Let us know how you like that welder... I've been looking at that one for a while and its looks pretty decent. Would like to hear a review on it.
Cool build, btw!
Cool build, btw!
CK5
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thanks man.
I'll certainly do that, although I'm a noob welder, so I don't know how good my opinion will be. I started a thread asking about welders in the tools forum and this was one recommended, so that is why I picked it.
you might get better info from that thread:
http://coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=292983
I'll certainly do that, although I'm a noob welder, so I don't know how good my opinion will be. I started a thread asking about welders in the tools forum and this was one recommended, so that is why I picked it.
you might get better info from that thread:
http://coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=292983
why can't anything just go smoothly. /sigh
modifying the power steering lines was turning into a royal pita, so I decided, screw it, I'll replace the steering box instead. I was already replacing the pump, so if I replaced the gear box, all of the line ends would match up. simple right? /sigh
I was able to get a 2wd steering box for $30 (I already have cross steer). I spent a few hours cleaning it up and painting it before putting it in. bolts right up, but turns out the part that connects to the steering shaft is a smaller size. normally this wouldn't be much of an issue since I had the rag joint from the new box... but, I have a 3" body lift, so I've replaced the rag joint with a u-joint that now no longer fits. now I have to replace this damn u-joint.
every time I think I solve a problem, I just cause myself another. grrrrr.
modifying the power steering lines was turning into a royal pita, so I decided, screw it, I'll replace the steering box instead. I was already replacing the pump, so if I replaced the gear box, all of the line ends would match up. simple right? /sigh
I was able to get a 2wd steering box for $30 (I already have cross steer). I spent a few hours cleaning it up and painting it before putting it in. bolts right up, but turns out the part that connects to the steering shaft is a smaller size. normally this wouldn't be much of an issue since I had the rag joint from the new box... but, I have a 3" body lift, so I've replaced the rag joint with a u-joint that now no longer fits. now I have to replace this damn u-joint.
every time I think I solve a problem, I just cause myself another. grrrrr.
Ahh the joys of modifications
That was why I ran the pump/hydroboost from the same truck and kept my old gear box. I bought lines for the 85 and just re-flared the hydroboost to gear line and called it good. I think if you want to keep your old gearbox napa will make you a line with the correct ends on it. May save you some frustration... Hell, if you're not in a hurry I can buy a line, reflare it and ship it to you, but it'll prolly be cheaper to just pay someone around you to do it...
pic dump!!
finally got the hydroboost all installed. so here is the journey in pictures.
first up was modifying the bracket. I wish I would have left a bit more along the top, but I cut it right where it bends out trying to keep it flush. if I had it to do over again, I'd have left another 1/8th inch or so.
threading the hydroboost rod. the rod is actually 10mm, not 3/8". what I ended up doing was threading it for 10mm first and that cut it down enough that I could get the 3/8" die over it and rethread it to what I wanted. major pita. I should have just done it the way paramedic did, but more on that later.
finished pushrod. as you can see, the rod wasn't long enough, so I had to get a coupler on there. turns out fine thread coupler nuts are not easy to find. had to order it in from fastenal.
first attempt at installing the pushrod. at this point everything looked like it was working out fantastic. unfortunately, the black steering column you see in the bottom of the pic is not up in place. once I tried to reinstall the column, I realized the rod end was hitting it and prevented the brake pedal from coming all the way back.
I have a tilt column out of a mid-70's camaro installed and its a bigger diameter than a stock column (another hassle ), so I don't know if this would be an issue for someone with a stock column or not.
luckily there was enough room for the pushrod to be installed on the other side of the brake pedal without clearance issues. it does put the pushrod at more of an angle than I would like, but it doesn't bind or anything, so should be ok for now.
I think at some point I'm going to pull the damn thing back out and just weld a bolt on there like z71paramedic did. that way I can use the original connector and get the angle back where it should be. live and learn.
next up was adapting all the hoses with metric fittings (left) to fit with my inverted flare (right) ps pump and box.
after several days of running around and almost being talked into buying a $250 flaring tool
(ps hoses use "thick wall" steel tubing, so cheap flaring tools won't do the job) I decided the easier way would be to just switch to a pump and box that had metric connections. I had planned on replacing my ps pump anyway, so that wasn't any added cost (other than the $6 I spent on a new pulley), and I was able to pick up a junkyard box for $30. not only did this make my line issues go away now, but I figured if I ever blow a line later, being able to just slap in a stock line would be preferable than having to go through all of this again.
of course solving one problem just leads to another...
I thought that getting a later model ps box would be a direct bolt on, and if I didn't have other modified parts, it probably would have been. the steering box bolted right into place, but when I went to hook up the steering shaft, no dice. the steering shaft connections are not the same size.
my stock steering box:
and the new one:
I should probably point out here that those measurements may not be 100% accurate, but they do show the difference. this probably wouldn't have been an issue if I still had a rag joint, since I could have just used the joint from the new box. I have a u-joint steering shaft because the body lift makes the angle too great for a rag joint to work. queue another $30 for the correct yoke. luckily that wasn't a difficult problem to solve, just more money out of my pocket.
here is the line connections to the hydroboost.
