How should the clamps on the drag link sleeve be positioned?

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robroy
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How should the clamps on the drag link sleeve be positioned?

Post by robroy »

Good evening!

Yesterday I put together one of the steering arms with the adjustment sleeve, as shown here:

Image

The instructions that came with the sleeve admonished me to these ends:
  1. Make sure the bolts holding the sleeve on are positioned exactly like the original.
  2. Make sure the opening on the clamps doesn't like up with the "slot" in the sleeve.
Regarding the first directive, because of the way the sleeve is made (right hand threads on one side and left hand threads on the other), it isn't possible to align the bolts exactly as on the original--they have to be facing in the reverse direction (as shown). So that's probably not a big deal.

Regarding the second directive, do you folks think that's really important? What's the big deal about not having the clamp openings line up with the slot in the sleeve? Is this worth re-doing if I already did it as shown in the photo?

Thank you!
-Robroy
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Re: How should the clamps on the drag link sleeve be positioned?

Post by fordman »

i will need to look at soem old ones to refresh my memory on this but i think the instructions are right though.
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Re: How should the clamps on the drag link sleeve be positioned?

Post by iamthewreckingcrew »

Only thing I can remember my Chilton book saying was to have the bolts facing down when installed. But, I've slept since then and if you want me to go dig up my book, I will. :D
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Re: How should the clamps on the drag link sleeve be positioned?

Post by fordman »

i just went out and looked at my 70. the sleeve slot point towards the back of the truck. the holders point towards the front of the truck. the reason this is done that way is so that the clamps can better grip the sleeve. if they were to line up they woul dnot grip as tightely to the sleeve as is required for them not to work loose. the bolts come fromt he ground up with the nuts on top. i guess so the botls will fall out if the nuts come off. that is only one truck that i looked at. i think the sleeve deal is correct about not lining them up because of the clamping power of them when not lined up. i can not verify the way the bolts are suppose to go or why or how they go whihc way or the other. it is just a ugess but if the nuts comes off then the botl could fall out and it would get noticed sooner and repaired sooner. if the bolt didnt fall out it may not be noticed for a long time. it just a guess. or maybe it does have something to do with left and right hand threads for each bolt.
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Re: How should the clamps on the drag link sleeve be positioned?

Post by robroy »

Hi Fordman and Iamthewreckingcrew, thanks for the replies!

It sounds like I may need to do mine over again, to make sure the slot isn't right under the gap in the clamps as shown in the photo.

Thanks again for the replies!
-Robroy
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Re: How should the clamps on the drag link sleeve be positioned?

Post by robroy »

Today I took a closer look at my old steering arm, and as advised by Fordman, the original had the clamp openings positioned at 180 degrees from the sleeve slot! So that's how it will be.

Thanks!
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Re: How should the clamps on the drag link sleeve be positioned?

Post by Alvin in AZ »

I believe the bolts need to be "in" a certain way to keep them from bumping
into anything, and that's all. The instructions sound like they were written by
someone practicing CYA, but isn't very good at it. :/

Who's to say the "original bolt position" was "right"? :/
I pointed my bolts up to protect the exposed threads. :)

Alvin in AZ
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Re: How should the clamps on the drag link sleeve be positioned?

Post by robroy »

Hey Alvin I think you're on to something there. I guess on some compact cars the bolts could actually hit something, but on our trucks it probably doesn't matter. Here's how I installed it:

Image

Thanks!
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Re: How should the clamps on the drag link sleeve be positioned?

Post by Alvin in AZ »

Looks good to me.:)

Are you taking it to an alignment shop? :/
They won't do anything but set the toe-in.
Unless they can tell you how crooked your rear axle is to the rest of the vehicle and what to
do about it? I fiNgured that out by myself on mine. Might be so close you don't need to do
anything but there will still be a figure of crookedness, right? ;)

http://www.panix.com/~alvinj/file12/toe-in1.jpg
http://www.panix.com/~alvinj/file12/toe-in2.jpg

The tricks to this crazy ass idea are drive along and see what position the steering wheel is at
and roll up to a nice easy stop on a flat level spot and using a 1" wide tape measure learn how
to put the tape measure down and get the same readings over and over. I like to drive on
both sides of the road and right down the middle too and see where the steering wheel is and
decide where to put it while taking measurements. Try not to run into anybody while doing that
business or run anybody off the road, they might chase you down and ruin your whole day.

