Steering Question

[fubartoy]

Doing crossover steering conversion on 85 truck.
Which kit should I buy and why?

[4x4bogger422]

AOR or All Pro Offroad either one is great both are very high quality just who ever has the best price.:yes:

[4x4bogger422]

Looks like All Pro Offroad's is 459 and AOR is 495. the choice is up to you

[The Joker]

Marlin has it for $395
http://www.marlincrawler.com/steering.html


Sky also has a set
http://www.sky-manufacturing.com/steering1.htm

[SuperDave]

I just installed my Marlins hi-steer today. Its SWEET!:boing

[Oatmeal]

All Pro's arms are cast, may or may not be weaker than Marlin's or AOR's (made by OTT in Canada) but I don't like the idea of cast steering components. I have Marlin's and they're excellent quality but, if I were to do it again I would get the OTT (or AOR:rolleyes: ) kit. Their arms and pitman arm are a little shorter so, when you move the axle forward, like you'll want to, for tire clearance, you won't have to move the box as far forward and cut out as much of the core support to fit the box. They are all of very high quality, though........Hans

[Oatmeal]

Oh, man I completely forgot about Sky Mfg.:eek: Good stuff And super nice guys to deal with. Ordered a flatter pitman arm from them. It was on back order but, arrived exactly when they said it would. Really nice piece of machine work!.........Hans

[cmc86]

Marlin....their billet, bad ass, and the cheapest. also has great customer service

sky has good arms to, and they are also a good company to work with.

craig

[fubartoy]

My axle is moved forward 2". Will the Marlin kit work ok with this Or will I have to cut out the core support to move the box forward? I don't really like the idea of cast arms on the AllPro kit myself. I'm thinkin of Marlin's, Sky's, or OTT.

[SuperDave]

You should be fine with the Marlin kit. Just move the box as far forward as you can. My axle is moved forward 2in. as well.:bye:

[bbagwell]

Maybe I am smoking crack but I was under the impression that Marlin was selling Sky's kit, so they are the same? I know someone with Sky's kit and it was freakin' sweet!

[Oatmeal]

My axle is moved forward 2" and I had to cut the core support a little bit just so the box would sit where I thought it should. You'll want to rotate the box to get the pitman arm up as high as possible to keep the springs from hitting it at full stuff. I did that and still had to get a flatter arm from Sky and lower my bump stops to prevent contact (those rear springs up front really flex:D ) I could have dropped my front hanger an inch but, didn't want to go through the trouble. It works fine now and I'm quite happy with the set up. That is also why I recommended the OTT (AOR) kit...........Hans

[fubartoy]

Would I be better to just buy seperate parts from different companies to build my own kit? Prolly more expensive that way.
Maybe OTT arms, Sky pitman, Marlin tie rod/draglink?

[cmc86]

Originally posted by bbagwell
Maybe I am smoking crack but I was under the impression that Marlin was selling Sky's kit, so they are the same?

I think I have heard that somewhere as well.

[Oatmeal]

Originally posted by fubartoy
Would I be better to just buy seperate parts from different companies to build my own kit? Prolly more expensive that way.
Maybe OTT arms, Sky pitman, Marlin tie rod/draglink? You're better off buying it as a kit from which ever vendor you choose. Using an OTT pitman arm with arms from say, Marlin wouldn't (in my opinion) be a good match because, OTT's pitman arm is shorter and is matched to their arms which, are also shorter. Now using the shorter pitman arm with the longer Marlin steering arms will change the ratio and give slower steering (more steering wheel movement to get the same movement at the knuckles). Did that make sense to you?:confused: And, Marlin's and Sky's kits are not the same...............Hans

[SuperDave]

Originally posted by cmc86
I think I have heard that somewhere as well. Beats me. The arms I got from Marlin are stamped "Marlin" on the side.