cheap crossover parts?

[gonefishin]

I am thinking about going crossover since my whole front end is apart and mostly worn out I looked at the crossover kit from ord and I just can't spend 400+ for just the kit on top of the steering box and flat top knuckle I know ord has great stuff but I am broke

What is the cheapest I can expect to go crossover on top of the 2wd box and flat top ? Is there any cheaper kits out there than the one ord has that is just as complete or can I piece one together cheaper I have to have both factory knuckles not just the flat top passenger side correct what all do I need

I just can't see spending that much on a 10b whent I am going with a d60 when I finish college in 2 more years

I seem to remember something about $50 crossover but it wasn't the traditional style I have searched untill I am going crosseyed lol

 

[dremu]

"Cheap" and "crossover" don't go together. Also, do you REALLY want to cheap out on your steering?

You'll need the 2WD box or sector shaft, steering and pitman arms, a matched set of knuckles (passenger side machined & drilled), a new draglink and prolly ends, studs and nuts for the steering arm... plus all the other assorted little things that naturally occur during projects, i.e. ball joints if they're worn, check the U-joints and spindles while you're down there, etc etc.

Prolly doesn't make sense if you're gonna replace it all in two years, especially since most of it is 10b-specific and can't be reused on your D60.

You could, I suppose, do a Y-style crossover wherein the draglink mounts to the tierod, maybe where the steering stab goes. You are BEGGING for breakage on a fullsize in doing so, IMO. I see no wisdom in doing that.

-- A

 

[owenst7]

You could, I suppose, do a Y-style crossover wherein the draglink mounts to the tierod, maybe where the steering stab goes. You are BEGGING for breakage on a fullsize in doing so, IMO. I see no wisdom in doing that.

-- A

This has been beaten to death so much here in the last year or so.

There is no safe way to run an inverted-letter-type steering on one of these trucks. There is no way to safely get around the passenger side leaf spring. You would have to run large bends in the drag link which would create a huge bending stress concentration couple with a high cyclic load in the same area. You'd be driving a time bomb while that fatigue was perpetrating itself. It could work fine for weeks and the tube could fail with no warning without ever hitting it hard.

You can do crossover on a 1/2 ton axle and retain a lot of the stuff for use later on a Dana 60. The draglink can be made to be adjustable to fit either axle, which is really the only issue. I made mine from a stick of 1.5"OD x .250" DOM and a pair of weld-in inserts. Took me about 30 minutes and under $100 with two drag link ends. If your steering box works fine, just get a 2x4 sector shaft from a junkyard. They are extremely common and you do not necessarily need to get it from a Chevy. Same deal with pitman arms, there's a lot of threads on here discussing junkyard finds that will work.

If you get a pitman arm and sector shaft from the junkyard and make your own draglink, the only thing you really need to buy is a passenger side steering arm/knuckle setup, which you could sell to a Jeep guy later on if 44s are a common upgrade in your area. In a pinch, you could even reuse the draglink ends that are on the truck now assuming they are in decent condition.

 

[shaun89]

im gonna be "that" guy and say if ur looking to get a D60 in 2 years, i would just leave it for now. IMO. or if u have some tools and a little bit of skill do what ownest said if u really want it. if ur stock drag link is worn out and u have to get new tie rods already. it might be worth collecting the parts for X-over on ur 10b

 

[MTBLAZER89]

Like Dremu and Owen said. Dont cheap out on steering.

There are more inexpensive options than ORD.

Get a steering arm from Sky. They are a great product and inexpensive as they come for good quality stuff.

The box is easy to find like Owen said and you can use either the shaft or get the whole box from a junk yard. For the knuckle they are getting harder to find and a little more expensive. Look on the "odd" vehicles for them. I find most of the GM ones have been taken from the yards, but I still see them on the old fullsize cherokee Jeeps and the Ramchargers had them as well.

When you order your arm from Sky ask them what a draglink will cost or have a local shop make you one. I had one built before I had a bender for $100 with weld in bungs. Get the ends from Autozone for $20 each.

The pitman arm can be bought new for not that much or search here or ebay for used. Superlift pn 1104 is a common one used.

Also as mentioned above you can reuse everything except the steering arm from a 10B on a Dana 60 pretty easily. The Dana 60 stuff is shorter so it just needs to be trimmed a tiny amount and have a new bung welded in.

 

[NorCal_Chris]

I was the one with the 55$ crossover.

I caught alot of **** for it but it worked and i had no issues with it. So haters gonna hate lol.

its on page 17 of my build thread.

i ran it for about 2 months wheeled it a few times.

It is not an ideal setup, the draglink makes the tierod rotate a little on steering imput. Since my truck is low the bend wasnt very extreme, but it was still there.

 

[MNorby]

I have a pitman arm in the general classifieds that might work to save you some coin on a crossover setup.....

 

[Stomis]

As said inverted y around leaf over is hard to do. If you're gonna try it then a zero rate will give you tons more room under the pack.

 

[big dan]

for the crossover on my 10 bolt excluding knuckles and gear box I spent:

$40 knuckle machining
$110 wfo steering arm
$26 7/8-18 rh tap
$20 junkyard pitman arm
$20 for new tie rod ends

I used a stock tube type tie rod and cut it down to the length I needed and retapped it for my drag link.

Got a ford pitman arm from the junkyard and a local shop machined my knuckle. Might even be able to find a shop with the tap to retap the tie rod and save a little there but I wanted my own tap so I could build my own tie rods.

Now I did spend another $100 on knuckles and $200 on moog balljoints but I figured it was a worthwhile investment, especially since Im still running the same setup. If you plan on a 60 any time soon I think I would just wait.

 

[GreenieK30]

Cheapest 44 crossover I have done:

$10 2wd swapmeet box
$75 Bent Metal Fab arm
mill and drill the knuckle myself
reuse studs, cones, nuts and stock tierod ends
$15 steel yard remnant, 1.5" dia cold rolled tie rod, drill and tap myself
$80 ORD pitman arm


$180 no corners cut