If you've got big thick letters on the sides of your tires... well it might take a few stops before
they don't interfere or where they are getting in the way, use your pocket knife and cut the
silly suckers down flat in those spots. :)

Mine are two ~38" long 1+1/2" light weight square pipe.

I came up with the bloccks holding the pipes in place idea because I had to do it by myself, couldn't
get anybody in the house to come out and help me. Turns out that's the way to do it, by yourself,
take your time measure and fiNgure a lot and make changes, go for a drive come back re-check
it and experiment a little if you want with toe-out. The Shop Manual has the max range and the
preferred range both, in the front suspension section of all places. :)

I like zero to 1/32" toe-in myself. YMMV

Had dune buggies with big sloppy tires on the back and 1/8"+ toe-out worked best on those. :)
See it? Can you see why that'd be? ;)

Alvin in AZ
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Re: How should the clamps on the drag link sleeve be positioned?

Post by robroy »

Hey Alvin, thanks for your reply!

Yes indeed I'll be taking the truck to an alignment shop once it's on the road!

In addition to toe-in, don't some old fashioned alignment shops do potential I beam bending, if it needs it?

Thanks Alvin!
Robroy
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Re: How should the clamps on the drag link sleeve be positioned?

Post by Alvin in AZ »

robroy wrote: In addition to toe-in, don't some old fashioned alignment shops do potential I beam bending, if it needs it?
Robroy
I've heard tell of that but never seen it. Anybody else have? :)
Talked to the dealership guys and they claimed they never bend 'em, just replace 'em.
If it's bent, the rivets in the radius arm bracket will show you something's wrong. ;)

This clunky twin I beam setup is tougher than anything, takes a lot to change it! :)
The caster and camber steering angles are made into the parts.
Picture the pre-65's with their solid I beam. :) Adjust what? ;)

Chevy's flimsy car-like front suspension handles better but it doesn't take much to knock it out either. :(
BTDT with the company trucks. A friggin Chevy couldn't even handle hitting a big rock in the road. :/

And no steering angles are pre-set in the Chevy parts, all the steering angles have to be adjusted in.
Twin I beams ain't like that, they are more like a floppy-version of a solid I beam suspension. :)
And so the "new" need for the "ride height" measurement/adjustment, to finish setting the camber.
Mine's 4+1/4" and seems like Ford likes 4" best...
http://www.panix.com/~alvinj/file12/rideheight.jpg
http://www.panix.com/~alvinj/file12/F150front1.jpg

Make a point of asking them about the rear axle alignment so it won't crab down the road. That's a real
concern of mine. Is the guy good enough to set up that equipment to figure that out tho? :/ Do they still
clamp things to the wheels? :/ Is both your rear axles straight? One of mine was bent. Are all your wheels
straight? Two of mine were crooked, one was a spare the other was used to "straighten" my bent axle. ;)

I'm still working toward my "Ace Hammer Mechanic's Badge". :)

I re-arched my own rear springs and found out that the axle locating bolt was 5/8" closer to the center of
the front eye in one of my spring packs than the other. A guy at Ford picked those out to fit my frame. :)
The axle is square with the frame because of that 5/8" difference. When guys talk about simply buying
whole new sets of leaf springs, I always cringe. :)

Alvin the dumb dent-sider in AZ :)
http://www.panix.com/~alvinj/file12/toe-in1.jpg
http://www.panix.com/~alvinj/file12/toe-in2.jpg
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robroy
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Re: How should the clamps on the drag link sleeve be positioned?

Post by robroy »

Hey Alvin thanks for the words of wisdom!

I talked with Custom Alignment in Mountain View, California today, and heard that they're fully set up to "cold bend" I beams on our trucks, and that they've done it lots of times to correct camber. Great huh? That's where I'll take my truck for alignment when it's ready, and I'll ask them about the rear wheels too to see what they come up with.

http://www.customalignment.com/

Robroy
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Re: How should the clamps on the drag link sleeve be positioned?

Post by Fordnatic »

We had a 73 3/4 ton which my idiot cousin was out chasing antelope with and hit a ditch or something. He returned and one of the wheels was literally 4 or 5 inches back of where it should be! Of course, he denied any knowledge of it. We tied the rear hitch to something immovable, hooked a chain on the I-beam and pulled it forward with a tractor until it looked about right, then drove it to an alignment shop and they tweaked it with a cold bend. It went another 80,000 miles to over 160,000 after that-didn't even wear the tires. Wish they built new ones that tough!!!
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