Panhard bar

67Dart273 said
THE ABOVE IS COMPLETE NONSENSE!!!!! "Cross steering" AMPLIFIES steering problems in 4x4's!!!! this is because the axle CAN MOVE from side to side due to bumps and road crown, and if the drag link is "cross" the frame as shown, THE AXLE MOVEMENT CAUSES THE TIRES TO STEER BACK AND FORTH AS THE AXLE MOVES!!!!!

Here is one thing you can do IF you have leaf springs: IHC "Scout" did it for a few years, and possibly on IHC pickups. They put a flat spring element--like a leaf---across the shackles to tie the shackles together and prevent them from "tipping" back and forth, thus preventing the side to side motion.

Other causes are extreme spring "arch." Springs that are "more flat" in normal "ride" have more leverage to stay stable as opposed to "jacked up" arched springs

Of course, "the usual." Worn, broken, or cracked bushings, mounts, shackles, etc. Certainly poor alignment INCLUDING CASTOR which may have been changed due to spring changes, additions, or re-arching for height.

Certainly "normal" alignment problems such as toe, and certainly tire condition such as wear

I'm pretty sure the below is not "factory" but this is how the IHC shackle ties looked "generally" AND THEY WORK. I put one on my old 62 Landcruiser.

Front end help.

View attachment 1715922960

As you can see, there are different points of view on nearly everything. Inverted-Y set-ups, inverted-T and crossover set-ups it's easy to miss the forest for the trees. Most aftermarket suspension companies have one form of crossover steering kits for a reason. They can be very effective in the proper application and with the proper design geometry.

An even bigger issue with leaf spring front suspensions is worn or bent parts and mounting the leaf spring shackles on the forward spring eye. Older CJ5 Jeeps use a shackle in the front of the leaf spring with a fixed mount for the rear eye of the leaf springs, which leads to some of the handling issues folks blame cross linked steering for. Any set-up not properly designed can cause problems.

The above picture of that front suspension hack is a perfect example of why suspension and brake changes should best be left to experts.

If you do have a vehicle with a front mounted shackle, a shackle reversal swap addresses most of the stability, wandering and vague feeling having a shackle in the front of the spring pack can lead to. Anyone building a front mounted shackle system especially on a lifted vehicle is not doing anyone any favors, because of the inherent design limitations and handling characteristics.

If your front leaf spring suspension allows for significant enough side to side movement of the front axle while driving, you have either front mounted shackles, worn bushings of some other issue going on.

Properly designed Cross link steering and its many variations continues to be a highly regarded upgrade for many 4 and 2 wd vehicles, because it can very effective. Do your own research before deciding, and don't listen to just one point of view.