Brahma's Saginaw/FJ60 Power Steering Conversion

[subzali]

Day 6: May 12, 2009 - 3.5 hours
Tools needed
1. Various box end wrenches (loving my stubby Gear Wrenches)/ratchet/sockets
2. Center Punch/Hammer
3. Drill bits
4. Portable electric drill (happens to be 1/2" drive with a big motor)

Today I basically removed the bib, radiator, and radiator support and cleaned up the frame so the welder can get to where he needs to weld. I made "rubbings" of the holes so I can make cardboard templates of the plates he's going to need to make to fill the holes in my frame. I got my low pressure steering box fitting from Burt, so all I have left is to get my spacer plate back from a guy my dad works with who's helping me with some machining, and get my sleeves figured out, then load it on the trailer and go! And hopefully everything will work out with the welder's schedule...

Punch List:
1. I need to start a list of mounting hardware I will need to get (I want to stay JIS metric for as much of this as possible) - box mounting bolts, exhaust clamp bolt, intermediate shaft bolts, etc.
2. I need to get my u-joint for the intermediate shaft to mock up my box fore/aft. EDIT: As of 4/28/09 I have this in hand
3. I am waiting on my drag link parts (FJ40 TRE and BJ70 drag link end) to mock up my box side-to-side. EDIT: As of 4/28/09 I have the TRE in hand. Still waiting on BJ70 drag link end - those Canadians are slow eh? EDIT: As of 4/30/09 4Wheel Auto in Canadia received the 70 series drag link ends they ordered. But they now come with the drag link tube attached, and the retail price has increased from about $100 CA for just the end to more than $225 CA for the end plus the tube . It's cheaper to order the rebuild kit with all 4 ends than it is to order just this one...going to wait and see if they come up with any solutions...Specter's kit is $179. EDIT AGAIN: Don was able to find a 70 series drag link end for a "reasonable" price and it should be here this week.
4. I need to get the FJ55 column keyswitch removed by a locksmith (I don't have a key so I can't do it the kosher way and I don't want to destroy it) so I can use my current keyswitch. EDIT: As of 4/30/09 I went to a locksmith down the road from work and had them rekey my ignition switch to match to match my current keyset. We'll see if that stops the run-on problem I've had as well since I've owned this truck.
5. I need to mock up my shock towers and see what modifications will need to be made. EDIT: As of 4/29/09 I know I will need to bend the shock towers back to their original location. Maybe I can get rid of these to somebody who wants straight F-250 shock towers and I can go buy me some new bent shock towers? Any takers?
6. I have to get some plates (NOW!)(at least one, maybe two 1/4" plate) cut and drilled to the bolt pattern of my steering box.
7. I have to get some pipe (NOW!)for sleeving my frame, cut to length.
7a. I have to cut off the plate that's in the way of the steering stabilizer (some PO did it )
7b. I have to figure out what kind of bracketry will be needed for the Sanden air pump
7c. I have to get a low pressure return fitting for my steering box.
8. I have to sharpen a bunch of drill bits so they are ready for use. I have to buy some drill bits that I will need.
9. I have to get the frame drilled to the bolt pattern.
10. I have to remove anything that will be in the way of the welder.
11. (Welding day)
a. Two plates will need to be made to fill in the flex hole in the frame, ground flush. The reinforcing plate will have to be welded in place on top of these plates.
b. The mounting holes will need to be extended through these plates.
c. The sleeves will have to be placed in the frame.
d. The spacer plate will have to be tack welded in place.
d1. Everything has to get burned in
e. I have to get a plate made in place of the EGR pipe that connects to the exhaust manifold.
f. I need a change made to the back end of my exhaust - tab with bolted connection.
g. I need my windshield frame support brackets (where the knobs screw in) to be rewelded in place so I can drive around with the the top (including bikini top) off.
h. I need to have a spacer plate welded to my shock tower.
12. There's a plate on my frame, welded in front of my steering stabilizer. It isn't really doing all that much good (maybe a little bit), but it's mostly in the way, so I'm going to have to cut that off. (See 7a)
13. The drag link, steering column, and intermediate shafts will have to be bolted up.
14. The shock towers will have been located and mounting holes drilled, but I will need to do some measuring and figure out what shocks I need to get (thinking Bilstein). Also figure out what steering damper is needed.
15. Trim fender(s) to accept steering box and shock towers.
16. Make sure high pressure hose works properly. If not figure out what needs to be done to make it work (research thread pitches if necessary, rebend hard sections to position loop in hose where I want it to be). It should work as long as the fender doesn't get in the way
17. Figure out what I'm going to do about a return line cooler (I decided I'm going to buy a tubing bender for $15 and try to rebend the tubing to fit where I want it to go, in front of the radiator behind the grille).
18. Get my steering all centered, get everything buttoned up, flush power steering system and go for a drive!

