I just finished my crossover steering conversion on my 92 W250. I only have a leveling spring in front...and a very thick rough riding spring pack at that. I was able just just fit the steering system in the truck with room for 3" of compression travel. Its tight, but it works great. Its SOOOOO much better than stock. It goes lock to lock now both directions. I even have a little extra throw available to back the steering stops in a bit before the tires hit the springs.



I moved the box to the 2wd position on the frame. I used a jeep WJ pitman arm that I milled the 'clocking' keys out of and re-tapered for the larger tie rod. It is just enough drop to provide for 3" of uptravel from the top of my springs. Its also long enough to get the drag link ahead of the engine crossmember. I did not have to trim the crossmember at all.



I made my own steering arm for the passenger knuckle. It's a little taller than normal at 1.5" tall. This allowed the drag link to clear the taller spring pack. The arm is 6" long to the pivot. The shorter steering arm and longer pitman arm speed up the steering just a little. I went from 4 to 3.5 turns lock to lock. I have a little extra travel at the knuckle to turn the steering stops in for tighter steering ( once I check the axles for binding )



I built my own drag link adjuster so I could center the wheel with the slight bend in the drag link. It basically allows me to adjust the drag link with a crescent wrench after I loosen the 1/4-20 pinch bolt. It's tight but everything clears both directions and on center with just a little over 3" of compression travel before the springs hit the bump stops. I may need to build a shim under the bump stop to account for there compression under REALLY hard compression.

This conversion made the truck feel 10 years newer! Even with the worn out military tires you can drive it with just a few fingers on the wheel.....
SUCH an improvement over the stock system!

 

Looks good can you tell me the difference in the driving of the truck compared to the original set up

 

Buddy the difference is Hugh you kick yourself for not doing it yr's ago

 

Mieser where did you get the tires at ? and can you get any more ?

 

The difference is night and day! It makes the truck feel 10 years newer at least. Driving it, even with the big worn out tires, just requires a few fingers on the wheel.

On the stock system the steering box bracket ripped in half three different times. All the bump steer that I had with the stock system is gone also.

Best modification I have done so far....

Tires. I got this set out of California used a few years ago now. They are almost about done. They don't last forever They may have a 5000lb load rating but highway driving does shorten there life pretty quickly. I haven't seen too many sets for sale lately. I got 2-3 years out of a used set...

 

OK does this set up lessen the stress on the Box /Frame from moving around any more then the original set up did? I would think so. It looks right.

 

The forces generated are still the same. Making the frame stronger where the box attaches is probably not a bad idea. I have a fresh pressed 4wd steering box plate that I will be trimming down to sandwich on the inside of the frame. I plan to brace to the opposite frame rail and front crossmember under the radiator/intercooler.

There are now four bolts holding the box to the frame rather than the 3-bolts that hold the 4wd steering box bracket to the frame on the stock system....

 

ok its officiall my truck must just hate me, still has bumpsteer like mad even with cross over steering.

 

The crossover steering on my truck went from made my steering go from being compared to a John Deere B to a new Cadillac. Well not quite, but almost.

 

1bad93 Looking at the huge amount of lift on your truck I can see why you still have bump steer. You have to eliminate/minimize the vertical angle between the crossover drag link and axle center line. Metcalf has his custom drag link sit nearly parallel with the axle.

You may need to do some mod/work to the drag link.

 

Nice work Meiser and holy 8 leaf front pack! I thought you had a single add a lead but you have at least two non stock leaves added! Looks like the 2nd and 4th down from the top are added in. The stock packs in these trucks have only 6 leaves.

If you want the same minimal lift and a better ride consider Jungle's Shackle Drop hangers with plush springs.

http://ramchargercentral.com/jungles...with-shackles/

 

Thanks for the spring link. They honestly don't ride THAT bad with the big tires at like 30-35psi The only bad thing about the drop hangers is that the spring goes into very negative arch (bad) under compression. For such a thick leaf pack it doesn't give much lift. I probably only have 2" of lift or so.

I do love the new steering system.....very much better than stock!

I will probably swing up to Alcan and have them make a set of front and rear springs one of these days. I really want to ditch the rear blocks. I'm tempted to build some new hangers for a set of longer springs...maybe some 63" GM style springs.

 

http://www.slide.com/r/5Fc1swrk7z_CDNSNofSr7eS2GRlJrssA this 1 rode very well going down road didn't have any troubles with bump steer .

 

Something else to consider for strengthening the frame at the steering box are these:

http://ramchargercentral.com/fabrica...rame-supports/

 

Looks good Mieser, I really want to do that to my truck. Thanks for doing it at near stock ride height. Would you mind sharing the specs of the drag link, and how you made that adjuster on the end? Chevy drag link ends?