THIS WEEKEND. Things to do when lifting.

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doyoulikeithere
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Re: THIS WEEKEND. Things to do when lifting.

Post by doyoulikeithere »

its been 15 yrs or so for me, but if you can get in, and up to the top, you can stand on the top of the bluffs or whatever, looking way way down onto Alouette Lake from the other side.
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Re: THIS WEEKEND. Things to do when lifting.

Post by MountainManJoe »

According to others, cranking up the torsion bars stresses the idler arms, so I'm thinking of a way to solve that.

ImageImage

Putting a spacer where they mount up won't work due to control arm interference. I'm not sure if it's possible with this type of steel, but I wonder if you could heat up the curved part and pound it straight. Another idea is to replace the curved part with one from another vehicle that is straight or curved the other way: (GM light trucks, vans & SUV's look like good candidates).

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Re: THIS WEEKEND. Things to do when lifting.

Post by doyoulikeithere »

the BEST fix is a solid front axle conversion.
Notice I didnt say cheapest or easiest fix.
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1990 Astro - AWD - Brown.
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Re: THIS WEEKEND. Things to do when lifting.

Post by MountainManJoe »

That's precisely why a SAS is out of the question for me.
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Re: THIS WEEKEND. Things to do when lifting.

Post by Herbie »

timelessbeing wrote:According to others, cranking up the torsion bars stresses the idler arms, so I'm thinking of a way to solve that.

ImageImage

Putting a spacer where they mount up won't work due to control arm interference. I'm not sure if it's possible with this type of steel, but I wonder if you could heat up the curved part and pound it straight. Another idea is to replace the curved part with one from another vehicle that is straight or curved the other way: (GM light trucks, vans & SUV's look like good candidates).

ImageImageImage
Those look like cast iron, which isn't really malleable, so you won't be pounding it straight. However the design looks fairly simple, it would probably be simple enough to fab up some straight ones, at least... I need to take a look at mine when I do my lift soon. I know the perfect guy who already has a business selling speed parts who would be happy to add a new product if we can figure out how to make an idler arm for lifted vans that isn't super complicated.

Anyone know if there's any reason you couldn't make these out of tubular or solid bar steel? (i.e. do they NEED to be cast iron?)
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Re: THIS WEEKEND. Things to do when lifting.

Post by MountainManJoe »

That would be fantastic, Herbie. I was hoping someone more connected than I would be interested. Consider me a customer!
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Re: THIS WEEKEND. Things to do when lifting.

Post by MountainManJoe »

I decided to check up on the height all around, and here are my measurements.

(wheel center to fender lip / ground to fender lip)

Front
left: 18.75/32"
right: 19/32.75"

Rear
left: 21.5/35"
right: 22.5/36"

This is with 30" tires (which actually squish down to 28" on the van). Torsion bars are tightened all the way, with one let out slightly for levelling during my last wheel alignment.

Looks like there's significant lean to the left. Any ideas why? How much does the fuel tank weigh dry? It was completely empty when I measured, but maybe the springs fatigue from it being there. The front axle and shaft are offset to the left a bit, but the engine is offset to the right. Not sure if that balances out.
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Re: THIS WEEKEND. Things to do when lifting.

Post by Smiliesafari »

These arms are forged steel. They will take all the heat you can put on them. The problem is the heat will probably destroy the socket. Using a press would be a better option.
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