I had this truck listed for sale and decided today I want to keep it through the summer, perhaps longer.
Went to c&t the front axle last weekend. Got all set up and it became obvious we were not going to get much from a c&t, maybe 3*. So decided it was not worth it, instead I put in some 3* bushings. My castor is still out, 4-5* which is a lot. In total my castor is out 7-8* (with no offset bushings) which we simply can not gain by a C&T. So after a little research I decided new radius arms is the route I want to go. I need to gain a lot of castor and don't want to do a combination of items like bushings, drop brackets or plates. Will go with Slee's or Superiors radius arms in a few months. Slee's give about 8* which would be about perfect on my truck to get where I want it to be which is 3.5-5* castor. Who knows though I may decide an extra $600ish for the Superior Superflex is worth it! The other option would be going Hellfire knuckles and converting to cross over steering. This though would more than likely require relocating the panhard but would allow much more turn on the c&t. I will probably go with the new radius arms as it is just much more simple and easier to do.
And just FYI, for me the ideal lifted truck is one that still retains stock characteristics when lifted. To get castor where I want it I would have to use bushings, plates and or drop brackets, I need to gain 8-10* which is a lot. I am well aware most people use these items and are happy with them. I am after retaining stock OEM bushings (if at all possible) and not using plates which add potential issues when far from home. Drop brackets also reduce ground clearance a lot which I do not want. Hence why I was after a cut & turn. New radius arms keep the stock bushings (I don't think I need 11* castor from arms and bushing) and keep the amount of add-on items to a minimum which in turns means less to fail. All my current issues or dislikes with the truck's front end are from castor. Tie rods & drag link ends are new, steering box is tight, axle is centered.
We installed new tre's and a panhard adjuster. With the panhard adjuster in the axle is centered up nicely, within a 16th of an inch. I am going to get another one for the rear axle soon.
By June I plan to have;
-New radius arms
-UMP air filter box
-new front shocks, I have only 2 3/4" down travel with the current OME shocks. Probably do rear shocks at the same time.
-weld some angle iron on my rear lower links. The iron is already sitting here.
-new window channels, going to go through all the doors and fix everything up
Around the same time or shortly there after I plan to get;
-Slee short bus front bumper
-sliders, probably from CBI
-simple rear bumper to carry one full sized spare and nothing else, probably CBI
-Procar front seats
-Full sized spare
-tach calibration kit
-trans temp gauge
-keep tidying up my interior
-Monstaliner, decided I am going to do it up on this truck. I may spray it as I have a booth available. Going to do a dark charcoal, almost black. Only doing lower portion of the truck.
The only other things I might like to do to the truck would be; a belly skid and reworking the exhaust. At least for this year I have axed any plans for beefing up the axles, 37" rubber, an overland platform in the back, an aux fuel tank or any other stuff I was thinking about doing when I got the truck.
That's about it. I plan to use the truck as much as I can find time for this summer. Camping and wheeling.
Cheers
