ok, been looking around here and i haven't seen anything relating to this yet. i'm installing an ifs steering box and high steer on my 81 trekker. problem is, where the steering box needs to be mounted is way far forward. on the 81 trekker, thats where the frame does a whoop de do and gets narrower so that means the reinforcing plates don't sit flat on the frame, therefore the steering box will be angled toward the wheel well. i am thinking that maybe i can tighten the rear bolt on the ifs box and bring the frame sleeve out of the frame to meet the forward end of the reinforcing plate, then plate the top and botton of the frame as well, then weld stuff up. anyone have a better solution?

 

well welcome to YT and nice that you own a trekker...just need to search a little harder
Mounting the IFS box on a trekker is no different than any other 1st Gen truck, only thing different on a trekker is the winnebago conversion behind the cab
Mount the box as far forward as you can, the box needs to be @ an angle. some cases you will need a flat pitman arm..
pre weld the 3 sleeves onto the reinforcement plate, 2 go into the frame, the top one will be exposed as you see in the picture.

oh and you have 3" of lift right?

here is one of the best examples I have seen (wish I had seen it before i did my high steer)




what you don't want to have happen when you install your high steer:
use about a 3/4" hole saw- I used a 3/4 drill and it took forever.

 

Thanks for the reply. I saw those posts about mounting the steering box. The problem I have with doing this is that the frame at that point angles toward the center of the vehicle where the box needs to mount. That cocks the splined shaft for the steering rod towards the outside of the vehicle when the forward bolt is tightened. if I remove the front bolt and tighten the rear bolt, things line up much better but that leaves at least a 5/16" gap between the outside reinforcing plate and the frame. the inside reinforcing plate pulls up against the frame only at the ends, leaving about a 5/16" gap between it and the frame right at midpoint. Simply welding the plates to the frame and filling the gaps with weld will cause a lot of stress on the frame, as the larger the gap, the more pull there will be when the weld cools. My thoughts are to cut plates to fit the top of the frame as well as the bottom of the frame, with everything lined up. That way, the stresses will be on those plates instead of the frame. After welding the top and bottom plates to the frame, the reinforcing plates can be welded to those plates without causing stress on the frame. however, this will require a spacer between the reinforcing plate and the frame at the front bolt. Just wondered if anyone else has run into problems with the frame narrowing at that point. Seems to have been manufactured that way since the other frame rail does the same thing. Sorry this was so long. I hope everyone can follow what I'm saying. Open to other suggestions if anyone has any.

 

you don't use any of the existing bolts, you drill all the way through the frame, the 3 included spacers prevent the frame from collapsing.

it has been done hundreds of times

 

yes, i know. i have the sleeves run thru the frame and welded in. Thats not the problem. the reinforcing plates do not fit flat against the frame because the frame right at that point curves. Both frame rails do the same thing. I ended up welding in a 1/4" spacer with a 5/8" hole drilled in it right over the front frame tube. That is the only way that the splined shaft for the steering rod could be made to point at the steering rod, instead of the fender well when the steering box is bolted on. That also makes a flat mounting surface for the steering box to mount on.Otherwise, the front mounting hole on the steering box would not be tight against its mounting surface when the rear bolt was drawn up tight. It would have been 1/4 inch away from sitting flat. That would be enough to break the steering box when trying to pull it in with the front bolt. As it is now, everything lines up good. the only problem will be filling the big ass gap in the middle of the inner reinforcing plate between the mounting holes, when I weld it out. Since the frame rail is not straight. the inner reinforcing plate spans the inner curve of the frame rail, thus the big ass gap. If i do this again, it would be easier to just start out by boxing the whole frame where the steering box mounts and make it straight with the rest of the frame.

 

did you ever figure this out? having the same issues with a 79 toyota pickup. anyone else got any input?

 

I think I'm having this issue too. Where the plate parts of the mount will not line up properly on the engine side of the frame because it's not straight. I'll post a pic when I'm done with work

 

I resolved the line up issue by welding in a shim and drilling through it. That got everything to clear the wheel well. So far, this is working and I have been running it hard for quite a while now with no problems. I had to use 5/16' plate for the shim on mine and I had to grind a bit of a taper in it to get the steering box to sit flat against it. It took a little time but at least there is no stress on the box. Now, I'm about ready to add ram-assist. Sucks trying to steer with the front locker engaged.

 

 

 

I'm not sure where you are putting this shim and where its being drilled. Got any pics maybe. would love some so I can plan on what i'm doing

 

Bump anyone?

 

i would send him a pm...first time i heard of a shim there...

 

It's easy...Bend the plate to match flush w/ the frame!

A few minutes with a bench vice, big hammer, and the usual stuff... That's all I did!

 

Bending to the frame is a good idea, but it's a heck of a lot easier to just get the plate placed and then bend it using a C-clamp or two. Works wonders for things like that.

 

This kit is made for multiple years of trucks. It won't just be a direct fit, you have to do a little massaging to get everything to work.

 

So I've talked to one of my buddies, and showed him the issue. He said the gap is no big deal, it would be plenty strong without any sort of flange/spacer stuck in there. He's a machinist so I trust him.

So looks like I'll drill my holes real soon and get these mods done and not worry about the space