Reverse Engineering my Steering

[geezerjeeper]

I've decided to convert my power steered CJ5 to manual steering. Nothing against the PS but I've come to really like the manual brakes on this Jeep and like the idea of not powering the steering as well. This goes along with the fact that I'm about to further simplify life under the hood with a TBI conversion (no more air pump and associated "stuff"). I have a couple of questions I haven't been able to answer culling the steering threads though. First, do I still need the steering dampener? Second, I think there's only two gearbox mounting brackets that I need because the PS shares one of the three...correct? Finally, the only other parts I need are the gear box, manual pitman arm, lower steering shaft and lower coupling..correct? Thanks, as always, for the input.

 

[BajaEdition]

depends on your new steering box if the bracket will work
a steering dampener hides problems in a steering system, a good designed and well working steering system does not need one
once you mount the new steering box, you may need to adapt the steering rod to it, the new pitman arm should hook right up to the old drag link, maybe some adjustment to center everything.
take pics before dismantling, and during as a guide tho what it looked like, you want similar just different. Plus maybe a larger steering wheel

 

[BusaDave9]

Going from power steering to manual.
You should be able to sell your old parts. Almost as a kit. There are a lot of people going the other way. Find someone like that and you two could swap parts. You should be able to get some money for that PS pump and the brackets.
Who was on this site a little while ago having a hard time finding the brackets for a PS pump? I did a quick search but didn't find him. You might want to check it out.

 

[geezerjeeper]

Thanks Guys. I think I'm going to hold on to the PS parts at least until I've gotten it to it's final height and up on 33's just in case I decide I've gotten too old to wrestle the bigger tires around. If I'm still happy with it I will certainly offer the PS parts up to someone who could use them. I hate storing parts I'll never need almost as much as throwing them out. I guess I'll try the conversion without the dampener and see what I think. It will have a much easier life once back on the road, commuting mostly and the occasional weekend trail ride through the forest on old logging roads. No rocks or wild climbing, just a little mud and sand which shouldn't make the steering any more difficult.

 

[mylittlecj5]

If your going to be running 33" tires, you might want to keep those PS parts (and looking for PB stuff), cause I'd bet $$ to donuts you will be wanting to switch them back to power eventually.
I have had a few sets of 33" tires on old trucks, and its just not worth the effort when you want to make a tight turn. Its not when you are moving that its troublesome, its when your NOT moving and need to crank the tires the other direction a few times to maneuver is when it becomes a pain (think 12" of rubber on asphalt, trying to turn into a parking spot).

 

[geezerjeeper]

Yeah, I had an old 3/4T Ford van that didn't have PS and I remember fighting it in a parking lot every now and then, wasn't too bad but I was a lot younger and the tires weren't as big as they will be on my jeep. I won't have a lot of parking lots to negotiate, however. My commute is 45 miles with one stop sign and two traffic lights, this won't be my "go to town" vehicle for all the other little nuisance trips. Strictly driving throught the forest to and from work and exploring the dirt roads around home.