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double swing steering

ryboj

Well-Known Member
Joined
December 20, 2010
Messages
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City, State
Northern NV
Year, Model & Trim Level
'92 Dora XLT 4x4 5Spd
Hi all,

Now that the explorer body swap is all done and everything is holding well, moving onto the next phases of the build, front steering, then coilover conversion rear, etc.

Can anyone attest to the differences, pros and cons, after they did a double swing system or crossover system (this isn't the same is it?) ?

Currently, with the stock system, it's maxed out at 15" travel on the front, but was told with my stock width beams, I should be able to extrapolate 18" or so total or so on my current coilover front end. Was also told this will dramatically improve steering quality (albeit, doesn't seem too bad today).

Was it all worth it in the end..... value wise?

Looking at the below spec steering build, same builder as the original front and rear end work I did.

  • Swingers w/bushing kits
  • Swinger frame mounts
  • Double sheer pitman arm plate kit
  • Two pre built short tie-rods
  • 4 weld in threaded race bungs (1.5" .250 wall tubing is not included)
  • 8 7/8" Hiems w/jam nuts & high misalignment spacers
  • Grade-8 hardware
Installed on mocked up truck from vendor:

ThreatDoubSwingSteer.jpg


Thanks all for the advice and real world feedback!
 



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the advantages of the swing set steering with the TTB is the tie rods are perfectly in line/phase with the beams = the steering retains its geometry through the whole travel cycle which eliminates the crazy camber changes that happen with the stock inverted Y steering setup.
This is the absolute best way to steer a long travel TTB truck period.
Now with that said it is not always necessary, if you look at Autofab trucks he uses stock style steering but the tie rods are still in phase with the beams for the most part, so good results can be achieved with both setups...the key? you guessed it keeping the tie rods at the same arc/angles as the ttb beams themselves as they travel
 






the advantages of the swing set steering with the TTB is the tie rods are perfectly in line/phase with the beams = the steering retains its geometry through the whole travel cycle which eliminates the crazy camber changes that happen with the stock inverted Y steering setup.
This is the absolute best way to steer a long travel TTB truck period.
Now with that said it is not always necessary, if you look at Autofab trucks he uses stock style steering but the tie rods are still in phase with the beams for the most part, so good results can be achieved with both setups...the key? you guessed it keeping the tie rods at the same arc/angles as the ttb beams themselves as they travel
Yeah, John with AutoFab does fine work. Not surprised he had that figured that out. When I started this build, was either going to use him or Threat. I ended up with Threat for other reasons and the truck has performed flawlessly and my new local fab guy who did the body swap also mentioned the workmanship on the build of Threats was top notch and performed excellent when he tested it after the body swap he performed.

My steering works surprisingly well, I don't really have many issues (perceived anyway), so that's what prompted me to ask the question in terms of value. I think I'll have it re-evaluated on the steering side to see what extra can be obtained here, since it's not a small investment, but like you said, with a proper steering setup, angles can be static throughout the travel and follow the beams line and keep it all happy and uniform. Now that seems like a great thing. Thanks for explaining.
 






Yes that setup above is ideal, I should have added if you look you can see the steering tie rods pivot in the exact spot as the beam pivots
remember these TTB setups are non equal length beams so they require this crazy steering
 






Yes that setup above is ideal, I should have added if you look you can see the steering tie rods pivot in the exact spot as the beam pivots
remember these TTB setups are non equal length beams so they require this crazy steering

I see exactly what you're saying....makes a lot of sense when you visualize that.
 






theres no cons. well maybe besides cost. but itll take all of the bump steer away throughout the suspension travel thus being much easier on your hubs and ball joints. its a must in my opinion. solo motorsports and desolate motorsprorts make some of the best steering systems for un equal length and ttb set ups in my opinion.
 






Makes sense dezranger...had a feeling cost was the biggest con, haha. I'm running stock width beams for practicality and ease of use, parking, storing, trailering, lack of body mods, etc.... so Threat would basically take his system and user shorter tie rods I imagine, vs the extended equal length beams. I got to see what it's going to take to install, so I can see if this can be financially feasible here. Working on getting my rear driveline upgraded in the next week or two so I can get full droop in the rear.....
 






Install on a swinger kit is going to take time. Will also be different truck to truck. Unless you are running a specific companies full front end.

My 44 front end is stock extended steering with a pitman arm and bump steer Is noticeable. My coilovers limit right before the steering.
 






Install on a swinger kit is going to take time. Will also be different truck to truck. Unless you are running a specific companies full front end.

My 44 front end is stock extended steering with a pitman arm and bump steer Is noticeable. My coilovers limit right before the steering.

Understandable on truck to truck. Thankfully still running stock width so should make it a tad easier.

Did the package two with everything from ..Threat double swinger system. Should have in the next month or so.

Local Fab guy wanted about 8 hours to install it. Not cheap, but have full confidence it will be spot on once done.

Hoping to maximize the front end here...with only doing d44 outters and trussing later ...and call it a day on the front.

Will report back once it's going in and installed.

Appreciate the solid and real advice guys!
 






hes not gonna be happy he quoted 8 hours hahahahaha
 






hes not gonna be happy he quoted 8 hours hahahahaha
He's pretty talented :cool:....he likely can pull that off. Will be sure to report back. Will be a bit though....since I'll need to save for the install after. Too many projects going on now with me, so stuff goes slower to implement.

In meantime, getting that rear custom driveshaft sorted this week or next then chasing down a dumb coolant leak that's been bugging me.

If I can ever afford it, the local Fab guy wants to possibly design a watts rear link on mine one day using a Ford 9". Might be more simple, but just as affective than linking.
 






a watts link system more simple than a 4 link? idk about that one
 






Apparently for him to setup? I'll have more discussions with him on that once I wrap up that front end since that's a ways out.
 






Ok, new shaft in, will adjust rear droop next, to max out current rear setup. Steering upgrade to go in Jan at some point it looks like. Ok, time to fix that coolant leak next.
PXL_20201201_213535641.jpg
 






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