Has anybody used this?

1974 Ford F Series Trucks Kits and Performance Parts from DiscountSteering

 

A thousand dollars is a little spendy. To be using an F-150 box, and a saginaw pump for that kind of money, is quite steep.
Also take into account that this set up still uses the push / pull design.
Little too rich for my blood.

 

I'm sure crossover steering is best.

75F350, let's say I want to buy brand new parts for crossover steering, can you help out with that for a 74 Highboy with stock suspension and front end (or does it have to be a 78-79 D44 or D60)...and by the way, it will work with stock highboy suspension?

Would this be a shopping list:

3-bolt Ford steering gear box from a 78-79 F-150 4x4
Pg. 103 of the LMC catalog has:
Part #45-1025-Z, standard cab, F100-F150 4x4, 76-79, $270 w/$150 core

Saginaw Pump (which ones work?)

Pitman Arm (which ones work?)

Steering arm (connect upper drag link to spindle?)

Upper Drag Link (Custom?)

Lower Drag Link (use current one?)

...I'm sure there's other bits and pieces I'm not thinking of. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

 

Thats a complete rip off. Just get a '77.5-'79 f-250 4x4 box and graft it in. It's a little work, but you can't go wrong with this box.

 

Im not even convinced I would use the 3 bolt box. As Mark suggested the 78/9 box would probably be a much better choice, even though this requires a little more work.
Alright, before I get really deep into this, I have to look at a stock frame.
Ive got a truck tore apart at the shop so I'll have to see what it would require to put something like this together. While I am sure that something can be done, I am concerned about clearance, and I would like to try to clear the water so to speak.
Ive got to make sure that this is even reasonable.
Crossover for a dana 44 is not easy, nor is it cheap, so this might not help since most of the early trucks are going to have this axle. To make things worse, they have closed knuckle axles, and while this is easier to modify, nobody makes steering arms for them, so we have to get creative. This is where the dana 60 is a huge benefit.
I am going to say that I believe the Inverted "T" style steering is going to be a plus, and this will probably be the way most would, or should go, but I have to take some measurements to see if the x-member can clear the drag link, and if the drag link can clear the pass side leaf spring. I m pretty sure it can.
Inverted "t' would be less expensive than the full crossover option, and still work with any axle available. While this will require a new tie rod, I still feel that it would be a cost effective solution.
Ok, in a day or two Ill get around to measuring and see what I can come up with.

 

i am wanting to do the same thing. Get rid of the power assist and still use the hd44 axle. I read some of the other post about steering and cant figure out which is the best setup for the dana 44. I discoverd a local shop close to where i live tha sells a crossover kit.
here is the site Genuine Bullet Proof Steering Systems FORD Pricing & Options
75f250 would this kit they sell work on a hd44?

#COS6679F STEERING SYSTEM 66-79 Ford 3/4 & 1-ton pickup 4wd $369.00
Complete Trail-Proof Tie Rod and drag link system, fasteners, hardware, shims, tubing, rod ends and detailed instructions. For converting your oem design to a cross over system. Does not include hi-steer arms which you may need depending on vehicle height and configuration, therefore you must insure a straight line drag link will clear passenger leaf spring.

also i dont unsderstand a tie rod over knuckle kit.

thanks again

 

Well, JMM, there are a few things about that kit that are not being discussed, or at least jus not being addressed.
According to that link, I only see that you are being offered a set of spherical rod ends, and a couple of hunks of tubing so that you can convert to x-over and high steer.
This kit is not a power steering kit, but simply a crossover kit.
The expense comes first from converting to integrated power steering and then this stuff is high dollar ends and tubing. All in all this is fine and dandy, but it does not address the real issue with our early trucks, and this is how to achieve the power steering upgrade.

Notice that this link states, that "steering / high steer arms are NOT supplied" and it is up to the user to provide them.
Well if you are going to use the HD axle or closed knuckle type in your pre 76, then you will not be able to use anything from this site until you either upgrade to an open knuckle axle, or KP dana 60.
If you use an open knuckle Dana 60, then you will have to machine at a minumum the pass side knuckle to accept a steering arm. Expect to add a few hundred bucks for this work. Thats on top of the power steering upgrade. High steer will require both knuckle to be machined, since high steer relocates the tie rod above the leaf springs and mounts on top of both knuckles.

Keep in mind guys that clearance for stock trucks is limited so this crossover may not be suitable for all applications.
I do believe that Inverted "T" might be an alternative, but again, this is speculation at this point. Ive got to actually build one, and cycle the suspension to verify. I am confident that this can be done. Ive put crossover in a 78 F250 with little SD front springs, and I have done this with a 79 using stock highboy leafs. I know it can be done, but before we run out and get crazy, I should find some date and details to support my claims.

