cross compile for geode gx2

[deloptes]

Hi all,
I hope someone could give me a hint in which direction I should dig further
since I got a bit lost in the following situation:

I am using a Geode based debian server, which I installed back in 2008 with
debian lenny and compiled on a i686 
# uname -a
# Linux fw 2.6.26.2eko2 #1 Sun Aug 17 08:24:43 CEST 2008 i586 GNU/Linux

Now few months ago I upgraded to wheezy and wanted to cross compile a newer
kernel - tried 2.6.32.63 and linux-3.14. The host I compile on is debian,
x86_64, compiler gcc-4.7.
I wonder if this is something compiler version related, or a matter of
configuration.
What is your experience and what kernel, compiler version would you
recommend, or in which direction should I go from here?

thanks in advance