Power Steering

ok.

Bought a used Saginaw power steering box off a 72 commando from a guy in Green Cove Springs Fla (thanks aallison and others!). Now I'm looking at the pump- been told that a Buick 231 engine pump will work- but I saw one on ebay for $100- the brackets anyway. I asked the seller about the pulley, and he said-

"Your normal pulley on your crankshaft is 2 groves. That is all you need.
Only the Jeepsters that ran a AC had a bolt in extra pulley that had 3 groves. You do not run it off you camshaft pulley, that would be detrimental to the waterpump. Correct position is of the lower crank pulley."

I looked at my crank pulley, and he is correct- there is a second groove there. What would ypu guys suggest? I searched the forum, and did not see where anyone had found or used parts off a 72/73 on earlier commandos.

 

Here's the brackets that he's selling:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=220243909014&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=012

What I was thinking is that I may be better off looking for a buick in the junkyards, but which brackets would line up to the crank? I'm afraid that any I find might not work, whereas this guy has the 225 brackets.

 

That's actually a very good deal as long as he can get the correct pump for those brackets.

 

He said that he does- he just emailed me to say:

"I charge $20 for the pump. That is what they charge me to pull it off.
$10 extra for the shipping of it as well.
OR $30 total. MORE THEN FAIR. "

I would have to agree, but what's he pulling it off of? Makes me think that it's a late model buick or something- I wish I knew which brackets and such would work. I will probably go ahead and spend the $ and take a chance. I paid only $100 for the steering box last weekend, which I thought was a pretty good deal for a power saginaw. It came off a 72 though, so I was a little worried that it might not fit. The guy cut it off, so I got the frame section, lower pittman arm, tie rod and link, and steering shaft!

 

Here's my non power saginaw (with bent not dropped pittman by PO) I am so ready to get that part off there- worries me that it might snap.

 

I've gotten a few things from nothumn on ebay.
Had no issues, real easy to work with and definitely fair.

 

Thanks- yeah I just did a buy it now on those parts, so hopefully everything will line up. Paid an extra $20 for the pump. Now I'll have to bolt everything on (fingers crossed). I wonder which power steering lines I should use? The used box I bought had rubbber lines with stainless clamps, instead of the correct threaded lines.

 

That box will work just fine. The lines are a little scary looking though . You'll want a pump that looks like this Early PS Pump. Might want to e-mail that to nothumn, just to be on the safe side :twisted: Pretty sure the pressure lines are still available, just can't recall where, probably Napa, Advance----
Just noticed you got the flex joint on the box too, you'll most definitely need that.

 

If I can't find the pressure lines I have a guy here who can make them for me, but it will be expensive to do that. I like the bead blasted part though! Sending that to the Seller. There are only 1-2 guys sandblasting in my town, I don't know if any are doing bead blasting, but it has to be better than sand on those older parts. Defininitely want to do that prior to putting all this together, esp. the box. Can't wait to get it going and be able to steer with one hand!:v6:

 

New member here actually just joined after reading this post

Let me know how this goes for you.

Most likley picking up a 67 this weekend with no PS, actually not even sure it has the a Saginaw non power box as I have read that some early model Jeepsters used another brand.

One of first things I will be doing is looking at adding powersteering so feel free to take a lot of pics and keep a nice write up.


Dave

 

Welcome Dave! Look forward to seeing your posts-always good to see another commando owner! We like pics too.....where are you from?

 

That frame section from a Commando? Sure looks like a CJ except for maybe the width of the spring bracket.

Does the box bolt on with 3 or 4 bolts?

 

Well seller SAID it was, but..... I'll have to look at the bolts, but I could swear 4.

 

Since I'm highly interested in this subject, and the fact that the Commando I bought has a locked up steering gear... I thought I'd try an experiment and share the results. R)R)

I have a leaky old power steering gear out of a 70 Wagoneer and it looked like it would bolt up, so I tried it.

Locked up Saginaw manual box.


Power steering gear from 70 Wagoneer





Now the input shafts were of different diameters, the manual being about .750 and the power being about .805.
Plus it had 4 bolt mounting holes and fit the bracket perfectly. Going to have to be creative to run the hoses, it's a tight squeeze under the radiator.

Wouldn't one of those Chevy S-10 gear boxes fit as well?

 

Interesting pics. It's pretty remarkable how similar the Saginaw boxes are across the years and different vehicles.

The correct flex coupling should be available from aftermarket sellers. Yes, the S-10 4x4 box will directly replace the Wagoneer box (but will have the larger splined input).

Orange, CA, eh? I went to El Modena High. Where in Orange?

 

I was thinking of the S-10 box as another possible replacement to convert Commandos to power steering. I actually put a J-20 box on my Waggy, and it was a direct bolt in, spline count and all Unfortunately that box in the pics is very leaky, good for a core I guess. So I still need a new box to replace that locked up one

So timgr, sounds like you're from Orange too! I went to Villa Park HS as do my kids. I live near what used to be Peralta Junoir HS just a little south west of The Mall of Orange, which is now called The Village.

 

Verging wildly off topic ...

Yep - that's where the WalMart is now.

My sister went to Villa Park, before El Modena opened, and I went to summer school there. My parents (and I occasionally, till I moved away for school) went to church near Collins & Cambridge; is that Peralta JHS?

I went to UCI as an undergraduate, and went to graduate school here in Boston.

 

Man! Seeing those pictures sure is inspiring....rained a LOT this weekend though- I was concentrating on keeping the interior dry, and the setup for the Kayline top and Bestop bows worked once I used a rachet strap to tighten the space between the front and rear bows.

 

grouperboy, it sure would be nice to get some rain around here. The Fire Fighting crews sure could use it!
It was much easier changing the steering gear on the Commando than on the Waggy. The difficult part was getting the bumper off and that sheet metal 'apron?'. Very accessible not like laying on your back bench pressing that chunk of iron in place while trying to get bolts started. I've got a CJ5 I want to convert to power steering as well. I also think that frame clip with the gear on it that you have looks as though it came from a CJ7.

timgr, behind the WalMart that driving range used to be Peralta JHS, that's Cambridge and Meats. Collins and Cambridge is Yorba JHS. Do you ever come to visit Orange for any reason?

 

Just an FYI, steering boxes changed around 1980 from a flare fitting to an o ring fitting, in case you get a newer box (like the s10) the lines will be different than an older style. I put a late model S10 box on our last TJ, it bolts up fine but seemed much stiffer than the original. The S10 is 3 bolt.