Hot Rods The dreaded drag link

I have been doing a lot of work trying to get front end/steering issues resolved on my Studebaker pickup with a tube front axle.
Everything was going well until I tightened that last bolt and discovered I had an issue. It was the bolt that holds the drag link to the steering arm. In the process of trying to correct the previous owners mistakes, I decided now was the time to center the steering wheel so I wasn't driving straight ahead with the wheel pointing 45 degrees off-center. Not an issue; straighten the steering wheel, straighten the front tires, then adjust the drag link to fit in-between.
The problem I encountered is that the steering arm swings up into the space between my leaf springs and the frame when steering hard to the right. On level ground, the tie rod end swings into and across the leaf spring to get to the other side. I can only imagine the issues if I was NOT on level ground.
The previous owner must have had the same issue, and he just used the leaf spring as a limit stop. "OK, that's full right turn", and then he found full Left turn, and set the drag link to have the truck going straight ahead at the in-between spot. That explains the crooked steering wheel and the horrible turning radius in both directions.
Now I am brainstorming to find a solution. I need to change something to avoid the drag link contacting the leaf spring.
I have thought about using a good heim end in that position, because they tend to be more compact than a standard tie rod end..... or I might be able to bend the steering arm a bit, but room is tight and I can only bend the very end of it. If I bend it any closer to the steering box I will have to cut a relief in the lower frame rail. Maybe I have to cut and shorten my steering arm so it doesn't reach down so far?
Maybe I have to start all over with a different steering box and a new design. No idea what parts are in there now. Thoughts?

Picture 1 &2 show point of contact. Once the rod end gets over that edge of the spring it rotates up and out of the way as shown in picture 3. At full turn, the steering arm is just 3/16 from contact with the frame.

 

perhaps you could step back and take a few more pictures, that show the rest of the axle and steering system?

Lots of leafs in that spring....

 

Try mounting the tie rod end on top of the pitman arm.. You may have to taper the top of the pitman arm down "only halfway "... The aftermarket pitman arms are tapered that way to except the rod end either way....

 

First off you need to find steering gear center, screw steering wheel center for now.

To do it right, remove drag link, turn to lock one way then slowly turn to lock the other way counting turns, take number of turns and divide by 2. Turn gear to that position, NOW you can figure out steering wheel center by pulling and moving steering wheel itself or by pulling the shaft off the gear and repositioning it.

Also at this point you can actually see how the gear/drag link is interfering with other components.

But always find and work off of gear center....

 

Is that the stock steering box? Looks like the frame may have had a bracket welded for a different box. How about heat and bend the pitman arm up enough to clear the spring?

 

Ok, I see your point about centering the box. That will be my next step.
While I'm at it, I'll see if there is clearance to put the rod end on top of the arm.
Thanks for the suggestions, gives me something to do.
and as requested...some wider pics of what's under there.

Oh BTW, I just got done removing 6 leaves from each side. Studebaker used a very thin leaf for some reason, and lots of them. The front spring leaves are .2 thick.

 

I'd be looking for a stock axle and steering box, if it were my truck...

Also, I'd be looking at stock springs, to see which leaves belong in there. Looks like a couple were added near the top. Those are the ones I'd remove.

 

There is a shit ton of stuff done wrong there.

The steering box is at a goofy angle. The drag link is kinda short and has weird bend in it. The pitman arm is too long and the steering box would be better outside the frame rather than inside.

What is the flatbar on the bottom of the axle for? Why is there space on either side of the u bolts?

You need a different steering box with a longer sector shaft so it will mount with the pitman arm parallel to the ground.

The drag link needs to be parallel to the tie rod. And as long and straight as possible.

Get rid of the shitty tube axle. An F1, Chevy or econoline beam axle would be a lot stronger and have lots of parts readily available to make the steering work correctly.

 

That's an S10 manual box. Circa 82-83. I'd heat the pitman arm and bend it.

