Thread: Gav's 101.

Still no pics sorry - only just come inside after a big day. Wouldn't have got far without help again from Mick - I was in a really ****ty mood for some reason, and I think things would have got broken without Micks calm head to keep things on track.

Got a set of Defender seats mounted, the gearbox/TC oil changed, swivels topped up, drive shafts greases, so it's all ready to roll now.

Got the water tank on the van sterilised, and some cables run for the reversing camera. Tomorrow is finishing off a bit of wiring and plumbing, throw a few things in the back of the 101 and take the van for a run behind it.

So, now I've got a chance to scratch myself, thought I'd finally take a closer look at the Toyota electric power steering column I was given. Stripped it down to the bits I need and I think it will indeed fit where planned. The 101 column will need only one cut and spline making for it, and a flange plate welded to the outer housing. I have a spare column/box so if I want to revert to standard, I can do easily. Biggest issue is that I won't be able to use the standard steering wheel as where I need to mount it puts the steering splines of the new column right at the same height as the steering wheel. Prefect in one respect, but not in another. Will have to see if I can get a boss kit for the column and use an aftermarket wheel on it. Besides that, looks very doable.

A shot of the column with all the crap gone.


A couple of shots showing where it will end up. There is plenty of room for operation of the clutch still. Despite it looking like it encroaches on this are a bit, it won't be in the way, but you sure will see it. Maybe a cover over the whole lot later on, I'll see. The end of the motor will tuck up right next to the booster.




EDIT - looks like a boss kit is readily available for this column, so all goo there.

This looks exciting. This closer to a drop in proposition compared to the hydraulic set-ups we've seen. Any concerns around the steering box strength or do you think the factory box will cope with the extra torque exerted on it?

edit* Also what electronics will you use to drive the system or is this unit fully self contained?

Yeah, have thought about the strength (or lack of) of the factory box. I'll be rebuilding the spare I have at the same time, so it will have new bearings at least, and I can take a look to see where the weak points are. Still won't want to be screwing the tyres on bitumen while stationary...

The amount of effort the electric system inputs is adjustable, so I'll be making it so you can't turn the wheels with your pinky or anything like that. A bit of mechanical sympathy will still be required, but I like this idea more than welding brackets in to make another box fit, although that system would provide a stronger box, and having driven AJ's I. Know how good that system can be, and you also get reduced turns on the steering wheel lock to lock.

Control is easy. There is a small control box that the motor and sensors on the column plugs into. That just takes a big 12 volt supply - 50amps, as well as an ignition feed and an optional speed sensor input. If I put a speed sensor in, i get fully speed sensitive power steering that will basically turn off above about 50KPH which would be perfect. I'll make sure the system works before going that far though. There is also a CAN output to the body ECU, but this is an output only for sending fault info and doesn't receive any data from anything else.

If the system fails, you just go back to standard steering, not ultra hard like a hydraulic system does, so I like that idea too.

And, if it all goes pear shaped, I can whack my old box back in in only an hour. I even have enough room in my on board spares box to keep it with the vehicle when travelling.

Wow, just been looking at a few conversions using this system. Got to love the way the yanks do things. They just cut and weld the steering column shafts to graft them in, some of the welding I've seen leaves a lot to be desired.

Ok I suppose on the input as it's not under a lot of stress, but welding the output shaft.... Not something I would want to do with the amount of torque that is being applied there - serious grunt.

I've put the parts in the car and I'll drop in and see my machinist mate - who gave me the column in the first place - to see about having the steering shaft on the 101 box modified to suit the output splines on the PS column. I know he can cut splines, but not sure what he can and can't do yet.

Certainly won't be welding it, being both stupid and illegal.

So, had a bit more of a chance to play with the proposed power steering conversion. Pulled the spare steering column and box apart to check its condition - it's quite good, with only a slight bit of wear on the main output shaft, but it's still tight in the bushing. For those that want to know, the steering box is a basic recirculating ball nut affair with ball bearings top and bottom to support it.



Now I just need to get my machinist to graft this together... Half the existing shaft needs to go and a spline cut on it, then a suitable coupling found or made to bolt them together. It has to be fairly low profile as I would like the whole coupling to end up in the existing tube that makes up the column, but we'll see how that goes.

It's interesting to note that although welding steering components is highly illegal here, the factory 101 shaft is welded top and bottom. It's not one piece, the bottom spiral and the top splines for mounting the steering wheel are welded to the middle shaft section...

Well, I think the connections to the original shaft should be doable after some time, measurement and consultation this arvo. I'll know more tomorrow once I visit my machinist. Should even be able to keep the 101's steering wheel I think.

Stay tuned...

Well, with the power steering idea on the back burner at the moment due to the weakness in the box, it's time to find another project to do. After driving it today, it needs a few small items attending to before I head to Corowa in about 4 weeks - brakes need adjusting, the swivel seals are leaking and the tie rod ends are a bit flogged out, so I'll spend some time giving the front end a bit of a birthday, but it got me thinking about the brakes again.

Thinking of doing a disk brake conversion - but not the Zeus kit - something scratch built. This is all longer term, but I'll measure everything up while I have the front wheels off.

Will need new rims and tyres to do this, so I need to find out if there is a larger off the shelf rim that will fit - I seem to recall a thread about this, but be buggered if I can find it.

Also, if I go to a 19 or 20" rim, tyre choices become much more abundant and cheaper.

So, as usual comments suggestions and ideas are welcome.