Swing set steering question

[chipw]

Im really new to this so its possibly a stupid question, but...

What is the difference in swing set steering and just a regular steering gear box with centerlink, pitman and idler arms? From looking at pictures of cad drawings, the swing set kits just look like beefed up versions of that. I know there must be more to it. Someone please educate me.

 

[marcytech]

Technically it’s the same thing.
The idler arm steering you’re talking about is found on an arm trucks like old Toyotas right?
Swing set steering is designed to work with beams which cross from one side of the vehicle to the other. The “swingers” hang down and swing vertically because the tie rod needs to be pivoting from the same location that its respective beam pivots is at to eliminate or lessen bump steer and also keep things Ackerman and motion ratios correct.

 

[chipw]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, i was talking the type of steering found on old trucks, specifically, a chevy S10 in my experience, but Toyota probably had similar.
The swingset steering kit i was comparing to the old style steering box with pitman arm is specifically made to replace a rack and pinion steering system on a truck with A-arms. The difference is, obviously, how much beefier the swing set is to the old style box/pitman,idler/center link setup, but other then the more robust construction, what does a swingset do to remove bump steer that an old school saginaw box and pitman arms doesnt do?
Picture of swingset im talking about:

 

[marcytech]

Oh that’s different than a swing set on a beam. That style does nothing geometry wise. It just replaces the weak steering rack and gives you way stronger components. That’s all

 

[chipw]

Oh that’s different than a swing set on a beam. That style does nothing geometry wise. It just replaces the weak steering rack and gives you way stronger components. That’s all

Thanks.

 

[84Prerunner]

Oh that’s different than a swing set on a beam. That style does nothing geometry wise. It just replaces the weak steering rack and gives you way stronger components. That’s all

Not necessarily true. In many case the stock rack does not give great geometry with long travel. Moving the pivot location of the tie rod will correct that

 

[marcytech]

That’s true I forgot about that. If they actually do it…

 

[juberafab]

Lots can be accomplished with swing set steering.atronger as mentioned. More steering feed back better geometry quicker ratios etc. Depends on how far down the rabbit hole u want to go. A rack move on one plane while swing set can be designed to move on two different planes to abolish different stuff. I like the feel of a steering box over a rack personally.

 

[chipw]

Lots can be accomplished with swing set steering.atronger as mentioned. More steering feed back better geometry quicker ratios etc. Depends on how far down the rabbit hole u want to go. A rack move on one plane while swing set can be designed to move on two different planes to abolish different stuff. I like the feel of a steering box over a rack personally.

Thanks. That makes sense. My experience is limited, but i think i prefer the box over a rack as well. Im going to replace my 12:1 box with something quicker and see how that goes.

 

[juberafab]

If you plan to have your box ported talk with the builder. They can machine the torsion bar and tune it to make it easier to turn or have more feed back. I recommend minworx but there are many other companies. If you are going with a different box than stock look into the Saginaw big bore steering box. They came in the 4x4 90s surburbans (3 bolt, be carful they had a smaller bore that is almost identical). If u are looking for a stock quick ratio If I remember right the 80 or 90s Camero were the ones to get.