Here's a photoshop image of what I'm talking about:

 

you could prob grab the middle u-joint and move it up and down or side to side actually

 

Breezey, are you doing all of this work yourself?

If so, have you ever taken on a project of this caliber before? What kind of hands on experience do you have in doing this type of work, before this SAS? How much hands on welding and suspension engineering experience did you have before taking this project on?

Seeing 20 SAS rigs, and totally understanding how the SAS setup works are two *dangerously* different things.

My experience before helping Rob with his SAS: Rebuilding my '73 Land Cruiser. My first engineering project was to convert the old, clunky, manual steering setup to a Saginaw power steering setup with a GM tilt column. I researched this project for 2 full years, looking at everything from stock older Toyota setups, to street rods, to other Cruiser setups. If it wasn't rack-n-pinion, I've probably reviewed it.

The one thing they all had in common was a very stout steering shaft setup. None of the setups I'd looked at would allow any play *AT ALL* in the steering shaft.

Go out and grab that middle u-joint... I mean *really* grab it good, not like some little girl who's afraid of getting her hands dirty... Now, try to yank that puppy out of there... If you break it, it'd have broken on the trail, or worse yet, while going down the highway...

There should be **NO** play in that portion of the steering shaft. Period.

Check this page out:

http://www.borgeson.com/systemdesign.htm

The picture at the top shows several different steering shaft setups. Notice that all of setups that have multiple u-joints have some sort of support for the shaft? There is a reason for that.

The slightest bit of slop in that shaft will translate to a lot of play at the wheel. Additionally, it causes the shaft to be stressed in ways you couldn't begin to imagine.

Keep in mind, an SAS steering setup works, and handles, quite a bit differently than an IFS steering setup. All those tar stripes and crowns in the road that weren't a problem with IFS are now going to be your enimy. Those things will yank you from side to side, making you look drunk, and with poorly setup steering, possibly kill you (and/or whoever is with you... of some innocent mother and 5 month old baby in the car you smash into when your steering fails).

Also, that piece running from the middle u-joint to the u-joint on the box... Did you weld on that u-joint "holder" (what the heck are those called -- the thing the u-joint actually fits into). If you did, you've either got serious nutts, or really trust your welds.

Trust me, I understand that you've got countless hours of back breaking, seriously hard work into this project, noone here is saying you don't. You just *NEED* to listen to what these guys are saying when they're telling you that you have to support that shaft.

Don't bring it up and to wheel with us. After 4 pages in 2 days of people telling you that your pitmAn arm has abso-freekin'-lutly nothing to do with the steering shaft, and that the shaft **NEEDS** to be supported, and you end up breaking it on the trail, you'll be lucky if you are allowed to walk out without being beaten with that broken steering shaft.

One last question... What happens to the shaft if your frame should flex a little while being all twisted up on the rocks? I don't see any slip point for that shaft anywhere, so any forward-back movement in the shaft is going to be translated right through the shaft, straight into the steering wheel, in turn either breaking other parts, or causing abnormal wear on components that *shouldn't* have abnormal wear...

ChrisCo

 

listen to Chris, he knows what he's talking about. My SAS on my truck a few months ago was my first, but I also spent many years researching and planning it.

 

That's what the extra U-joint is for. Extra FLEX!!!!

I didn't even think about the play at the steering wheel. He'll get 1/2 a turn before his wheels get the message that he's turning. SCAREY STUFF!!!

 

Ain't that the TRUTH!

 

hehe I wrote that before I even got in the shower so I could go to work... As I'm standing there washing my hair, I thought "hmmm.... Any flex in the frame would be absorbed by the u-joint, causing the steering shaft to deflect to angles it probably shouldn't be at

 

Not to be a thread hijacker or anything, but do you have pics of it sitting on the ground yet? I would love to see the 2nd Sas'd 3rd gen, as hopefully I can be the 3rd or 4th(jdemello might get me).

sorry for hijackin!

 

This is coming from a guy who has absolutely no knowledge of a SAS or steering setups, other than what he read here...

Breezey, you might want to listen to these guys. They are all well educated people on this topic who are all agreeing on the same thing. If not for your sake, then for others... because a rig on the road without steering is like a deadly projectile that nobody has any control over. Consider others also.

I just thought my opinion would help since I'm like an unbiased 3rd party here.

 

It's pretty obvious what everyone is trying to tell you, BREEZY.

I am by no means a mechanically inlcined individual and I perfectly see what they're trying to tell you. It baffles me that you're not understanding this, because it is a serious problem, the way you have set up.

 

Breezy, et al:

...ok folks, i think the point has been made. Its his truck and its up to him what he wants to do with it. Only real-life testing and driving will prove if he's right or wrong.

Bob

 

Agreed, this dead horse has received it's fair share. Breezy, if you decide to come back to this thread with updates and I hope you do, PM me and I'll unlock it.