steering box bracket too short??

BRACE<, NOT BRACKET!! OOPS!! OK it took a while but I found a supplier for an intermediate CJ5 steering box brace. I got it a few days ago, but when I went to install it, I found it to be about an inch or so too short. My CJ5 is a 1974. Any idea what the issue is?

Also, dumb question. My buddy has a 79 CJ5 and mine is a 74. The bumpers are interchangeable. Are they supposed to be? I thought the later frames were wider?

 

'76 and up frames are wider in the rear, but not the front.

Pics on the steering box mount would be helpful here. And when you say "too short", in what respect is it too short? Too short causing the gear to hit the frame? Too short as in it won't bolt in properly?

 

When attatched to the frame, it is 1" from reaching the box. I spoke to Quadratec and they called Warrior and measured the 76-86 brace and it is exactly 1" longer. So it looks like problem solved, but what I dont understand is if the frame is the same up front, then why is that brace shorter for the intermediate than it is for the later years?

 

There are two brackets for the CJ - manual and power - but they are the same AKAIK except for the number of steering gear mounting tabs (3 v. 4 resp). Jim (jpflat2a) wrote that Jeep was supplying the 4-tab bracket for both through manual and power through parts channels, back in the day. The Commando bracket may be different - my parts book does not cover it.

Too short how? The bracket is cast iron and fits into the frame channel. It has to go in far enough so that the bolts will go through the frame.

 

Ahhhh - you mean the aftermarket brace, not the bracket. The bracket is the part that fits in the frame on the driver's side that the steering gear bolts to. The brace is an aftermarket part. The position of the steering gear will be different before and after 1976, since the two types use different brackets to mount the steering gear.

 

Oh hell. I meant brace. I bought a steering box brace from Quadratec and it is too short.

 

Ahh, so it has nothing to do with the frame. My bracket(yes that is what I mean this time) is a miss mash of welded crap. My intent was to replace the bracket with the origional stocker, but if I do that it will move the box over an inch? So if my intent is to do that I should probably keep the brace that I have now. Correct??

 

Don't know, since we don't know how your bracket was modified when it was repaired (??)

The original bracket is an iron casting that fits in the frame rail. These are hard to come by, and there is no aftermarket replacement. The only source is a parts Jeep. I recall one of the members here made a replacement bracket from steel plate - certainly that's an option if you have the tools and skills.

 

I found a bracket used for the cost of my knuckles busting the bolts loose. But the one on there now is not any bracket that would be recognizable to anyone. It is just some steel plates welded to the frame. Hell, even the top bolt heads have been welded over. Gonna take some serious cutting and fabrication to get it back to normal again. Or I can just fix the crack and leave it alone I guess.