hello suzuki friends im andrew. new to the site so hello to all. i got the sky mfg stage 2 samurai SPOA kit for my 87 soft top. i am having a problum geting the pitman arm off. i herd you can cut it down the side. but i allso have no clue how skys new drop pitman arm mounts the samurai. same with there ott stearing bar and tie rod ends. never sent me a lick of paper work and kinda wish the did. im also asuming that the u bold shim crap on the axle gets grinded flush.and i can reuse my stock u bolts and spring plat. i no the shock mounds will have to be changed. i did do my home work befor i went all in dut dident see this comin lol. eney help would be realy nice. maby pics of the sky ott stearing setup instal.i cant move on till i break the pitman arm free and drag link. this is a drivway build the best of them all haha. thanks guys

Ok i think the part that im talking about is a stearing arm not a pitman arm. but in still haveing truble as to were it goes

That steering arm goes on the passenger side knuckle, just below the brake caliper.  There are 2 fairly large bolts that is uses to mount to the knuckle.

If you do need to remove the pitman arm (if you're installing a new drop one), the best way to do it is to get a pitman arm puller, tighten it until it won't move anymore, and hit the pitman arm with a big hammer.  If it doesn't come loose, leave the pressure on the puller and RAPIDLY heat the pitman arm, trying to keep the sector shaft in the steering box cool (oxy-acetylene is a must for this, propane doesn't heat the arm fast enough).  It will pop right off as you're heating it.

thank you.yes the arm and the caliper become one peace . it uses the same holes as the caliper so i figure i put the caliper first and the the stearing arm? they gave me new hardware so the new longer (caliper bolts) should be included. my next question is do i grind all of the factory shim crap for the u bolts off of the axle? because the pads do not fit with it on there. there are long spring pads and short ones. not sure whitch ones go were i.e front of back. the help is great and will need more haha thanks alot guys!!

I've never installed Sky's SPOA kit so I'm not sure exactly what his spring pads look like...but usually, it isn't necessary to remove the old spring pads to install the new ones.  They just weld in place directly above the old ones.  I don't remember there being any kind of saddle for the U-bolts on a stock Samurai axle...if such a thing exists on your axle, it will need to be removed before welding on the new pads. 
The longer pads would go on the rear axle; they help with spring wrap.  

yea my 87 sammy has some sort of saddle.i dident want to remove it with out some kind of confermation  haha. time to get crackin. for my stearing they gave me 2 tie rod ends one is beefer than the other.not sure how to install it the corect way. i will take a few pics and post them up for a better idea of what im talking about. keep the help comming!! thanks agean

thank you.yes the arm and the caliper become one peace . it uses the same holes as the caliper so i figure i put the caliper first and the the stearing arm? they gave me new hardware so the new longer (caliper bolts) should be included. my next question is do i grind all of the factory shim crap for the u bolts off of the axle? because the pads do not fit with it on there. there are long spring pads and short ones. not sure whitch ones go were i.e front of back. the help is great and will need more haha thanks alot guys!!

Hi there and welcome to our world of offroading!

Yes, you have to grind off the sheetmetal pieces that the u-bolts at on in order to properly install the spring pads (or "perches" as we like to call them...).

This next explanation may seem a bit obvious after you read it but don't worry - you are not the only person to wonder about this...  Really!

You have three perches that are identical and one that is cut differently.  The different one goes on the front passenger side.  It is cut that way because the differential housing on the front axle is offset to the passenger side that the perch must be mounted on the edge of it!  Thus, one mounting edge has a bigger diameter curve to it so it sits properly on the edge of the differential housing.  The inner edge of this perch "may" need a bit of tweaking with a grinder but I imagine that it will fit perfectly once you have it oriented correctly.

HERE IS A VERY IMPORTANT TIP WHEN WELDING THOSE PERCHES ON!

MAKE SURE that the face of the new perch is exactly parallel to the face of the old OEM perch!  This is ESPECIALLY important on the front axle because you can screw up the steering caster angle if you do not weld the perches exactly on the opposite side of the axle (ie parallel surfaces). 

You may think that you can get more suspension flex by rotating the differential up  then welding the perches on but this is NOT TRUE! There is more to that process than simply rotating the axles.  For the straight info on suspension and drivetrain physics, check these articles out:

http://www.4xshaft.com/driveline101.html
http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/tech/driveline/

both of these links were found using the search word driveline  at  Ack's FAQ (see signature for link)

Finally, you made an excellent choice in buying a high steer kit - that arm that bolts to the passenger knuckle at the caliper.  This system will eliminate one of the worst problems created when you install a Spring Over lift - BUMPSTEER!  Details on what bumsteer is can be found by doing a search for bumpsteer at ack's FAQ

I hope that this helps!
 

Very helpful on this forum. it cant be beat hahaha.eneyway, the axle is preped and ready for some new perches!! i would like to clean the knuckles up a bit as they are very rusty and pited. eney ideas on how to do this with out ewmoving the whole asembly?  i se what you are saying about the 3 being the same and one is diffrent. when i put them on the axle they apear to be a little out of wack and do not sit perfict on the stock perch. i dont wanto mess up my castor angles so i gota get it rite the first time. there are tow holes in each of  the perches. not sure witch way they go.im brining the axle to a shop to have it welded. so i have to make it very clear how the sit and wich way they face. imk having a lot of fun doing this. really gets me goin wen a plan comes together. thank you for all the help ther wil be more to come if this rain ever stops.

ohh forgot to include a pic. i figured some of you would get a kick outa this i did

Very helpful on this forum. it cant be beat hahaha.eneyway, the axle is preped and ready for some new perches!! i would like to clean the knuckles up a bit as they are very rusty and pited. eney ideas on how to do this with out ewmoving the whole asembly?  i se what you are saying about the 3 being the same and one is diffrent. when i put them on the axle they apear to be a little out of wack and do not sit perfict on the stock perch. i dont wanto mess up my castor angles so i gota get it rite the first time. there are tow holes in each of  the perches. not sure witch way they go.im brining the axle to a shop to have it welded. so i have to make it very clear how the sit and wich way they face. imk having a lot of fun doing this. really gets me goin wen a plan comes together. thank you for all the help ther wil be more to come if this rain ever stops.

Nope, you cannot properly refinish the knuckles without taking them apart.  Sorry.  When I did mine, I sanded them, painted them with silver POR then sanded them again.  That helped fill the pits... It was also a good time to replace the felts and check the kingpin bearings.  If you check the kingpin bearings, be careful to keep track of the shims as you take the kingpin bearings out.  Replace the shims in the exact same order and position!

Tow holes in the Perches???  Are they on the face where the spring sits??  If so, simply match them with the position of the holes on the OEM perches. Naturally, the front passenger perch only goes on one way...  If the holes you are talking about are not on the spring face of the perch then their position is unimportant.


I hope that this helps!

SKY gave me alot of hardware with the kit and some funkey brake lines. there are 8 bolts/nuts washers thati have no clue as to what they are for. i got the ds extension bolts caliper bolts. and the 8 others that are stumping me will take a few pics need be. thanks guys