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? external limit on steering ram?

1-tonxj

NAXJA Member
NAXJA Member
Location
Colorado
Am in the final rounds of fitting my 44 rubbers I chose not to cut out the header at an angle and was able to get everything to clear full stuff and almost full lock with no rub with minimal cutting of the corner of the header , so since I wanted to limit my steering about 1/2 inch from full lock for knuckle safety this works , So while looking at the ram I think I should easily be able to weld a stop to the clevis for the desired stop of ram travel ...lol...am I missing some big reason not to ?
 
Assuming your cylinder can be disassembled, the big reason not to do as you're thinking is because it's SO much easier to do internally with a simple spacer. It's considered a permanent solution in oem cylinder applications while external spacers are not. The answer you're probably looking for though is parallelism. Any misalignment or junk between the contacting surfaces will side load the rod, wearing the guides and eventually the seals. Eventually that junk and misalignment will wear and deform the contacting surfaces, reducing the surface area and it just snowballs into a failed cylinder. Any trapped fluid will be pressed into the seal. Depending on the style of cylinder you have, the end may not be perpendicular to the stroke and once you "run the numbers" you may not have enough surface area. Make sure you add in the force of the steering box if you're running one and the load coming from the tires when you hit something.

Granted it's only at full lock, so your idea may last an acceptable amount of time depending on your expected usage. You should be using jam nuts, so that's even easier than modifying the clevis if you decide to try it... Maximize the surface area, make it as parallel as possible and chamfer to an undercut where it's not contacting. May be worth looking at making it of a slightly softer material than the cylinder so that it's the sacrificial part.
 
I was looking for a way to do it without dropping a drip of royal purple not because of the cost , but I hate the mess , so was thinking of the external stop . The cylinders only cost about $250 new from PSC and I think it should hold up awhile after looking at it ...I may pull it apart however since I need to remove it from the mounts to weld in a stop on each side since this cylinder has no machining on it for the clamps to recess into to help hold it in place .
 
What size is the shaft? I used some scrap 1.5" x .25 wall cut it in half. Wrapped it around the shaft and rewelded it together and to the ram. Works as it should
 
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So 2" .25" wall should be perfect. If you dont have it call around welding shops see if they have some drop

Lol...oh I got tube from 1.25 - 3 inch in DOM after I finish up my driver side knuckle beef up tomorrow morning I will make my steering stops .
 
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