1970 K-20 lifted - steering & pittman arm question

[webfoot]

I have a K-20 that will end up with about a 6" lift and on 35" tires. I have just ordered a steering arm that is raised 4". Will I also need a dropped pittman arm or will this suffice?

This will not be offroaded much, it is mostly a cruiser.

[ryanroo]

It might feel fine. My k20 has 2.5" springs and no correction and drives great. But, I wouldn't be surprised if a dropped Pittman wouldn't help you. I would consider testing with just the 4" correction with the understanding you may need a Pittman arm as well.

[special-K]

A 6" lift calls for the 4" lift arm. Under 4" requires no changes. The nature of the design allows some leeway.

[webfoot]

Originally Posted by special-K

A 6" lift calls for the 4" lift arm. Under 4" requires no changes. The nature of the design allows some leeway.

OK, so it turns out I have a Dana 60 Kingpin front axle. Looks like it already has a tall block in it.

[andrewmp6]

I would bite the bullet and go cross over steering.

[whtgmc68]

Originally Posted by andrewmp6

I would bite the bullet and go cross over steering.

I second this. I did it on my '68 with a D60 and it makes it so much easier to drive. It is pricy but it is worth it!

[webfoot]

I am kinda new to this stuff. What exactly does "crossover steering" mean?

I see a kit that requires sourcing your own DOM tubing, but this kit looks complete (?) and is priced well, and claims to be US built.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/GM-CHEVY-FOR...531fa6&vxp=mtr

So, I thought the idea of crossover steering was to steer the passenger side knuckle, but this kit doesn't appear to do anything but replace the existing tie rods.

[whtgmc68]

Here is a link to Offroad Design, where I bought my crossover kit.

http://offroaddesign.com/catalog/Dana60crossover.htm

I had to get a 2wd steering box to use this kit on my 68. There are pictures at the link above that demonstrate what the kit does but in short, it eliminate the pitman arm assembly and uses the passenger side steering knuckle for the pivot point for the steering assembly. This eliminates a lot of moving parts and helps keep the steering from binding when you get the truck twisted. To me, it makes the truck's steering much more responsive.

[webfoot]

Originally Posted by whtgmc68

Here is a link to Offroad Design, where I bought my crossover kit.

http://offroaddesign.com/catalog/Dana60crossover.htm

I had to get a 2wd steering box to use this kit on my 68. There are pictures at the link above that demonstrate what the kit does but in short, it eliminate the pitman arm assembly and uses the passenger side steering knuckle for the pivot point for the steering assembly. This eliminates a lot of moving parts and helps keep the steering from binding when you get the truck twisted. To me, it makes the truck's steering much more responsive.

Ahh, cool, I had seen that before but wasn't real sure what I was looking at before. So really a guy could piece this kit together, I can order their draglink and get a RH steering arm & source my own ball joints and tie rod ends. This thing is not going to be a rock crawlin trail rider so I'm not worried about high steer or mega heavy duty ball joints.

[whtgmc68]

Originally Posted by webfoot

Ahh, cool, I had seen that before but wasn't real sure what I was looking at before. So really a guy could piece this kit together, I can order their draglink and get a RH steering arm & source my own ball joints and tie rod ends. This thing is not going to be a rock crawlin trail rider so I'm not worried about high steer or mega heavy duty ball joints.

I'm sure you could piece it together but it may cost you more in the long run. Someone that has pieced a kit together might say otherwise but to me it was too easy to make a call to ORD and get it all at one time and bolt it in.

[webfoot]

Originally Posted by whtgmc68

I'm sure you could piece it together but it may cost you more in the long run. Someone that has pieced a kit together might say otherwise but to me it was too easy to make a call to ORD and get it all at one time and bolt it in.

Oh, I hear ya. But I already have to put new wheels & tires on this thing, and some different front leaf springs for a 6" lift in addition to this and my money is pretty much all going out the window on that stuff.

[72K20super]

I have used the off road design kit and it works good. The only thing I do different on trucks now is build a drag link that reuses the factory drag link ends so in the future it is easy to get parts to service it at any parts store in a jam. But I also drive from Colorado to California 3 times a year and worry about parts availability in general.

[special-K]

You realize a Dana60 gives an inch of lift over the Dana44, right? You will be 7" over stock with a 6" lift. Just another inch, but puts you near what is best for 8"...almost double 4" lift. I've only gone 6", other than with Rockwells, but crossover steering is probably what I would do. I've had 6" trucks go down the road as good as stock on factory steering and 4" arm, so not could be ok. It's worth a try before dropping the coin on crossover

[andrewmp6]

Another site http://www.sky-manufacturing.com/cgi...listcategories they have a few steering options.

[webfoot]

Originally Posted by special-K

You realize a Dana60 gives an inch of lift over the Dana44, right? You will be 7" over stock with a 6" lift. Just another inch, but puts you near what is best for 8"...almost double 4" lift. I've only gone 6", other than with Rockwells, but crossover steering is probably what I would do. I've had 6" trucks go down the road as good as stock on factory steering and 4" arm, so not could be ok. It's worth a try before dropping the coin on crossover

No idea. The other 71 K20 I had was completely stock so I never had to worry about stuff like this.

I'll check out that page, thanks!

Sheesh so ya drop 400 bones on a kit and then you also need a new steering box and pitman arm. (what are the odds the box is shot anyway? I'd say pretty good.) Not loving my first lifted truck experience so far. But after the pain in the wallet it will be good times.

[andrewmp6]

Some of the steering kits use a 2wd steering box because it turns the other way that a 4x4 one does.

[ryanroo]

They turn the same direction. The sector shaft on a2wd is different and accommodates the crossover Pittman arm. The 4x box doesn't have a threaded stub and two few master splines. Otherwise they are the same.

[argonaut]

The reason one would want cross over steering is not due to lift, but due to suspension movement. Those who lift with 52" springs in front, or other more flexible front suspension get more vertical suspension travel. Crossover steering gives you a drag link that is around 5 times longer than stock. This gives less angular deflection of the drag link when the suspension is moving up and down, and thus give less unwanted side to side movement due to the arc that the drag link travels in. You will however get more bump steer with the crossover.

If you have stiff aftermarket lift springs, or don't crawl over a lot of big rocks or through deep gulleys then you probably won't see much benefit from the crossover steering. Just use the raised steering arm and you'll most likely be fine with 6" static lift.

If you do decide crossover I believe you can piece together and build your own setup cheaper than the kits. But it requires a little more effort. I sourced parts from partsmike.com, cut and welded my own drag link and tie rod and sent my knuckle out for machining (since I'm a dana 44 not a dana 60 like you). I went to a "high steer" setup as well which places the tie rod above the springs. Be careful if you do this with arched springs as you may need steering arms the are lifted, or spacer blocks for the steering arms, and longer studs.