What kind of steering setup is this? 91 hdj81 (12 Viewers)

[stvrn6]

I purchased this 1991 HDJ81 RHD that the previous owner put locking axles from a LHD truck. He cut the pan hard bracket and moved it to the other side from what looks to be a bolted on. Anyway I cant find anything like this. What kind of steering set up is this called? is it reliable? Would on road performance improve or be worse?

 

[stvrn6]

More pics

 

[AussieHJCruza]

Is there a tie rod behind the axle as well? can't see one but am notoriously bad at finding things in pictures.

Looks like an abomination tbh but maybe someone else has seen something similar

 

[NeverFinis]

First I have seen..

Are there bearings in the pivot and are they greaseable?

That looks like a ton of extra leverage on the frame, which is prone to cracking there. They also cut the frame.

More joints to loosen over time, leading to sloppy steering.

Wouldn't it have been easier to just move the axle panhard mount and get the correct left side arm, which would have been on the original axle?

Hard pass for me.

 

[ChaseTruck]

Is there a tie rod behind the axle as well? can't see one but am notoriously bad at finding things in pictures.

Looks like an abomination tbh but maybe someone else has seen something similar

Double Crossover. I’ve seen that on a Chevy K5 Blazer that got converted into a stout and very reliable hardcore rock crawler that can also go fast. The truck’s nickname is ‘Wally’, from Offrad Design in Colorado. That truck rode on 42s, and IIRC the rationale was to lower the drag link angle to match a dropped panhard so as to minimize bump steer at the lift height required for the tire size. From what I’ve seen it worked very well.

 

[SNLC]

It’s funky but the fab looks solid.

Cheers

 

[stvrn6]

Yeah I'm not very excited about this set up... any idea how much it would cost to get it back to original?

 

[baldilocks]

Yeah I'm not very excited about this set up... any idea how much it would cost to get it back to original?

I don’t know off the top of my head how much the double ended steering arm for the left knuckle costs but that’s a small part of the total cost because of all the fabrication work that needs to be done. If you can do your own fab work then the cost would be reasonable and well worth it. If you ended up taking it to a reputable fab shop that does this sort of work for a living then you are in for a beating.

Thus question was already asked: wha sort of pivot bearings are installed and can they be lubricated or at least not to difficult to replace?

It does appear to be a solid set up, if rather odd, other than not knowing what the pivot point consists of.

 

[stvrn6]

I don’t know off the top of my head how much the double ended steering arm for the left knuckle costs but that’s a small part of the total cost because of all the fabrication work that needs to be done. If you can do your own fab work then the cost would be reasonable and well worth it. If you ended up taking it to a reputable fab shop that does this sort of work for a living then you are in for a beating.

Thus question was already asked: wha sort of pivot bearings are installed and can they be lubricated or at least not to difficult to replace?

It does appear to be a solid set up, if rather odd, other than not knowing what the pivot point consists of.

I'm not really sure if they are greaseable but They do seem very easy to replace. I have a welder but not the skills for such a project. Previous owner said they greatly helped with steering slop. I have not had chance to test them past 25 mph due to some Injector pump issues I'm figuring out. The entire arm that they are attached too moves with the steering (can post a video later). If i were to cut off the pivoting arm, could i leave the panhard bracket they installed on the LH and just put a LHD steering knuckle (45612-60070) to attach it to the steering arm? I agree the fabrication work looks great. Ill contact the previous owner and see if he can tell me who made this for him.

 

[baldilocks]

The panhard (track bar) would have to be put back the way it was from the factory because it and the drag link from steering gear box to the left side steering arm, that you need to source, must be very close to parallel.

 

[mudgudgeon]

Can't say i'm a fan at all!

Whoever did all that complicated the absolute bejeebus out of it for no good reason.
And have added in a bunch of extra wear components and moving parts in the steering system that already suffers if there's any wear and tear.

I would say source a used RHD axle housing, reinstate the RHD panhard rod and bracket per original.

Whoever did the fab could have just altered the panhard bracket on the LHD axle housing to match the RHD housing, swapped steering arms on the knuckles, and they would have been good to go!

It looks stout, but open heim style joints wear fast

 

[Squeegee]

Can't say i'm a fan at all!

Whoever did all that complicated the absolute bejeebus out of it for no good reason.
And have added in a bunch of extra wear components and moving parts in the steering system that already suffers if there's any wear and tear.

I would say source a used RHD axle housing, reinstate the RHD panhard rod and bracket per original.

Whoever did the fab could have just altered the panhard bracket on the LHD axle housing to match the RHD housing, swapped steering arms on the knuckles, and they would have been good to go!

It looks stout, but open heim style joints wear fast

A left hand drive axle in a right hand drive car is definitely…. Interesting. It would’ve been 1000 times easier just to move the panhard mount on the axle and get a RHD steering arm

 

[stvrn6]

The panhard (track bar) would have to be put back the way it was from the factory because it and the drag link from steering gear box to the left side steering arm, that you need to source, must be very close to parallel.

Oh i see. Looks like im in for some Fab work.

 

[stvrn6]

A left hand drive axle in a right hand drive car is definitely…. Interesting. It would’ve been 1000 times easier just to move the panhard mount on the axle and get a RHD steering arm

Yes i agree but not really sure what they had intended for this truck.

 

[80serie]

Is it me or the steering damper is attached only on one end? My advise, keep it simple and I don’t think that this is the case. The more links you have the more complicated it is to diagnose a problem down the road.

 

[azngarage]

This is the first time I see double crossover steering setup like that. Whoever did the fab works seem to know what they doing. The angle of the drag link and panhard bar seem pretty good. I would just run it like that to see how it drive first before try to reverse back to oem setup.