Crossover Steering

Precise, crossover steering was a goal for the Jeepster - hopefully, for the best steering possible. Since I'm not running much lift, I'm doing crossover steering, but not high-steer crossover.

I'll have the drag link tie rod end underneath the arm, which is not common. Based on my Pitman arm location, this should position my drag link almost parallel with the axle. (Look below for pictures of the finished product.)

I need to get the drag link installed, so I can match the angle to the front panhard bar. So the steering installation is at the top of the priority list. But first, the steering arm needs to be modified.

Steering Arm Fixture and Machining

It was going to take up to 12 weeks to get a custom steering arm with the tie rod end taper underneath the arm, so I bought a stock arm from PartsMike.com. I'll re-taper it on my milling machine from the bottom, as required.

I totally underestimated the amount of effort to re-taper the steering arm. It proved to be difficult because of the 10 deg face on the steering arm.

I have to securely mount the entire steering arm to the mill a 10 deg angle. Since I am limited in mill fixturing, I had to design a custom fixture. Start of the fixture:

(Note: there are other ways to do this by tilting the head, a sine table or mill angle table, but they all have their problems - cost, delivery time, accuracy, etc)

This kind of shows the fixture - it's an aluminum round that will be clamped in the mill vise at 10 deg. And a flat aluminum plate on top, so I can bolt down the steering arm. It will be more clear in later pictures. I had these aluminum pieces in my garage, so I didn't have to wait on anything to get started.

As a side note, this fixture will be useful for other mill projects too - not just for the steering arm. I'll keep the fixture and use it again.

Machining a flat on the aluminum round, and making a mess of chips:

Drilling and tapping mounting holes

Aluminum rod fully machined. Aluminum plate shown with the layout marks - it still needs to be machined:

Aluminum plate machined:

Assembled:

Steering arm test fit:

Fixture installed on mill and set to 10 degrees.

Re-tapering the hole:

Test Fit with the tie rod end...I did this several times to get a nice fit

Test fit on Reid knuckle:

Steering Mockup #1 (oops!)

I temporarily installed the drag link and tie rod. But changes were needed because of the upwards angle of the drag link. I knew it would be close when I was laying out the steering, but I was hoping it would all work out better.

It's an easy fix - I'll have to install the tie rod on top of the Pitman arm to get it angled down. (That does mean that I need to purchase another Pitman arm 💰.)

Old Pitman Arm Re-Taper:

I ordered a new Pitman arm, but in the meantime, I still need the steering fully installed to get the Panhard bar aligned.

So I modified the original Jeepster Pitman arm to accept the tie rod end from the top. There's not enough strength to drive with this Pitman arm, but it will be good for mockup.

Clamped down in the drill press for machining: