Steering Woes!

[Big_Red7506]

My truck has a 8"skyjacker lift with all the steering components 38" tires and i cant steer the dam thing when i get in certain situations. The steering completely feels manual and i cant turn it at all. I put in a reman box a few years ago and a agr pump recently. I'm guessing i need to switch to crossover. I was wondering to go with crossover with a agr steering box to match my pump or should i switch to hydro assist steering i am planning on 39.5 boggers in the future. I have a dana 44 up front. Do any companies make hi steer crossover?
Thanks for any help.

 

[79k20350]

With a 44 go crossover. Just run a 2wd box, no need for agr stuff. Id run hydro assist in addition to the crossover.

I would not go highsteer on a 44 and a full size rig. That puts alot of stress in a very small amount of area for these already weak knuckles.

Honestly though, with the size tries your running a 60 should be in order much sooner than later.

 

[79k20350]

Btw a membership here would be invaluable...

Spend the $25, use the search button...

Youll save yourself tons of time and money in the long run...

 

[muddybuddy]

i ran 39.5's with assist and i loved it. highly recommend both.

 

[mxfireman]

I wouldn't even bother with X-over go hydro assist first then the X-over if you think you need it.

Membership is a great thing here. Tons of info on this site.

 

[79k20350]

I wouldn't even bother with X-over go hydro assist first then the X-over if you think you need it.

Membership is a great thing here. Tons of info on this site.

Umm worst idea ever...

You cant go assist if you didnt go crossover... can create some major problems when your box is maxed out in one direction, the wheels are staright, and he ram decides to keep pushing...

bye bye box

 

[mxfireman]

Not sure if I agree with that.......but humor me for a second.....

If you set it up right how will it be pushing the box off the frame?


Also per some vendors on here you can go hydro assist without X-over.

 

[79k20350]

I pretty much summed it up in my pm but ill put it out there for everyone to see. This has been discussed here though before...

When a stock steering setup get flexed out, you can turn the wheel all the way in one direction and the tires will still point straight! This is beacuse the stock draglink is being pushed/ pulled from the tires moving up/ down (specifily the way it happens when one wheel is stuffed and the other is flexed)

Because of this hydro assist can create big problem. Hydro assist is unaffected by a rig flexing out, the ram is going to be at a certain postion based on where the steering wheel is, not the drag link. This means it will move the tie rod, in turn moving the draglink, then the steering box beyond its range of motion when a rig is flexed out as earlier described. This will ruin a box/ steering setup.

Unfortunatley as nice as the vendor you mentioned to me is he is wrong in this sence. Simple understanding of these sytems and how they work will tell you that.

If it was a street driven mall crawler that never got flexed out, then yes hydro assist would work. If its a rig that ever touches the dirt you shouldnt even consider it.

 

[79k20350]

Something that might make this all easier to grasp. When the rig is flexed out and you can no longer turn, you box IS turned to lock, its your draglink that is preventing the rig from truning anymore...

Thats why box turned to lock, a ram turned to lock and a short front/ back draglink dont mix

 

[81jimmyslt]

79k20350 You have pretty much nailed ever point.

Hydro-assist will work without X-over steering, but you might run into problems if you are wheeling hard and or fully flexed and trying to turn as you described above. So MXfireman I would disagree about getting hydro before x-over. For one you will have to upgrade your tie rod anyways, you might as well get it the right x-over length anyway.

To the poster Hi-steer is definately preferred if you plan on playing in the rocks or going with hydro assist. It will get your ram and tie rod out of the way.

Also X-over steering alone is worth the upgrade to your steering far before you go with hydro assist. The stock push pull steering setup is flawed as pointed out above, there is a lot of slop.

X-over increases your turning radius as well.

With 40" tires you should be looking into a D60 front or spending some serious money upgrading your 1/2 ton stuff.