sierra spring over

Post by **mad zook** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 5:51 pm

I am doing a spring over on my 89 zook my self I all ready have diffs with the perch on the top.
Has anyone done this conversion them selfs & photo's of spring over set ups would help + photo's of what you did with the steering
thanks

Post by **sierrajim** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 6:32 pm

Call Liam at Big Balls Offroad / Big Balls Motorsport in Sydney.

he'll be able to sell you a high steer kit for your front diff along with heavy duty steering links.

While you're talking to him, ask him how much a trac bar will cost and buy one at the same time. This wu\ill save you lots of heartache, unis and rear springs through axlewrap.

Post by **Gwagensteve** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 8:48 pm

The big balls highsteer kit is IMHO the only safe way of doing SPOA steering.

Then you need to decide what you want the car to do.

Did you see the car the diffs came out of when it was built? Do you know that the caster and pinion angles were suitable for the height you want to run the car? I have seen professionally built SPOA cars bind rear unis on engine braking, along with every other weird thing you could imagine. You have just commenced the most significant modification you could do to your car in terms of all of the systems you are affecting. Spring rate and height, shock length and valving, shock positions, driveshaft angles and lengths, brake balance, hose lengths and park brake are all issues you will have to overcome even after you have forked out the $$$ for the steering. not to mention spring life, axlewrap, ride quality, finished height and stability.

Sorry to sound negative, but welding the perches onto the diffs is the easy bit. all of this stuff will not be picked up from a few photos. I would suggest joining the Suzuki Club - you will get to not only talk to the people that built their cars themselves but also get to see them work so you can make more informed decisions.

Steve.

Post by **Red_Zook** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 9:09 pm

i have to honistly say...
after i did my soa on lux diffs (lux diffs i know)
it stoped, turned, HANDLED, and drove 100X better than it did on zook diffs...
as when you use shackels etc you fark nealy all those settings up anyway...
i will with out a doubt recomend lux diffs!
and makes soa so much easyer

Post by **mad zook** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 5:27 am

dose anyone know wht model mercedes are off

you can use them on the hub

Post by **oldcrusty72** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 6:04 am

Someone posted this a while back and i copied and pasted to a word doc,

Here is the models to use the high steer arms from

.126 S-Class Sedans Chassis Engine Model Years HP Weight WB
W126.032 M116.961 V8 380SE 1984-85 155 3685
W126.033 M116.961 V8 380SEL 1981-83 155 3640 121.1"
W126.035 M116.965 V8 420SEL 1986-91 201 3850
W126.037 M116.963 V8 500SEL 1984-85 184 3730
W126.039 M117.968 V8 560SEL 1986-91 238 4125
W126.120 M617.951 I5 300SD Turbodiesel 1981-85 120 3625
W126.125 M603.961 I6 300SDL Turbodiesel 1986-87 148 3835
126.025 103.981 I6 300SEL 1988-91 177 3630
126.024 103.981 I6 300SE 1989-91 177 3585
126.135 603.970 I6 350SDL Turbodiesel 1990-91 134 3850
126.134 603.970 I6 350SD Turbodiesel 1991 134

W126 Coupes Chassis Engine Model Years HP Weight
W126.043 M116.961 V8 380SEC 1982-83 155 3760
W126.044 M117.963 V8 500SEC 1984-85 187 3655
W126.045 M117.968 V8 560SEC 1986-91 238 3960

Tim

Post by **lay80n** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 6:46 am

spring over how to
http://www.zukikrawlers.com/showthread.php?t=174
http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/viewtopic.php?t=44601

spring over axle vs spring under axle
http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/viewtopic.php?t=10205
spring over axle
http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/viewtopic.php?t=48322
spring over with body lift
http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/viewtopic.php?t=48171
yj spring kit conversion
http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/viewtopic.php?t=34304
rear up front(ruf) and hilux fronts on the rear
http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/viewtopic.php?t=45189
Â¾ epaleptic and spoa
http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/viewtopic.php?t=43962

Start reading. Then search. Then ask if you need to

Layto....