I really preferred the routing of the '95 lines I originally planned on using. they routed over the other side of the booster and had a nice clip that held them solidly and a bit separated. unfortunately, the other ends weren't even close to working with my pump and box, so I had to go this route. it didn't turn out too bad. as you can see, I also went with a 3/4 ton MC. since the front/back connections are swapped from my 1/2 ton, I picked up the new brake lines and prop valve from a junkyard for $10. I probably didn't need the new prop valve, but this one had a bleeder on it and I figured that might come in handy.
hoses routed to the pump:
another pic of the pump routing:
although that hardline is tight, and there is no fluid sitting in the pump, it looks like it's already leaking.
I tightened it up a bit more, but I'm worried about that one.
routing to the box:
the body lift was an issue here. rather than having the hose go over the fender well, I had to bend the line down a bit so that it could go under. I really wish I never would have put that body lift on.
a shot of the setup from the other side:
a shot from the front:
I'm not sure why, but the MC tilts to the right. probably not enough to be an issue but...
I still have calipers, rotors and a bad wheel cylinder to replace, so I haven't had a chance to charge and bleed the system to see how it works, but I'm close!
the booster I am using is from a '95. bad choice. from what I can tell, the hydroboost unit itself can be from any year, since they are all the same. however, the mounting bracket and hoses are all different and unusable, so the best bet is to stick with a square body as a donor vehicle. if possible, get the steering box, pump and all hoses and you'll save yourself a lot of hassle. if you're getting it from a junkyard, must likely the pump will be gone and the hose leading to the pump will be cut, but the rest will likely be there.
finally got the hydroboost all installed. so here is the journey in pictures.
first up was modifying the bracket. I wish I would have left a bit more along the top, but I cut it right where it bends out trying to keep it flush. if I had it to do over again, I'd have left another 1/8th inch or so.
threading the hydroboost rod. the rod is actually 10mm, not 3/8". what I ended up doing was threading it for 10mm first and that cut it down enough that I could get the 3/8" die over it and rethread it to what I wanted. major pita. I should have just done it the way paramedic did, but more on that later.
finished pushrod. as you can see, the rod wasn't long enough, so I had to get a coupler on there. turns out fine thread coupler nuts are not easy to find. had to order it in from fastenal.
first attempt at installing the pushrod. at this point everything looked like it was working out fantastic. unfortunately, the black steering column you see in the bottom of the pic is not up in place. once I tried to reinstall the column, I realized the rod end was hitting it and prevented the brake pedal from coming all the way back.
I have a tilt column out of a mid-70's camaro installed and its a bigger diameter than a stock column (another hassle ), so I don't know if this would be an issue for someone with a stock column or not.
luckily there was enough room for the pushrod to be installed on the other side of the brake pedal without clearance issues. it does put the pushrod at more of an angle than I would like, but it doesn't bind or anything, so should be ok for now.
I think at some point I'm going to pull the damn thing back out and just weld a bolt on there like z71paramedic did. that way I can use the original connector and get the angle back where it should be. live and learn.
next up was adapting all the hoses with metric fittings (left) to fit with my inverted flare (right) ps pump and box.
after several days of running around and almost being talked into buying a $250 flaring tool
(ps hoses use "thick wall" steel tubing, so cheap flaring tools won't do the job) I decided the easier way would be to just switch to a pump and box that had metric connections. I had planned on replacing my ps pump anyway, so that wasn't any added cost (other than the $6 I spent on a new pulley), and I was able to pick up a junkyard box for $30. not only did this make my line issues go away now, but I figured if I ever blow a line later, being able to just slap in a stock line would be preferable than having to go through all of this again.of course solving one problem just leads to another...
I thought that getting a later model ps box would be a direct bolt on, and if I didn't have other modified parts, it probably would have been. the steering box bolted right into place, but when I went to hook up the steering shaft, no dice. the steering shaft connections are not the same size.
my stock steering box:
and the new one:
I should probably point out here that those measurements may not be 100% accurate, but they do show the difference. this probably wouldn't have been an issue if I still had a rag joint, since I could have just used the joint from the new box. I have a u-joint steering shaft because the body lift makes the angle too great for a rag joint to work. queue another $30 for the correct yoke.
luckily that wasn't a difficult problem to solve, just more money out of my pocket.here is the line connections to the hydroboost.
I really preferred the routing of the '95 lines I originally planned on using. they routed over the other side of the booster and had a nice clip that held them solidly and a bit separated. unfortunately, the other ends weren't even close to working with my pump and box, so I had to go this route. it didn't turn out too bad. as you can see, I also went with a 3/4 ton MC. since the front/back connections are swapped from my 1/2 ton, I picked up the new brake lines and prop valve from a junkyard for $10. I probably didn't need the new prop valve, but this one had a bleeder on it and I figured that might come in handy.
hoses routed to the pump:
another pic of the pump routing:
although that hardline is tight, and there is no fluid sitting in the pump, it looks like it's already leaking.
