BlackBII's white ranger

[BlackBII]

A bit late to the party here... (I found your thread from your post in ericbphoto's thread in GD), but this is some very nice work here (I did feel quite sad for that nice white 2WD you cut up, but at least it went to a good cause).

I like your solution to the Superlift bushing setup on your steering, very ingenious. I've had a few ideas of my own for that as well, though I've yet to implement them... I've not had a whole lot of trouble with the bushings other than the upper ones only last 3-5 years or so before I can start to feel some play in the idler arm (it's about a 30-minute job to replace them).

Only thing I might've done different is put the traction bar to the right side of the diff housing (reduces some of the torque twist from the driveshaft that way).


Nice job.

Yeah when I was researching the traction bar everyone said to put it on the right side, but I didn't want to reroute my exhaust and with the Ranger gas tank gone, I had plenty of room on the left hand side so I went that route.

I looked at a lot of different steering solutions before settling on mine. The K link setup seemed like the easiest one that would also work good enough. I found a few companies that make heavy duty idler arms for Chevy trucks, but then the issue is attaching it to a center link of some kind and they were also not cheap, so I decided to make my own. The thing I was worried about most was getting the pitman arm and idler arm on the same plane, so that they didn't bind. Using two of the same pitman arm seemed like the easiest way to accomplish that and it worked out. The bronze bushings are about $3 each, and the sector shaft cost me $5 from a junkyard, so it was also the cheapest way to do it and it should have less deflection than a superlift bushing setup.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

What post # would I look for to check out your steering solution?

 

[Curious Hound]

I bookmarked it Here. But I think you need to go back a bit further.

 

[BlackBII]

Here's a compilation of all the posts:

And reaming out the knuckles to fit the 1 ton tie rod ends. The reamer didn't fit in my drill so I got a good workout today.

Started working on my steering today.

That's two identical pitman arms, from a manual steering Jeep Cherokee. The sector shaft on the left is going inside the 2" DOM along with it's sintered bronze bushings to act as an idler arm. The center link will ride on the smaller bushings and 5/8" bolts.

The engine crossmember and drivers side beam drop bracket are in the way of where the idler arm needs to go so.... I started cutting up the drivers side frame rail to move the steering box forwards 5cm. This will give me enough room to mount the idler arm on the passenger side on the same plane as the steering arm. Now I know why superlift used the bushing idler arm deal instead of a regular one; there's no room on the passenger side.

Steering box moved 5cm forward. Tomorrow I'll get the idler arm in place.

Two pitman arms = twice the fun!

Getting the two arms to be perfectly square with each other was really difficult. Nothing under there is square with anything else. I got them within 1 degree and 1mm of each other so the center link should traverse without binding. We'll see.

Put some 1" DOM into the frame rails to act as sleeves for the bolts and welded some thick washers to the tubing and the frame. This mimics how Ford reinforced the drivers side where the steering box is mounted.

Here's a piece of angle iron acting as the center link. I'll get the real one in tomorrow.

Full traverse left

Full traverse right

Center link

Here's a video of the steering. Found it interesting to watch

YOUTUBE VIDEO

 

[Jim Oaks]

So what would the parts & material list be for someone trying to build their own version of this?

 

[Curious Hound]

So what would the parts & material list be for someone trying to build their own version of this?

Yeah. What he ^^ said.

Thanks for bringing all this together.

 

[BlackBII]

So what would the parts & material list be for someone trying to build their own version of this?

I imagine it'll be slightly different for everyone, depending on how they want to build it.

