Front End Issue

[JPVortex]

Hi, question guys. I have a 94 K1500 with a rough country 6 inch lift. With the design of this aftermarket rough country center link on my 6 inch lift kit, theres literally no way to get the pitman and idler arm nuts tight. I can't even fit an open ended wrench in there. So question is with the lift kit would a stock center link work still? It wouldnt have the rough country steering stabalizer anymore but thats an optional thing anyways I believe. Would it work out decently for me? A stock link would give me way more room.


Picture of a stock center link:

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Rough Country's Terrible Design:

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Thanks!

 

[Caman96]

Have you posed this question to Rough Country? If I purchased this, they would be the first I’d ask, and if they couldn’t provide the resolution it would all be sent back. Create the paper trail.

 

[Hipster]

Trying to get my head wrapped around why you can't get a wrench or socket on a part of this.

Sometimes turning the steering one direction or other creates an abundance of room. Sometimes it's the order of assembly that matters. Sometimes you have to be smarter than the stuff you're working with.

 

[JPVortex]

Trying to get my head wrapped around why you can't get a wrench or socket on a part of this.

Sometimes turning the steering one direction or other creates an abundance of room. Sometimes it's the order of assembly that matters. Sometimes you have to be smarter than the stuff you're working with.

Yeah I ended up figuring that out haha

 

[JPVortex]

Another issue im having is this stupid heim joint going from the center link to the lower control arm drop bracket for the 6 inch lift. I had loosened it up to make room for myself on the steering link. but forgot to put it back on when I put everything back together. Now the angle of it is wayyyy off. It was centered before my front end rebuild. Does this mean my center link is not centered anymore? Do I need to loosen all the steering components again and get the center link centered with the heim joint and then tighten it up so everything is centered with each other? Rough Country instructions are pretty vague to be honest.

Heres a pic of the crooked heim joint.

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Rough country instructions:

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[Hipster]

centering up the steering box and linkages is part of the alignment process, which you're going to need to have one done anyway. Hard to tell whats going on from that pic. it didn't get cross threaded did it?

 

[JPVortex]

centering up the steering box and linkages is part of the alignment process, which you're going to need to have one done anyway. Hard to tell whats going on from that pic. it didn't get cross threaded did it?

basically the heim joint is perfectly in the center on the drop bracket, but the steering center link is not perfectly straight aligned with that crossmember, so the heim joint kinda is at an angle. Heres a rough picture.

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Basically the joint is at an angle, so the steering center link may be off a bit.

Will this be corrected with wheel alignment or do I need to correct this?

My steering stabilizer is also a bit angled so the center link is a bit off

 

[Hipster]

Not fully understanding you. Is the bolt going into the part straight or ****-eyed? if the bolt is straight and you're worried about the heim as it angles toward the outer tie rod, that's kind of normal. If the center link is not level side to side across the front of the truck is another issue. Heims change angle as suspension compresses and rebounds.

 

[JPVortex]

Not fully understanding you. Is the bolt going into the part straight or ****-eyed? if the bolt is straight and you're worried about the heim as it angles toward the outer tie rod, that's kind of normal. If the center link is not level side to side across the front of the truck is another issue. Heims change angle as suspension compresses and rebounds.

Im sorry for all the confusion Im creating here. I took a video here which hopefully will help clear up what's going on a bit. Thank you!

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[JPVortex]

FIxed that problem, readjusted some of the steering components. Now Im having one more problem. For some reason my tie rods are rubbing bad on the sway bar and I'm not sure as to why.

This was not happening on the old steering system at all.

Here's pictures.

Im wondering if maybe once the weight is on the vehicle on the ground if it'll clear?

Dont have the upper control arm bolts tight either because it needs to be done once it's back on the ground.

When lining up the knuckles I did have to lower my torsion keys to get it to fit, and then cranked them back to where they were by counting the turns. Maybe I overcranked them up a bit by accident? I just dont want a massive rake in the front.

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