Ultimate front end package, stage 2 (Dmaxstore)

[CHYKYNLIPS]

im about to order this kit and a idler support bracket w/gussett. its the moog arms, kryptonite tie rods and cognito braces. anybody buy this kit? im pretty pumped about getting this on. the stock front end with my lift and tires have always bugged me in the back of my mind.

I know this installation is not difficult but its my first go round personally with this job and i was hopeing some of you could lend any tips. Besides the pitman and idler possibly being siezed, pulling the pitman off is concerning me only because i have read a few threads where guys have accidently damaged the steering box or ended up with a leak.

are there any tips with this part, or a specific order of dissambley/reassembly that will help make the job smoother. thanks fellas.

 

[CHYKYNLIPS]

anybody?

 

[dordtrecht5]

Maybe the dmaxstore could give you a few pointers. It seems a pretty straight forward swap. Just be sure your close to an alignment shop.


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[THEREDDEVIL]

The worst part IMO is pulling the steering box and getting the puller on the pit arm. I thinks it's more awkward than anything. I pulled the whole centerlink out when I did mine, just to make more room. By no means do u have to do that. Good luck

 

[Iowa Farmboy]

Use a cut off wheel on the pitman arm. Cutting only so deep as to not get into the shaft. Take a cold chisel and pound it into the previous cut breaking the hold on the shaft. Gravity will do the rest and let it fall to the ground. As far as alignment put blocks or something under the wheels so they will be kept straight and it will make it a lot easier to realign the wheels after wards.

 

[BHoward6.6]

I bought and installed the Kryponite CL, tie-rods, idler box, idler gusset, moog pitman & idler arms, cognito Pitman / Idler support kit, and Bilstein Steering Stabilizer from Dmaxstore, great set up.
I bought a pitman arm puller from auto-zone and cut about a 1/2" or so off the bolt, so it would fit between the pitman arm and cross-member, worked like a charm.

 

[Subman]

I've got the entire kit on my truck there is a thread here with pictures.

http://www.duramaxdiesels.com/forum/showthread.php?t=31859

 

[CHYKYNLIPS]

Nice. Thanks guys. I didnt get the chance to talk with Mike @ Dmaxstore but i went on and ordered the stage 2 (includes all but the straight center link) and the idler bracket w/gussett, and a rancho steering stabilizer. Ive been around here long enough to know he has a solid rep so no worries. This should be good on a lifted, non-race/puller truck.

I will keep in mind cutting length off the puller tool as needed. Thanks for the link, Subman. I ran across another thread where a guy explained that dropping the anti sway bar allows more room to work.

Money is tight so i opted to not get the center link but i feel certain that the cognito braces will do the trick for this application.

 

[Darius6t9]

If you wanted to get the low pro puller for our trucks, you could get all the pieces separately cheaper than buying the whole thing as one. That's how I got mine from the Matco truck. Saved me about $30 I think.

 

[CHYKYNLIPS]

i have never heard of that. do random parts stores carry that type?

Also, does anybody remember where there is a pic of the aftermarket idler support bracket gusset welded to the frame? I cant find it but i saw it somewhere yesterday. I dont weld and i was trying to find that pic to send to a friend that will weld it in for me that was asking about the location

 

[CHYKYNLIPS]

i got it all off and parts are on the way. I took the steer stabilizer out. I didnt loosen or take out the bolts for the steering box. I didnt want to risk a leak. Im good at doing things and creating new problems in the process. I used a short enough bolt in the puller that let me clear the cross member and and i left the pressure on it while i used a grinder to cut into the arm and before i began to use a chisel, the arm broke free. guess it was the heat generated from grinding.

Question...will it benefit to put a film of grease on all the shafts of the new parts and the steering box shaft brfore its re assembled? I thought it would help everything seat real tight.

 

[Chevy1925]

i got it all off and parts are on the way. I took the steer stabilizer out. I didnt loosen or take out the bolts for the steering box. I didnt want to risk a leak. Im good at doing things and creating new problems in the process. I used a short enough bolt in the puller that let me clear the cross member and and i left the pressure on it while i used a grinder to cut into the arm and before i began to use a chisel, the arm broke free. guess it was the heat generated from grinding.

Question...will it benefit to put a film of grease on all the shafts of the new parts and the steering box shaft brfore its re assembled? I thought it would help everything seat real tight.

I dont think it would hurt but most people dont. Usually the friction of the two metals helps hold it all together tight, adding grease takes that away but i highly doubt it would cause you problems

Just FYI though, your fabtech kit puts alot of angle on your steering. Your definitly goin a good route but you still may experience idler/pitman arms wearing out sooner than you thought or expected. the cognito braces like to flex still under load from all the angle and wear the idler/pitman arm (ive been there). easiest way to fix it is to lower the front of the truck or put the Dmaxstores straight centerlink on

 

[CHYKYNLIPS]

If i knew then what i know now, i would have gotten the next bigger lift and kept the t bars down and used the rear block that comes with the 6" and had a safe 6" ish lift.

I plan to lower it some i guess. the angles dont look too bad to me but they arent close to level. the uca doesent look bad at the ball joints. the cv axles have some angle though. maybe one day i will post a pic for opinions.

 

[CHYKYNLIPS]

I just realized somthing that is probably common knowledge to most, but i saw that the installer of my lift installed the tie rods from the top instead of the bottom on the fabtech steering knuckle. Thats why i used to wonder why it did not have the angle that the cv axle does. I guess thats why they do that. Its a simple but good idea, atleast for the tie rod angles. Well, now that i think about it, there is no other option because the hole in the knuckle has to be tapered to accept the tie rod. Either way, it helps the angle of it. The UCA and tie rods look good though. I may lower the torsion bars a round or so, just to help the cv axle angles but the rest looks to easily be in the green zone. If im not sled pulling or raceing, a moderate angle on the cv axle shouldnt be a big deal.