[PabloCruise]

Go Matt Go!!!

You are in the home stretch!

[subzali]

At the risk of providing sig quote material, and bordering on our generally clean forum rules, I'm very excited to say that I have two nipples in my hands and the world is right again

Get your heads out of the gutter guys, it's pipe nipples I'm talking about...

3/8" sch. 80 is the perfect combo of OD/ID I will need for sleeving material, and I will bore out the middle with my 12mm drill so it's a tight fit around the mounting bolts.

Also had to get an 11/16" drill for the OD in the frame (which will be a LOT better than the 7/8" I was originally planning for when I was thinking I would have to use 1/2" sch 160. Turns out 11/16" drills are not easy to find (White Cap had one in stock) and 1/2" sch 160 is not easy to find either (maybe if I had asked for nipples they would have been available, but I like the 3/8" sch 80 nipples better). I got two 8" long nipples at Kelly Supply, which should give me a little extra material to work with. So tonight I have to do some finish grinding to my mounting plates, cut the threads off the nipples and cut them to approx. length, bore out the middle, and load the truck on the trailer. I think I now have everything I needed, talk about cutting it close

[corsair23]

He said nipples...

You are an inspiration to all of us weekend mechanics Matt

[subzali]

Day 7: May 14, 2009 - 2.5 hours
Tools needed
1. Various box end wrenches (loving my stubby Gear Wrenches)/ratchet/sockets
2. Center Punch/Hammer
3. Drill bits
4. Drill (happens to be 1/2" drive with a big motor)

Tonight I prepped my truck for the big day - tomorrow! I cut and drilled out my sleeves, trimmed down my reinforcement/spacer plates, finished making my templates for the filler plates, and loaded the truck on the trailer.

