MyNameIsAric's 98 FULL width SAS

I will keep this first post updated with my progress so people don't have to weed through all the boring crap associated with these buildup threads.
So far I have:

Front axle:
Dana 60 35 spline kingpin high pinion from a 79 f-250/350
detroit locker
dedenbear knuckles
5.38 gears
alloy usa shafts
longfield u-joints
warn hubs (should have went with drive flanges)
high steer arms with full hydraulic steering

Steering:
2x8 double ended cylinder from surpluscenter.com
steering valve out of an old forklift
misc. hoses and fittings from surpluscenter.com

Rear axle:
Dana 60 30 spline low pinion from a 79 f-250/350 (should have went with a 14 bolt)
full spool
5.38 gears
Disk brake conversion

Tires/wheels:
16.5" hummer h1 8 bolt double beadlocks recentered with custom stazworks centers.
36x12.50 wrangler rt II 6 ply military bias tires(sucky but cheap)

Things I need still:
new rims and tires and hopefully she wont shake so bad at 60mph.


Got axles

Got a new truck so i can dismantle the explorer and tow it around when i'm done.
Welded Diff covers

Rear axle almost done

Front axle almost done

Rear axle under truck

Welding up rear driveshaft (yes, it is square)

Machined parts for the upper control arms

Made coil buckets

Made lower control links

Mocking up Front axle and welded up hydraulic ram mount.

Got myself a forklift orbital for my hydraulic steering

welded on lower control arm mounts

Dropped the front IFS

Sent it to the scrap yard

IFS gone

Front axle starting to go in.

off jackstands

Took out the A/C system and cruise control. Also removed ABS brake controller, but I ended up having to put it back in later for the speedo to work.

Mounted new/slightly larger fluid reservoir for the hydro system.

Mounted the stock power steering cooler for the hydro system

Got this mounted in the engine bay where the A/C junk used to be

Had to chop down this thing first though.

Made some tie rods out of 100% grade A beef.

Installed hydraulic ram and tie rods.

View of the filter, and you can see the high pressure hose running from the pump down to the steering valve.

This is how i connected the stock steering wheel to the steering valve. 3/8" swivel

Better view of the steering valve.

Poor planning caused track bar issues

Made a new track bar bracket

Cut off first track bar bracket

Plated for good measure

Welded on new track bar bracket. Still had minor interference so i move the axle forward another 1/2"
Also started putting on shocks.

Tacked a tone ring to the rear d60 carrier

Reinstalled tone ring sensor so i can get speedometer back

blah blah blah tidied things up and poof.... an explorer that can only go 55mph now. If you have questions, just ask or PM me.

 

[mynameisaric]

finally now we can go wheelin'..after i fix my engine. it won't run worth a damn

ouch. no bueno. local club has an event oct. 18, so thats my new goal. fallback goal is the event i'm planning over thanksgiving weekend at the cliffs.

 

[mynameisaric]

ordered the rest of the stuff needed for the track bar and to finish up the ram/steering linkage. That stuff should be here sometime next week. so it should be installed next weekend. Now i just need to find a hydraulic shop in the area that will work with me putting together my steering system.

thinking about this reservoir.....eBay Reservoir Any objections IZ? I know you had feed problems with your setup, but i couldn't figure out if you were trying to use the stock reservoir or if you were using one similar to the one i just picked out.

 

[IZwack]

I made my own reservoir and as I recall, the only problem I had with it was, when it was full and the vehicle was off camber, fluid would come out the top because thats where it was "breathing" (the cap I used was made for like grounded fluid tanks which dont move).

But I think breathing isnt so critical on a double acting (aka "double ended") hydraulic cylinder like the one you have since the displacement is constant in the reservoir. And I think stock steering reservoirs dont breath since rack and pinion steering are also constant displacement. But if you do install a breather on your reservoir, use a drill and a tap to put a thread somewhere, put a hose barb fitting on it, and run a small hose up to the highest point to minimize fluid spillage during off camber.

Pic of the breathing cap I used:
http://www.explorerforum.com/photopost/data/3629/reservoir_modified.jpg

 

[kert0307]

Fyi, you can get pressurized breathers too, to minimize air/moisture from getting into the system. Might also help in the off camber situations.

 

[mynameisaric]

I know you ended up going with a homemade reservoir of about 1.5 qts, but before that you said you had feed problems and i don't know what you were using before that gave you the feed problems.

 

[mynameisaric]

well, i'm working on hydraulic steering currently. not at any great pace though. pulled the power steering pump. Thankfully i removed all that independent suspension and steering cooler, and the pump was able to drop out the bottom. time to read up on IZ's threads and copy ideas.

anyway, i have a concern.

i was noticing that i chopped out the IFS, and now there is no crossmember until the tranny..... is this an issue? i have a BEEF front bumper (thick angle iron welded to the frame and bolted with (4) 1/2" bolts to a 2x4x.25 tube.

