hey guys im under a bit of a time situation to get my truck ready so i can get to North Dakota. Right now my truck has the factory untouched steering. I have a 2" shackle hanger lift on it, and am getting ready to swap factory SD spring up there which should get me another 1.5-3. Even with the 1-2" i gained by the shackle hanger, (lost some due to diesel weight). The truck has a fair amount of bump steer, and no doubt more lift will make it all but undrivable.

Heres what i need to know. What is easiest/ cheapest way to make or buy crossover steering? I have some 3/4" hiem joints sittin around, good ones. and can pick up some DOM tubing. Issue there is what do i do about the steering box, as where it is now, simply rotating the pittman arm will either hit the frame or the crossmember. I thought i had heard about swapping in a different steering box, i believe the same one that was in my 77 F-150. Im confident i can build the steering arm, but open to experience and opinions.

Or, who is a good manufacturer that sells one of these things at a decent price, i thought i had found a kit for $300 some but cant seem to find it now.

Or again, if anyone has another alternative or idea im open, shoot it at me let me have it, time is of the essence,
Thanks in advance,
Mike

 

Rent a trailer and buy the proper parts later and do it properly later when the funds come in.

But seriously your gonna want a good steering arm with the draglink mounting surface machined on a flat plain like one you buy. I don't like heims and prefer a tapered tie rod end for the street with no play. Steering box should be swapped to a2wd one with custom steering shaft to suit and box plated frame to mount,and while your at it hydro assist to lose your wobble and give better steering or just a stabilizer for a band aid then go with a Saginaw ps pump...
O also you may need to put washer shims under the kingpin caps ..
Better just tow it..
What's your time and budget?

 

Time is about 2 weeks tops... i have to drive the truck up there. Budget... well whatever it has to be but the cheaper the better. The hiems would be a temp bandaid as you mentioned. I plan to build or buy it later with the chev rod ends. Ok saginaw ps pump.. thats what it was, those the ones in the half tons?

 

This is a pretty good thread if you haven't ever seen it. Granted much of it deals with the Highboy trucks, but would be the same principal because you have the D60. I'm not sure if you'd be able to reposition the box to make work or just seeing if a box that mounts to the outside work better to have clearance. Steering is nothing to mess around with and a "quick fix", but you know that. Good Luck with it.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...teering-2.html

 

Saginaw pump is in most Chevys. They also came in mid 80s econoline vans. That's the last of the upgrades you probably need unless your pump is shot. Check your kingpins first then report back. Jack up the front and push on the tire from side up and down and look for play. Otherwise check all rod ends while turning at a stop for play you may just need to fix a minor first.
What size tires u running??

 

well if your truck is a 79 your steering box is fine all you would need is a drop pitman arm and rotate 90 degrees. and yes i would rather use chevy tierod ends than heims.

 

K thats exactly what i thought, but i cant find a drop pittman for a F350 to save my life, all they say are bronco and up to 250. All i can find that might bandaid is a steering arm lift block... which sounds kinda sketchy to me.

King pins are decent... almost noticible play nothing to get excited about... rod ends are good and kept greased. Tires im throwin on to get me up there are 37-13.5s, once i get some hackin done on it and it the height i want (still not sure yet), ill more than likely run 39s... it looks really long in person, due to the short narrow bed.. so make it taller and some bigger tires will hopefully shorten her up a bit.

And thanks buck, im not tryin to "patch" it together, but still in a hurry

Oh and thanks for the compliment... some decent tires and a grille and i think shell look alot better.

 

Man that is confusing trying to remember which theyre talkin about 250 or 350... I dont mean to be lazy here, but can anyone tell me what the best route is gunna be? Saginaw box, or my box? I found i can buy the steering arm seperate and its already tapered for the heavy chev rod end. From what i read im thinkin of grabbin the saginaw box, and a chev tie rod and havin the rod shortened and buyin the steering arm... question is, will everything play nice. Im lifting now to keep my front diff and oil filter from kissin, but i dont want the floorboard 5 feet off the ground to clear my steering.

75F350, lol chime in whenever ya want man... i know i owe ya a 12 pack as it is, but i know youre pretty reliable on this stuff, not that you other fellers arent

 

Ed (75f350) wont chime on he's dropped off the face of the earth. Curious if anyone personally knows him and could confirm what happened it seemed odd how he stopped posted.
Anyways bust off your kingpin caps and put 2, 1/8 thick washers under them then report back. big round 1 1/2 ish washers..might do alot of good here

 

f250s and f350s use the same steering box. i got the steering arm off my buddy bought the tubing already threaded on both ends , used chevy tie rod ends and rotated the pitman arm. its pretty simple.

 

Thats a shame, i think i have his phone number somewhere might try and find it.

Ok now youve lost me, what does the washers under the kingpin caps supposed to do??

Boggin, what pittman arm is that, and what did you use for the steering arm? Ill go look again, but i was thinking running just like that would contact my frame x-member, mine has a bit of an S-shape to it, where ive noticed 150s, and my g-pa's highboy its straight across and further back. Are chev rod ends the the same on the drag link and tie rod? if so i was planning on grabbin the tie rod off a chev 1-ton, and shorten it, throw a die over it and vuala, drag link with ends.

Also, not sure if this may hurt me or not, i seriously doubt im runnin, or will run the amount of lift you guys have, ill probably only be sittin at 4" total lift, if that, but depends on how the springs sit, i may end up with 5".. which would be nice.

I almost like the idea of putting the chevy box outside the frame, but less work is less time.

 

I took a broom handle with me and climbed under my truck, and this is what i found. If the pittman arm is slightly longer than stock, and the steering arm shorter than stock, it might not hit the crossmember on compression. Next, gotta keep the spring from smacking the pittman.

 

I wouldn't do a chev box on the outside of frame
1: it may limit right turns with bigger wide tires as it hits the box
2: you ll need a goofy steering shaft over the frame with a v
Center steady bearing or some crap.

Washers under the kingpins puts more preload on the springs as larger tires force preload of the spring.
Even with brand new kingpins I installed 1 washer under the caps.
Northwest fabworks designs crossover/highsteer arms now with a threaded cap to adjust preload from the outside for lifted big tire trucks. I mentioned this design to them and sure enough a year later they made them..

Here
NorthWest FabWorks - Products - Steering - Dana 60 Steering Arms

O and post some pics it will help alot

 

Thumbs up on Northwest.Im dealing with the same situation,Hey buck the timing of this ? is made to order.Thanks Boggin for your pics.

 

Some nice lookin arms, theyre a little proud of them though for my budget. I may have to look into the steering arm block to get what i need done temporarily. It just looks like i dont have enough lift to make crossover work. Thanks for the info guys. If anyone knows of a drop pittman arm for my box, or one that will work im all ears send me a PM.