Punch List:
1. I need to start a list of mounting hardware I will need to get (I want to stay JIS metric for as much of this as possible) - box mounting bolts, exhaust clamp bolt, intermediate shaft bolts, etc.
2. I need to get my u-joint for the intermediate shaft to mock up my box fore/aft. EDIT: As of 4/28/09 I have this in hand
3. I am waiting on my drag link parts (FJ40 TRE and BJ70 drag link end) to mock up my box side-to-side. EDIT: As of 4/28/09 I have the TRE in hand. Still waiting on BJ70 drag link end - those Canadians are slow eh? EDIT: As of 4/30/09 4Wheel Auto in Canadia received the 70 series drag link ends they ordered. But they now come with the drag link tube attached, and the retail price has increased from about $100 CA for just the end to more than $225 CA for the end plus the tube . It's cheaper to order the rebuild kit with all 4 ends than it is to order just this one...going to wait and see if they come up with any solutions...Specter's kit is $179. EDIT AGAIN: Don was able to find a 70 series drag link end for a "reasonable" price and it should be here this week.
4. I need to get the FJ55 column keyswitch removed by a locksmith (I don't have a key so I can't do it the kosher way and I don't want to destroy it) so I can use my current keyswitch. EDIT: As of 4/30/09 I went to a locksmith down the road from work and had them rekey my ignition switch to match to match my current keyset. We'll see if that stops the run-on problem I've had as well since I've owned this truck.
5. I need to mock up my shock towers and see what modifications will need to be made. EDIT: As of 4/29/09 I know I will need to bend the shock towers back to their original location. Maybe I can get rid of these to somebody who wants straight F-250 shock towers and I can go buy me some new bent shock towers? Any takers?
6. I have to get some plates (NOW!)(at least one, maybe two 1/4" plate) cut and drilled to the bolt pattern of my steering box.
7. I have to get some pipe (NOW!)for sleeving my frame, cut to length.
7a. I have to cut off the plate that's in the way of the steering stabilizer (some PO did it )
7b. I have to figure out what kind of bracketry will be needed for the Sanden air pump
7c. I have to get a low pressure return fitting for my steering box.
8. I have to sharpen a bunch of drill bits so they are ready for use. I have to buy some drill bits that I will need.
9. I have to get the frame drilled to the bolt pattern.
10. I have to remove anything that will be in the way of the welder.
11. (Welding day)
a. Two plates will need to be made to fill in the flex hole in the frame, ground flush. The reinforcing plate will have to be welded in place on top of these plates.
b. The mounting holes will need to be extended through these plates.
c. The sleeves will have to be placed in the frame.
d. The spacer plate will have to be tack welded in place.
d1. Everything has to get burned in
e. I have to get a plate made in place of the EGR pipe that connects to the exhaust manifold.
f. I need a change made to the back end of my exhaust - tab with bolted connection.
g. I need my windshield frame support brackets (where the knobs screw in) to be rewelded in place so I can drive around with the the top (including bikini top) off.
h. I need to have a spacer plate welded to my shock tower.
12. There's a plate on my frame, welded in front of my steering stabilizer. It isn't really doing all that much good (maybe a little bit), but it's mostly in the way, so I'm going to have to cut that off. (See 7a)
13. The drag link, steering column, and intermediate shafts will have to be bolted up.
14. The shock towers will have been located and mounting holes drilled, but I will need to do some measuring and figure out what shocks I need to get (thinking Bilstein). Also figure out what steering damper is needed.
15. Trim fender(s) to accept steering box and shock towers.
16. Make sure high pressure hose works properly. If not figure out what needs to be done to make it work (research thread pitches if necessary, rebend hard sections to position loop in hose where I want it to be). It should work as long as the fender doesn't get in the way
17. Figure out what I'm going to do about a return line cooler (I decided I'm going to buy a tubing bender for $15 and try to rebend the tubing to fit where I want it to go, in front of the radiator behind the grille).
18. Get my steering all centered, get everything buttoned up, flush power steering system and go for a drive!

[subzali]

Day 8: May 15, 2009 - 5.5 hours
Tools needed
1. Various box end wrenches (loving my stubby Gear Wrenches)/ratchet/sockets
2. Center Punch/Hammer
3. Drill bits
4. Portable electric drill (happens to be 1/2" drive with a big motor)
5. Transfer punches
6. Lathe
7. Iron Worker machine
8. Bandsaw
9. Angle Grinder
10. Welder
11. Hammer/Chisel
12. all kinds of other stuff, I don't even know

Today was welding day, and it was a complete success! It all turned out great! We filled in the holes in the frame, transferred the mounting holes through to the back side, and welded plates on both sides and welded the sleeves in. I am very happy with the work. That assembly is not coming off, and everything lined up perfectly, it's a tight fit for the mounting bolts, the pitman arm just clears the frame and everything is looking great. Didn't get pics yet (didn't have my camera ) but will get some as soon as I can. Have to put it back together now.

