| Introduction: |
| After a great day of wheeling with some of my friends, I noticed some fresh oil drips on the front differential of my Land Cruiser. I looked around and did not notice where the oil had come from, so I just forgot about it. Forgot is exactly what I did. A few weeks later, I attended Mountain Transit Authority?s Mud-N-Yer-Eye-Frolic at Hollister Hills SVRA. About 20 minutes into the trail, I noticed a significant amount of oil on my front differential. Sure enough, my fuel pump was leaking oil out the weep hole. |
| After hearing horror stories about aftermarket fuel pumps failing with in 3 months, all I could think about was how much a factory Toyota fuel pump was going to cost. I went down to the local Toyota dealer to look up fuel pumps on their computer and found out they sell rebuild kits for some of the 2F fuel pumps. |  |
| Removal and Disassembly of the Fuel Pump: |
| Before I began this project, I thoroughly cleaned the area around the fuel pump to minimize the chance of dirt getting into the block during removal. The fuel pump is mounted on the right side of the block just behind the motor mount. Remove the two bolts and fuel pump. I had a hard time trying to seperate the fuel pump from the motor, so I gently taped on the fuel pump with a block of wood to break it loose. |
| Once I had the fuel pump removed, some carburetor cleaner and an old toothbrush helped remove the 20 years of grime. Remove the top 7 screws from the pump cover and open the lid. Peel the upper chamber diaphram off of the fuel pump. Remove the remaining 8 screws and separate the upper and lower bodys. Be careful when you remove the last screw since the two halves are spring loaded by the lower chamber diaphragm assembly. To remove the diaphragm, push it down and turn it 90 degrees. |  |
| Steering Box Mounting Plate (scab plate): |
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The Saginaw box is recessed into the front crossmember and the output shaft is tilted up towards the firewall to relieve the u-joint angles on the steering shaft. The box is held onto the scab plate by 4 mounting bolts. Two of these bolts pass through the frame and two below the frame. |  |
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You will need to make or purchase a scab plate (1/4? to 3/8? thick) which mounts the Saginaw box to the inside of the driver's side frame rail. In order to mount the Saginaw box level with the frame, the scab plate has one 1/4? spacer and three 3/4? spacers welded to it. I made my own scab plate from a 1/4? thick steel plate and used a 1 3/8? hole saw to drill out my spacers from 1/4? and 3/4? bar stock. For strength reasons, please do not use washers for these spacers. |
| Drilling the Crossmember: |
| Bolt the box to the scab plate making sure all the bolts are centered through the spacers. Measure the distance from the center of the output shaft to the back of the scab plate (the side without the spacers). Using that measurement, scribe a mark that distance from the edge of the inside frame rail to the center of the crossmember. Drill a pilot hole at that mark and then use a 3? hole saw to drill out the crossmember. This allows you to recess the steering box (up to the return hose boss) into the front crossmember. |
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| Remove all the bolts except the lower bolt near the output shaft on the steering box. Insert the tip of the steering box into the 3? hole and mount the scab plate up to the inside of the frame rail using some C-clamps. Exact mounting locations depend on your choice of pitman arm, steering shafts, motor mounts and other accessories in the engine compartment so do not do any welding at this time. |
| Steering Column and Shaft: |
| I used the stock steering column for this conversion. Cut the rag joint off the steering column shaft as close to the rag joint as possible. I used a chop saw, but a hacksaw will work. I used 2 keyed Spicer yokes (p/n 10-4-13) and u-joint (p/n 5-170X) to attach the stock steering column shaft to the Borgeson slip yoke steering shaft (p/n SL15N-836). The Borgeson shaft and the Spicer yokes are for 3/4? round stock. |
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The Land Cruiser steering column shaft is slightly larger than 3/4? and the lower few inches need to be sanded down to 3/4? so the pillow block bearing (or Teflon bushing) and Spicer yoke can slide onto the shaft. The u-joints are held onto the steering shafts by a set screw. I machined 3/16? keyways into each of the steering shafts and drilled and tapped the Spicer u-joint so I could use a smaller set screw to hold the 3/16? key stock in place. |
| Slide the pillow block bearing over the steering column shaft and bolt it to the floorboard mount. It is necessary to use a pillow block bearing (which centers and supports the steering shaft at the firewall) since the stock steering box has been removed. A cheaper way to go is to use a Teflon bushing (instead of a pillow block bearing) which slips over the shaft and squeezes into the steering column. I chose the pillow block bearing since it is has a grease fitting on the top. Reinstall the steering column into the vehicle. |  |
