It's my turn, 47 S10 build

[joedoh]

ha, good tip on cutting the strap. I have built rear brackets from 11ga (vice limitation also) but they are mostly aesthetic, 1/4 is a better choice especially on the front. I think the oem brackets are 3/8!

nice work!

[Cautrell05]

Thanks. I was really happy with how well they turned out.

[Cautrell05]

With the radiator support mounts built and the front bumper on it was a good time to pull the front clip for the winter before I have to deal with snow outside. I normally use my engine hoist but it was buried in the back corner of the garage and I didn't feel like digging it out. I picked up a hoist for the tractor a while back that works great for this stuff. Got it put on my thrown together car and it fits well between the camper and the garage. It'll get snowed on but it's out of the wind and away from vehicles. With the front end accessable now the next step is finalizing the steering, then on to the pedals and the transmission linkage.

[Cautrell05]

This week I started reworking the steering shaft. The first version was functional but it sat really close to the manifold and had the bottom of the column kicked out to the point it looked off. The first version used the ranger lower steering shaft adapted to the gm column. Problem is that the slip yoke and the U-joints are kinda fat. To do it right would need 3 joints and a support bearing. Before I spend the money on that I figured I'd try something cheaper. I cut the end off the ranger steering shaft, combined that with a piece of 1 inch 1/8" tubing and a short piece of double D shaft and made an extension for the input shaft of the rack. That combined with a different steering shaft pushed the lower joint out far enough to get decent steering shaft clearance with the column lined up better.

[Cautrell05]

The steering shaft is a bit of a Frankenstein job. The main part of it is actually from a 2007 Mercedes SUV. One of the younger kids at work stripped out the pinch bolt so they put a new one on. There's nothing really special about it other than it was a free, low milage slip shaft. The lower half fit the smaller double D shaft with a little grinding. The other half was nowhere close to fitting the gm column as expected. Originally I was just going to cut the end off weld the other one on but then I started looking at the actual steering U-joints. The more I looked at them the more they looked pretty close in size. Half hour at the vice and I had the Mercedes and GM joints out. Both measure exactly 15mmx37mm. Reused the Mercedes joint because it was newer and it pressed in to the GM yoke just like it was made for it. I would have never guessed that would work. In the future if I ever need to replace the steering shaft I'll just buy two joints and a double D slip shaft but for now I have a total of 0 dollars in the upper shaft. Can't complain there.

[joedoh]

nice solution on the spreader. on one truck I built a "shock" out of 5/8 all thread and used a flat washer and nuts to adjust things.

Originally Posted by Cautrell05

The steering shaft is a bit of a Frankenstein job.

I mean, you obviously know what you are doing and it looks like a fine solution and all, but man I just go crazy thinking about the probabilities and how they changed just by touching (taking apart) the parts. props to you for thinking it out so logically, and no disrespect intended, but I will stick with borgeson steering parts.

[Cautrell05]

Originally Posted by joedoh

I mean, you obviously know what you are doing and it looks like a fine solution and all, but man I just go crazy thinking about the probabilities and how they changed just by touching (taking apart) the parts. props to you for thinking it out so logically, and no disrespect intended, but I will stick with borgeson steering parts.

I hear ya. Swapping the u-joint was a one time deal. If I ever have to replace it I'll buy 2 joints and a slip shaft. I planned it out so I had that option later.