Going through Jefe's, stic-o's, section's, 034x4, and a few others, i havent noticed anyone putting crossmembers back in.... so this isnt an issue or did i skim through the sas threads too fast?

 

[mynameisaric]

Well i went ahead and took the a/c out. figured i dont use it anyway and i'd like to have the room for the reservoir tank, orbital steering valve and all the hoses.

Took out the canister looking thing too and the cruise control while i was overe there.

It would be awesome to figure out how to get a "no a/c" heater box in there and get some more space.

I'm still concerned about my previous post if anyone has any thoughts?

Hopefully this thing should be under its own power sometime near the end of the semester and maybe trail ready sometime during the summer.

It needs:
Steering
Front Brakes
Front Drive Shaft
Shocks
and Fluids

 

[redranger4.0]

Ive seen guys make their own non-AC heater boxes. You have to essentially cut off the AC part and seal it up with sheetmetal and epoxy.

 

[RFR2212]

So is this up and running yet??

 

[mynameisaric]

just finished the brakes yesterday. after 3 different sets of bleeder screws.... finally got ones long enough. i also welded in the mount for the orbital control valve. just need to modify the steering wheel connection to connect to the orbital. measure for hoses, and then i'll at least be able to move it around so my parents can sealcoat the driveway. shocks and front driveshaft and she'll be wheelable. my town is holding a car show aug 21. so thats my goal, but we all know i'm terrible with goals....

 

[mynameisaric]

Just ordered hydraulic lines. I got the steering valve mounted, the power steering cooler mounted and the reservoir mounted. I also shortened the valve shaft. i need to fab a connection between the old steering and the new valve. I also need to finish up the linkage between the hydraulic ram and the high steer arms. Also need to figure out the proper belt size for the AC delete.

So hopefully this thing will move under its own power by the end of next week. not done... but it will move for the first time in..... almost a year.

remastered reservoir bracket with new reservoir.

remounted steering cooler. one end is tapped 3/8-16 and the other end is zip tied because of unforseen obstacles inside the crossmember. but who doesnt have parts ziptied on their rig right?

you can see how long the steering column was before and how short i made it.

i also found out some more about my valve. its 4.5 inches cubed per revolution. after doing some math with the ram i decided to buy.... its going to be just over 5.5 turns lock to lock with 3700 lbs of force at 1200 psi.

This setup will get me going, but its a non load reaction, so i have to manually turn it back to center (which without Ackerman steering, i would have to anyway.), and 2.75 turns in either direction is a lot of work. So i will need a smaller ram and lose steering force or find another steering valve with more displacement and figure out a way to increase flow from the pump to feed it (ex. stalk IZwack's threads).

more progress to follow soon hopefully. i know everybody has lost interest in this project thats never going to get completed though

 

[mynameisaric]

made the tie rods

the square object on round object made for a nice fillet to weld up. not worried about penetration at all on these things.

and those were my machine settings

 

[duggyd123]

you could do what ia m doing using a ford 9in and a 44 in front with beefy guts

 

[mynameisaric]

too far into the 60's and hydro steer to turn back now. but the 44 and 9 inch on an explorer is a good matchup. good shafts and gears and you shouldnt break anything.... from what i hear anyway...

 

[Burns]

Yeah but when you get to that point you want more so why not go all the way the first time

 

[GRNMACHINE]

HUge transformation, I remember seeing your truck in Naperville many many years ago. Nice work Aric!

 

[RFR2212]

you could do what ia m doing using a ford 9in and a 44 in front with beefy guts

Or use the 60 he's already built. A d44 is a gigantic step back. So when is this dumb truck going to be done and are you still in school? Pending work training, I'm off the weekend of Oct 16-17. I'm not keen for the mud, but would do an attica trip if your crap is ready. I suppose the cliffs would work due to location, I also know there's ALOT for me to crawl the hell out of in Attica that I haven't done with my Jeep.

A goal? Maybe?

 

[mynameisaric]

oh hell yeah! i'm in texas working for the week, but as soon as i get back, i'm going to get crackin on the steering. i should have steering by next friday. then its just details, like a better rear driveshaft. not a fan of the tubing i used for the rear shaft. and i need a front shaft and hopefully it clears the tranny x-member. i'll also need shocks and limit straps or a way to capture the coils up top. i'm leaning towards a way to capture the coils. so october sounds good. my first run i want to do the cliffs, just because its close. i'd hate to drive 4 hours and have my junk break down.

 

[RFR2212]

i'd hate to drive 4 hours and have my junk break down.

Baby. That's why you've got a tow rig now. To break it! I suppose I can try the cliffs. I may drop a line to the guy that has my bronco as I know you're crap is gonna be done. My jeep is back in storage in WI now, but it's only a few hours away.

 

[mynameisaric]

well what i meant was i'd like to make a run to the cliffs before going to attica. if i cant, then i cant.... so you find out if you have to work and we'll set it up. i do have school, but not on the weekends. i get home tomorow night, so hopefully hydraulics will be hooked up monday night and i'll have steering linkage fabbed by tuesday or wednesday.