Sweptline.ORG

1978 f#rd f250 4x4 box/with stock pitman arm turned 90 deg/ mounting bracket home fab like "jimmy's"/ slip joint at box end and u joint on column end of intermediat shaft, and the stock rag joint to connect to column./ i put a bearing in the end of the column for support, and another on the intermediat shaft just next to the u joint with a fabricated bracket mounted to the frame/ did this cause there was to much flex in the rag joint. wanted to keep the rag joint because it kills vibration and noise./ found a high steer arm for the right knuckle of the D60 at local 4x4 shop/ and fabbed a cross over link using thick wall steele threaded right and left hand, with a dodge one ton tie rod end and jam nuts on each side. 39.5"/ stock power steering pump/ hoses from f#rd box reflaired with the dodge flare nut./hope this helps.

First, thanks a lot for posting that up! I know a bunch of us have talked about it, but this is the first with pics. I do have a couple questions, though.
What pitman arm did you use?
Also, what is your distance from the axle tube to the bottom of the frame? It appears you have PLENTY of room for crossover, and I would like to know how what you have compares to my truck.

Again, thanks for posting up

the pitman arm is the one from the f#rd f250 78/79 4x4, it is 6 1/4" eye to eye and has a 2 1/2" drop. one with less drop would be better but i needed to clear the driveshaft for my PTO winch. it is possible to mowe the P.S. box forward,rearward, or up or down for more clearance. my truck has a 318 4spd and the cross over arm runs infront of the oil pan sump and bellow it, so good clearance between them. nothing seems to contact or bind so far, checking with jacking up each corner, but have not gone wheeling yet. thats when ya find out how ya did here is a sketch with some measurements, hope it helps.

try this, it might be clearer????

Awesome Post. With so many people here working on Power Steering for our trucks this simple and rugged build is exactly what the doctor ordered.

this should be stickied imho

Sterno wrote: this should be stickied imho

agreed.

Thanks for the sketch. That really helps. I am going to be at around 15" from the axle to frame, so if you clear fine with 14, I definitely should be fine. Again, Thanks.

Nice work,Dan!

Awsome work! I've been putting miles on mine, and everything works great. Food for thought-- I didn't use a rag joint and to my suprise I have NO vibration in my steering wheel. I also used a bearing in the colume. I've been driving at highway speeds --faster than I should be on really poor country roads and local highways, and the truck drives perfectly straight with now bump or wander steer. I've also driven down dirt wash board roads and have not felt any bump steer. Remember that I'm using Cummins front springs and shackles and Napa Gas Grande' shocks on all four. I found out that 93' Front superduty front shock work on all four. I also moved the left shock to the rear of the axle and it rides great. I was worried about the truck bounching un-even having the front shocks stagered but everything is great. With a 440 and the location of the plate I don't think that I can use a cross over, but I also am very satisfied with the out come of how mine turn out. I'm really picky about how stuff drives and I like it. Of cource my truck is'nt nearlly as tall as some. If it were taller I think the cross over is the only way to go.

All I'm trying to say is I don't have the dreaded bump steer for some reason.

Once again awsome work!

Truck looks great, good job. More/bigger pics would be really cool. Crossover is DEFINITELY the way to go. All hardcore offroad Ch3vy guys convert their pushpull steering to crossover.

Watch for cracks in the frame around the box, might be a problem depending on how hard you wheel it.

http://www.offroaddesign.com/catalog/steeringkit.htm

Another note, you should use drag link ends (DLES) on the drag link, not tie rod ends. Drag link ends are designed to handle more angle when the suspension travels. There is a chance you could bind/break a TRE and lose steering.




A note for the others, I believe a 2wd Chevy or Dodge box will work too, maybe one of them would already have the correct flare. Don't use van boxes. They are often "reversed".

About how much in all would a project like this cost and how difficult would it be?

To ballpark it:
Dana 60 arm- $150
Steering Box- $300
Two Tie Rod Ends- $60
DOM tubing/ inserts- $80

Sooo, roughly $600. Of course, you still need a welder, and you might be able to get this stuff cheaper than I listed. That is either new or reman, but by shopping, it is possible to do it cheaper.

crusty wrote:To ballpark it:
Dana 60 arm- $150
Steering Box- $300
Two Tie Rod Ends- $60
DOM tubing/ inserts- $80

Sooo, roughly $600. Of course, you still need a welder, and you might be able to get this stuff cheaper than I listed. That is either new or reman, but by shopping, it is possible to do it cheaper.

Alot cheaper thank you.There wouldnt be any serious self Fabrication of parts?

Well, if you buy the tubing and inserts, then you have to weld them. When I did heavy duty steering on my ford, I used "Shakerbilt." Tim was nice to deal with and pretty prompt.
Also, you have to fab up the plate like in the pics, as well as the steering shaft to the column.

I guess it depends on what you call "serious"

Great work, anyway to see a plan of the frame and steering box with measurements from the frame and box comparison?

Nice work Dan. I also put a cross over steering on my W300 along with many other mods.

I torched out a section of frame around the F-350 steering box so it would have the spacers in between the frame rails. Now the F's frame is molded into the W's frame with a Dana 60 axle. To keep the brakes and steering working properly I installed the F's hydro booster. I didn't know how it would work with the Cummins 5.9 power steering pump but works great. Turns really easy and stops really good too.

This last pic is what the "Mc Mobile" looks like now.

has anyone got any pictures of the steering shaft between the box and steering column? looks like a real tight angle where the factory box used to sit.

go back to powerwagon 4x4 forum-then go to page 2- look for (front springeyes) by jimmy- half way down is a link to
his ``jimmys69truck blog`` there you will find all his power steering mods and photos he has some good shots of his steering halfshaft good luck

hope this helps.

I used a 2 wheel drive GM box, I love my crossover steering. Its like driving a car. I have 35 14.50's too, lol I was looking over a cash for clunker jeep grand cherokee the other day, and it appers the steering arm on that is the same as the drop one I have on my box I paid 75 bucks for, oh well.

I am finally working on my steering and have a few questions for you guys. I am trying to figure out my measurements to get it right the first time. From what I have read, a 78-79 F150 pitman arm is what most are using for "standard" crossover steering swaps. That being said, does the pitman hole sit so that the draglink is perfectly parallel to the tie rod when the wheels are pointed straight forward? By that I mean does the draglink angle backward from the pitman arm to the Dana 60 steering arm or not? Also, what are the lengths/ pitman arm models you guys are using, and is there anything you would do different?
Also, what Dana 60 arms are you guys using? What is the kingpin to draglink distance on these arms? Is there a standard dimension, or does each manufacturer do them a little differently?
Thanks in advance.