Crossover Steering benefits

[gcsupraman]

I was wondering if there were any benefits of converting to crossover steering in a 1972 K20 that is primarily driven on streets. ....or are the benefits only for lifted vehicles?

I have some play in the steering box and was debating the conversion since the box needs to be rebuilt anyway.

Thanks

-Greg

[drink2mny]

I moved your thread to the 4x4 community for a better place to get answers..
I can tell you from past experience, If your truck is lifted and you hit mud pits or crawl in ravines it will help you a great deal better than stock config..

It is nice with the larger tires. But if you are not lifted and only go off every now and then. I would just replace your stock setup and get her tightened up with new components..

All this coming from a guy who should try and sell you one of our kits..You just don't really need it on a stock height pickup..Just my .02

[yellow70GMC]

I probably wouldn't do it if it's mostly a street truck. Assuming you have the right steering knuckles (pass. side knuckle needs to be flat), you'll have to take at least the pass side knuckle off to have it machined to accept a steering arm, and while that's apart you would be crazy not to replace the ball joints (in other words, more money). You'll also need a 2wd steering box, a new draglink either fabricated or bought, and a new pitman arm. When i rebuilt my front axle 2 years ago i had the knuckle machined for crossover, and i still haven't gotten around to spending the money and time to switch to crossover. My truck also has 33" tires, and i drive it offroad in addition to the street. The bump-steer isn't so bad that i feel like i NEED crossover, although i'm sure it would be a night/day difference. If your steering sucks and your truck is mostly stock, i'd look into rebuilding the steering gear you already have. You can also get a steering stabilizer, which is basically a bandaid but they do help with bump steer.

[AJs72K5]

With a stock suspension setup you'd have a lot of clearance issues between the crossover draglink and the spring pack. Everything I've read says you should have at least 4" of lift before considering crossover.

[Burt4x4]

Ya and 4" is even tighter with a BBC

This slop you talk about may be cured by tighting the set screw on the steering box. If your slop is were you can rotate your steering wheel a bit before the pitman arm moves then you can tighten up your box. Now be careful not to tighten it too much as that will make it run HOT. I would leave just a tiny bit of slop from your steering wheel to box...slop after the box, well you know...

[gcsupraman]

Originally Posted by Burt4x4

Ya and 4" is even tighter with a BBC

This slop you talk about may be cured by tighting the set screw on the steering box. If your slop is were you can rotate your steering wheel a bit before the pitman arm moves then you can tighten up your box. Now be careful not to tighten it too much as that will make it run HOT. I would leave just a tiny bit of slop from your steering wheel to box...slop after the box, well you know...

Thank you to all who have answered. The problem is that the truck is all over the road, especially if the road is uneven. It's actually kind of scary to drive on the highway. I check all front end parts and could not find any play anywhere except there is play in the box. I replaced the drag link and added a steering stabilizer for pretty much no reason.

I was going to have the box rebuilt and I was debating the conversion since I would be rebuilding anyway but since it won't work with a stock lift (and has no benefits for a street driven truck) it's clearly not worth it. Thank you very much for answering my question!

-Greg

[turp mcspray]

Have you checked your toe in on the front end? Not having any will make the front end feel "loose".

[gcsupraman]

Originally Posted by turp mcspray

Have you checked your toe in on the front end? Not having any will make the front end feel "loose".

I had the truck aligned to try and fix the problem....but I am not 100% sure that the place I went did the job correctly. Their printer was conveniently broken and I couldn't get a printout after the job was completed. In hindsight I probably should not have paid them.

I went to get a second opinion at a more reputable shop a few days ago and was told that there was play in the steering box and it was recommended that I had it rebuilt and then come back for an alignment.

-Greg

[yellow70GMC]

Possibly a dumb question, but have you checked your ball joints?

[gcsupraman]

Originally Posted by yellow70GMC

Possibly a dumb question, but have you checked your ball joints?

Yellow,

What's the best way to check? Everything seems tight when I jack up the truck and shake the rims

-Greg

[yellow70GMC]

That's pretty much how i would check. Its not side to side play you're looking for, but top to bottom. I hope that makes sense. In other words if you were to try moving the bottom of the tire in and out with the truck jacked up, and there's play, one or both ball joints are worn.

[jcnalley]

As the others have said...if your truck is stock height keep the stock set up. Crossover steering does help with lifted trucks. I have a 96 Chevy lifted 6" with a straight axle conversion. I am running 35s and with the crossover steering I have little to no bumpsteer.