i'm calm now... questions regarding saginaw steering lash

i'm back. calmer. sorry, i'll be more in control now but it's been 30 years since my last jeep. the work to do is about what i expected. with the exception of the steering lag and the fact that it has one warn lockout hub and one really cheapfeeling one on the other side.

engine, trans and od are smooth. synchros well. the front drive shaft was replace with a precison shaft.

advice on the steering? i want to fix this first. it wanders too much when i drive it.

a "few" pictures are at

http://www.public.iastate.edu/~zoe/cjimages/

fresh off the trailer and dirty after sitting for 5 years in tucson

225 v6
t14 transm
spicer 18 single shifter tcase
dana 27a front
can't see the rear yet.
31" cooper tires
steering wheel is from a gm caprice.

no body cancer. no bondo. some surface rust. obviously the black paint is after market. underneath the body it's red. but the black paint job looks to have been done well.

i'm hoping that my $2600 buy is worth that much.

 

lots of play in steering and the wheels wander. not easy to steer.
the steering column shaft turns but it seems that it gets "lost" in the front box. does this make any sense?

fluid is way low but still has power

 

Zed,

cut all that steering hack job off! The box should be lower than frame, and NOT using the bell crank. Looking at it scares me.

 

OMG thats got to be the most hacked up steering job i have ever seen. the slop could be from the box flexing on the makeshift frame. get rid of that please.

 

Zed the Jeep looks pretty good but if I was you I would get rid of all that steering crap and do it right. What you have still uses the bellcrank, regular saginaw eliminates all of this. Your frame in my opinion has been compromised where the steering box mounts and would surely crack bad if wheeled hard. I'm not sure what kind of steering box that is but it isn't a standard car saginaw if it is a saginaw box at all, in most states that have inspection it would not pass do to all the welding done on the unit.
Joe Klostermans jeep (project71-5) has some good pictures here http://community.webshots.com/album/96004400OnSSPY of what a good setup should look like.

 

gladly, thanks that's why i came here since i've never done a power install. any articles, directions, places to start?

 

I'm with the group here Zed. That is a wack setup. I wouldn't invest much time in "fixing" it until it is done right.

 

Zed, my link above will help greatly!!!!

The Cad drawings of mine, Joes and several others are here if you can fab your own parts.http://www.earlycj5.com/tech/steering/saginaw/saginaw.shtml
I made these drawings several years ago, if you have any questions on the drawings PM me. Get rid of the crap on your Jeep and good luck.

 

is it possible to repair the frame well?

 

Yes, you will need to strap the top and box the area back in or weld a piece of bent steel back over the old channel and then put the saginaw mount on the frame like Joes looks in the above post on webshots!!

 

ok. thanks. when im done freakin out i'll start i.e. this weekend. yeah when i saw the install i was a bit shocked. but was hoping the bracing they put in was ok. now i know better.

so. first remove the stuff up to or including the steering column. then repair the frame. perhaps find a new grill. then begin with a real install.

i'll probably have many more ?'s
i simply want to get a solid machine out of this. thanks. so any more advice, etc. is always appreciated.

but i guess my 47 cj2a was in far worse shape than this but steering mech was never my forte. i guess it's time

 

pics are always appreciated. thanks. you can send em direct to zoe@iastate.edu if you wish.

sigh.

 

thanks warloch.

 

I did not load all the pictures, but I think you did real well. Isn't it amazing how many people can mangle the simple wiring of a jeep??! Swap out the hub(s), do all the Mr. Fixit's, what in the world made this one sprout a second set of tailights?? They went to the trouble of mounting the steering box up on the horns and left it connected to the bell crank??? That boggles the mind.
-Hill

 

lol, thanks hill. i'm feeling better about this. with all the help from this group it'll will wind up just fine. i may have one of my friends who is much better at welding than i do the frame repair tho.

funny thing is, i was thinking when i bought the thing that it might not have enough mech and rebuild to do. so if i can get this frame and steering thing dealt with so it's strong and safe, i'll be that much prouder of this cj. oddly enough my nephew works at a decent salvage yard and he's anxious to see this.