Adding a brace to keep my steering box from falling out again.
After my steering box broke off the frame at Windrock last week, I decided to add a steering box brace. I got this one from Amazon: ECOTRIC Steering Box Brace With Sector Shaft Support Compatible With 1984-2001 Cherokee XJ
The steel parts are well made and the holes all lined up with my Jeep Unibody. It did not come with all the bolts needed to assemble. It came with the six bolts needed to bolt it under the sway bar mounts. It came with two bolts to hold the bearing. It did not come with the bolts and nuts to hold the bearing mount to the brace or the bolts to clamp to the steering box. I used some 10 MM x 40 for the clamp bolts and some 3/8 x 1″ bolts to bolt the bearing holder in place.
I began by having to extract a broken bolt from my sway bar mount. I thought I would be able to just weld on a nut and turn it out but welding upside down never goes well for me. So I ended up drilling and retapping the hole. I went up to 12 MM for that one bolt.
Next, I loosely fit the main plate on the unibody and got it all lined up. I snugged up the center bolts on each side to line up the bracket with the steering box. I then added the two halves of the pinch clamp over the snout of the steering box. I snugged those up using a long extension on one side and a deep socket on the other. I then tightened up all the bolts on the main plate.
I had another problem with the package I got. The bearing in the kit was the wrong size. It had the correct part number but it was the wrong bearing. I used this in its place: PGN – UCFL206-20 Pillow Block Flange
I removed the pitman arm nut. (Mine was a 33 MM) and replaced it with the nut from the kit. (1 1/2 inch wrench needed). I then set the bearing holder in place. I had quite a time with one of the front bolts that has limited access but I finally got it started. I used an open-end wrench on the top and my impact on the bottom for three. I had to use a box-end wrench and an open end on the one that is hard to get to.
I fished the two bolts for the bearing into the slots and placed the bearing on the shaft extension and tightened down the bolts. I removed the set screws. I pumped in a few shots of grease in the bearing and set the Jeep down to see how it worked. The steering feels fine and I have a lot more confidence in the box staying put.
Just to be extra sure, I swapped out the stock bolts for some new grade 8 bolts. I used these: Prime-Line 9105694 Hex Head Cap Screws
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