I have a 79 F-250 4x4 I just bought. My issue is where my steering arm and drag link connect rubs and sometimes hangs up on the U-bolts for the leaf springs. It only grabs turning right. The truck is lifted (unknown size) so the springs are now beside the steering arm. I have looked into a raised arm but am told by the local 4x4 joint that he can't find any for Fords. The drag link was mounted to the bottom of the arm so I pulled it to mount through the top, thinking it's an easy fix, but the bolt on the drag link and the hole on the arm are machined so it will only accept it through the bottom. I'm sure I'm not the first person with this issue, any help would be great!

 

Can you post a picture?
On my 79 250 it misses the top of u bolt about 1/2 inch.
Mine has a 4" lift. by PO.
Still working on mine. Would be interesting to see what others come up with.

 

As you can see the previous owner shaved down the U-bolts (crazy) to give some clearance but it still jams up turning right. Where the arm sits now is my wheel at roughly 1/4 turn to the right. #ad
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that does not look rite.
for some reason i want to say the pitman arm should be facing forward, not rearward.

 

My wheel is turned a 1/4 way to the right that is why the steering arm is facing back like that.

 

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how much lift is on that truck??
that looks like a stock pitman arm.
by the look of the springs, i would say you need at least a 4 inch drop arm.

 

Previous owner said he thinks it an 8" lift....unsure how to verify. I'm getting a little confused with you saying pitman arm, I thought that was connected to the steering box. My concern is the arm off the hub not being high enough to clear U-bolts. It has a 3" spacer under it now....was hoping to find a raised arm to get me above or a bigger spacer. Not the sharpest tool in the shed, so forgive me if I'm wrong....lol.

 

That link hitting the spring bolt is connected to the bottom of the steering box, rite? That would be the pitman arm.

 

No sir, it's the steering arm off the wheel hub that is hitting. Where the steering arm and drag link connect is where it rubs. I currently have the drag link off and laying on the leaf springs in the pics. The steering arm only accepts the drag link through the bottom side which makes the situation worse for clearance.

 

No sir, it's the steering arm off the wheel hub that is hitting. Where the steering arm and drag link connect is where it rubs. I currently have the drag link off and laying on the leaf springs in the other pics. The steering arm only accepts the drag link through the bottom side which makes the situation worse for clearance. #ad

 

For clarification, the Pittman Arm is the arm, attached to the steering box output shaft. OP's description of the arm off the left spindle, Steering Arm, is OK. In picture 4 you see the steering arm/knuckle viewed as sloping down to the U-bolt. Steering arms, Pittman Arms arms are made a soft metal as to bend on impact rather than hard brittle which would, could snap. IF I, this is ME, could not find the correct steering arm to fix the problem, I would heat that steering arm red hot and bend upward enough to have the arm eye clear the U-bolt. Please everyone all negative comments are welcome to my thoughts on this.

If the steering arm knuckle is bolted to the top of the left spindle, you could consider a spacer block to raise the steering arm up, using the correct hardness longer bolts as original. It appears your Drag link is of a drop type, possibly with/from the lift kit.

If you know the Mfg. of the lift kit, have you contacted them about your problem.

Are you aware of bump steer, another thing when spring arc and drag link geometry are not in sync. Cap

 

Unfortunately, I don't know the manufacturer or size of the lift. Is there a way to find out? I went to the local 4x4 place hoping to find a raised arm and he said he can't find anything for Fords, just GM and Dodge. Hard to believe they don't make one. When I was looking online for raised arms for my specific truck it only showed arms for Dodges in the search results. They look like mine, but unsure if they are compatible. Not knowing lift size doesn't help either. I'm gonna have to research bump steer, heard of it but not familiar.

 

Ok, is last picture I can see better what you are working with. I have never seen that arm lifted off the steering knuckle like that.
I will try to get to the shop this afternoon and take some pictures of my 79 for reference.

 

Hey PAPA,
As I mentioned in my earlier post, Mine misses about 1/2" or better with my PO's 4" lift.
I have not gotten that far yet on mine to look for answers BUT your question got me interested.
Looking around I did find something you may be interested in.
Check out the link below to see a lift block for the STEERING ARM for raised trucks. Rough Country...
Hope this helps...

https://www.roughcountry.com/steering-block-6603.html