Power Steering (yet again)

[shdnobetter]

I did some more pick-n-pull scrounging today, and here's what I've decided on:
'90 Nissan Pathfinder 4x4 steering gear ($50, with a 90 day warranty, reman, $500+!!!!). This will mount easily to the outside of the frame, forward of the axle. The input shaft will sit right above the frame rail.

The distance from the outside of the frame to the center of the pitman arm joint will be approx. 6 1/4". This looks like it should give plenty of clearance between the drag link and the shock. Shock bracket will be moved rearward approx. 4". No need to relocate the shock tab on the axle.

I'll dig up a steering shaft that will fit both the column shaft and the Nissan input shaft; they look like the same spline profile/count.

Machine a UHMW collar to fit inside the bottom of the column with a light interference fit. A nice SS band clamp will go around the bottom of the column to hold this in place. A sealed ball bearing with the same ID as the column shaft OD will be pressed into the UHMW collar.

Relocate the brake line/emerg. brake cable support bracket approx. 1 1/2" further inboard to provide steering shaft clearance.

Fabricate new drag link from 1" OD chrome-moly bar stock, with 3/4" spherical rod ends. Rod ends will be fitted with Forsheda v-rings top and bottom, to retain lube and keep dirt and water out. Drill Nissan pitman arm and Dodge steering arm out to 3/4" ID.

Adapt the 10mm lines to a Dodge pump, and off we go!

[MountainMoparRobin]

from what your listing sounds good, was their no Mopars in the pullnsave yard?

[shdnobetter]

from what your listing sounds good, was their no Mopars in the pullnsave yard?

Robin, there were plenty, but what got me excited about the Nissan box is:
A, the input shaft will sit ABOVE the frame, instead of to the outside of it; it will be a lot easier to configure the steering shaft. It will be almost a straight shot from column to box.
B, I won't have to completely move the shock, just shift the upper mount rearward by drilling a few new holes for it. And this is just for clearance between the shock mount and the front of the gear.
I just have to make sure that the Nissan box will provide enough travel. If not I'll have to make or buy a custom length Pitman arm.
I'll be starting the fitting process when we get back from the coast on Sat.

[MountainMoparRobin]

Thats fine, especially if you feel comfortable with it, but from what I saw the Dakota and Jeeps have a box that looked to be able to bolt to the front of the shock tower and the connection from the arm on the box and the steering knuckle on the backing plate could use the same that is on the Dakota and Jeeps, wouldn't have to move anything, and no holes drilled in frame, other than the what needed to secure the box, but all that doesn't matter you do what you feel comfortable with

[shdnobetter]

I was trying to finish the exhaust tonight, but had to shut that down to keep the Sawzall from keeping the wife awake, so I shifted my attention and what energy was left to the Nissan power steering swap. The longer I look at this the more I like it:
To provide clearance between the gear (to be mounted forward of the axle) and the driver's side shock, all I have to do is source another pass. side shock bracket (really just a chunk of angle iron) and mount it rearward of the shock. This will keep the shock at its present angle and give me the clearance I'm after.
The Dodge steering arm requires 7" of linear travel; the Nissan gear with the stock pitman arm delivers 7 1/4", so no worries there.
I found a source for fittings to adapt the 16mmx1.5mm banjo fittings to 3/8 male JIC for the hydraulic lines; these will be ordered tomorrow a.m. I'll have the lines made up by a local hydraulic shop.
I'll be wandering around the Pick-A-Part tomorrow afternoon to see if I can find the bits to make up the hybrid steering shaft; the Nissan gear has a 36 spline, 17.5mm input shaft. East meets West? Let's hope so! I also have to score a pump.
Still have to decide on a support bearing for the upper end of the steering shaft/bottom of the column shaft; leaning towards a spherical bearing in a bracket attached to the frame, but might still go with something inserted into the bottom of the column.

