Power Steering Conversion With Hardbody Parts

[toshts]

Hey guys, just finished adding power steering to my 720. When I was reading other posts on the subject there were a lot of different ways people did it and a lot of questions on compatibility so I thought I'd write up the parts I used in mine. 

 

This was in my 720 listed in my profile (81, 2wd single cab, z22s)

 

Obviously the best way is to search the junkyards or get a parts car with a complete system but the only parts I could pull from a similar truck was the gearbox and steering column so I resorted to hardbody parts that were compatible. While I got it running and working good, it's still in the proof of concept stage with the routing of things and mounting so there's still a lot of cleanup work left to do. 

 

Parts sourced from:

1981 720 (already on car) - tie rods, drag link, idler arm 

1982 720 2wd - steering box, steering column (nontilt), low pressure line

1986 hardbody v6 4x4 - steering shaft, pressure line

1993 hardbody ka24e - power steering pump and bracket, idler pulley and bracket, reservoir

Others - Facet FEP60SV electric fuel pump, cover plate for mechanical fuel pump, 44in belt

 

The gearbox from 82 had two 16mm banjo fittings and the 93 pump also had a 16mm banjo, I read that different boxes have different sized lines but I lucked out with them being the same.

 

 

Rockauto lists the fitting sizes and lengths of ps lines so after searching through a bunch of different years and models I found the 86 4x4 has two 16mm banjo fittings

for the high pressure line, it was a tight fit but it clears all moving parts.

 

 

This line did have a port for a sensor, lucky for me I hoard every piece of hardware and old parts and the transmission drain plug from a 2015 versa cvt threaded right in (I think it was a m12x1.25), added an oring and its holding solid.

 

 

Ended up using a high pressure line out of an 81/82 as the low pressure line, just cut the female connection off and the hose fit right on. 

 

 

The 82 I got the column from was already missing the shaft connecting the column to the box so I pulled one from an 86 that had the rag joint by the firewall and the u joint by the box. With the extra length of the power steering box having the rag joint by the box does have clearance issues with the control arm and side panel (as stated on other posts) but the original connecting shaft long to fit. The one I pulled from the 86 ended up being even longer, about 15in and I needed it to be 12in. Since that shaft had two pieces, one pressed into the other, I cut the sides of the outer one, pulled out the inner one, cut off the splined end, drilled and tapped two holes through and bolted it back together with some epoxy as an added measure.

 

 

Since I cut the sides of the outer portion, I was able to use the bolts to really clamp it down as the splined part that originally was in it was slightly larger than the center of the rod. And yes the lower bolt is a tap that broke off in there halfway that is now a permanent stud (have a bolt threaded into the other side too). 

 

The pump and bracket from the 93 bolt right on to the block right where the mechanical fuel pump sits. Since I had a mechanical fuel pump I went and bought a facet electric pump recommended on other threads. I wired it to the brown wire off fuse no2 right before the auto choke relay and used the fitting from the mechanical pump to keep the return line.

 

 

I used the gasket from the mechanical pump to trace a cover plate, cut it out and bolted it on with a bead of rtv.

 

 

Since the bracket from the 93 only used one of the mechanical pumps bolt holes to mount, I used one of the studs with a nut on it to mount the cover plate and a regular bolt on the other side. Had to add spacers for the rest of the bracket bolts to clear the bolt heads. The idler pulley bolts right onto the front of the block with 2 bolts, there a leg that extends down the driver side of the block but no hole to bolt into.

 

 

A 44in belt fit perfectly with this setup. 

 

 

Mounted the reservoir right beside the washer fluid right about as high as I could but mainly so the hoses that came with it would reach. 

 

 

 

The hoses I used do clear all moving parts but don't run super cleanly, they don't follow the radiator support so I have them zip tied to the sides right now. The reservoir hose also touch the upper radiator hose so I'll have to address that. There's a bunch of little things like that still with the routing of vacuum lines and fuel lines but as of today I can now teach my girlfriend how to drive stick in it lol. I'll probably end up making custom lines since they're all banjo fittings but that's for another day. 

 

Don't think this is complete enough to be a how to, more so just documenting my experience trying to get this all to work. Let me know if I did anything stupid or if you've got any questions. 

 

 

[datzenmike]

Very well done, I put PS in my '78 620 I know the effort put into this!

[NC85ST]

Nice job!

[DwayneOxford]

Looks good.

[toshts]

Thanks guys, I ordered some mounting clamps/clips whatever they are to secure the lines better than zip ties I'll post some more pics if that goes well.

[toshts]

Got them mounted!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These cheap little clamps worked great, very little play with either of the lines and allowed me to maintain the spacing between them, now to see how they hold up over time.

 

Just gotta secure the wire to the fuel pump, considering just zip typing to the top of the frame unless anyone has other suggestions? 

[Kimaris]

Hey mate. How did you go about mounting the box to the chassis? Any pics?

[datzenmike]

Kimaris, finish filling out your profile.

[Kimaris]

What do you want me to fill out? I used to have a account. Looks like it was deleted.

[toshts]

15 hours ago, Kimaris said:

Hey mate. How did you go about mounting the box to the chassis? Any pics?

Ps box mounts to the chassis the same way the manual box does, just those 3 long bolts

[datzenmike]

2 hours ago, Kimaris said:

What do you want me to fill out? I used to have a account. Looks like it was deleted.

 

Rough location, Datsuns you own. IP says Auckland NZ?

 

Are you saying you were a past member but can't find your account? Accounts are not deleted.

 

What was your user name? Maybe I can find it.