Broken Studs

[Randyw]

I have an 84 1008 that I had a 6" rough country lift put on about 2 years ago. I am running 37 Humvee rims and tires on the truck. Last night my son got the truck in a pretty bad hole and sheered 3 out of 4 studs on the king pin steering arm cap. I noticed that the lift has a spacer block to raise the steering arm which has the 4 or 5" studs in it. These were the studs that sheered off. So I have a few questions for you guys that are running lifts. 1. how do you get the broken studs out of the king pin assembly? 2. Is there a fix for this? it is obviously a weak point. would it be better to go with a dropped pitman arm and do away with the king pin spacer block or is there anything else I should do?

 

[rlltide12]

1. Where did they shear? Most likely at the knuckle. Grind them smooth as you can, use a center punch, punch a divit in them, then use ease outs to get the studs out.

2. Do what i did. Convert to crossover. I have the same setup you have. Absolutely the best decision i EVER made on this truck. Drives so much better.

 

[Randyw]

rlltide12 the did shear at the knuckle just below the surface so I cant get a grinder on them to smooth them off. What consist of the crossover steer?

 

[rlltide12]

Thats ok. Get an ease out set and drill the studs. They arent very tight in there, should come out easy.

Things needed for crossover:
2WD steering box, Superlift SUP1104 drop pitman arm, a Dana 60 Crossover kit from fleabay with springless caps. And for good measure i used a weld on frame strenthening kit. You will not regret this money spent i can promise you that.

 

[rlltide12]

Pics of my setup.

 

[richingalveston]

I would second the cross over if you can throw some money at it. However. If you can not get the studs out of the knuckle then you still have to get another knuckle no matter which way you go.
easy out, or drill it out and go larger on the stud but then you have to drill the cap and things can get out of alignment. May have to source a used knuckle.

 

[rlltide12]

Luckily the cap position is not very critical. Just as long as you get close if you have to drill them. But my studs were pretty loose, so hopefully yours will be too

 

[Randyw]

Thanks guys! It was a rough weekend. The truck was about 7 miles in the woods when this happened. Lucky enough I had two heavy duty ratchet straps so I put one around the base of the extension block and one over the top and that limped the truck back to our camp. Now I need to get everything together to make the trip back up to the camp to fix it.


rlltide12 do you happen to remember wher you got your steering box and what the part number was?

 

[rlltide12]

Sure i remember, my family owns an auto parts store! Haha let me get you a part number. But all it is is a 2wd steering box from the same year 84-86

 

[rlltide12]

A1 Cardone 27-7522 is what I used.

 

[Randyw]

Thanks I appreciate it. I am for sure going to do the crossover set up I do not want this happening again.

 

[rlltide12]

A1 Cardone 27-7522 is what I used.

Get the SUP-1104 from summit racing. The steering box weld brace came from rough country. Just call and tell them you want one, only like $55. And mods if I am off base, delete this. But the crossover kit i used is this one.

 

[richingalveston]

if you are going cross over, you might as well prep for hydro assist steer. check PSC.
http://www.pscmotorsports.com/80-91-gm-truck-suv-cylinder-assist-gear-crossover-conv.html

You can get the steering box that will be ported and capped. later you can get the lines and cylinder for hydro assist.

I can turn my steering wheel with one finger at any time in any situation.

I would not try to do all of this at the camp. get the knuckle fixed and home before trying to change gear boxes and install cross over.
With that lift and tires cross over is a must and hydro steer is really great for these trucks.
One other must if you do not have it is a steering box brace so you do not crack your frame.

 

[rlltide12]

if you are going cross over, you might as well prep for hydro assist steer. check PSC.
http://www.pscmotorsports.com/80-91-gm-truck-suv-cylinder-assist-gear-crossover-conv.html

You can get the steering box that will be ported and capped. later you can get the lines and cylinder for hydro assist.

I can turn my steering wheel with one finger at any time in any situation.

I would not try to do all of this at the camp. get the knuckle fixed and home before trying to change gear boxes and install cross over.
With that lift and tires cross over is a must and hydro steer is really great for these trucks.
One other must if you do not have it is a steering box brace so you do not crack your frame.

Thats a very good point. Do NOT try to do crossover at the camp haha

 

[Drock]

Better way to get out broken bolts and studs... Weld ah nut on top, then count to ten , then unbolt. The nut is so you can put a wrench on it. and the count to ten thing, is so the heat can saturate the stud so you can break it lose.

 

[Randyw]

Drock I thought of that but the studs broke off inside the knuckle. Nothing to weld to.


richingalveston and rlltide12 I am just going fix what I can at the camp to get the truck home. But the mods will be done shortly after getting it back. It took me 4 hours to get the truck back out of the woods and I want to do everything I can to prevent this from happening in the future. Thanks for all the help guys!

 

[Randyw]

rlltide12, Did that kit from ebay come with the right length draglink? If not were did you get yours?

 

[Recovry4x4]

There exists left hand twist drill bits. Often times just the bite of the bit will spin these things out. These blocks have always presented a problem in off road conditions. For some reason, the lifted arm made in the 80's disappeared from the market. Crossover is nice, much better. I engineered my own back in the 80s. Took me a couple of tries to get the geometry worked out. Fortunately the aftermarket has figured it out for you.

 

[rlltide12]

It comes with plenty to make one, got to cut it to length

 

[sschaefer3]

I have the ORD high steer and it works great.