Punch List:
1. I need to start a list of mounting hardware I will need to get (I want to stay JIS metric for as much of this as possible) - box mounting bolts, exhaust clamp bolt, intermediate shaft bolts, etc.
2. I need to get my u-joint for the intermediate shaft to mock up my box fore/aft. EDIT: As of 4/28/09 I have this in hand
3. I am waiting on my drag link parts (FJ40 TRE and BJ70 drag link end) to mock up my box side-to-side. EDIT: As of 4/28/09 I have the TRE in hand. Still waiting on BJ70 drag link end - those Canadians are slow eh? EDIT: As of 4/30/09 4Wheel Auto in Canadia received the 70 series drag link ends they ordered. But they now come with the drag link tube attached, and the retail price has increased from about $100 CA for just the end to more than $225 CA for the end plus the tube . It's cheaper to order the rebuild kit with all 4 ends than it is to order just this one...going to wait and see if they come up with any solutions...Specter's kit is $179. EDIT AGAIN: Don was able to find a 70 series drag link end for a "reasonable" price and it should be here this week.
4. I need to get the FJ55 column keyswitch removed by a locksmith (I don't have a key so I can't do it the kosher way and I don't want to destroy it) so I can use my current keyswitch. EDIT: As of 4/30/09 I went to a locksmith down the road from work and had them rekey my ignition switch to match to match my current keyset. We'll see if that stops the run-on problem I've had as well since I've owned this truck.
5. I need to mock up my shock towers and see what modifications will need to be made. EDIT: As of 4/29/09 I know I will need to bend the shock towers back to their original location. Maybe I can get rid of these to somebody who wants straight F-250 shock towers and I can go buy me some new bent shock towers? Any takers?
6. I have to get some plates (NOW!)(at least one, maybe two 1/4" plate) cut and drilled to the bolt pattern of my steering box.
7. I have to get some pipe (NOW!)for sleeving my frame, cut to length.
7a. I have to cut off the plate that's in the way of the steering stabilizer (some PO did it )
7b. I have to figure out what kind of bracketry will be needed for the Sanden air pump
7c. I have to get a low pressure return fitting for my steering box.
8. I have to sharpen a bunch of drill bits so they are ready for use. I have to buy some drill bits that I will need.
9. I have to get the frame drilled to the bolt pattern.
10. I have to remove anything that will be in the way of the welder.
11. (Welding day)
a. Two plates will need to be made to fill in the flex hole in the frame, ground flush. The reinforcing plate will have to be welded in place on top of these plates.
b. The mounting holes will need to be extended through these plates.
c. The sleeves will have to be placed in the frame.
d. The spacer plate will have to be tack welded in place.
d1. Everything has to get burned in
e. I have to get a plate made in place of the EGR pipe that connects to the exhaust manifold.
f. I need a change made to the back end of my exhaust - tab with bolted connection.
g. I need my windshield frame support brackets (where the knobs screw in) to be rewelded in place so I can drive around with the the top (including bikini top) off.
h. I need to have a spacer plate welded to my shock tower.
12. There's a plate on my frame, welded in front of my steering stabilizer. It isn't really doing all that much good (maybe a little bit), but it's mostly in the way, so I'm going to have to cut that off. (See 7a)
13. The drag link, steering column, and intermediate shafts will have to be bolted up.
14. The shock towers will have been located and mounting holes drilled, but I will need to do some measuring and figure out what shocks I need to get (thinking Bilstein). Also figure out what steering damper is needed.
15. Trim fender(s) to accept steering box and shock towers.
16. Make sure high pressure hose works properly. If not figure out what needs to be done to make it work (research thread pitches if necessary, rebend hard sections to position loop in hose where I want it to be). It should work as long as the fender doesn't get in the way
17. Figure out what I'm going to do about a return line cooler (I decided I'm going to buy a tubing bender for $15 and try to rebend the tubing to fit where I want it to go, in front of the radiator behind the grille).
18. Get my steering all centered, get everything buttoned up, flush power steering system and go for a drive!

[subzali]

Day 9: May 17, 2009 - 9 hours
Tools needed
1. Various box end wrenches (loving my stubby Gear Wrenches)/ratchet/sockets
2. Angle Grinder
3. Hammer/Punch

Just in case you thought I was slacking, I went for a test drive today! I got the radiator back in, body panels mounted back up, and after 6 attempts at getting the right belt (went through about 13 or 14 belts to try and find the right length, it's a long story), which took 2.5 to 3 hours by itself (we live 15 minutes from the nearest parts store) I found the right one (with the help of my buddy CJ7 Matt) and we filled up the pump, bled it and tried it out! Very happy with the improvement!

