new tires and wheels

[IW378]

I am finally gonna get rid of my 35's on wide offset wheels. it looks great but I am gonna downsize a bit and get a more common size wheel. I am replacing the 16.5 inch wheels with 17 inchers and putting on 285/70/17 toyo 2 at's. I assume I will get a little better mpg's ?Luke

[diesel4life]

The short answer is yessss And your steering/suspension components will thank you for it as well.

[IW378]

That was another reason for the change as well. I just put a new track bar on her and noticed that the steering box has a tad bit of play as well. Any suggestions on a new box ? I heard mixed reviews on the borgeson, so maybe I'll just get a stock box from napa auto parts:shrug:Luke

[diesel4life]

As far as steering boxes go Ive never had to replace one but my understanding is there are aftermarket boxes out there that are an upgrade from oem. Maybe others that have had to replace them and know more about them will chime in.

[98whitelightnin]

Did you try tightening Allen head bolt on top of the steering box?

[IW378]

Did you try tightening Allen head bolt on top of the steering box?

No I have not. If I were to try it how much should I tighten it ? Is there a torque value ? or is it an amount of a turn ?

[Truckaddict]

Just a heads up on the toyo's make sure you rotate a lot. The guy who had my truck before me didnt and they got chewed up in about 20,000!! :banghead:

[98whitelightnin]

Loosen the nut and then tighten the allen. I think I went all the way in and then backed off a turn or two.

[CUMMINSDIESELPWR]

i run 35's and have beefed up steering. i have the brace, one ton linkage soon to do the 3rd gen trackbar upgrade. im gonna look into redhead/redtop (cant remember which) steering box and high output steering pump

[MnTom]

If I were to try it how much should I tighten it ? Is there a torque value ? or is it an amount of a turn ?

Be carefull when you tighten the over center adjustment. It will cause you to fight the steering wheel if you adjust it too tight. I recommend you only tighter it 1/4 turn at a time the test drive it to see what it feels like.

[IW378]

Here is how my truck looks now. It drives so much better now.

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One More

[flagmanruss]

I like those wheels.

[Pondsy]

Looks really nice...congrats!

[JAG1]

It does look very nice.I just want to say that my steering box had shaft play at 29,000. I was told they do that even when new. So that is why I put on the DSS Steering stabilizer to stop the wear. It will stop the frame from flexing at the steering box area too. I think everyone needs to put on one.

[diesel4life]

What kind of wheels are those? They look sharp! I would love to be able to find a set of 4th gen wheels and run 17s in the summer months and save my Duratracs for winter and spring when Im running oil field equipment for my friend, but in the year plus Ive been looking, have not been able to find anything local. I like the looks of those wheels alot though. They look like they might have a little more offset than factory, or is it just the picture?

[IW378]

I got the wheels at les schwab. They are ultra 164's. 17x 9

[Rogan]

My 2001 played 'The Wanderer' more than a 60's radio station and Dion's mom, put together. I put the steering box brace on (sometimes called a steering stabilizer) and it helped tremendously. Took about 80-90% of the 'play' feeling from the steering wheel. It no longer looked like I was cutting wood with a handsaw when I drove.

[Mopar1973Man]

Nice setup. Wow! Very clean!

[safn1949]

Delete

[Rogan]

So, totally tire UN-related..I see your first offroader was an M60A1. Mine was an M60A3, then an M1A1