Highsteer questions

[Roxtar]

My dads xj is a 89, he picked up a set of axels the front is a hp44. I would like to buy him the parts he will need for a highsteer conversion for xmas. I've been looking on ebay and found a few but I dont want to buy the wrong ones. The ones I was looking at are flat top dana 44 knuckles some of them had some work done to them for the conversion to highsteer. Are those the ones I should get? What else will I need to get to make it complete. Could I find the knuckles ready to bolt in, in the bone yard? If so what year make ect? Thanks, John

Wow, I can only hope I've raised my kids to end up like this.

 

[Jeff 98XJ WI]

The links that have been posted are good ones, should give you the info you need. I'll hit the high points. The Chevy D44 knuckles are flat on top because Chevy used a short curved steering arm that bolted to the top of the drivers side knuckle, hence the flat top that high steer arms are bolted to. The passenger knuckles are basically flat, but still need to be taken to a machine shop and milled perfectly flat and drilled and tapped for the studs. The Chevy came with a 6 on 5.5" bolt pattern on the hubs, so unless the rear axle is also going to be 6 on 5.5 (like Waggy stuff), you'll need F150 hubs and rotors to get 5 on 5.5" bolt pattern. It can be easiest, and many times cheapest, to just get new F150 hubs and rotors from a discount parts house, like Autozone. Anything from mid 70's to mid 80's works. Use the Chevy spindle and caliper, with the Ford hub and rotor. Now, since an XJ uses a 5 on 4.5" wheel bolt pattern, the rear axles will need to be changed to match the front 5 on 5.5" bolt pattern, but don't worry about that since your Dad has likely already considered it when he got the front D44. Then, you'll need to get the high steer arms, with studs, nuts and conical sleeves.

So, a parts list is:

Chevy D44 knuckles, calipers, and spindles
Ford F150 hubs and rotors
New high steer arms and hardware
Or, buy everything from Parts Mike.

If you can't find or afford everything, I'm sure he would appreciate whatever part of it you could get, I know I would.

Be careful here Goat. First, only older Chevy trucks came with the flat top knuckles on BOTH sides. Later models didn't come with a passengers side flat top steering knuckle. Also, early Chevy trucks came with a small inner bearing on the spindles, but later Chevy trucks came with a larger inner bearing on the spindles, so in order to use the Chevy spindles with the five stud ford hub/rotor, you must use the small inner bearing spindles. Jeff

 

[Jeff 98XJ WI]

Deadenbear is now making 5 stud ford 1/2 ton disc break knuckles which will work and allow flat tops with all ford outters... a good option if like me, you have already put $$$ into all ford stuff because you couldnt find a good enough deal on chevy stuff when you were doing your build...

So are you saying that the disk braked Ford steering knuckles use a 5 bolt spindle with a small inner bearing? I recently pulled apart a '75 Ford HP D44 and it had 6 bolt small inner bearing spindles with drum brakes. Does that mean they would bolt to a Chevy/Jeep flat top steering knuckle? But they wouldn't bolt to a later model Ford steering knuckle or the Deadenbear Ford steering knuckle. Interesting. Would they be the same part that comes on the early Chevy trucks with disks? Jeff

 

[XJ_ranger]

ah nope .nothing in the late 70's came with drum up front.
this was before full clean up

click to enlarge

isnt that 3/4 ton though and 8 lug?

didnt know that disc started in the 70's...

 

[cal]

ah nope .nothing in the late 70's came with drum up front.

Being an owner of a couple of late 50's to late 70's ford 4x4's, I have done a TON of research on this. The 3/4 ton hp44's went disc in 78, although it was an option in 76, it for some reason seems pretty rare. I've heard people talk about 75's, but i suspect they were converted. The same goes for the dana 60's as far as I understand, but I really havent researched it.

The 1/2 ton stuff went disc several years earlier, mainly at the influince of bronco's and the f series 'rangers'.

I have that exact same front end you do sitting in my driveway. I bought it to go under my '62 f100 4x4, but I am fighting the stronge urge to narrow it and put it under my xj.