Quote:
Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher
I've built many OBS Fords and they are the Y style and drive pretty nice. I haven't put any on a straight axle chevy though. I always just put cross over on them if I made the swap. I'm half tempted to put cross over on my 72 because the rear air ride affects the push pull steering system.
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Yeah there is no denying that crossover is second to none (well, maybe rack and pinion).
As for the OBS Fords, it was just the twin i-beams that used the "inverted Y" steering which was a must as a solid tie rod would make the toe in change as the suspension moved. The F350's and F250's with Dana 60's were all true crossover and drove perfect.
Dodge on the other hand, used the "inverted Y" on the earlier second generations with a stiff axle - IMHO, this is one of the main reasons they have such a bad rap for death wobble and just terrible driving in general. Think about it - with the "Y" steering linkage, as the suspension moves up and down, the angle of the "Y" changes, thus changing the distance from end-to-end (i.e. your toe in). I have changed a couple second gens over to true cross over that had the "death wobble" and whatever else Dodges are know for and all the steering problems went away.
Sorry to beat the topic to death, but I have an extreme case of OCD when it comes to how a vehicle drives and handles. If you want it to drive perfect, you need about 5 things, in order of importance:
1) 5° minimum caster - if you have to cut your "C's" off and re-weld them, so be it. If you do, set it to 8°.
2) Toe in - get a tow in gauge - a rack only sets static toe in - when you are driving, the toe in gets wider. With a toe in gauge, you can get it set so the wheels are truly parallel when moving even if you have a little play in your TRE or ball joints/kinpins
3)If you have a front steering stabilizer, take it off and throw it in the dump. They can cover some problems, but that is all they do - cover a problem. Fix what needs fixing.
4) Camber - since you have a first gen Dodge Dana 60, there is a good chance that one knuckle is welded on wrong and your camber is slightly off. Haven't found one angle to be preferred, as long as it has some and both sides are identical.
5) Tight bushings - if you have crossover, the track bar needs to be tight. With push pull, the non shackle end spring bushings need to be tight.
This is all simply what I have learned over my few short years of wrenching. I have been guilty of, and have watched others throw hundreds of dollars of new parts at a front axle trying to make a vehicle drive "right" thinking that a smidgen of play here might be causing me some trouble, or maybe stiff u-joint, or a loose steering box, etc.
If you do the five things I listed, your truck will drive great, even if it does have a little play in the TRE's or steering box.