Okay, so I looked up crossover steering and IFS steering box and I think I understand it now. With the stock steering, the Pitman arm swings forward and back and moves the "boomerang-shaped" J-arm which turns the left wheel. The tie rod connects the left wheel to the right so that the right follows what the left does.
With the crossover steering, the IFS steering box is used. With it, the Pitman arm swings side-to-side instead of front to back. It moves a drag link which is connected to the right wheel, turning it. The tie rod connects the right wheel to the left, causing the left to follow what the right does. With Hy-steer, it puts the tie rod and drag link above the springs instead of below, getting them up and out of the way. Also, a steering stabilizer can be connected between the tie rod and another solid point such as the u-bolt plate on a top-mounted u-bolt.
I got all this info from
here.
Right now, it has a 22R in there. Won't it cost a bunch more to put the 22RE in? I thought you had to replace a bunch of stuff like the gas tank, wiring, etc. Plus, I'll have to go to the state ref once it's done to be able to smog it so that I can still drive it on the road, although that's not a big deal. Plus, I just bought a really nice vehicle trailer from a friend so I could just trailer it and only use it off-road. Then my possibilities are endless! Hmm . . . okay, you talked me into it: a 22RE it is.
I'm not too worried about the inevitable minor crunches and dings. I'm probably going to end up taking off the bed so I won't need to worry too much about bobbing it, although it looks pretty easy to do. First things first . . . engine and tranny. I contacted that guy who is selling the W56 for $150 and he said that he's
got a deal working for the W56 and the case together and that if it falls through, he'll contact me.
I'll get pictures as soon as I can but right now, I'm working 12-hour nightshifts, 7 nights in a row, and the first 3 were with a 103-degree fever. All I've been doing is taking medicine, working, and sleeping. My schedule is 7 on, 7 off and I start my days off this Wednesday (2/11) so I'll be sure to get the pictures then, even if I don't take it up to my house yet (I have to clean the garage out and it keeps snowing
). My wife has a nice camera (Nikon) so they should turn out real good. It's a good thing she's in my corner with this rock crawling business
.
