When lift kits and larger tires are installed on Ford Super Duty or Excursion trucks, it's quite common for several gremlins to rear their ugly heads. The most common problems are bumpsteer from tweaked steering components and rapid wheel-bearing failure due to the forces exerted on the OEM unit bearings by the larger tires and positive offset of aftermarket wheels. We probably don't have to tell this to you readers who own lifted Super Dutys because you might already be living it. If so, that's bad, because for reasons of safety, no steering quirk is acceptable. Also, new unit bearings can wreck your wallet to the tune of $400 or more per side.
What you may not know is that the folks at Dynatrac recently introduced a kit that addresses and solves these problems. It's called the Super Duty Combo Kit, and it includes the parts to upgrade three major areas. First, it replaces the stock steering with a complete crossover steering system to improve handling and increase ground clearance. Second, it replaces the expensive and weak factory front sealed unit bearings with new knuckles and hubs in a fixed-spindle design. And third, it upgrades the outer axleshafts from the stock 30-spline units to stronger 35-spline units.
We recently had the opportunity to observe the complete installation of this kit at Attitude Performance in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, where owner Matt Dinelli installed the kit on a Super Duty with 12 inches of lift. Install time was a little more than 7 hours--well within the 5-10 hours that Dynatrac says is the normal time for the kit install.
We found the kit's comprehensiveness and outstanding quality to be quite impressive. Not only do the folks at Dynatrac package the kit with every component needed to solve these durability and handling issues, but the Dynatrac parts are significantly beefier than the factory components. In fact, their beefiness borders on overkill. In our book, that's a very, very good thing.
The following photos chronicle the major parts installations of the Super Duty Combo Kit, beginning with the assembly of the new Dynatrac Pro 60 knuckles. Due to space limitations we've omitted illustrating the disassembly of the wheels, calipers, rotors, ABS sensors and cables, hubs, unit bearings, axleshaft assemblies, tie rod, drag link, steering stabilizers and knuckles. Removal of these items is covered in detail in the Super Duty Combo Kit installation guide.
Results? Shortly into our testdrive we noticed a substantial improvement in steering when compared to the well-made custom system that had been on the truck. Bumpsteer was virtually nonexistent, and this made the truck more predictable. The crossover steering offered a vast improvement in ground clearance when compared to a standard steering system, and the dual steering stabilizers eliminated all shake as the big 44-inch tires rolled along. Clearly, time will be the judge of bearing life, but we have no reason to doubt that with regular maintenance, the packable fixed-spindle design will perform admirably over the life of the truck. Here are some of the highlights of this kit's installation.
Mount the new Pro 60 knuckles on the housing end yokes, and install the split bushings in the same locations as they were before. Torque the upper and lower ball-joint nuts to spec and install the upper-nut cotter pins. | 
Mount the shaft slinger, dust boot and thrust washer over the outer axleshafts. Put some grease on the splines and the seal surface of the inner shaft, then insert into the axlehousing. | 
Install the small rubber seal into the back of the spindle by the needle bearing, then fill the area around the thrust washer with grease. Slide the new fixed spindle over the end of the shaft and align it with the studs protruding from the knuckle. Install the Allen bolt with serrated washer at the 12 o'clock position and lightly tighten. Then install the flat washers and stover locknuts on the remaining studs and tighten everything to spec. |
Carefully install the new wheel hubs onto the spindles, being careful not to damage the hub seal as it slides over the threaded end of the spindle. | 
Install the new Warn locking hubs. The gear body slides in and is held in place by the big internal snap ring. The small snap ring goes over the tip of the outer axleshaft. Six small Allen screws hold on the cap. If your truck is equipped with ABS, you should now insert the ABS sensor into the mounting block on the spindle. | 
To begin installation of the new heavy-duty track bar, remove the stock bumpstop or any aftermarket bumpstop from the left framerail. Then remove the stock or aftermarket track bar and the upper track-bar bracket. |
Remove the nut under the left motor mount. Install the crossmember bracket supplied in the kit so that the slotted hole goes over the stud for the lefthand motor mount. Locate the pre-existing hole in the aft flange of the crossmember and align it with the other hole in the bracket. Install the supplied bolt through the end of the bracket and the aft flange of the crossmember. Tighten the motor mount nut and the bolt. | 