Post by **coxy321** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 5:07 pm

There's a step-by-step how to on the SOA for sierra's. If you have a look in the sierra bible, there should be a link to island4x4 or something like that. It'll basically answer ANY question you have on the SOA mate.

Coxy

Post by **Gwagensteve** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 6:47 pm

Droopypete had one of these Mercedes arms and we were having a good look at it some time ago.

I don't believe that these are the answer. Not because of any problem of the arm itself (although I think it look s a bit light for the application) but more because the caliper bracket that it mounts to was never intended to accept steering load.

Just because it fits and does the job doesn't mean it is a good idea.

Nope, for my money, it has to be the snake highsteer knuckle.

Steve.

Post by **mr green** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 7:07 pm

[/quote]Nope, for my money, it has to be the snake highsteer knuckle.[quote]

snake racing = $7?0.00
merc arms = a carton
i'm going the merc arms

Post by **sierrajim** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 8:52 pm

mr green wrote:

Nope, for my money, it has to be the snake highsteer knuckle.

snake racing = $7?0.00
merc arms = a carton
i'm going the merc arms

Just for interests sake, will an engineer pass this mercedes steering arm?

You would really have to ask yourself is your life worth $700?

Post by **MART** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 9:08 pm

Post by **coxy321** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 9:44 am

Definately not!! Mine would have to be worth at least $10k, with my life insurance and all.

I'm not an engineer, so i couldn't say whether or not the merc arm could take a beating. Best shot might be to throw a post up on that island4x4.com forum and ask how hard guys have driven with this setup. Admittedly, it was NEVER designed to be run on a zuk SOA setup, although mercedes are know for great build quality.....

On the other side, i've seen some super-dooper, mega dodgy-arse sh!t being done/ being used on various 4x4's, and this steering arm mod has got NOTHING on some of the stuff i've seen!!

Coxy

PS. I think that $700 odd for a hi-steer is the same sort of price for most brands, and most vehicles for an SOA conversion.

Post by **mr green** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 12:56 pm

my point is if they are going to break, they will break when you are doing an endo with 49's , power steer on hard and you probably are not moving any faster than walking pace. Remember these arms are steering arms off a 2.5 tonne merc, not home made junk. they will not break on a zuk on the highway at 100 kmh. Also with the drag link attatched to the tie rod the stress is being shared between both sides. i can't see the pair breaking.

Post by **coxy321** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 1:31 pm

Yep, i'm a bit of a tight-arse with stuff like that. I'd go for the merc jobbies myself too. Worst case scenario, what does a zuk do flat out?? Keeping in mind that if it has an SOA, its most likely got big mud tyres, and a heap of other accessories that'd slow it down. It'd make a hell of a mess, but i have seen cars drive a fair distance with "spread-eagled" front wheels due to steering failure.

Post by **mad zook** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 1:36 pm

how hard are the merc arms to find and wheres the best place to get one?
daz

Post by **sierrajim** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 2:00 pm

There is no doubting the strength of the arm itself by the sound of it. There is however doubt relating to the strength of the brake mounts that it bolts to.

The brake mounts were designed for a specific load of the brake, not for steering.

Post by **jimbo jones** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 4:06 pm

sierrajim wrote:
mr green wrote:
Nope, for my money, it has to be the snake highsteer knuckle.

snake racing = $7?0.00
merc arms = a carton
i'm going the merc arms
Just for interests sake, will an engineer pass this mercedes steering arm?

You would really have to ask yourself is your life worth $700?

I dont se e why it wouldnt pass the brake nuckle looks well and trully strong enough to hold the weight of the steering and the brakes

jimbo

Post by **coxy321** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 4:50 pm

I suppose that they could argue that the brake caliper mount is designed to take a "forward/backward" type load, with a very short radius from the load point to the mounting point, as a pose to mounting the high-steer arm onto the back of it, and putting a left/right load on it, with a load radius thats probly five times that of the brake calipers', and basically cops a lot more shit than what the caliper delivers.

