No funny handling. I ground the radius arm/spring perch mount to angle the springs in a bit. At the moment, the axle is off center until I shorten the track bar, but it handles great. It was an easy swap.
I'm an engineer by profession. In engineering you learn that any good design is a series of tradeoffs. If you try and make everything perfect, it ends up taking too long and costing too much. I looked at what my goals were. I wanted an stronger axle that still had decent clearance. I was willing to accept a slightly wider axle. I have the equipment to narrow an axle, but with all the off camber trails around here, wider is nice. That is why a lot of us like to limit our lift to around 6".
The cost of high steer gets a bit steep for my tight budget. I reamed the stock knuckles from the top and used 1 ton TREs and a beefy tie rod and drag link. Yes high steer gives you more clearance, but if I find I need it, i can always add it later.
I used stock Ford radius arms that I welded RE super joints to. A lot of people say they are too short. They are the same length at the arms I built for my previous rig and ran for years. They ride a heck of a lot better than the stock 4 link and have performed well on the trail. Many people say you have to tuck the arms up higher. I mounted mine the same way I did on my previous rig, namely to the bottom of the frame rail. Yes they hang down a couple of inches, but no where near as far as a drop bracket. When I scrapped my previous rig, I only had a couple of scratches on the mounts and They never hung up and kept me from making an obstacle. To get the pinion angle within range and the caster angle correct, I used the 7 degree bushings.
I am using the stock Bronco track bar with modifications. It is not adjustable without a grinder and a welder, but once you set it to the right length, why would you need it adjustable any more?
Here is a breakdown of what I have invested in my front axle:
$200 complete axle with brakes and radius arms.
$50 high ratio carrier with QuickLock (used)
$225 gears and master kit
$65 RE super joints
$20 1" grade 8 bolts and coupler nuts to make radius arms adjustable
$20 new track bar bushings
$30 new radius arm bushings
$100 for 1 ton TRE's
$80 for 5/16ths DOM for tie rod & 1/4 DOM for drag link
$40 threaded inserts
$60 new hubs
$10 new brake pads
$30 new axle seals
So the whole intall including sleeving the frame rails ran me less than a grand. OH, I forgot, I picked up a spare set of stock axles for $75.
I did cryo treat the axles and ujoints myself. $30 in materials.
My goal is to get a rig that gets me where I want to go that costs what I can afford. If those two goals aren't met, there is no wheeling.
I build my rig to please me, not some idiot that knows nothing and thinks that you have to have the best of everything to be able to do anything. Yes it would be nice to have everything new and perfect, but I have other priorities.