Remove the U-bolts from the righthand spring pack. Also remove the plate that sits on top of the spring pack. Assemble the track-bar bushings and ensure that the track bar length ranges between 35.5 and 36.875 inches for 6- to 12-inch lifts respectively. Mount the new lower track-bar bracket on top of the righthand leaf pack and fasten down with the U-bolts supplied in the kit. Snug the U-bolts but do not tighten. In this photo, you can see the difference between the new lower track-bar bracket that doubles as the shock mount, and the stock plate. | 
Push the eyelet on the long end of the track bar into the lower track-bar bracket and insert a 3/4x4.5-inch bolt. Use flat washers and start the locknut provided, but do not tighten. With the normal weight of the truck on the front axle, you can now tighten the righthand U-bolts. Adjust the length of the track bar to allow the other 3/4x41/2-inch bolt to be inserted through the eyelet at the upper end bracket and then tighten both 3/4-inch bolts. Raise the vehicle and install the loose ends of both turnbuckles with mis-alignment bushings to the exposed ears on the upper track-bar bracket. Fully tighten the 1/2-inch bolts that anchor the spherical rod ends. Preload the spherical bearings per the instructions, and then tighten the jam nuts. Reinstall the front shock absorbers. |
The stock track-bar bracket welded to the axle must be cut off or bent back out of the way. Otherwise, it will interfere with the new tie rod. The portion of the bracket used to mount the stock steering stabilizer may also be removed. Do not damage or remove the bracket that is used to hold the U-bolts. | 
Disassemble the stock drag link and tie rod. Make sure the stock pitman arm is installed at this time. Install the new steering arm on top of the righthand knuckle (shown) and torque the steering-arm bolts alternately and evenly to 150 lb-ft. | 
Install the tie rod into the tapered holes in the knuckles using the castle nuts; but only lightly tighten the castle nuts. Adjust the toe to factory specs, tighten the castle nuts and install the cotter pins. |
Insert the steel sleeves into the rubber stabilizer shock eyelets, and then mount the bodies of the shocks toward the center of the vehicle. Insert the other end of the shocks into the brackets mounted on the ends of the tie rod. Adjust the final positions of all three stabilizer brackets so they look even and the shock bodies will not touch the tie rod. | 
Following the detailed steps in the instructions, install the new drag link to the steering arm and pitman arm and adjust to the proper length. Start the engine and completely cycle the steering while watching the operation of the linkage. Things to look for include proper steering stabilizer movement and no contact of drag link or tie rod to leaf springs, even at full droop. Finally, recheck the torque on all fasteners at 100- and 500-mile intervals. | |
Kit FAQs
The Super Duty Combo Kit is designed to be compatible with most commercially available 5- to 14-inch lift kits. It is not designed for stock suspensions through 4 inches of lift (a new kit for this application will be debuting soon). You may fit tires up to 44 inches in height and 18.5 inches in width, but 18.5-inch tires on 12-inch or narrower wheels may cause the tire to rub against the steering drag link. Spring-pad thickness may not exceed 4 inches, and angled shims between the spring pack and axle will cause a critical reduction of clearance between the drag link provided with the kit and the top of the righthand spring pack. You will also need to use a stock pitman arm, as a dropped pitman arm will cause bumpsteer. Some of the less common tools and supplies needed for installation include a 4- or 6-point spanner socket, heavy-duty pitman-arm puller, torque wrench and antiseize compound.
Kit contents
The Super Duty Combo Kit list of components reads like a dream come true for the Super Duty owner wishing to seriously improve his/her truck's handling and durability. Following is the tally of what you can expect when you open the box.
* Pair of Pro 60 steering knuckles with new ball joints installed * Pair of Pro 60 spindles (heavy-duty fixed-spindle design) * Pair of Pro 60 8-on-170mm wheel hubs (fixed-spindle design) * Pair of Pro 60 35-spline locking hubs (stock are 30-spline) * Pair of Warn Premium 35-spline locking hubs * Full set of customer-serviceable wheel bearings, races and seals * New adjustable track bar with urethane bushings * Complete crossover steering package that includes a billet righthand steering arm, tie rod assembly (11/2-inch diameter x 3/8-inch wall) including greasable rod ends and drag link assembly (11/4-inch diameter x 5/16-inch wall) including greasable rod end * New, custom dual-opposed steering stabilizer kit including shocks * All mounting hardware, brackets and instructions