Have you ever bent or broken your tie rod on a rock? It's a fairly common problem with solid axle Toyota trucks used on rocky trails. Now All Pro Off Road has a solution for Pickups, 4Runners and FJ-40s called the "Hy Steer" crossover kit. This kit offers the advantages of crossover steering and at the same time moves the tie rod above the leaf springs, greatly increasing ground clearance under the tie rod. It is virtually impossible to damage the Chromoly tie rod that comes with the kit when mounted so high up in the suspension.

Installation

Installation took about 2 1/2 hours on my solid axle converted 4Runner. I received the kit on a Friday afternoon at about 3 PM. By 4 PM I had left work early and was home to install the new steering arm kit and finish packing for a trip to Pismo Beach the following day. By 8:00 PM I had the steering kit installed and the truck packed to go!

The first thing I did was jack up one side of the truck by using a floor jack under the leaf spring to take the load off the knuckle bearings. I removed the wheel and and steering arm, replacing it with the new steering arm. Then I replaced the other steering arm the same way. I also removed the old tie rod and drag link. Using a tie rod end puller I removed the pitman arm from the steering box and installed the new pitman arm, but did not tighten the nut until later. It took a little work to get the old arm off. The tie rod puller I was using is the one I keep in my on board tool box. I like to make do with the tools I carry with me on the trail so I was determined to make this tool do the job. I put the puller on the pitman arm and turned the adjusting bolt but the arm did not come loose. I then tapped lightly with a hammer a few times. Then tightened the puller a little more. This worked the arm loose after a few tries.

Next I installed the Chromoly tie rod using the provided rod ends. These rod ends are very stiff when new and can't be moved by hand. These are not the cheap units you get at the local hardware store that have play in them. The tie rod and draglink came threaded on both ends, one side with left handed threads and the other with right handed threads. This makes for easy adjustment of the toe setting, just turn the rod to the proper length and tighten the jam nuts. I installed the tie rod using the provided grade 9 bolts and crimp nuts. On the right side the rod end goes into the rear of the two holes. The drag link goes into the front hole later. I started by screwing in both tie rod ends as far as they would go. Then I measured the toe in setting. I put my tape measure on the leading edge of the tires and locked the tape in place. Then I took the tape and placed it in the rear to see how much wider it was. By turning the tie rod I was able to set the toe in at about 1/8". I found that half turns of the tie rod made a measurable difference in toe. It should be noted that for proper strength, rod ends should be threaded at least half way in to the rod.

Next I installed the drag link. It's the same as the tie rod but a few inches shorter. The drag link goes into the front hole on the right steering arm. There is a small spacer that needs to be installed between the rod end and the steering arm. The kit came with 2 different spacers. The taller one works best to reduce bump steer on larger lifts. The smaller one helps reduce interference problems with the frame and drag link on trucks with less lift. I installed the taller one first but during ramp testing, I noticed the drag link just touching the frame. I removed the large spacer and replaced it with the smaller one. This eliminated the clearance problem.

The exact spacer depends on engine type, frame type, lift, pitman arm, axle position, and suspension travel. A little experimenting may be necessary to get it just right. All Pro is happy to make spacers any size for proper fit. Now I could set the draglink and pitman arm. I turned the draglink rod ends as far in as they would go and then backed them out one full turn each. With the front end up in the air (jack under the axle) I turned the wheel lock to lock to see where the center of the steering box was. I then pointed the wheels straight and turned the steering wheel until it was also in the middle. I then I put the pitman arm on the steering box and tightened the nut. This gets the wheel close to on center. For the final adjustment I turned the draglink rod and tightened the jam nuts. I had the opportunity to test the Hy-Steer kit the following day at Pismo Beach. During the drive up I found it to have a similar road feel on the highway as the original crossover steering system but with less play in the wheel due to a new design rod end that All Pro is using. These rod ends have absolutely no play in them at all. The Hy-Steer system also uses different length steering and pitman arms (also found on the original crossover kit) and this effectively makes it easier to steer than the original IFS.

This feature also has the added benefit of reducing stress on the steering box. It is also very helpful when driving back into town with 35" tires aired down to 9 psi. At faster speeds on the sand dunes the lack of steering play is a noticeable improvement. My IFS steering had always felt a little loose and I could hear a bit of chatter in the steering when driving over bumpy sections. I tested the truck at high speeds and also did a few jumps and I found It worked very well with the new steering. I though that when converting to a solid front axle I would loose the ability to fly through the sand dunes with the same speed as I had with the IFS. I found the dramatic increase in wheel travel useful when driving at speed across the bumpy sections of sand.

This is the best steering system I have ever seen for Toyota trucks. It moves the tie rod way up and out of the way of rocks. At the same time, it allows the front suspension to travel to it''s full potential without binding or running the risk of a broken steering arm, as can happen with the factory steering. I am very pleased with the way this kit works. It deserves an "A" grade for quality and design.

Original Crossover Steering

Hy-Steer Crossover Steering

Applications

This kit fits all 4 cylinder solid axle trucks without any interference. On factory V6 trucks converted to solid axle the IFS style oil pan my cause interference with the tie rod. On these V6 truck it may be necessary to move the axle forward on the springs by 1.25" - 1.5". This is a common modification on crossover steering trucks that provides more firewall clearance for larger tires. The All Pro Hy-Steer kit costs $699 ( as of Oct/99) for solid axle pickups and 4Runners. The kit replaces both steering arms, drag link, tie rod and pitman arm. It is necessary to have some form of crossover steering system installed to use this kit. All pro sells used steering boxes and the necessary mounting hardware to convert to crossover steering. The Land Cruiser FJ-40 kit is similar and cost a bit less than the pick-up/4Runner kit. It should be noted that in order for the Hy-Steer kit to be installed on these vehicles, a Saginaw power steering
conversion and front axle spring over conversion are necessary. Written By: Chris Geiger March 1999

Contact Information
All Pro Off Road
25171 North Palm, Building B3
Hemet CA, 92543
909-658-7077
Jon Bundrant

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