 

Is it me or is that drag link to low, its begging to get snagged by something.

 

the ends need to be sort of the same height, to reduce bump steer. Although with the springs set up as shown in the picture, I doubt there would be enough suspension travel that it would be a problem.

 

So the Hamb is great!!!
Thumbnail pics suck so bad in different ways.



I get the stupid arrow that obscured the view
It’s pointless.

Hit the full image tab
Insert every image as a full image

 

trying to use the HAMB on a phone is pointless.

 

Seems to go fine and without any remarkable annoyance except for thumbnail pics. Maybe I just don’t know the difference

 

I might just be too old to have the patience to deal with that stuff on a phone...especially when I have a real computer to do this with.

 

Oh, Geez....I guess I asked for it. At least I have a list to work from now.
Maybe if my photography was bad, you wouldn't have noticed all that stuff.
I did discover that my box IS centered. 6 1/2 turns lock to lock, it's a snappy handler. Lots of flying elbows in the parking lots. Oh...and there is room to put the rod end on top of the pitman arm. Now all I need is one of them $100 reamers.

 

As the steering uses UJs , (presuming 2) could the box be moved inboard by an inch or so? Then shorten the drag link by the required amount.
The other way to think about it is, what is the intended purpose of the vehicle? How fast would you ever drive on full right hand lock? How much suspension travel would you expect to see on full right hand lock?

You might drive 100,000 miles without ever encountering that scenario. Especially if aware of the limitations of your setup and avoiding sharp turning manouvres on very uneven ground.

To be honest the whole setup looks very sketchy to me. What is the advantage of the tube axle over the stocker? Is this a drag vehicle?

Mart.

 

This one of those rare cases where it should be cheaper and easier to replace what you have rather than fix what you got.

Find a complete axle assembly out of an F1. Lots of guys swap them out for some sort of independent suspension. Chuck the s10 box in the scrap where it belongs and run a good box that is going to have a good ratio and fit better.

 

I've reamed the top hole on pitman arms with just a large round file.. It didn't take that long and you can check it often.. Don't buy the reamer...

 

Don't move the drag link to the top of the pitman arm, that will just make it more out of line with the tie rod and add bump steer.

SPark

 

I’m guessing this has some kind of nose up gasser stance. Looks like a trailer spring special. The natural consequence of that is the steering arms get further away (vertically) from the pitman arm. That’s one problem.
The second problem is the springs aren’t far enough away from the pitman arm. That causes some to bend the pitman up to get clearance and if you’re following along that increases the amount of the first problem.

That’s the easiest (not best by a long shot) one step it help way around this mess is to flip the drag link on top and Re do the drag link so it kinda looks and works better. Hope springs don’t hit the arm.


Now here’s the best way.
Get back to a push pull box with steering arms that are above axle. Basically change everything.
Look at some solid axle 4x4 with suspension lifts for some kind of clue on how to set this up because what’s there is a serious combination of compromises that equal a problem you posted about.




Pitman arm is up, steering arms are down and lifted suspension separating them even further.

 

The u-bolt mounts on the axle would scare me enough to scrap it all, looks like just plate steel welded on the top of the tube. The u-bolts don't even go under the axle for full support!

 

Yes, you are correct about that.

 

Add more bump steer to what it already has

 

That was my first thought too. I wouldn’t drive that.

 

Well, I have been searching for tube axle kits...they aren't too bad and I can even get disc brakes. I'm thinking I would probably end up with a better/safer setup that way. The more setups I look at, the more I see wrong with mine. Not much out there for the Studebaker tho....they call it "universal". Sounds like a box of parts and no directions.
Any thoughts on choosing ford or chevy style? I can get the right lug pattern in either style.

 

What you need to consider is that most if not all pick up trucks that use a beam axle like that use push/pull steering, not cross steer. There's a reason for that. It fits better with the geometry of the front springs.
Mart.