4 wheel steering

Joek6.5

Member
Saw this episode of TFL Truck and couldn’t help but think if this is built strong enough how much it’d help our big girls get around the trails.



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ttengineer

Adventurer
If I remember, Chevy for a short time had rear wheel steer assist. The rear moved like 5 or 10 degrees to help back up a trailer.

I’ve certainly had my 3500 in a few spots where if I had rear steer it wouldn’t have been an issue at all.


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Martinjmpr

Wiffleball Batter
Chevy/GM offered 4WS on the 3/4 ton pickups and Suburbans from about 2004-2006. I'm assuming the system was dropped because of cost, complexity and lack of interest from the buying public.

If you see a GMT800 suburban that has factory clearance lights on the roof or on the rear fenders, it has 4 wheel steering:

quadrasteer suburban.jpg

Note the clearance lights on the roof and on both the front and back edge of the rear fender.

It was also possible to disable the system with a button on the dash:

4 wheel steer control.jpg
 

85_Ranger4x4

Well-known member
If I remember, Chevy for a short time had rear wheel steer assist. The rear moved like 5 or 10 degrees to help back up a trailer.

I’ve certainly had my 3500 in a few spots where if I had rear steer it wouldn’t have been an issue at all.


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I think it must have been poorly marketed or something, it should have taken off.

I know a couple guys that bought into it and go to the far corners of the earth to find low mile trucks and they go thru them.

I know one guy that went the DIY route putting a front axle in the back of his trail truck. Only problem with that is most areas do not want want full hydraulic steering on a road vehicle. Blow a hose and who knows where you will end up.
 

Todd780

OverCamper
I worked at a GM store while these things were being sold. We couldn't give them away. I don't believe it was lack of marketing.

The idea of maintenance on 'two font ends' scared away most buyers.
 

dreadlocks

Well-known member
AWS is standard on the latest Q7 w/Air Suspension.. guess Audi owners aren't scared of maintenance costs heh.
 

ttengineer

Adventurer
AWS is standard on the latest Q7 w/Air Suspension.. guess Audi owners aren't scared of maintenance costs heh.

Really? As in the newest body style forward or did they start mid way through production?

We’ve got a Q5, but have been considering an upgrade to a Q7.


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Buliwyf

Viking with a Hammer
It was rubbish. A complete nightmare for it's owners. Normally I'd recommend talking to a good gm tech, but gm techs of that era should have moved on by now.

Mitsu had something similar IIRC. [Another manufacturer with a stellar warranty.]

The fact that it's being tried again, is simple proof that the engineers that did last time, have all retired. (or have been burned at the stake, tar and feathered, detroit'd, or all of the above) It pains me to watch everything that we stopped doing twenty years ago, start coming back due to the new kid engineers that don't know any better. Same predictable mistakes.
 
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85_Ranger4x4

Well-known member
Mitsu had something similar IIRC. [Another manufacturer with a stellar warranty.]

Twin turbo 3000GT VR4

Construction and farm equipment has had it for decades, crab steer is pretty cool too.

UT5212-crab-steering-03.jpg


As trucks continue to balloon in size I see it making a comeback.
 

dreadlocks

Well-known member
Thought this was a rather cool video on AWS and getting into tight parking spots and crabing to change lanes.

Mazda used to offer AWS on the MX6 in Europe in the 90s' also.
 

CrazyDrei

Space Monkey
Some of the parts in the GM 4 wheel steering system are now made of unobtanium.

vintageracer,

I looked into rear wheel steering rear axle for one of my trucks and the astronomical cost of the parts that regularly break was a huge turnoff. But technically you don't need to use the delphi parts to fix it.

I wonder if anyone has taken that GM dana 60 rear end and mated it to a more traditional front steering setup with a rack and drag link and all, that sounds like it would solve a lot of maintenance and cost issues? Possibly run a hydraulic over electric joystick like a snow plow control with some sort of return to center sensor.

Just a thought.
 

ttengineer

Adventurer
It was rubbish. A complete nightmare for it's owners. Normally I'd recommend talking to a good gm tech, but gm techs of that era should have moved on by now.

Mitsu had something similar IIRC. [Another manufacturer with a stellar warranty.]

The fact that it's being tried again, is simple proof that the engineers that did last time, have all retired. (or have been burned at the stake, tar and feathered, detroit'd, or all of the above) It pains me to watch everything that we stopped doing twenty years ago, start coming back due to the new kid engineers that don't know any better. Same predictable mistakes.

Of that “era”!? Dude it was 15 years ago. It’s not like it was decades ago.

I’m sure there are guys out there still turning wrenches that know that platform.

Hell GM just quit making new parts for those recently.


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Buliwyf

Viking with a Hammer
15 years in a GM dealers garage is an entire lifetime. I lasted a year, before going on to heavy equipment, then on to a field tech. Just over twenty years of this, and I'm pretty beat.

If you're a good mechanic, you start your own shop, or slide into a cake gig somehow. Happy olde timers at dealerships is getting rare. Automotive industry needs to work on this pretty bad. Make the cars more serviceable, and increase pay.
 

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