New member, steering question
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Joined: Jun 2018
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New member, steering question
Hi everyone! Hate to start out with a stupid question but, I'm a life long muscle car guy. 4X4 is somewhat foreign to me. I bought a 79 Ramcharger project. It is a good solid piece. It was lifted 6 inches. The problem I have is the steering is not even. It turns left fine but if you turn to the right it barely turns. I've just started looking around and I see pitman arm and some other items available but I'm not sure what I actually need to correct this. I noticed from dead center, the steering wheel makes 3 complete turns left and only 1 right. Any help would be greatly appreciated. There are no obstructions. Nothing is hitting or binding that I can see.
Grand Champion
Joined: Feb 2015
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I noticed from dead center, the steering wheel makes 3 complete turns left and only 1 right.
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Amateur
Joined: Jul 2018
Posts: 27
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If your steering setup looks like what Mopar lite posted, I envy you big time. That’s called crossover steering, and I don’t believe you or I have that. (Mines an 82 power wagon, should be close to identical to yours.)
seems most people just just want an all show and no go machine, so they lift it, drive it, and eventually sell it because it steers and drives like hell now. Mine wanders a lot, steering wheel actually changes positions often. I aligned it perfectly, then it’s crooked going straight down the highway, then suddenly it’s almost straight again.
Crossover steering is is supposed to fix this, as well as a new steering box that I know I need, a borgison steering shaft that cleans up the play and also allows it to collapse (huge safety concern, if it doesn’t collapse, your steering wheel may kill you in an accident)
the frame also flexes where the box mounts on the frame, that adds slop. Several folks make weld on reinforcement plates you can install to fix it.
basically what I’ve read over the past week at 3 hours a day of research, 4 inch lift you can get a drop pitman arm to correct your steering, most times.
6in lift, your steering geometry is no longer correct, and whereever your suspension is going down the road, will change the direction the tires want to go. Big tires amplify this effect.
There are several write ups on crossover steering builds people have done, I know Sky Manufacturing sells a very high quality custom build you can buy, where you can even get the correct knuckles and everything if you don’t want to have yours machined.
seems most people just just want an all show and no go machine, so they lift it, drive it, and eventually sell it because it steers and drives like hell now. Mine wanders a lot, steering wheel actually changes positions often. I aligned it perfectly, then it’s crooked going straight down the highway, then suddenly it’s almost straight again.
Crossover steering is is supposed to fix this, as well as a new steering box that I know I need, a borgison steering shaft that cleans up the play and also allows it to collapse (huge safety concern, if it doesn’t collapse, your steering wheel may kill you in an accident)
the frame also flexes where the box mounts on the frame, that adds slop. Several folks make weld on reinforcement plates you can install to fix it.
basically what I’ve read over the past week at 3 hours a day of research, 4 inch lift you can get a drop pitman arm to correct your steering, most times.
6in lift, your steering geometry is no longer correct, and whereever your suspension is going down the road, will change the direction the tires want to go. Big tires amplify this effect.
There are several write ups on crossover steering builds people have done, I know Sky Manufacturing sells a very high quality custom build you can buy, where you can even get the correct knuckles and everything if you don’t want to have yours machined.