SASers....steering box ?

[JoshC]

Any of you second gens with a SFA, did you do any reinforcing on the frame for the steering box?

I always try to roll a little bit before i turn, but yesterday i didn't have a choice but to turn from a sit still and i broke part of the frame on both sides of the frame for one of the 2 bolts for the gear box. We got it fixed, but i feel i should probably do some beefing up. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[Chief34]

JoshC,
Sorry to hear about that. glad you got it fixed... I can only say about the 1st gen, but I havent ever had a problem with mine and my 37" swampers. I would definately reinforce it if you already broke it once because the first time it is wedged in a rock and you try to turn its gonna split like a plum. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

 

[Yomie]

Posting for updates, like i said i used sleves with steel plate on the backside

 

[JoshC]

Yeah i hope i'm not in that situation Tim!! lol

For now it is fine and i don't have any trips planned for a few months, so that might be a project. What would be the best way to do this? Just get some plates say about 3" tall and about 5" wide about 3/16s thick. Just enough to weld to the frame and fit the 2 bolts for the box.

That's the only way i can see it. How are the first gens mounted up? Is the frame thicker in that area?

 

[hvac man]

Josh I know you have an x but if you do a search on pirate4x4.com about toyota crossover steering you will see a good way to do your steering box mount. What about CoryL. I thought he was the one who built it, does he have anything to say about it? Basicly what the solution is, is to weld plates on either side of the frame where the box mounts then drill your holes big enough to sleeve the inside of the frame with like 3/4 .125 tubing and then weld them in place.

I don't know what your steering box mount looks like but if you can e-mail me a few pics I will see what I can come up with. Clint81652@cs.com

Talk to you later,

Clint

 

[JoshC]

I haven't talked with Cory yet, i'll probably shoot him an email later today. I'll take a few pictures today and i'll post them here.

This could very well be a very useful thread with all the SAS going on. So i wanted to make this very well known cause this could cause some serious injuries ya know.

 

[hvac man]

Totaly Josh I hear ya. I have recently finnished my sas but as you know us first gens are already set up for the steering box to be mounted on the frame like that I was suggesting you look at the toyota set up cause we just did it to my brothers toy and it is probably what is going to happen with the second gen X's too.

 

[JoshC]

Well i got one picture for you clint. It's raining/snowing out side and it's nasty, so i couldn't get the one of the gear box, but you can see from this picture how it bolts. You can see the bolt that we just welded oh the left, then the other bolt is on the top left above the limiting strap.

 

[taxx]

thought yours was sleeved?

 

[hvac man]

I dont know by the picture but it looks like you never welded any plate steel on the frame before you drilled the holes for the box. I would rip that off and weld a piece of steel to either side of the frame then drill and sleeve the fram or you will probably just keep breaking the frame. All those holes in your frame around the bolts are just weak spots that will flex even with a sleeve. You are going to have to weld plates on the frame. I am going to go out side and take a few pics of my brothers toy and post them so you know what I am talking about.

 

[hvac man]

Ok here is what we did to solve the problem of the fame flexing around the bolts. The shiney metal around the box is what we added. The frame on the toy is fully boxed anyway but this is still need to insure stability where the factory never intended. I don't have any pics of where we sleeved the frame now that the box is already mounted sorry.

 

[hvac man]

the back side

 

[hvac man]

We made our plates out of 1/4" hardened plate steel (the same stuff used to line industrial trash compactors) but if you use it you can't drill it you have to cut it We covered the frame sides from about 2" in front of the box to about 2" in back of the box. I am sorry about the poor quality of the pics but the batteries in my cam are about dead damn digital

 

[JoshC]

It is sleeved Dave. Just hard to see.

No he didn't weld any plates on the frame first. I thought i was going to have to do this. Now how in the world am i going to get that sleeve out of there?

 

[JoshC]

Alright, now its on! Yesterday the box completly broke off the frame. I was offroadin and luckly i was in a bottom where it was all flat and pretty much a strait shot out of the woods. The top bolt broke the the weld on Cory's bracket, not really sure how this happened, but it did. So i limped out of the woods and when my buddy and i got about 50 yards from his truck the 2 remaining bolts in the frame just sheared! I was lucky to make it as far as i did.

Here is what i ended up with.

 

[JoshC]

.

 

[hvac man]

Damn dude that sucks looks like it is time for plates and sleeves

 

[JoshC]

Here is my new bracket that i welded up. Corys welds were not deep enough on this bracket, but these sure are.

 

[JoshC]

Yeah that's why i'm posting this.

What do i need to do. The sleeves are welded extremly good into the frame now. Do i cut these out and then weld some plate to the frame, or can i leave these these in there and center my holes up to bolt through the plates and these since they are already there?

I spent all day working to get this back on the road, and fixing the damn trailer that i tore up

 

[hvac man]

Let us know how it turns out