Buffs 58 cj5 build

I drilled a pilot hole through and then chunked away from both sides with a hole saw and then used a grinder to finish off the bottom part.

 

Your putting on a Saginaw steering clinic!!!!
Excellent work!!

 

This is the best I could do with my limited editing abilities. https://share.icloud.com/photos/0bdkOSE4ogelqJNeCXOqhELLw
To sum it up, I drilled out the upper and lower holes using a 7/16 drill bit, bleepin Jeep recommends using a slightly larger bit but I just wobbled it out a tad and didn’t have any trouble tapping the holes. After drilling I used a 1/4-18 NPT tap to start the holes. After going as deep as I could with that I used another 1/4 tap with the starting threads cut off(essentially a bottom tap). It’s especially important to use the short tap on the bottom, more shallow hole to get the threads as deep as possible. The tapping definitely gets some fine shavings going into the gear box but hopefully after flushing it out a few times those are taken care of. I’ll be installing a filter as well so if there’s anything left in there it will pick those up. Here’s the taps that I used:

 

A fresh coat of drippy paint to cover up my booger welds. I need to mount my steering column back in place and mount the gear box after one more coat and then I can cut the steering shaft to size. Fingers crossed that it lines up and I don’t need a rag joint, seems like it will be fine.

 

And just curious , who welds like this? What a shame, how is this supposed to hold if it’s not all gobbed up and what not?

 

What pitman arm will you be using? Looks like a short one will be needed.

 

I’m not quite sure yet, once I get the steering box mounted for the last time I’ll take some measurements and figure out what will work best as far as length and drop.

 

How did this turn out? I thought I saw you in a video about the Vintage Expedition...

 

Still poking away at it, getting closer! Liam came by on Saturday and helped me put the grill and fender back on. Last night I drilled out the pitman arm , may need a slightly shorter one if I can find one? I’m off between Christmas and New Year so hoping to get it dialed in! And that was me in the vintage 4x4 expedition video from last year!

 

I consulted with my ram assist specialist @Norcal69 and got the process of measuring for the spacer, so I did that tonight along with an initial flex/clearance test. Going to mock up the hoses to the ram and see how much I need to trim and have them re-crimped at the local hydraulic shop.

 

I finished the ram assist steering last weekend and took a short drive with it after it passed the flex test. It felt pretty dang good, a bit different road manners than before but I ordered an anti-rock sway bar that showed up last night that I hope will help.

I got to work on the sway bar when I got home from work today, ready to weld the tube and paint tomorrow night! Liam is going to come by on Saturday to hang out and help with the Jeep.


I’m also waiting on new leaf spring u bolts from Ruffstuff so I can complete the add a leaf, but it appears they have a backlog of orders and says it could take 7-10 days to ship . Happy to be getting these projects out of the way and ready for the Rubicon (and just getting the Jeep back on the road!) Going to get a new skid plate in the works soon as well, almost lost my oil pan last year.

 

I was able to take the Jeep on a nice drive to Boonville today, about 140 miles round trip. Some highway miles, windy roads and then off-road once I got to the hunting club. I was more than happy with the new steering, handling with the new sway bar and additional leaf in the rear. Where it used to continue to rock back and forth on windy, dippy roads it tames down much quicker and feels much more stable. The steering is pretty sensitive and takes some getting used to but it is great! Not a great view but it was nice to get out in the Jeep!




Skid plate and oil pan coming up next!

 

This looks just like the ranch I hunt just behind Duncan Mills.

 

Poking away at my to do list, got the steering cross brace installed. Also got the exhaust leak fixed that I received on the Rubicon trip, I actually forgot about it until the Jeep backfired. My list seems to be never ending, I guess it’s a Jeep thing!

 

Do you have enough clearance to move your drag link from the top of the pitman arm to the bottom?
That would improve your bump steer quite a bit.

 

I haven’t checked it with this setup but it was an issue before in extreme situations. A smaller misalignment spacer with it on the bottom may work!