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Mount the Borgeson steering shaft to the Saginaw box and the Spicer yoke assembly to the end of the steering column. The Borgeson shaft will have to be shortened by a few inches (or more if you are using a spud shaft). Before cutting the Borgeson shaft, make sure the slip yoke is in the middle of its travel. Remember the golden rule: measure twice, cut once. After cutting the Borgeson shaft shorter, remount it to the Saginaw box and the steering column shaft. |
| Turn the steering wheel back and forth a few times to make sure there is no rubbing or binding of the steering shaft assembly. If there is any kind of interference or binding of the steering shaft assembly, loosen the C-clamps and reposition the Saginaw box. It is normal for the steering shaft to be 1/4? to 1/2? away from the motor mount on a stock motor. |  |
| Welding the Scab Plates: |
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When you are satisfied with the position of the steering box, remove it from the scab plate. Weld the scab plate to the frame. Drill two 1/2? holes through the frame for the upper mounting holes. To prevent the frame from crushing when the steering box mounting bolts are tightened, cut two lengths of 1/2? ID black gas pipe and weld them inside the frame so the bolts can pass through them. |
| To help strengthen the passenger's side front frame horn I boxed it in with another scab plate. For this I used a 1/4" thick steel plate cut to match the contours of the frame horn. I also cut a hole in it so I would have access the tow hook and bumper mounting bolts. |  |
| Pitman Arm: |
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There are numerous choices for pitman arms and your selection depends on how much lift your Cruiser has and just how far the steering box is recessed into the frame. I used a 2? drop pitman arm from a Jeep YJ and it is about 5 3/4" long. |  |
| I found a few pitman arms that would work great for different lifts. The Jeep YJ (the one I used) had a 2? drop, the Cherokee had a 3? drop, and the Grand Cherokee had a 4? drop. All of the Jeep pitman arms I saw had the indexing-teeth off center by one tooth. I used a triangle file and cut each indexing-tooth in half to create two teeth. This allowed me to center the pitman arm on the box. |
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The 2? drop pitman arm put my relay rod almost parallel with my tie rod to minimize bump steer. I purchased a special 26? relay rod which had a left hand metric thread to use the Land Cruiser tie rod end and a right hand SAE thread to use a tie rod end to fit the pitman arm. You can also cut the stock Land Cruiser relay rod to 26? and tap it for an 11/16? x 18 thread. |
| PS Pump: |
| Since my Cruiser?s fan belts are very wide compared to other vehicles, I wanted to find a power steering pump pulley that would work with them. I found a wide pulley from a mid ?80s Jeep or AMC 4 cylinder engine. I bought a remanufactured power steering pump from the local auto parts store after the one I got with the pulley leaked fluid. |  |
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I had a hard time figuring out where to mount my pump on my engine. On most conversions with stock motors, the pump mounts in place of the smog pump. Unfortunately I have to keep the smog pump where it is due to California smog regulations. |
| The bracket I made for the pump mounted to the driver's side of the engine using two bolts form the water pump and two bolts from the head. Unfortunately, I had to remove my York air compressor to fit the pump on the engine. The belt is still tensioned by the smog pump. |  |
| I bent a coat hanger to mimic the bends I needed for my new power steering hoses and had an industrial hose shop make new ones. The pressure fitting on the pump I used requires a special metric o-ring seal, fitting, and crimp that most hose shops can not duplicate. I had the shop splice the used pressure line I got with the pump to the used pressure line I got with steering box. |
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I bought a little automatic transmission cooler and mounted it to the front of my radiator. I ran the return line from the steering box into the cooler and then another line from the cooler to the pump. This should help keep the steering fluid cool on those really tough trails. |
| Results, Impressions & Thoughts: |
| The hardest part or this conversion was designing and making the power steering pump bracket. I think it would have been easier to buy a power steering pump and bracket assembly from someone rather than making one myself. I even contemplated swapping in a V8 just so I would have a pump and bracket already installed. I also would have had an air compressor mounted instead of having to fabricate a new mount for my York. |
| I am shocked at how nice it is to have an ?over boosted? (as someone called it) steering system. The Saginaw power steering conversion has made wheeling though tough rocky sections easier on my rig and me. I can now drive on the trails and the freeways without having to fight the steering wheel. My Cruiser no longer wanders, darts, or makes involuntary lane changes. My Cruiser has a totally new feel. I consider this to be one of the best upgrades that one can do to a Toyota Land Cruiser. |
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