I have ordered before, and when I let them now they just sent me the correct brackets. So ended up with some free brackets that I didn't need, but I thought it was pretty cool of them. Let me know what they tell you.
Edit: Are those misalignment spacers and a safety washer in the little baggie in your pic or where those something that came with the knuckle bolts?
Edit: Are those misalignment spacers and a safety washer in the little baggie in your pic or where those something that came with the knuckle bolts?
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Yea the spacer is almost the same length as the area between and you are correct, the threaded portion is not long enough. Yes those are just some miscellaneous spacers in 3/4 that I got with the Hiems just in case needed to squeeze the drag link hiem right below the arm. I may not need them but like to have stuff like that just in case. No high misalignment though, just standard.
Cool deal, glad it worked out. FYI, you should have gotten 8" bolts with you knuckle bolts instead of the 10" ones that you have. I had to call artec today to send me some bolts that didn't make it into the box in my last order, so they're throwing your 8" bolts in there too. Will let you know when they show so we can see if someone is headed either direction from Columbia to Greenwood.
Awesome, that makes a big difference. Thx for doing that. Just shoot me an email or something when you get them and we can figure something out. These are fine for now. The pipe wrench pulled the old studs out and man were they tight. It turns out that I installed longer studs when I built the axle than the ones that I have now. I can't remember where I bought them from but they are much longer than the ARP ones from Artec. I could have left them alone if they were the correct length. I cleaned the threads out with a tap and installed some hardened allen head bolts to mock up the steering arm until I get some more studs. I would prefer just leave the allen heads but I don't know if thats safe or if they will loosen frequently. I see folks running bolts instead of studs but don't know if its a good idea or not. Now I need to drill the pitman arm, cut the tube, weld the bungs and find a new hydro ram location. Maybe I will get something done this weekend.