As far as thread engagement, you want at least the diameter of the threaded shank plus some. So for example if the threaded shaft is 1.25"(I am just guessing), you need at least 1.25" of thread engagement into the arm itself.

Another example is for chevy TREs that have a 7/8 shank, required thread engagement is at least 1".

well i got the shaft parts i need and the shaft is in now. also i decided to plate the whole drivers side frame rather that a separate piece for the steering and the coil buckets and the trac bar...so now i have one big one. should add some strength too since that big cross member is now cut out. now im trying to decide how i want my coil buckets. they just barely clear the steering shaft but i think its enough. so im trying to decide if i should put the coil mounts on the bottom of the frame and they will have to be staggered since the frame gets skinnier they're. or just put them on top. on the top it is a little closer to the steering shaft but i can easily clearance that one bracket. but im thinking that putting them on the bottom will put the up force from the springs along the bottom of the frame and kinda push it up rather than if i had them on top they would be trying to rip them off the frame the whole time. also got a big enough drill bit to put the holes on the one side of the frame for the sleeving for the steering box. do you guys think i should weld the sleeves to the plate and the plate of the frame or weld the sleeves to the frame and then put the plate on? here is some pics

Attachment 83218

Attachment 83219

Attachment 83220

Attachment 83221

Attachment 83222

Attachment 83223

Attachment 83224

Attachment 83225

Attachment 83226

Attachment 83227

Attachment 83228

i hate my phone camera....sometimes it takes good ones other times they are ****ty as hell.

I would mount the bucket on the bottom of the frame. Welding the sleeve in the frame and covering it with the steering box plate would also be a good idea. Keep up the good work and great posts.

well i got he frame sleeved and the plate welded on most of the way. also got the brackets tacked on on the drivers side. now i just need to see how much i want to plate on the pass side. i want to plate enough for the shock mounts too and i dont know what im doing for shock mounts yet so im not sure how much plate i want. here is some pics of the drivers side all tacked in.

Attachment 83209

Attachment 83210

Getting there dude!

Are you planning on using a pillow block bearing to hold the steering shaft in place?

ya i still gotta do that too...and figure out shock mounts and trac bar and i think ill be driving.

GLWT

any one have any pics of their pillow block setup on the steering shaft...beards pics aren't working on his steering shaft thread....of course only the pillow block ones lol.

well i finally drove it today. no front shocks yet but it got down the road. here is a pic from a couple days ago with the new tires.

Attachment 82713

Nice! That thing is wide!

looks alot meaner

post up those flexin pics when you finisher off

Ya I went out to flex it a little yesterday but I gotta lift the back more first...it was destroying my bed cause the tires stick out to far...hopefully the rear will be done by the end of this weekend....im just gonna do expo leafs and 4" blocks and put my shackles back in...should get me a good 4-5" higher in the back.

here is a pic of it from today.

Attachment 82695

.....uuhhhbburr??

That was fast. I missed the swap. Dang.

Looks good.

Looks good! Hows it drive?

Looks nice! How do those tires ride?

X2 on both the above statements and questions!!

well i have no shocks and no sway bar but it really doesnt lean or bounce TOO bad. it actually leans less than before...and i havent put a pillow block on the steering shaft yet so there is a lot of play in the steering and its a little weird....but it really doest drive that bad. i havent even touched the alignment its still just where i just eyeballed it when i was putting it together and it drives better than my dads jeep does. also i found out that its my pump thats bad not the rack before...so i still have no PS...gotta get a new pump. also im going to buy some new springs so shocks and eveything will go on after i get those.

What kind of coils are on it now and what kind are you getting?

Well shoot if you have to replace the PS pump anyway you might as well upgrade.

Ya I already put in the saginaw pump...it was sweet till it broke....just got to swap it out....and im not sure what springs are in it. Im going to buy the 8.5 xj coils...right now I have the ones that were on that 808ranger or what ever guys truck when my friend bought it...but he had the 8.5 xj coils on it but those have 13 coils and the ones that were on it have 9. And they look like they were cut but cutting 4 coils off would be a lot. And these are too thick to even sit down in the axle and they are bigger around than the other xj coils I have so I think they are like f150 or bronco springs or somthing. Did a little 2wd flexing today ill post up the pics later

Truck looks great!! I do have one question about how much height you have over stock with the sas done. I'm thinking of doing a sas to mine and think your front height is perfect.

well he had a super lift before so im guessing he is 6-8 inches over stock

your gonna ove those coil buckets! i have them on my bronco and tan take some abuse!!