After acquiring a GM Dana 60 front axle, we soon
found how easy it was to convert the 1 ton axle to a crossover
setup. For those of you who are not familiar with crossover
steering here’s how it works. Its basically taking the
little, short front to back drag link that goes from the pitman arm
to the steering arm on the drivers side knuckle, and replacing it
with a drag link about 3 times longer that goes to the passenger
side knuckle with another steering arm. What this means is no
matter what angle your axle is at, you will have full lock-to-lock
steering. With the stock front to back steering setup, as your
driver's side tire moves up and down, it will actually turn the
steering wheel in your hands. This is called bump steer. If the
driver's side tire is in extreme droop, you will have very little,
if any steering. The reason this happens is that the drag link from
the factory is only about 16 inches long. When the drivers side
tire droops, the drag link is put a severe downward angle, in which
effectively reduces its length to about half of normal. This takes
away almost all the steering ability with the stock drag link.
Another downfall of the stock setup is the ability to turn sharp
after a lift is installed. This is due to the increased angle the
stock drag link has. Even after a steering arm and dropped drag
link, out stock steering still didn’t turn as sharp as we
wanted it to. After the crossover install we found this makes for
much sharper turns than it did before, and does not have the
tighter to one side turning radius that most GM solid axle trucks
have when lifted. So basically we will be replacing the standard
front to back steering to crossover steering. Crossover steering is
not new. Actually most Jeeps and solid axle Ford's have this setup.
Keep in mind this is intended for the Dana 60 front axle. A similar
setup can be done on the ½ and ¾ ton axles, which
tend to be a Dana 44 or GM 10 bolt but the steering knuckle is much
different. For more info on the conversion for the other axles
please see our other crossover article that explains this in more
detail.
Parts
Getting the parts wasn’t too bad. We had a little help
from Parts Mike. This guy can get just about anything you need for
special conversions. Parts Mike was able to supply us a custom made
steering arm and the pitman arm. He’s also able to get the
longer drag link and ends but we already those. Some of these parts
you might be able to find at a junkyard but if your time is limited
and the yards are scarce then that means new parts.
Magic Box
To do a
crossover you have to replace the stock shaft with a 2WD shaft or
buy a complete unit like the one on the left from AGR with the
shaft already installed. Stock steering box is on the
right.
Click picture for larger
image
The 4WD steering gear box has to be modified or
replaced to make the crossover work. You need to do this because
the 4wd box turns from front to back and you can't change the
pitman arm. The 2wd box uses a pitman arm that will let you index
it in different locations, so that you can set it to turn side to
side, that's what you need for the crossover. To modify the box you
will need a 2WD GM pitman shaft, which is located inside the
steering box. You can get a 2WD box from a salvage yard but chances
are that the power steering hose ends won't be the same so the
shaft must be swapped between the boxes. The shaft install is easy
to do but you will have to take the box off the frame to do this.
We went the lazy yet expensive route and purchased a steering box
from AGR. The box from AGR can be custom ordered with the 2WD
shaft.
Pitman Arm
Here's the
pitman arm installed on the box. Basically, it's a pitman arm from
a 79-79 Ford or Fullsize Jeep.
Click picture for larger
image
The pitman arm is actually what attaches to the
steering box. The pitman arm is real easy to get. Several companies
already make it since it's made for a popular application. The
pitman arm is dropped a couple inches to alleviate drag link angle
for a lifted truck. The applications are as follows; 78-79 Ford
F150, 76-79 Bronco, and 74-90 Fullsize Wagoneer/Cherokee. This
information came out of a Superlift catalog when cross-referencing
the same Superlift part number. The part number is SUP-1104. Other
companies make the same pitman arm so you might want to check
around for the best prices. Note: The stock GM steering arm or
pitman arm should never be cut and re-welded since it 's a vital
part of the steering system and serious injury could
result.
Steering Arm
The steering
arm is a bolt on but has to be custom made. It's made from some
thick plate.
Click picture for larger
image
This part is a little hard to come by. Parts Mike
is the only source we found for this part. Basically, it's 3/4"
plate that's been cut with the proper holes drilled and a cap is
welded on top. We've seen other versions of the steering arm where
the cap wasn't welded but instead, another Dana 60 knuckle cap was
bolted to the top. If one had the resources, this part could easily
be made. The GM steering arm can not be used since it points in the
wrong direction. Note: Be sure to get your steering arm tapered
correctly if using GM tie rod ends. If your making the steering
arm, have a machine put a taper in the hole where the drag link
mounts.
Drag Link
The drag link
is a tie rod from a mid 80's GM. This allows separate tie rod ends
and makes it adjustable. The picture shows the tube being cut. You
will have to cut and retap the tube to make the drag link the
proper width.
