Could anybody help explain to me about the high steer conversion-- like how it works compared to the stock steering and why it is so much better? ived tried searching on here but I havent found a topic that really explains alot about it. I took my truck up and down a few hills and logging roads and man it is such a handfull with out power steering. Im really not intrested in rigging up power steering on this truck and ive read nothing but good things about the high steer conversion, so im thinking about doing it after I put a lift on it.

 

High steer uses an IFS power steering box to steer side to side instead of the stock push and pull SFA box.

You'll need power steering for high steer.

:wabbit2:

 

If you have a sfa axle truck and you lift it the steering geometry gets messed up

With the stock push pull set up and braking it can cause the steering to change geometry and cause you to turn. With crossover steering your steering geometry only changes when your truck leans or flexes.

Also crossover gets all the steering components above the leaf spring so a lot less chance of hitting them with rocks. With crossover you also use fj80 TRE or heims, which are a lot stronger than stock TREs.

 

On a solid front axle without a torque rod or sway bars, the axle will want roll up when you hit the brakes. This will change the castor angle and cause the steering to push to the right. With cross over steering this geometry change will not be as noticeable. It will happen under hard braking, but a small amount that you can live with. The high steer part it just helps to keep your steering components out of harms way.

But like said above you will need power steering for the upgrade.

 

One could run crossover steering with a manual IFS steering box, but I think almost everyone uses the p/s box.

The big improvements has to do with the length of the draglink and the direction it moves and how it attaches.

With the stock steering, the draglink is short and it moves in line with the direction the axle moves and as noted, that axle rolls forward under braking and backwards under acceleration (in 4WD) and as the front suspension cycles up and down, that pushes and pulls on the steering draglink (aka bump steer). So hit the brakes or gas or hit a bump or pothole and you'll have steering feedback. With crossover steering, the draglink is much longer, meaning that up/down motion on the axle end means much less angle change and it is the angle change that causes bump steer and since the draglink is parallel to the axle, the axle can roll forward and back without causing any feedback into the draglink.

And final improvement is in the type of connections. The stock solid axle drag link runs on ball studs on the pitman arm and steering arm and has spring-loaded caps in the draglink that capture those ball studs. But those springs lead to sponginess in the steering, in fact the aftermarket dropped drag links are worse in this respect. In the factory (straight) draglink, you have one end is spring-solid and the other end is solid-spring. So steering either direction, you have one solid end cap and one spring loaded end cap. The aftermarket dropped draglinks, put the springs to the inside so steering one direction (pulling on the draglink) you have a two solid end caps. But steering the otehr way (compressing the draglink) and you have two spring loaded ends and the steering is super mushy. With crossover steering you have tie rod ends or heim joints at both ends of the draglink and no springs, so the steering is very solid with no play at all.

And with high crossover steering, you have the advantage of moving the tie rod above the springs, so it is less likely to get hit by rocks on the trail. You can have low crossover steering which leaves the tie rod down in the stock position:

 

So what kind , (name ) do you recomend for this application . on a 85 solid axle 4runner

 

You have to have a lifted rig in order to fit the hi-steer, because it puts the tie-rod and drag link over the leafs, if youre running stock springs it'll interfere with the oil pan.

 

Prow is right. You will need at least a 3 inch suspension lift. Other that all the kits are basically the same. Don't forget you will have to have an IFS steering gear box.

 

Here's something else for you to think about....
http://board.marlincrawler.com/index...ighlight=j+arm

 

I've had 3 different AllPro kits on my '85 over the years. They have all worked fine. But there are other options out there as well, I think they all work about the same. Comes down to cost and features you want, like some offer different pitman arms for the steering box or different types of rod ends, etc.

And yes, you'll need 3"-4" of lift to clear the steering, I had about 3" of lift in the above photo and it took some work to adjust the drag link high enough to clear the springs yet low enough to fit under the frame. In the end, I had the drag link rubbing on the springs at full droop, but that seemed the lesser of two evils as hitting hard against the frame could cause damage. In fact before I got that sorted out, I had the drag link jammed against the frame in the image below and I could not steer at all until I dropped off that boulder:

 

My 81 was lifted about 4" when i first got it, put a dropped drag link on it, it still sucked driving, slow response...
COnverted to High steer it was a night and day difference...the truck wasn't an effort to drive any more...safer too IMO

 

THANKS, for the responses . I looked at the zuk thread , And did it say there was cross over thats not high steer that you can use to help fix the crappy driving of the solid axles . or high steeer is it ! Cuz the truck pulls to the left when driving and to the right when braking . cuz of axle wrap is what I've read . SORRY IN ADVANCE FOR BEATING A DEAD HORSE I'll do some other searches also .
______________
85 4runner sr5 2" body 33's and sure the 33's arent helping!

 

Not sure any company makes a low crossover steering kit any more, that was the original option out there. My earlier photo 8 posts above shows low crossover steering on my '85. That was an old AllPro welded double arm setup:






But low or high crossover basically needs the same clearance/lift as it is the drag link running between the frame and springs that is the tight fit. The tie rod sits behind the drag link, and lays flat on top of the springs so is no problem. It is that drag link that runs from the steering box on the frame down to the steering arm on the passenger side that is the bugger to fit without enough lift.

 

thanks for all the replies! So I have to have the high steer with the lift in order for it to work right. and something was mentioned about it makes the truck pull to the right under hard braking. well right now it likes to pull to the right all the time and and when I hit the brakes it pulls to the left kinda hard. and theres a little play in the steering.....so it can get kinda hairy on the road when I have to stop quick with alot of traffic around . but my driver's side wheel bearings have alot of play in em and I have a knuckel rebuild kit with bearings already, I just have to take a day to work on it.

but back on topic.......Along with a 3-4inch lift I need the high steer kit, different drag link, and ifs steering box, am I right? about how much does it cost for just the high steer and steering box? cause when I do it i'd like to try to have all the parts that I need to minimize my down time in my shop,

 

The high steer kit will come with the pitman arm, drag link, tie rod and steering arms, you can price those on-line from lots of places. P/S box (and pump) you can get from a junkyard or rebuilt from numerous sources.

In the mean time, you can rebuild your axle and get the existing steering working right. With the torque rod in place, you should not be having any pulling to one side or the other.

 

Has anyone installed a highsteer set up with EMU springs and shocks on a 85 4runner. EMU rates there springs at a 2" lift but after install I got closer to 3".

 

Search "Barney". You will probably want to use u-bolt flip kits too.

:wabbit2:

 

It is a tight fit. I had approx. 3" of lift when I had low cross over steering installed:


The drag link is the hardest part to fit in between the springs and frame. I think AllPro went through a couple of pitman arms to find one with minimal drop and then took a few different combinations of spacers on the passenger side steering arm to clear the springs at full droop and stay off the frame at full compression. As is, the bottom of the drag link would rub pretty good on the springs.

 

Adding power steering to your truck is easy. Ive added it to several trucks and its well worth it.

 

myyota, i have searched and searched but cannot find anything on this power steering mod. have an 79 and an 88 so i have the ps box. any suggestions for this project?