This is what I used

1.5 x .120 wall DOM
2 x .250 wall DOM
2 of the same pitman arm. I used Crown Automotive 52000616 for an XJ since I am using a manual Ranger box
1 sector shaft from a steering box of your choice to match your pitman arms
1 Oil Impregnated Bronze Sleeve | 1-1/8 ID x 1-1/2 OD x 2-1/2 OAL
1 Oil Impregnated Bronze Sleeve | 1-1/8 ID x 1-1/2 OD x 1 OAL
1 bronze thrust washer for the top of the sector shaft
4 bronze flanged bushings for the center link, 5/8 ID x 1" OD. Cant find the order but I believe they were 1.5" in length
2 5/8 by 4" bolts and locknuts
4 GM 1 Ton tie rod ends (2 right hand thread, 2 left hand thread)
4 7/8-18 tube inserts (2 right hand thread, 2 left hand thread)
4 jam nuts
Reamer for the knuckles and center link
3/4" plate steel for the center link (I think, I'll have to measure it)

 

[Curious Hound]

I was looking at reamers last week. There are 7° and 10° reamers. 7° seems more common. Is that what those ball joints need?

 

[BlackBII]

I feel like the idler arm is the only complicated part of this setup.

I almost built one like this, but the sector shaft and pitman arm seemed easier. I also looked at using factory idler arms from GM, Dodge, Mercedes, etc

Really all you need is something for the center link to ride on.

 

[BlackBII]

I was looking at reamers last week. There are 7° and 10° reamers. 7° seems more common. Is that what those ball joints need?

7 degree is what I used

GM 1 Ton Reamer

One ton tie rod ends are a great upgrade but usually your pitman arm or knuckles will have to be reamed to accept the larger taper that these tie rod ends require. This reamer will allow you to make the proper 7.15° or 1.5" per ft taper in your steering components. This is also the reamer that...

www.barnes4wd.com

 

[4x4junkie]

Do you have any bumpsteer with that setup?

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Here's a compilation of all the posts:

And reaming out the knuckles to fit the 1 ton tie rod ends. The reamer didn't fit in my drill so I got a good workout today.

Started working on my steering today.

That's two identical pitman arms, from a manual steering Jeep Cherokee. The sector shaft on the left is going inside the 2" DOM along with it's sintered bronze bushings to act as an idler arm. The center link will ride on the smaller bushings and 5/8" bolts.

The engine crossmember and drivers side beam drop bracket are in the way of where the idler arm needs to go so.... I started cutting up the drivers side frame rail to move the steering box forwards 5cm. This will give me enough room to mount the idler arm on the passenger side on the same plane as the steering arm. Now I know why superlift used the bushing idler arm deal instead of a regular one; there's no room on the passenger side.

Steering box moved 5cm forward. Tomorrow I'll get the idler arm in place.

Two pitman arms = twice the fun!

Getting the two arms to be perfectly square with each other was really difficult. Nothing under there is square with anything else. I got them within 1 degree and 1mm of each other so the center link should traverse without binding. We'll see.

Put some 1" DOM into the frame rails to act as sleeves for the bolts and welded some thick washers to the tubing and the frame. This mimics how Ford reinforced the drivers side where the steering box is mounted.

Here's a piece of angle iron acting as the center link. I'll get the real one in tomorrow.

Full traverse left

Full traverse right

Center link

Here's a video of the steering. Found it interesting to watch

YOUTUBE VIDEO

Thanks for taking the time to put that together.

 

[BlackBII]

Do you have any bumpsteer with that setup?

Not that I have noticed. When I initially mocked up the steering, I was using some 4" skyjacker coils, which I then swapped out for the 5.5" Superlift, and then I finally settled on the 6" Skyjacker coils. So, the center link isn't quite as low as it probably should be.

I also have an electric power steering setup, so any input from the road may be dampened a bit by that.

 

[ford4wd08]

Not that I have noticed. When I initially mocked up the steering, I was using some 4" skyjacker coils, which I then swapped out for the 5.5" Superlift, and then I finally settled on the 6" Skyjacker coils. So, the center link isn't quite as low as it probably should be.

I also have an electric power steering setup, so any input from the road may be dampened a bit by that.

Since you have a column EPS steering system, I would say your last comment is correct. Having a large reduction gear set with the motor helps with that.

 

[BlackBII]

Haven't done much work on the Ranger as I have been working on my garage. Put up an I-beam along with a trolley hoist, and built some shelves and organized things a bit.

The hoist will make pulling engines, cabs, beds, etc really easy