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Old 08-11-2016, 12:55 AM   #11
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Did you raise your front end more than the conversion was originally built at?

Don't try to fix this Caster issue at the Ball Joints, adjust at the Radius Arms.

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Old 08-11-2016, 11:55 AM   #12
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Did you raise your front end more than the conversion was originally built at?
I did not. The front is also (clearly intentionally) raised more than the back by quite a bit.

The original conversion is very likely to have cut any or all corners. The van always had a very imprecise turn in. Not play, it just takes a lot of initial turning to get it to start steering, then it's precise. Not entirely unpleasant together with the bump steer.

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Don't try to fix this Caster issue at the Ball Joints, adjust at the Radius Arms.
Heh, I was mentally trying to figure out how fixing it at the ball joints would work with ujoints and axle shaft placement.

The one thing that continues to leave me wondering is that my front drive shaft angles are all wrong now. I clearly recall thinking that they were OK at some point. That would support the entire axle having rotated.
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Old 08-11-2016, 03:35 PM   #13
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I would think you are a perfect candidate for upgrading to "mgmetalworks" new brackets. Would probably get you all dialed in for not too much.
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Old 08-11-2016, 08:21 PM   #14
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Got a referral to a local fabricator that is willing to work on my van. They liked the BD Diesel brackets well enough, so I'm probably doing that as a start. Likely shocks after that. (I'm trying to educate myself further there, it does seem that if you offroad, shocks are a very real wear item, perhaps on the same scale as tires, so rebuildable ones are worth it, as are multi shock setups. Not sure about reservoir or not, though more oil seems more better.)

Quote:
I would think you are a perfect candidate for upgrading to "mgmetalworks" new brackets.
Had to do some searching, but figured out what you were referring to:

(Image stolen from elsewhere, mgmetalworks, please IM me if you want that removed, I put it up in good faith, since it appears to put your work into a positive light.)



So this drops the rear pivot, leveling the bar and putting it back into something close to non-lifted spec. Yeah, that's probably really-right since it minimizes the difference in backward/forward movement of the upper and lower front connections when it swings. (FWIW: Someone who thinks like that should really be working in product design, not just in one-off fabrication.)

That still wouldn't buy me adjustable caster though, which ultimately I think I want no matter what. So I do think I'll start there. (Also, my current brackets are really solid hunks that are attached with huge welds that do appear to penetrate. So cutting those off is low on my list of things I want to pursue as a first step. )

Finally: Thanks to everyone for their input on this, it really does help.
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Old 08-11-2016, 09:08 PM   #15
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I've got the BD caster correction kit still new in the box ready to ship. Just let me know if you want to make the deal.
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Old 08-11-2016, 09:15 PM   #16
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(FWIW: Someone who thinks like that should really be working in product design, not just in one-off fabrication.)
I was a design engineer for a large company in a development type role. The company sent me packing in a big layoff because I worked outside of the box they planned for us. Took too many risks for the big corporate machine and they didn't like that...
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Old 08-11-2016, 09:27 PM   #17
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I've got the BD caster correction kit still new in the box ready to ship. Just let me know if you want to make the deal.
My plan is to call them tomorrow morning to see how many degrees their kit will buy me, and then execute. (IM sent with more details).

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I was a design engineer for a large company in a development type role. The company sent me packing in a big layoff because I worked outside of the box they planned for us. Took too many risks for the big corporate machine and they didn't like that...
Interview your management carefully if you ever go back, or grow your own org. Good luck either way, your work speaks for itself!
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Old 08-11-2016, 09:50 PM   #18
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Walking the dog through my neighborhood (SF peninsula), I paid careful attention to lifted Fords with the beam suspension. Found one with the BD caster kit, one with bolt in drop brackets (another interesting approach that may be worth combining with the brackets), and a couple with replacement arms.

Some of the arms actually looked a bit flimsy, particularly the ones on what started life as a quigley but now has lots of lift an 35" toyos. (I kind of want those tires, and may eventually re-gear for them.)

Edit: Here's and example of the bolt in drop brackets:

http://www.4wheelparts.com/Suspensio...rokaAgp88P8HAQ

(Edit to the edit: Not sure I'm hip to that particular brand any longer after my experience with their shocks. )

I'll check with the fab shop about that as well, might be worth doing at the same time.
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Old 08-30-2016, 09:20 AM   #19
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Mgmetalworks: Thanks for shipping out the kit! Van is scheduled to go into a fab shop next week to have it installed. (I don't trust myself with super heavy stuff, or with welding in safety critical spots, so this is getting farmed out.)

Now I'm trying to decide whether to get some drop brackets that will just bolt in while I'm at it. Something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/ReadyLift-67-...ype=automotive

The only thing this should change is to make the relative arcs of the lower and upper bolts more equal. OTOH it's not much money for the brackets and basically the same labor if I do it at once. Hmm.
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Old 08-30-2016, 06:42 PM   #20
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OK, those brackets won't work: The ones on my van are a custom design that's not as wide, and already drops down a bit more.

Edit: Pictures of my brackets:



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