[shdnobetter]

Looks like the Nissan box will work; tonight I pulled the lower fender splash shield and battery box, clamped the Nissan gear in place, and took some measurements. I have an extra 1/4" of travel so the knuckles will still hit the stops on the axle, and I can even use one of the original shock mount holes in the frame to mount the box. Tomorrow I look for steering shaft components and a pump, and get the lines made.
It looks like the upper coupling half (rag joint) is welded to the column shaft; it this the case?

[nfury8]

Correct on the rag joint end of the column.

Very interested to see it come together. I have only got a couple spins around the block on
my Toyota swap, but WOW I am very pleased!!

[tapakah]

Just take lots of pictures as your doing it and dont forget to post them here. Some people (Me) are not very good at figuring stuff out unless there is a picture to look at of it.

[shdnobetter]

I'm going to take a chance at jinxing this project by saying that it's going to be a lot easier than I thought. I took another wander through the Pick A Part this afternoon and came away with a steering shaft w/integral u-joint and a u-joint/rag joint combination piece from an '01 Pathfinder with rack and pinion steering. The shaft/u-joint connected the steering wheel to an intermediate (angle changing) gearbox, and the rag joint/u-joint combo. connects this box to the rack. It looks like I can bolt the rag joint right to the flange on the Dodge column shaft, and the shaft, etc. will be the perfect length to reach the box. Then I just have to come up with a support bearing for the rear (column end) of the shaft. I took some photos this afternoon but I may not get them posted until tomorrow.

[juddoats]

I cant wait to see pics and then i will go to my local yard and see if i can find the parts and start to work on mine as well...i had looked seriously into getting the mustang 2 front end but now and thinking differently with this set up....the mustang 2 is expensive and sets alittle to low i think for my gravel road keep up the good work and hope it continues to go smoothly

[shdnobetter]

I bought a couple of rod ends for the new drag link yesterday but I think I'll try to find tie rod ends instead, as they'll provide more angular travel than the rod ends, since the latter would be mounted with the bodies horizonally. If I'm really lucky (and I have been so far) I should be able to find some with the same taper on the stud as the hole in the knuckle, and 3/4-16 thread to work with the 1" DOM tubing I bought yesterday. If not, I'll drill out the knuckle and pitman arm and stay with the rod ends as originally planned.
Here are a few photos of what's done so far:

The magic parts from the '01 Pathfinder. I don't know yet if the rubber coupling will bolt right to the Dodge column flange; might have to file the holes in the flange a little. Still working an a support bearing setup.

This shows the elevation of the steering arm and the Pitman arm. The latter is approx. 1" higher; perfect for using rod ends.

Clearance between the tire and Pitman arm at full right lock is about 1/2". Pretty close, but these wheels have a lot of positive? (inward) offset.

This shows the lateral relationship of the new box with the frame. Shock mount will be relocated to just forward of the new box.

The Nissan box clamped to the frame, using the upper shock mount hole as a datum point. The upper front bolt will be pretty close to the inside of the top frame lip.

[nfury8]

Nice! That box is laid out the same as the IFS Toyota boxes, which I had thought
would be excellent for cross over steering.

[shdnobetter]

"Shock mount will be relocated to just forward of the new box." Belay that; I should have said the shock mount will be relocated just AFT of the new box.
And it looks like I did jinx it; I pulled out the old box last night and started fitting up the Nissan steering shaft. The Nissan rubber flex (rag joint) coupling bolts right up to the flange on the Dodge column shaft, but by the time the u-joint is added, the rear of the new shaft is too low to put any kind of support bearing between it and the frame, without relieving the frame by 1/4" or so adjacent to the steering shaft. Besides, the Nissan shaft measures 17.5 MM, which I haven't been able to find a bearing for.
Here's where I could really use the knowledge of a steering expert:
If I use the flex coupling I'll have to put a support bearing in the bottom of the column, AND one between the lower steering shaft and the frame. If I don't use the flex coupling and just use the u-joint, there won't be any allowance for flex between the body and frame, which I believe is the purpose of the rag joint. The only other option I can think of is using a telescoping shaft. Ideas?

