IH8MUD.com PRODUCT REVIEW:
4x4 Labs Steering System
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I've run just about every option for steering you can find for a Land Cruiser... NONE of these setups was easy to steer when you hit high-bind situations...turning downhill on a hard rock face with a locked front axle isn't easy regardless, and having your steering fight you despite all the muscle you can muster is downright frustrating. I added hydro assist to the AllPro setup and that made a major difference...at least it steered no matter where I pointed it, but I knew the angles weren't quite right. Luke Porter contacted me in the spring of '04 regarding his steering arms, and I agreed to give them a shot. They arrived just after my trip to Cruise Moab, and since I had a trip planned to Attica for Memorial weekend, I busted butt in May to get my front axle rebuilt and give 'er a a fair test (also see the 40HD article, both in the Sept/Oct issue of Toyota Trails, and coming soon to 'MUD.) 
I've had lots of stuff shipped to me (I think I'm a shopaholic for my Cruiser) and Luke's products were amongst the better packaged...too often, items are tossed in a box and allowed to rattle around, destroying the box in short order. These were in there tight, and the box was intact. The box contained both left and right steering arms, 4 HUGE tie rod ends, and two stout rods for the drag link and tie rod. Instructions aren't included, not that any real man would read them anyways...
Luke and I had tossed a few emails and phone calls back and forth (I suggest the phone, he's too busy to sit online...), and he had taken notes with regards to what springs I was running, what angles I had the axles and knuckles at, and he seemed pretty confident that the arms he sent would work perfectly...I wasn't so sure. I opened the box, glanced at the arms, and was positive there was NO way these would work. Beefy stuff, but I my first thought was these were gonna put the tie rod right thru my spring packs. Installation was a near-breeze....pull the old arms, install the new ones...and lookie there! Sure enough, the tie rod behind the axle clears the springs packs by about 5/16" at ride height...perfect. My only issue was the drag link and mounting it to the pitman arm...with my SOA packs and Scout PS, the drag link contacted the springs before it even articulated. I contacted Luke, and we decided the best solution was to use a 5/8" bore, 3/4" thread heim joint similar to how I had my old setup, and he'd make a custom drag link and an insert. That worked perfectly. My first trip out was prior to re-connecting the hydro assist setup...really, if the Ackerman angles were as correct as Luke claimed, steering should be significantly better than before. Amazingly, it was....I wasn't sold on "easier steering" because of correct Ackerman, but with two days of abuse on my rig, I only had a couple REAL nasty points where I was bound up, a significant improvement to before. The rig steered nicely, and even tho I didn't bother to align it or install even a steering stabilizer, it handled well in town at 25-30mph as well. (before, I always had a nice case of death wobble...lol) I've since added the hydraulic assist ram, and that's made steering on and off road so easy it's just pathetic...bombing around town is effortless, and the trails are a breeze. Because of the design of the 4x4Labs arms, you need to run an 8" stroke ram (the AllPro's needed a 6" stroker). Luke can provide you with a double-drivers side arm should you opt to run the ram on the front-side of the axle, but I wanted it better protected than that, and chose to run it on the tie rod and behind the axle. Either way should work fine, just be sure you decide up front what route you plan to take. Photo of the arms test-fitted, springs setting in place, and seeing how clearances would be....that pretty silver paint is from RustBullet and it's nice stuff! 
Two photos of the fullsize tie rod ends where them met up with the pitman arm...obviously, even with a over-long spring bump stop on there, it wasn't gonna work...the 5/8" bore x 3/4" thread QA-1 heim joint I used there offers MUCH improved clearances. 
Here's a shot of the clearances of the tie rods and their position relative to the axle and springs...everything fits in there nice and cleanly. 
Since I opted to mount the ram behind the axle for added protection, a custom mount needed to be created....the bottom side of this mount is 1/4" steel, and was stick welded to the cast housing...the upper mount is 3/16" steel and mig welded to the top of the steel housing. This combo should be plenty sturdy for the forces generated by the ram. 
The tie rod also needed some beefy mounts to ensure they didn't flex the rod itself...these plates were mig welded on and finished up....making the weld points longer helps distribute the forces and will reduce the chances of bending the tie rod. I know others who have mounted their ram in front of the axle using a double drivers side arm, but that leaves it pretty unprotected...and as you can see by these pics, my axles get banged up quickly. 
Lastly, a couple photos of the ram in position on the rig. 
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