Steering arm clearance

[Keeper]

I am in the process of making some steering arms and I was curious about clearances. I currently have some rough ones cut but do not want to go much further without some input.

Here is what I have so far:

The black line you see is my ackerman line. Also what is recommended, tierod over or under the steering arms?

So what do you think or suggest? With this set up I have at least 1 inch of clearance all around, all the way through the steering range. The end of the arm is inside the edge of the rim. I think I am alright all the way around, but just wanted some input!

 

[Rick]

I am in the process of making some steering arms and I was curious about clearances. I currently have some rough ones cut but do not want to go much further without some input.

Here is what I have so far:

The black line you see is my ackerman line. Also what is recommended, tierod over or under the steering arms?

So what do you think or suggest? With this set up I have at least 1 inch of clearance all around, all the way through the steering range. The end of the arm is inside the edge of the rim. I think I am alright all the way around, but just wanted some input!

Because of the angle of your drag link to steering arm it will have to be on the bottom.

 

[Keeper]

Sorry I did not explain that to well. I will be using heims, and was wondering about bolting the heims to the top or the bottom of the steering arm.

I seem to have lost the ability to edit that top post to correct my mistake.

 

[Rick]

Sorry I did not explain that to well. I will be using heims, and was wondering about bolting the heims to the top or the bottom of the steering arm.

I seem to have lost the ability to edit that top post to correct my mistake.

The same deal rules on top theres to much angle to the pitman arm.It must go on the bottom.But then again someone will tell you i'm wrong.lol

 

[Youngster]

The clearance will determin where to run your tie rod. Same with the drag link. Top or bottom dosen't really make any difference. IMO

Ron

 

[Keeper]

Cool thanks for the replies, and the pics!

Back out to the shop I go.

 

[Rick]

Cool thanks for the replies, and the pics!

Back out to the shop I go.

Go ahead and TRY to put the heim on top.You'll see what i said was true.But these guys are so much smarter you should do what they say and ignore what i say.

 

[RPM]

Go ahead and TRY to put the heim on top.You'll see what i said was true.But these guys are so much smarter you should do what they say and ignore what i say.

Rick, did I miss something? I don't see a pitman arm nor a drag link in those pictures. I saw what looked like some very nicely made steering arm for the tie rods. I saw the upper steering arm for the drag link, but no drag link.


Keeper looks like what you got going on there should work fine to me.

 

[Keeper]

Go ahead and TRY to put the heim on top.You'll see what i said was true.But these guys are so much smarter you should do what they say and ignore what i say.

I understand what you are talking about with the pitman arm. I am not there yet. I was talking about the tierod, I guess I am using the wrong terminology. The bar that holds the wheels together! Thats the one I was asking about mounting the heims on top or bottom.

I am pretty sure the actual steering arm that connects the top steering bracket and the pitman arm will have to mount below. I will tackle that one next, I had to wait for my headers before I mounted the steering box!!

Thanks!

 

[Youngster]

Rick ... I didn't say you were wrong. I simply stated the clearance issues will tell you where to run the tie rod and drag link. Sorry for the confussion.

Ron

 

[Rick]

Rick ... I didn't say you were wrong. I simply stated the clearance issues will tell you where to run the tie rod and drag link. Sorry for the confussion.

Ron

Sorry Ron just didnt my java yet.

 

[2old2fast]

sorry to get in late ,but going by the op's pictures , I think I'm seeing mill scale on the steel that he's using for steering arms. I'm no engineer ,but the people I talked to when building my car recomended that I use 1018 cold rolled for any critical components, ya'know like steering ,brake stuff etc. just sayin'

 

[Keeper]

Steering is complete. Yes its scale you are seeing. I was told it would be just fine using the stuff I am using that's why I used 3/8's stock.

On to the pics:

I finished up the arms, made up my tierod, mounted the steering box and made the drag link. I used 1 inch .219 wall DOM for the tierod/drag link.

Drag link is parallel to the hairpins: sitting at 5 degrees right now, Once I get a different spring things should level out a bit more

Everything clears throughout the range of motion. Though I will have to work on some steering stops, it tags the shackle at full lock.

Drivers side:

Passenger side:

Its finally starting to look like something other then a pile of parts

 

[Keeper]

Oh yeah, all those bolts are for mock up. They will all be replaced with grade 8 fasteners once I am ready to take it out.

 

[Youngster]

The build is coming right along nicely.Will you be able to run the tir rod on the bottom of the arms if the spring flexes too much?

Ron

 

[one finger john]

Everything looks good. Neat arms, neat Corvette, neat garage, neat build (I like them in this stage), you even recycle. Neat

John

 

[Keeper]

Yes I will probably end up running it on the bottom. There is more clearance there then the pictures show. If I run it on top, it would tag the bottom of the frame before anything else. I just left it on top as it was easier to bolt together that way!

Right now as it sits, the full weight is on the spring, there is only about 1.5 inches of clearance between the tierod and the bottom of the frame, I plan on buying a new spring that should give me some more room.

 

[Keeper]

Everything looks good. Neat arms, neat Corvette, neat garage, neat build (I like them in this stage), you even recycle. Neat

John

Thanks, the Vette is my wife's (I hate the damn thing!) The garage took me all winter to get to the stage its in now. I just finished painting it on the 4th of July long weekend. Only thing left to do is buy a lift so I can get the vette out of the way!!

 

[2old2fast]

1 1/2 " CLEARANCE BETWEEN FRAME AND TIE ROD SHOULD BE O.K. THAT'S ALL I HAVE AND I'VE RUN 30K MILES W/NO PROBLEM. DAVE

 

[Keeper]

1 1/2 " CLEARANCE BETWEEN FRAME AND TIE ROD SHOULD BE O.K. THAT'S ALL I HAVE AND I'VE RUN 30K MILES W/NO PROBLEM. DAVE

That's good to know thanks.

I flipped the tierod to the bottom of the arms today to see how it looks. I was hoping it would clear the shackle but it still tagged it, so I am free to run it either way.