Super Steer Bell Crank for Freighliner XC Chassis

[Darryl]

I've been contemplating replacing my bell crank with the Super Steer model for awhile now. I've got close to 60K miles on mine and I know these were a weak point in the XC chassis. Most of the places I've found them were priced around $450 - $467 dollars. I did a little searching on the internet and found them for $351 here:

Bell Crank - Freightliner®

This is quite a savings if you're looking for one.

[mrschwarz]

I got my Motion Control Units from them at a much better price than I could have gotten them from anyone else. They were shipped promptly and accurately.

[wagonmaster2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darryl I've been contemplating replacing my bell crank with the Super Steer model for awhile now. I've got close to 60K miles on mine and I know these were a weak point in the XC chassis. Most of the places I've found them were priced around $450 - $467 dollars. I did a little searching on the internet and found them for $351 here: Bell Crank - Freightliner® This is quite a savings if you're looking for one.

Can you expand on the Bell Crank -Freightliner? I went there and only found a bunch of links with the cheapest price being $421. What is the name of the company you ordered from? Maybe that will help me find the correct web site. Thanks

Wagonmaster2

[Darryl]

It is from Precision Frame and Alignment. For some reason, the board will not show the URL, but just a link.

[vicsryd]

I had Super Steer bell crank installed by Brazel's two years ago. A huge improvement in precision, centering and reduced effort on the power steering system over the factory TRW unit. IMHO it's totally worth the investment.

[Darryl]

That's great to hear! I installed mine last weekend, but haven't taken it out for a test drive yet. Will be doing that tomorrow.

[historyljc]

I had Henderson's Line Up install both the MCUs and SS Bell Crank while attending rallies in Perry, GA. Two of the best investments that I've made in my coach. Big, big, big improvement in ride and handling.

[Dgold2]

I bought a 2002 Journey with the Freightliner XC chassis in late 2005, and in mid-2006, replaced the Bell Crank with Henderson's. My chassis only had 15k on it at the time, and when I removed the stock Bell Crank, I could only turn it maybe half a turn and it would bind up to where you needed pliers to assist in turning it on over.

Really made a difference in tracking, as before it had a tendency to "dart". It was no reason why when I seen the condition of the factory piece of junk.

Dgold2

[wagonmaster2]

Does anyone know if replacing the bell crank on the Freightliner XC chassis require a realignment check-up on the front end?

Some items on the front end require a new alignment every time they are touched but some don't.

Wagonmaster2

[Darryl]

Wagonmaster2, it does not, according to the manufacturer. This makes sense, as the wheel to wheel relationship is not changed.

[Dgold2]

Darryl is correct Wagonmaster2. This is simply a pivot point and will not change the toe setting any. I found it was worth every penny, once I removed the old stock Bellcrank and couldn't turn it by hand.

But where the rubber meets the road is what counts, and it made a substantial improvement in maintaining a straight line. Before the change, mine would hang up on one of the tight spots, then you would have to move the wheel 5" before it would start to go the other way, then it was do it all over time again. This got old very quickly. Like I said, mine only had 13K on it when i change mine, and I couldn't believe the condition of it then.

Dgold2

[wagonmaster2]

Thanks for all the responses, I'll probably be looking into this since my coach has 42,000 miles on it. Hard to believe it can be so unroadworthy so quick.

If anyone has changed it themselves does it take a special puller of some kind to get the arm off the bell crank? The rest doesn't look too difficult.

Wagonmaster2
2004 Meridian 36G

[smlranger]

I'm also considering replacing mine....I now have nearly 66K miles on the rig. I think I may be masking any tendency to track badly or stick by the addition of the Safe-T-Steer gizmo I added some years back.

Sounds like this is a DIY job. Do you have to raise the front end or otherwise do anything special to R & R?

[Darryl]

I changed mine myself. The worst part of it is dealing with the grease on the all the joints around it. Because of where it is, you will be rubbing elbows on several things that grease. Removing the large castle nut wasn't hard, but I needed a pull bar and a very large socket. I happend to have the correct socket on hand, but only by accident. It's very large, something like 1 1/2 inch. It's the same size that fits the cam shaft nut on a Detroit 8V-92.

Aside from that, you will probably need a five pound hammer (to strike the part that fits onto the bell crank). It is sometimes necessary to strike the piece to jar it loose. I also used a puller, but the puller wasn't large enough to break it loose without the hammer. The tech at Super Steer told me that I might need to do this. I put the puller on it and tightened it as much as I could without fear of breaking the puller. Struck it with a hammer 10 -12 times before it came loose. The linkage that connects to the bellcrank can then be moved easily out of the way.

Used an impact to remove the three bolts that hold it to the frame. The nuts on the backside are hard to get to, but can be done with just an open end wrench. Going back on is the reverse. You will want to use a torque wrench to tighten the castle nut and the three bolts to their torque spec, which is given in the installation instructions. All this took me about an hour and half.