Project ROKTOY - Steering
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| http:/www.4x4wire.com/toyota/projects/roktoy6/ |
Short Cuts |
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By: Jay Kopycinski - 9/2002
Building the upper chassis from scratch meant I needed to build
up a steering "column" to support the steering shaft and wheel. I will be using a
4WD IFS steering box and crossover steering. Up top, I will be using a quick-release
steering wheel for security and convenience.
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| Turning delrin bushings on a lathe |
Pieces for steering shaft support |
To build a steering shaft support I started with a short piece
of 1 1/2" tube and some 1 1/2" delrin material. I turned two bushings from delrin
using a lathe. The o.d. was cut to fit snugly in the steel tubing and a 3/4" hole
was added to accept the steering shaft that was made from 3/4" cold rolled solid rod.
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| Wilwood quick-release hub set |
Stub shaft from junkyard tilt column |
Adapter to use factory splined wheels |
At the top of the steering shaft I used a Wilwood quick-release
steering hub. The hex piece supplied with the kit is made to simply weld on a 3/4" diameter shaft. I wanted
to be able to use my choice of OEM factory steering wheels so I built an adapter piece to bolt to the Wilwood hub.
I took the top stub shaft from a tilt column of a Chevy car and welded it to a steel hub pattern plate.
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| Mockup to determine mount location |
I used some scrap pieces to mockup the mounting location of
the steering column tube. Once I determined the position, I attached the steering column tube to
the dash tube on the chassis using some short pieces of 1" tube. The delrin bushings and steering
shaft were installed. When doing an assembly such as this the heat of the welding may distort the
tube a bit and require redrilling the steering shaft hole once complete.
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| Mounted steering column tube |
Shaft with hex piece installed |
Completed upper steering shaft |
Chevy truck steering wheel |
Painted steering column assembly |
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| Borgeson steel steering u-joint |
Shaft mated to steering box |
At the lower end of the steering shaft I needed to mate to the
IFS steering box. I purchased a Borgeson needle bearing steering joint with a 3/4"
double-D female on one end and 11/16-36 spline female on the other. I cut two flats
on the end of the steering shaft to mate to the u-joint and Borgeson supplied set
screws to secure each mating end.
I decided to add hydro assist to the steering to take some load
off the steering box and also help me steer large tires through the rocks. I rebuilt
the steering box and tapped it in two places to attach the lines to run to a hydraulic
ram on the front axle (more on this in the next section).
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| Painted frame with box installed |
Shot showing All Pro pitman arm |
Side box port for hydro assist |
Top box port for hydro assist |
More to follow........
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