Coxy

Post by **bigzuk** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 6:33 pm

mad zook wrote:how hard are the merc arms to find and wheres the best place to get one?
daz

they arent easy to find.

im working on a source for them should know within a week or so.

arms are somewhere between 80-120 bux from what ive found.

Post by **sierrajim** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 9:34 pm

coxy321 wrote:I suppose that they could argue that the brake caliper mount is designed to take a "forward/backward" type load, with a very short radius from the load point to the mounting point, as a pose to mounting the high-steer arm onto the back of it, and putting a left/right load on it, with a load radius thats probly five times that of the brake calipers', and basically cops a lot more shit than what the caliper delivers.

Coxy

You're probably right, an engineer or RTA guy is just going to ask you to proove your statement though, this will cost lots more than the high steer knuckle.

Post by **droopypete** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 1:09 pm

Also they are not a straight "bolt on" (nothing ever is, sadly)

I have some here and looked long and hard at them, I have every confidence they would be up to the job, but as Steve & James said it is the caliper mount on the stock knuckle that is the issue.
I fitted a Snake Racing knuckle and haven't thought about it since,

Peter.

Post by **mad zook** » Sat Mar 10, 2007 9:38 am

droopypete wrote: I have some here ,

Peter.

do you want to sell it?
daz

Post by **droopypete** » Sat Mar 10, 2007 12:32 pm

mad zook wrote:
droopypete wrote: I have some here ,

Peter.

do you want to sell it?
daz

No I am a hourder (I still have land cruiser parts and I sold the car 10 years ago

)

Peter.

Post by **mad zook** » Sat Mar 10, 2007 5:27 pm

droopypete wrote:
mad zook wrote:
droopypete wrote: I have some here ,

Peter.

do you want to sell it?
daz
No I am a hourder (I still have land cruiser parts and I sold the car 10 years ago )

Peter.

never mind I just bought one of Zukikrawlers fourum for $30 us

daz

Post by **droopypete** » Sat Mar 10, 2007 7:24 pm

droopypete wrote:Also they are not a straight "bolt on".

I thought you my be curious about this comment, I guess not?
Peter.

Post by **bigzuk** » Sat Mar 10, 2007 7:32 pm

droopypete wrote:
droopypete wrote:Also they are not a straight "bolt on".
I thought you my be curious about this comment, I guess not?
Peter.

i am....whats the go here?

Post by **VR Rodeo** » Sat Mar 10, 2007 8:01 pm

Part 1

http://bbs.zuwharrie.com/index.php?P=db ... ic=28732.0

Part 2

http://bbs.zuwharrie.com/index.php?P=db ... ic=28757.0

Part 3

http://bbs.zuwharrie.com/index.php?P=db ... ic=42208.0

Post by **offroader-rama** » Sat Mar 10, 2007 10:28 pm

be buggerd if i'd drive down the highway or any road at speed with those merc arms, off road, shore no worries, but you loose it on road and hit my family well, man, its up to you

its all fun and games till you hurt someone, other than yourself.

Post by **mr green** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 12:44 pm

VR Rodeo
Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 8:01 pm

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Part 1

http://bbs.zuwharrie.com/index.php?P=db ... ic=28732.0
offroader-rama
Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 10:28 pm

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

be buggerd if i'd drive down the highway or any road at speed with those merc arms

Part 2

http://bbs.zuwharrie.com/index.php?P=db ... ic=28757.0

Part 3

http://bbs.zuwharrie.com/index.php?P=db ... ic=42208.0

i dont condone this set up due to the self assessed report on the home made drag link.
us 2 merc arms and nt rods with your wt diffs and you dont have to home make anything besides elongating the rear hole in the merc arm.

Outer Limits 4x4 Board

sierra spring over

sierra spring over

Who is online