Click picture for larger
image
There's a couple different ways you could go with
the drag link. One method is using GM parts and the other method is
using 3/4" Heim joints tubing. We preferred using GM parts since
the tubing was thicker and the drag link ends where also larger and
protected by rubber boots. Another reason for using GM parts is
they can be easily obtained though any parts store no matter where
you are. The drag link has three parts. The center tube and the two
drag link ends (or tie rod ends). For the tube, use a stock tie rod
setup off of a mid 80's K-5 Blazer or truck (83 and up K-5's and
K-10's should have the same style). Instead of being a solid steel
bar, it is a hollow piece of D.O.M. tubing that is threaded on both
ends and uses a short style tie rod in each end with a jam nut.
Instead of having a sleeve with 2 clamps on it to adjust the toe
in, it has the jam nut on each Tie rod end that you loosen and turn
the tube in the center to adjust toe in. It is left hand threaded
on one end and right hand on the other. The center tube is only
available at a GM Dealer or the local salvage yard. We tried
several salvage yards with no luck (all were bent) and the local
parts stores couldn't get them since nobody but GM makes it (it has
no joints that wear out, so its not very profitable to make it).
The GM drag link ends threaded left and right hand thread. The
right hand end is right-handed thread and left is left handed
(that's easy to remember). The one end that should be on the left
(drivers) side if it was being used for a Tie Rod has an eye cast
into it to attach the steering stabilizer to. Since we didn't want
the end with a hole in it, we turned to Parts Mike and was given a
TRW/Moog number ES2010L.
Since the drag link is shorter,
the tie rod tubing must be cut and re-threaded. To do this you have
to buy a tap, or have a machine shop that has one do this for you.
The tap is 7/8" and 18 threads per inch right hand thread. When you
cut the tube to length, make sure you cut ONLY THE RIGHT HAND
THREADS, if you cut the left hand ones off by mistake, get another
tube, the left hand tap was about $150 bucks and had to be ordered.
The right hand tap can be purchased from a supply place called
McMaster Carr, it's like a Grainger, but Grainger did not have this
tap. The cost was around $50. The tube was cut to 34" and tapped
with the special tool. You must measure yours to make sure of the
length before you cut it, it may be different than ours.
Crossmember
You can see
that the drag link hits the crossmember when the right side is
fully compressed. This means some trimming on the crossmember will
have to be performed.
Click picture for larger
image
Since the drag ink goes across underneath the
crossmember, it may be necessary to cut or modify your existing
crossmember. Since we're running a 6" lift, just a little cutting
had to be done to avoid the drag link hitting when the right spring
is compressed. If you're running a 4" or smaller lift you may have
to grind more off or make a new crossmember. The cross member is
for the motor mounts and it's bolted to each motor mount with 2
bolts and attached to the frame with 2 rivets at each end. You can
make a new crossmember out of 1" by 2" rectangle tube, with
¼" thick walls. Angle iron and flat plate is used and welded
together. It bolts to the frame with 2 bolts on each side and is
used for the motor mounts in the same holes as the stock cross
member.
Swaybar
With the new drag link being in the way, the stock swaybar
could not be used so we left it off. We could of purchased another
swaybar that would of worked but the price of $250 scared us away.
Another reason we decided to leave it off is you can't disconnect
it when you hit the trails. Driving on the street isn't that bad
without it. It corners fine but you definitly don't want to take
corners like you were in a Porsche! If you do need one, contact
Off Road Unlimitled. Since this rig is mostly used for
off-road, it will stay off.
It really
works!
After hitting the trails, we
were amazed just how much the crossover helped. When the left front
wheel was at full droop, we were still able to steer in the proper
direction. Also, sharper turns were noticed going on some tight
trails and parking lots. The bump steer was eliminated which makes
it much easier to drive at high speeds. Was it worth it? You
bet!Parts Mike (Steering
and Pitman arm)
750 Perry Ranch Rd.
Auburn, Ca. 95603
Phone:(530)885-0673
Fax:(530)885-9646 http://www.partsmike.net junmike@garlic.com AGR
(Complete Steering Box)
4920 Rondo Dr.
Fort Worth, TX 76106
817-626-9006
800-662-3649
Fax: 817-626-9758 http://www.agrsteering.com info@agrsteering.com McMaster-Carr Supply Co.
(Drag link tap)
Tap 7/8"x18 threads per inch right hand www.mcmastercarr.com
Part # 2595 A423 Parts: Left Tie Rod End (no stabalizer hole)
TRW or Moog part # ES2010L
Right Tie Rod End
TRW or Moog part # ES2234R
Dropped Pitman Arm
Superlift # sup-1104
Tie rod center (adjusting) tube
GM # 14026803 Update: This may be the wrong part #.
09/01/02
2WD shaft (non AGR only)
GM # 7813631
(expensive, better off buying complete box from the salvage
yard)
Questions or Comments about this page should be directed
to: chevy@off-road.com.
We cannot
guarantee a response to every letter we
receive.
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