[surfnuke9]

these guys can give you a custom (spendy) solution.

http://www.flamingriver.com/index.cfm/p ... /cat85.htm

[nfury8]

You might also tap PSC Motorsports, http://www.pscmotorsports.com/.

I got my fittings and hoses from them for my Toyota swap. When I told them
I was using a 83 Toyota box, with a 94 Dodge pump in a 70 Dodge W200,
the guy immediately rattled off all the parts I would need. Pretty reasonable
on the cost also, cheaper than local. They deal with a lot of custom fab stuff.

[shdnobetter]

You might also tap PSC Motorsports, http://www.pscmotorsports.com/.

I got my fittings and hoses from them for my Toyota swap. When I told them
I was using a 83 Toyota box, with a 94 Dodge pump in a 70 Dodge W200,
the guy immediately rattled off all the parts I would need. Pretty reasonable
on the cost also, cheaper than local. They deal with a lot of custom fab stuff.

Thanks, Scott; I'll check 'em out.
I did some more digging today and found a rag joint/u-joint combo. off of a Toyota 4Runner that will bring the rear of the shaft up to an acceptable position. I'll keep the flange on the column shaft and file out the bolt holes by about 1/8" on each side. All I need to find now is a long enough section of 11/16" (17.5mm) shaft.
I could buy all the u joints, shaft, etc. I need from Borgeson but I'm trying to do this all with junkyard parts, with the following goals in mind:
1. It has to work and be safe.
2. It has to look somewhat factory.
3. It has to cost a minimum of $$$.

[shdnobetter]

Progress report:
The box is now bolted in; as mentioned earlier I used the upper shock mount hole as my datum point. The sector shaft was set up as close to vertical as possible. This puts the pitman arm and steering arm arcs on as close to the same horizontal plane as possible to maximize pitman arm travel. I used 1/2-24 grade 8 bolts and nylocks. I ran a 31/64ths drill through the holes in the box, and on through the frame, to have a nice snug fit for the bolts.
The shock mount will be relocated 3 1/2" rearward from its original location, at the same elevation and angle.
I have the lower column shaft bearing and its mount in place. The UHMW bearing holder worked out pretty slick, and I found a nice stainless band clamp to hold it all in. A dab on Loctite 271 will keep the shaft from spinning inside the bearing.
I also have the Toyota flex coupling/u-joint attached to the column shaft. I took photos of what's been done but I'm too blasted tired to post them tonight.
I grabbed another Nissan steering shaft from the Pick A Part, and I'll cut off the splined section and graft it to the other shaft with a coupling to make it 18 3/4" long. On the next trip to town I'll grab a pump, belt, and the hose and hose fittings.
I still need to find a couple of tie rod ends with the same taper angle as the stock Dodge drag link, and with 3/4-16 RH thread, for the new drag link. If anyone has a part number for these I'd sure appreciate it; that would save me a lot of hunting time.
With any luck I'll have this thing done by early May.

[digdoug]

On a 67 d300 tie rod end,the tapered end is right, but the threaded end is more like 5/8 or 11/16 .

[shdnobetter]

On a 67 d300 tie rod end,the tapered end is right, but the threaded end is more like 5/8 or 11/16 .

Right on that; I'm looking for tie rod ends with the same taper on the stud as original, but with 3/4-16 thread, as I intend to use 1"x.1875" wall DOM tubing. Thanks!
By the way, where did you find the reamer you used?

[digdoug]

Got it off ebay . A company called XKUT , part #5952.

http://stores.ebay.com/XKUT

It looks like they have some nicer ones than I bought for $20 more.Ive reemed @ a half dozen holes and mine is still like new.You would get less chance of chatter with the spiral one...