I wanna go wheeling.... looks sick man

 

I put a good dent in the steering on the last trip and steering was starting to get loose.

Findings:

Tie Rod is bent
Passenger Side TRE was shot
Track Bar hole is ovaled out
Steering Box Output Shaft Bearing is loose


I have some 1.5" 1/4 Wall and 4 NEW 1-ton ends to replace the steering with.

Going to fix the track bar hole by fixing the mount and making it double sheer.

I have a steering box brace for the steering box, I'm working on.

 

Well for those that don't know there are several different kinds of "GM 1-ton" rod ends.

I opted for a TRE at my pitman arm instead of the proper draglink end.
Here are some pics of the travel distance between the two.
The one with more travel is the draglink end that will be going on the jeep.

 

Well on to the track bar repair.

Made a weld washer to fix the ovaled hole:







Then put the whole thing in double sheer with a couple tabs I added:

 

Excellent repair. That should really last a long time

 

Yeah good job on that.. and thanks for the comparison between the two TREs. I never would have known that.

 

Thanks Guys, yeah lesson learned

 

Steering is Complete!

Sorry for the bad lighting:


Went 80MPH down the interstate today with one finger on the wheel, no shimmy and shake.


Here is the start of the Steering Box Brace:






Don't mind the welds, they're with my little 135 Flux Core. When I pull it off I'll be welding it with the big 252 Miller.

Just need to Tack On some side wings to the bumper to protect the side marker lights and add an extra gusset to the steering box brace.

 

Had a fun run at Big Creek & URE last weekend.

Broke another brake line and cracked my radiator.
Had a spare line so the brake line wasn't a problem.
Used some plumbers repair stuff of the radiator and it was good enough to get me home.

That pretty much puts the jeep out for the year, I had a trip planned in December but I need to use that money to find a better way to run my brake lines.

 

Well I got started stripping everything down and got to work.

My radiator cracked from hitting the side marker on a tree. To prevent that from happening again I'm adding sides to the bumper:





Then I pulled the bumper to get the center cut out and ready for the winch to be installed:





With the bumper pulled I cut out the front cross member:


Next I needed to get rid of the last bit of slop in my steering.


There is a bushing that is inside the steering sector shaft that twists when it is worn out causing slop.
Welded the ears up so the bushing is no longer a factor:



Well that's All the work I'm getting done today

 

Yup. Had to do the same thing to mine. Stupid bushing is only there to reduce NVH anyway.

 

How bad is it pulling the shaft? Might pull mine and weld it together to get more slop out of the steering.

 

It's not bad. Might have to loosen up the steering wheel bolts from the firewall -or- the steering gear box from the frame, but it's not RMS level, that's for sure.

 

Pull The Steering box, 3 bolts. Two bolts on the sector shaft.
You'll need to remove your air intake to get to the bolts but that's about it.

It can be a one man job but if you got a friend to help it will cut the time getting the box back in, in half.

 

Well I got a little more progress done:

Since I'm reusing my old winch I need to make it smaller to fit tucked in without contacting the motor.

Before:


After:



Since the control box is no longer on top of the winch and I don't want an in cab switch right now; I need a new place for the plug.

This should do:


Adding a few more LEDs for rock lights / camping lights for when the light bar is too much: