So I finally got to put some time in on the pick up this past weekend. Might sound crazy, but the first step in all of this was to do a basic front end alignment. Doing alignments for a living I know small adjustments make a big change in the front end. With the frame up on jack stands, and the suspension mocked up at ride height. I set both sides at 0 degrees camber and about two and a half degrees caster. Changing caster affects the height of the outer tie rod, which in turn affects bump steer. From there the next step was to mock the rack up at approximate height and Mark on the frame where I needed to cut. And then stare at it for 20 minutes to make sure the marks are in the right spot and decide if this is what I really want to do.
From there it was a lot of slow cutting and the end result is a scary looking hole in the frame.
The rack has a casting line right in the middle which helped helped line things up. The tape mark on the frame was centered between the lower control arm bolts.
After most of an afternoon this is what I have.
It would have helped to have the hoses and cooler out of the way but then I have to deal with the endless dripping oil that comes with it.
I bet I checked bump steer 15 times as the day went on. It looked rather redneck but it worked.
It doesn't give me any numbers but I get a visual reference of what toe is doing through up and down travel. With my redneck setup I know there is almost 4 inches of travel where toe stays pretty still. Above or below that it starts to toe in. No surprise with the tie rods being on the short side. I have about a half inch of vertical adjustment to play with using washers. Another reason why I like the ranger rack. Vertical mounting bolts.
I didn't plan on it ending up that way but the mounting ears are flush with the bottom of the frame.
The original mount on the ranger frame was two pieces of 1/8" plate that formed a V on its side to keep it rigid. There's nothing low enough on the frame for that to be an option. I have some 3/8x2 1/2" flat stock that I think I'm going to just mount on the bottom of the frame extending forward. The front edge will have a brace going up to the frame rails for support and a skid plate to keep it from digging in. Our gravel roads suck out here.
My next step from here is to finish the cab mounts, mount the steering column, engine mounts and then from there see what I need to do for the steering shaft. I did round up a Corvette ram horn for the drivers side so i can make sure it clears. Haven't cut the hole in the top of the frame yet. Waiting till I'm ready so i don't cut too much. Speaking of big holes, the one on the front of the crossmember is going to get plated around the drivers side arm mount. That whole area will be 1/4" thick. Any feedback is welcome. Good bad or other wise.
Nick