Punch List:
1. I need to get some mounting hardware (I want to stay JIS metric for as much of this as possible)
1a. Box mounting bolts (they need to be a little bit longer and finer thread)
1b. Exhaust clamp bolt(s)
1c. Intermediate shaft bolt (needs to be a touch longer)
1d. Radiator support bolt
1e. Bib bolts
2. I need to figure out the bracketry to mount the Sanden air pump
3. I need to reconfigure the driver side radiator support rod, figure out how to make that work
4. I need to mess with the shock towers a little bit to get them to mount properly so they clear everything. I think I will have to move my lower shock mount a tad.
5. I have to cut off the plate that's in the way of the steering stabilizer (some PO did it )
6. I have to measure for shocks (probably going to go with a generic brand shock this time, since I might be doing a suspension lift and new tires in the somewhat-not-so-distant future)
7. Right now I'm not running a return line cooler. Should get that figured out before too long
8. Make sure my steering is centered
9. Take everything back apart and get it all cleaned and painted

If I were to do this again, I would probably do the following differently:
1. Cut the FJ55 column down just a tad (might still do this); it feels like it's crowding me a bit. Maybe if I move my seat back (which would help my long legs anyway) that will make it feel more comfortable.
2. I should have been paying more attention and tilted my steering box more forward, as I had a picture of in an above post.
3. I should have been more cognizant of my fore/aft alignment of the box. It would be nice for it to be about 1/2" more forward; the u-joint connections would clear the inner fender better.
4. Along the same lines, I would make the spacer plate a little shorter. It extends past the box towards the back of the truck. That coupled with the weld fillet push the shock tower a little further back than I would like. It's not a big deal, I just probably will have to relocate the lower shock mount to get it straight.
5. I would try to find a smaller diameter pulley (might still do this) for a couple reasons. A smaller pulley will give more boost (not like I need more; I can steer with one finger when I'm stopped), but there is also a problem with the JT Outfitter bracket. It's awfully close to the upper radiator hose, and it adjusts so it gets even closer as you tighten the belt, so whatever belt you're running has to be super tight (we got it half on then rotated the pulley to get it the rest of the way) and even then there's only 1/4" or so clearance. If I had the means/skills I would do that differently; I would make the bracket swing out away from the engine block and/or I would find a smaller diameter pulley.

Good stuff though! This conversion was a lot of work! The end result was somewhat anti-climactic: "Okay, so this feels like any other vehicle I've driven - my pickup, the Suburban, etc. Man that was a lot of work to get this truck up to 20th century standards!"

But I tell you what, it's SO nice to not have slop in the steering! And the other benefits I will come to appreciate with time, when I'm on the trail and not fighting with the drawbacks of the OEM steering configuration...

We filled in the flex hole in the frame and partially filled another one (lower right), then welded this reinforcing plate on top and transferred the holes.


Here is the front side, with the spacer plate welded on (and there are sleeves in the frame BTW, just in case you missed that part in previous posts)


Closer view of the welds


Closer view of the front side


Notice how the plate extends past the box. I wish either the box was a bit further forward, or the plate was shorter, etc. because this pushes the location of the shock tower further back than I'd like.


Showing the clearance of the steering box with a 1/4" spacer - it just clears the radiator support


Showing marking the inner fender for clearancing


This is one of the reasons I wish the steering box was slightly more forward:


Showing the high pressure hose from JT Outfitters - no leaks yet


For now I used washers behind the top bolts where the inner fender mounts to the frame to space it out just enough so I wouldn't have to hack into the structural part of the fender support. This is how much (little) clearance I have, still have to figure out exactly what I'm going to end up doing here.


Everything installed, belt found, ready to be bled and go! The belt is from Autozone, it's a 15520, which I think is 15mm wide, 52" long. But my 52 3/8" belt from NAPA was too short, so I'm not really sure...


Showing the clearance (or lack thereof) with the upper radiator hose

[PabloCruise]

Yippee Matt!!!

Congratulations - nicely done.

I remember I couldn't stop grinning when I drove mine again with the PS.

Great job.

[RicardoJM]

Originally Posted by subzali

[b] Very happy with the improvement!


Good stuff though! This conversion was a lot of work! The end result was somewhat anti-climactic: "Okay, so this feels like any other vehicle I've driven - my pickup, the Suburban, etc. Man that was a lot of work to get this truck up to 20th century standards!"

But I tell you what, it's SO nice to not have slop in the steering!

You've done a great job Matt!!!

[wesintl]

Nice work. Obviously well thought out!