IN any event, while I get all excited about crossover, it is not for everyone. WHile it is my belief that every truck can benefit from such a steering design, it is only my opinion, and nothing more.
Several FTE members have upgraded to integrated power steering with success, and some maintain the stock push / pull design.
Again, I try to talk them into the crossover design, this is due to many variables, and most of these guys run some fairly large lifts.
For closer to stock trucks, perhaps the push / pull is adequate (cant believe that i typed that) and might be alright for some applications.
SOme of those would include apllications where a vehicle is limited on travel, or does not see extreme off road activity.
I know of a few guys (Fordworth in particular) that have upgraded the steering box, and kept the stock style push / pull design. Fordworth used a Saginaw box, and mounted it so that a longer drag link could be used. This longer drag link did away with some of the problems associated with this design and lifted trucks. While it did not solve the problem 100%, it does address th issue with reasonable results.

 

Although mine is a 76, with a Dana 60f low pinion axle, its a highboy so I think the same frame. I converted to crossover to reduce bump steer while towing trailers, I tow almost constantly. On mine I used a saginaw steering box from a 97 2wd Dodge 2500, boxed the frame and mounted it inside the rail. The original plan was for true crossover, but I couldnt get what I thought at the time was enough clearance to put the drag link above the spring pack at stock height on a highboy, and still clear the frame on uptravel. I have since learned that steering arms are available to raise or lower the steering arm to put the drag link at the height required to clear everything, which is just barely high enough to clear the top of the leaf pack. If your truck is like mine, there's only about an inch and a half of up travel, so no real worries that direction. The factory bumpstops are about two inces high, so the drag link has to be as close to the top of the leaf pack as possible, like almost touching, even then I assumed 3/4 inch of crush into the bumpstop, which leaves a very small margin for error. So after all this I opted for inverted T style. The only problem I've had is because the drag link attaches to the center link at the front of the link, as I turn side to side the canter link rotates up and down and adds a bit of slop to the steering feel. In my case I had to put the steering box where I did between the engine and radiator, i think the rotation issue could be fixed by figuring out what angle would intersect with the center link and transmit directional force without also rotating the center link, if you can understand my ramblings. On mine, I'm planning on sleeving the ball joint bore in the center link and retapering it from the back to see if that gets the angles right. The slop is only noticable when turning back and forth in parking lots never noticed it out on the road. Heres some pics. The center link is from a 91 F-350, as it puts the drag link ball joint very close to the pass side, the pitman arm is from a Cadilac. The drag link is custom made.





Hope this helps.

 

What is the reason for wanting to swap?. Have you given any thought to replacing/rebuilding your power assist assembly?. It gets a bad rap, but it's really a pretty good system if it's in good shape. I bought a 78/79 gear box off of ebay a few years ago, but instead of swapping, I replaced my factory unit with rebuilt pieces, and couldn't be happier. It drives perfectly on the highway, with absolutely no wandering (and no noise or leaks), and I have no problem turning my 39.5 swampers. If the stock unit is replaced with a rebuilt unit, there's no reason it won't last for years. Just another thought.

 

I completely agree 100% but that opinion seems to be in the minority around here.

 

My dad has a 79 4x4 F-250, he had an alignment shop replace anything they could to make it steer better, it's still a major pain on a narrow road, there's no slop in the steering, just every bump in the road throws the front end around, after awhile I get used to it, I leave my arm on the opposite side that the bumps throw the truck and when it hits a bump, let the gravity pull my hand and the wheel down at the same time to compensate. The truck is factory everything and a pain to drive, its an absolute nightmare at highway speeds with a trailer.
My steering conversion was mostly done because of how difficult his is to drive, and the fact that I tow so frequently.
If its not something that you personally can justify then there's no reason to do it, most of the mods I did to my truck were completely unnecesary, but I wanted to do them so I did.

 

Is the High Boy Steering kit still available? I am in desperate need of a drag link and the one on the kit looks just right. My Dad and his buddies built the Bronco I have now back in the early 90s and I don't know exactly what they used for steering and the drag link is missing. PLease help. Thank you.

 

***ZOMBIE THREAD ALERT***


How about a Benchworks Steering conversion?

Benchwork Steering Systems

Daggumit... they remodeled their website... anyways, they have an 67-79 F250 PS conversion

 

My early 77 has the conversion to a 78-79 style and im not happy either,the tires follow every grove in the road weather you want to or not. EVERYTHING has been replaced in the steering with "NEW" parts and still feels sloppy,wish it had the factory assist still on it,im thinking of changing it all back.

 

I need to do this on my 75