Power vs. Manual Steering and Brakes - '75 CJ5

My stock manual steering gear is sloppy, and I need to replace my steering shaft due to a PO's miserable attempt at a 4" body lift. Before I can lose the body lift, I need to replace the shaft and replace/rebuild the gear, and probably should install a dropped pitman arm since I installed a 2-1/2" suspension lift w/slightly longer shackles.

Would it be worth converting to power steering?

I'm currently running the stock '75 steering column, 304 V8, and pitman arm.

My stock master cylinder has been rebuilt once already, and now is leaking again. I'm thinking of converting to power brakes.

Can someone recommend a source for a power brake conversion?

Thanks,

 

Power steering is a great upgrade especially in the rocks.

Personally I don't feel power brakes are necessary. My manual brakes hold very well.

 

Power steering is great, especially with wide tires. The steering gear and pump are commodity components, so the conversion is fairly easy as such things go. Look for a Wagoneer in the junkyard, as a donor for the engine brackets. These usually have air conditioning too, so consider if you want AC or onboard air. I'd take almost everything off the front of a later Wagoneer 360: all the brackets, PS pump, Delco alternator, compressor, etc.

The manual steering gear uses a different frame bracket from the power gear. It has 3 bolts into the gear instead of 4. You can use the 3-bolt bracket, but you won't have a place for the 4th bolt in a Jeep PS gear. PS gear donors are many: large GM cars, CJs, TJs, FSJs. A PS gear from a 4x4 Blazer or S-10 is a popular conversion with the FSJ guys.

Re power brakes, you're going to have to wing it. Nothing that I know of bolts in without some modification, and I know of no source for a factory style brake booster other than another 72-75 CJ or 72-73 Commando. If you have power steering, you can run a hydroboost. I have a hydroboost from an Astro van for my CJ-6, but it's not installed yet. Soon...

 

Do I need to relocate my alternator if I find the correct PS brackets, and pump?

 

I don't think so. The PS pump is on the driver's side on my CJ-6, and the alternator is on the passenger side. I think the air pump sits on top of the PS bracket and connect by a short belt to the double PS pulley.

This is what I have in the archive - a little myopic, but should be helpful.

 

Great. Thanks for the pic's - they are worth a thousand words! Now all I need to to find a junkyard with the right junk in it. I don't have a smog pump, and pass emissions here in NV just fine without it. I suppose I'll just have to coordinate the size of the belts accordingly.

 

I just purchaced a power brake unit from pirate jacks phone 866-601-4455 piratejack.net if i remember right it was around $200.00 came with booster brackets master cylander and rod to mount to brake petal

 

For power brakes on my cj5 I used a M/C from an XJ. I made a spacer for the firewall and made a new brake pedal rod.