I tightened it up a bit more, but I'm worried about that one.routing to the box:
the body lift was an issue here. rather than having the hose go over the fender well, I had to bend the line down a bit so that it could go under. I really wish I never would have put that body lift on.
a shot of the setup from the other side:
a shot from the front:
I'm not sure why, but the MC tilts to the right. probably not enough to be an issue but...
I still have calipers, rotors and a bad wheel cylinder to replace, so I haven't had a chance to charge and bleed the system to see how it works, but I'm close!
the booster I am using is from a '95. bad choice. from what I can tell, the hydroboost unit itself can be from any year, since they are all the same. however, the mounting bracket and hoses are all different and unusable, so the best bet is to stick with a square body as a donor vehicle. if possible, get the steering box, pump and all hoses and you'll save yourself a lot of hassle. if you're getting it from a junkyard, must likely the pump will be gone and the hose leading to the pump will be cut, but the rest will likely be there.
Looking good man! Hopefully once you replace the wheel cylinder and whatnot it works to your liking and makes it worth all the trouble. The pedal in mine feels great, way better than it ever did before.
On the fitting at the pump, did you put the o-ring on there? If not it'll definitely be leaking when you fill it...
On the fitting at the pump, did you put the o-ring on there? If not it'll definitely be leaking when you fill it...
I'm pretty sure I put the o-ring on there, but I'm going to pull it off tomorrow and double check. it's also possible that there was just some fluid on the nut itself that got squeezed out once I tightened it down. seems like a long shot, but its possible.
My luck it would be your idea, but when I pulled it I would tear said o-ring and really be in a bad mood
I pulled it apart and the o-ring was there and looked decent.My luck it would be your idea, but when I pulled it I would tear said o-ring and really be in a bad mood
hopefully it just wasn't as tight as it needed to be. got it cranked on there good now, so we'll see.I'm aiming to to have everything buttoned up by this weekend so hopefully I can fill it full of fluids and try it out.
I pulled it apart and the o-ring was there and looked decent.
I'm aiming to to have everything buttoned up by this weekend so hopefully I can fill it full of fluids and try it out.
Awesome! Have you read the thread about bleeding the hydroboost? I'll wait to hear from you before I type it all out. Not hard, just takes a bit...
I did read something about that somewhere. I'm pretty sure I have the link saved. when I get a few minutes I'll read through my stuff. if I don't find it I'll ask for help. thanks for the reminder!
speaking of bleeding, I read something in the garage forum that made me a bit nervous. someone a few days ago had his prop valve lock up on him because the rear brake lines lost too much pressure or something.
never heard of that before, but since I've changed out my prop valve I'm worried I may run into that too...
I did read something about that somewhere. I'm pretty sure I have the link saved. when I get a few minutes I'll read through my stuff. if I don't find it I'll ask for help. thanks for the reminder!
speaking of bleeding, I read something in the garage forum that made me a bit nervous. someone a few days ago had his prop valve lock up on him because the rear brake lines lost too much pressure or something.
I would think you'll be alright if you gravity bleed it first. I didn't run one though. I just put in an adjustable for the rear because of the discs. Sorry, I just don't have much experience with that type of automatic valves.
woot! brown santa came today!
who has 2 thumbs and a new welder?
just got it unpacked. can't wait to start messing with it.
who has 2 thumbs and a new welder?
just got it unpacked. can't wait to start messing with it.
SWEET!!! Weldings cool, C25 gas setup??? Def go that route if you havnt already!! 
haven't bought a bottle yet, but I'm going to look into it tomorrow. c25 seems to be what everyone recommends, so I'll see what it's going to cost me.SWEET!!! Weldings cool, C25 gas setup??? Def go that route if you havnt already!!
Around here I found $180 deposit on any size bottle plus fill, but at Lake Welding I asked if I could get a "free fill" for the first time and they said they could work it out. So thats worth a try. Its so much nicer than flux core wire, and wayyy cheaper for the wire. And if you need cash, you can bring the bottle back and get the deposit back.
I got one for free..... But they wouldnt fill it, thought it was stolen, so it sat in the garage for a year or so. My dad snuck it to the welding supplier at his work and the guys approved it and tested it and my dad gave it to me for xmas. So I own my bottle, pretty cool, if you can find one on craigslist it may be worth it.
Its quite small but it works, i would get a bigger one for big projects.
bp71k5
3/4 ton status
Tractor supply also has a gas exchange program if you had one of those nearby.
Very nice! That showed up quick
I will recommend not coming to Hawaii to get your gas filled, it's $145 for me to get a small bottle of C25 filled (exchanged)
I will recommend not coming to Hawaii to get your gas filled, it's $145 for me to get a small bottle of C25 filled (exchanged)
Holy crap! That one of mine costs $15 . Out of one tank i welded a floor pan in a jeep (lots of stop go tacking) multiple exhaust systems, a small trailer for holding a pickup bed and lots of little things here and there
. Out of one tank i welded a floor pan in a jeep (lots of stop go tacking) multiple exhaust systems, a small trailer for holding a pickup bed and lots of little things here and there
Also .023 wire is best for sheet metal and i like .035 for thicker stuff. I use the .035 when i weld new exhaust pipe. Not for old stuff though
