Indeed. Although I've got daughters instead.
The Lunchbox Build... 4x4 chevy shorty van
- Thread starter Lunchbox2
- Start date
Indeed. Although I've got daughters instead.
Don't get much better....
I stopped out at the junkyard yesterday and he was getting ready to junk an s10 blazer. I needed a couple leaves out of the spring pack of an s10, so it was perfect. I helped him pull the axle out, and I got my leaves for free.
So I broke out the cherrry picker and floor jack, and got to work...
I'm going to add all three leaves from the s10, and remove the original overload leaf.
So I broke out the cherrry picker and floor jack, and got to work...
I'm going to add all three leaves from the s10, and remove the original overload leaf.
Here's the original 52" leaf pack, it was only 3 leaves and an overload..
And.... here's the new and improved leaf pack... it's 5 leaves, and the smaller overload from the s10.
It sits up a couple more inches, but that may change once I get the bumper and winch mounted...
The main thing is how much more "controlled" the van feels. I thought it would stiffen it up, but it really didn't, it just got better.... if that makes sense?
The rear still needs a little help, so I'll stop out and pull a couple leaves from a 88-98 chevy truck. I'll start with one and see where we're at, it's not nearly as bad as the front was...
And.... here's the new and improved leaf pack... it's 5 leaves, and the smaller overload from the s10.
It sits up a couple more inches, but that may change once I get the bumper and winch mounted...
The main thing is how much more "controlled" the van feels. I thought it would stiffen it up, but it really didn't, it just got better.... if that makes sense?
The rear still needs a little help, so I'll stop out and pull a couple leaves from a 88-98 chevy truck. I'll start with one and see where we're at, it's not nearly as bad as the front was...
I did almost exactly what you said, except I used the s10 "overload" as the 6th leaf. It is 21" long and just has a slight bend to it, but isn't nearly as thick as the original overload. This thing is MONEY.... Once I add a leaf or two to the rear pack, it'll be perfect. Thanks for the tip
I need to get on building a pitman arm.... I'm not getting my full turning radius because the stock arm can't swing the crossover steering far enough, and now because of increased angle on my drag link, I've noticed a small amount of bumpsteer.
This is the stock 2wd van steering box and pitman arm.. This is the old spring set up
I think I'm going to cut the splines off of a factory pitman arm, turn it down to a nice circle, then TIG it into some 3/4" plate steel that I'll cut to the shape I need. In doing that, I can also ditch the stupid stud mount, and just have a tapered hole so I can have a one ton TRE out there instead...
Anybody got any suggestions or am I on the right path with building one myself?
This is the stock 2wd van steering box and pitman arm.. This is the old spring set up
I think I'm going to cut the splines off of a factory pitman arm, turn it down to a nice circle, then TIG it into some 3/4" plate steel that I'll cut to the shape I need. In doing that, I can also ditch the stupid stud mount, and just have a tapered hole so I can have a one ton TRE out there instead...
Anybody got any suggestions or am I on the right path with building one myself?
villageidiot327
Explorer
might be off for because of the picture, but how much room between the spring and pitman arm is there now? how much longer are you going for? and how far does the spring compress under flex?
id just wanna make sure i didnt hit any hard parts.
a fabricated pitman arm would probably work fine, until it didnt. I'm not sure plate steel can take the load/push without some sort of deflection/fatigue. id maybe look for a longer forged one, and possibly cut off the end and bore the taper for the correct TRE.
killer build, love the early vans
id just wanna make sure i didnt hit any hard parts.
a fabricated pitman arm would probably work fine, until it didnt. I'm not sure plate steel can take the load/push without some sort of deflection/fatigue. id maybe look for a longer forged one, and possibly cut off the end and bore the taper for the correct TRE.
killer build, love the early vans
One doesn't exist unfortunately..... I haven't found ANYTHING to work, and that's after looking through lefthander catalogs and other racing catalogs and what-not. It's a very odd shaped pitman arm.... I spoke to my buddy who works in a welding shop, and he didn't seem to think there would be any problems welding the splines to the plate (TIG). I've seen this done several times in the rock-crawling world, so I know it's a proven design. It's just going to be a lot of work, so I'd like to see if I can come up with something cheaper or less labor-intensive....
The suspension cycles freely from top to bottom, and nothing touches anywhere. The new leaves I added lifted it up 2-3 inches, so there is even more room now than what those pictures above show.... I'm not worried about the pitman arm failing, I've seen them built like this before (it's how I came up with the idea) and they were in rigs that were far more abused than mine. It's just a lot of work and more money, when buying one for $75 would be SOOOOO much easier.... Who's bright idea was this to build a 4x4 van?? LOL
Bikersmurf
Expedition Leader
How long a Pitman Arm do you need?
Scout II pitman arms are 9.5" C-C. They've got about 1.25" drop and 1 ton TREs would work with them. If you rotated them a few splines you could likely get around they are straight (with a longer drag link).
I'd rather heat, bend, and re-heat treat... Than weld.
Scout II pitman arms are 9.5" C-C. They've got about 1.25" drop and 1 ton TREs would work with them. If you rotated them a few splines you could likely get around they are straight (with a longer drag link).
I'd rather heat, bend, and re-heat treat... Than weld.
That's where I got the idea from.... I have access to a mill and a lathe, so I can cut out the splines. Cutting out the splines and welding into a plate seems like the best method I've seen so far, rather than try to cut and extend the factory one.