Scraped.

 

You couldn't come up with enough scratch to buy a quality rebuilt unit from Red-Head Steering Gears?

Concerns? Hell yes I have concerns. You had to enlarge some holes, applied electrical tape where a splined fit should take place, and then you TACK WELDED the frigging Pitman arm in place *AFTER* hammering it on and grinding it down.

Where, in your description, did I miss out on bubble gum and bailing wire being used?

 

Well the the steering shaft already slid in and out as it was before. And i didnt grind but a .001 of the pittman arm just the rough edge. The splines are still pressed in the right spot. Same with the keyway. The pittman arm is pressed on all the way i just tac'ed it to be sure.

VW, what problems could you see happening with this set up?

 

Oh and i agree with the steering shaft part. I am going to find the other half of the ford shaft today to see what i can do. But as of now I have no play in the shaft or steering box.

 

Eye Cheewawa
I hope your frame doesn’t crack from the damage you did to it. I hope your steering shaft tape repair doesn’t unload on you on the highway. I hope your lines don’t burst. I hope your linkage doesn’t bind in a turn. I hope you don’t have to now replace a part of the cobbled together system. I hope your Ram doesn’t reject this foreign body.
Not sure if your steering will max out or not cause I don’t know what the ratio is on that Ferd box is.
Easier to turn one way more than the other could be air in your system. Could also be a worn box (again, hope you don’t have to replace anything now).

 

This has fail written all over it. Now even going back to a stock gear box, like a Redhead that VW suggested, will be iffy. Because the hole(s) have been enlarged. And now we need a custom steering shaft.

I don't know, there's saving money, but there is also staying alive.

 

I think there is a little lack of communication here. There was little to no fab required for this. A fraction of the metal was removed on the frame to allow the slightly bigger ford bolt lip to slip through the spacer on the other side

Also the steering shaft has been swaped out with the adjustable ford two piece so that part is fine. I also jacked it up and got all the air out of the system so that problem is solved.

and just to clarify the pittman arm was pressed all the way on the shaft before the bolt was threaded and Tacked.

and sorry about the pictures im trying to upload them through bluetooth on my camera but to no avail

 

Well I hope it works out.

 

Well its a good thing this is the only truck i tinker with and mostly use as a mud/ranch truck haha. ive been working on it at a 500 acre ranch so all the driving has been on the dirt. I wouldnt take this out on the street yet...

Thats why im just looking for info/ideas on how to perfect this build thats all guys. =P

 

Check your steering from lock to lock, and see which runs out of travel first, the box, or the ball joints. I don't really foresee too many problems there.

If you have addressed the steering shaft, that part should be good. Did it bolt right up to the dodge column?

I don't think drilling a hole in the frame is going to be an issue. Folks drill for other reasons. No worries there, as long as there is enough material around the holes that the box can't rip loose, all's good.

All in all, if you are just driving it around the farm and such, shouldn't be a problem. I would give it a good workout in the fields, before I trusted it on the street though.